Any way to tell how far into pregnancy?

straymagnet

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Our stray (who we named Daisy) has settled into her shelter in our garden and now we are just waiting on the kittens. Is there any way to tell how far along she is without having an ultrasound done? The vet didn't really have a good guess except that we were likely at least 2 weeks out, maybe more - and that was a week ago. She is getting bigger around with bulging out to her sides and she is looking healthy now instead of half-starved. Her coat and eyes look brighter and shinier - it is quite heartening to see how much better she looks than when she found us a week and a half ago. The only thing that concerns me is that her nipples which were prominent before seem to have actually decreased in size and I thought they were supposed to get bigger as the pregnancy proceeds. Reading too much as I tend to do, I've been questioning if she is indeed pregnant or if it is something bad like FIP, but we were reassured by our vet that she is very likely pregnant and to just wait a couple of weeks before bringing her back in to be reevaluted if we want. An ultrasound plus office visit will run me almost $200 which I really can't afford right now - especially since I need to save up for kitten shots and a spay and more shots for Daisy (who we will likely keep). I'd like to have some idea when to expect the babies, but her nipples haven't turned pink yet and I can't feel any kittens moving around when I gently feel around on her tummy. She is still eating normally and shows no signs of discomfort or distress or even change in personality except she seems content and happy. Are there any other telltale signs about how close we are to the end? I'm dying to see what her babies will look like. If she is local area rather than dumped from afar, our neighboring barn toms are all orange tabbies - so I almost expect some orange ones. My kids are already bugging me to keep a kitten - I'm sure my other cats (not to mention my husband) would be thrilled with the permanent addition of Daisy AND a kitten
.
 

mews2much

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It depends on the cat.
Meeko never looked pred except her nipples were red.
Even the vet didnt know.
I did feel yoshi kicking 2 weeks before he was born though.
Coco was so big and getting kicked hard but her nipples didn not change until she went in labor.
Its been 6 years though.
You should feel kicking around 2 weeks before they are due.
 

mommysmeows

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Originally Posted by mews2much

It depends on the cat.
Meeko never looked pred except her nipples were red.
Even the vet didnt know.
I did feel yoshi kicking 2 weeks before he was born though.
Coco was so big and getting kicked hard but her nipples didn not change until she went in labor.
Its been 6 years though.
You should feel kicking around 2 weeks before they are due.
Usually once you feel the kittens moving - It's about 2 weeks till labor. I do know that once I began to actually see them move around, 1 week later she had them. They were rolling all around in there.

Im not sure when you noticed she was pregnant, but once you see any sort of "thickening" in her tummy/sides of her tummy - She is about 5 weeks. The milk comes in about ohh... I'd say 5 days before birth. You'll notice her teats begin to hang.
 
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straymagnet

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Thanks for the info - I guess just like with people, all pregnancies are a little different. I noticed she looked like she might be pregnant last week right before I took her to my vet. She was so skinny that her nipples and tummy stood out more I guess. Now that she has put on some body mass from eating decent food, she looks more balanced. Her tummy definitely sticks out more on the sides than it did last week, though.
 

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What color is Daisy? I believe that orange/red kittens get their color grom the mother, so it doesn't matter what color the father is. There are some threads on the Breeders' Forum about color and genetics that can give you more details. I'll try to see if I can find any of them.
 

goldenkitty45

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Is there any way you can get her more confined so she doesn't have those kittens outside or in a place where you cannot get to her? Some cats don't show every "pregnancy" sign and its hard to tell. That's why I said to get her more confined.

As far as color. In order to get red (orange) kittens, the mom has to have red on her. The color gene is carried on the X chromosone. XX is femle and XY is male.

The father cat can only give color to any female offspring. The mother gives color to the males and females.
 
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straymagnet

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Interesting info on the color genetics. Daisy is what I would call a brown tabby http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...magnet/010.jpg - but when I look closely at her fur (can't tell from the pic) she has flecks of orange in with the brown and cream.

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...magnet/004.jpg
I really can't confine her more that what she is at present time. We have put doors on the shelter so we can still get in to clean and check on her and we added a cat door for her to use and to keep out the wind. She has a lot of straw and blankets for insulation and she really seems quite content. Now she even has a heated cat mat. She hasn't left the garden enclosure (it is fenced) in a week - likes to hang out under my swiss chard plants, and seems happy to use my onion bed as a litter box (which if fine since they are already harvested). I really don't think she will go elsewhere because there aren't a lot of safe, dog free areas and she seems to have figured out that they can look at each other through the fence but the dogs can't get to her. The dogs are getting used to the sight and smell of her and vice versa so hopefully this will make a transition easier when we try to get them used to each other under controlled circumstances. I just can't think of how I could isolate a mom and litter of kittens from my dogs and other cats in the house for 3 months. I think if it was just mom, it would work out, but I'm afraid the kittens will get hurt because I can't supervise 24/7 and with the chaos that goes on in my home - I know doors would be left open and it could end in a bad situation. Years ago, a stray had a litter of kittens in my shrubs (at another house) and when I found them, I made them an enclosed box on the front porch and they stayed there for 2 months until I found a home for all 5 kittens plus the mama (I had an inside cat at that time who did not tolerate other cats at all). This set up for Daisy is much more cozy and secure than that one, so I really think she will stay.
 

goldenkitty45

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She's a brown (or blue) patched tabby and since she does have red in her, you can get red tabby kittens. If the father is another red, then you will have both red males and females
In the photos the base color looks more blue/grey then brown to me. If she's more of a grey color, then she would be Blue patched tabby. You might get some cream kittens
 
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straymagnet

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Cool! That genetics stuff is fascinating. It makes me curious - I have a female calico with tabby stripes inside all of her orange and black/gray spots. So orange striped spots and black/gray striped spots on a background of pure white. She's really unusual. We have no idea what her parents looked like since she was an adopted rescue, but I've never seen a calico who is also a tabby. http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...viaFeb2006.jpg What do you think her parents may have looked like?
 

goldenkitty45

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Now she IS a Brown Patched Tabby w/ White (I would not call her calico as a calico is black/red/white).

I'm guessing dad is a brown tabby (with or w/o white) and mom is a tortie (with or w/o white). One parent has to be carrying tabby and one has to be carrying white. Since the white is not a lot, chances are only one has white. Brown tabby is a dominate color. The mom also could have been just a red tabby (w or w/o white).

You have to have brown tabby, red and white on the parents.
 
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