Signs of labor?

I was wondering since we only have about a week to week and a half to go till we have babies.... I am curious... what are some signs to look for? Will they get vocal during labor? will they go into a hiding spot? She is a stray and goes outside, but I have been able to keep her in the garage at night where I have some boxes set up. I know if she goes into labor during the day, it is possible she will have them under our shed and I can't do anything about it, but if she goes into labor at night, she will be in the garage.

Thanks!

EVERY cat is different. Some will hide, some will jump into your lap and spill babies all over you, most will be totally silent; its an instinct thing, yowling meowing, crying and other noise is most often a sign of distress.

good luck!

When my last litter was born, the mama seemed to let us know right away when it was time--she jumped up on the bed and got VERY affectionate, and when she got off the bed, she left a few wet spots behind and went to the nesting box we set up for her. She was surprisingly stress-free All cats are different though and I'm not sure how she'll react since she's outside.

My baby just had kittens 3 weeks ago, it was her first litter. The afternoon before she started following me around, meowing at me endlessly. If I sat down for even a second she was in my lap, looking up at me and meowing. It was similar to how she acts when I've forgotten to fill the food bowl. Just MEEEEEEOOOOOWING. About 3-4 hours before the kittens came she started having discharge, she left smears of it all over me and every once in a while I had to wipe a glob of it off her tail. At bedtime she jumped up in bed with me and something similar to a human woman's water breaking happened, I think. It was a clear liquid, not thick at all, just...well, water-like, I suppose, and there was ALOT of it. She jumped down while I tended to the mess, and half an hour later we heard the first kitten cry. She didn't make any noise during the first one, but she did make one short yowling sound with each of the following ones. I had put together a box for her previously but she didn't go in it to give birth. I put the kittens inside it afterward though and she still uses it. As far as the mess...believe it or not, even though there was quite a bit of blood on my cream-colored carpet, she licked it all clean. Not even a tiny stain left.

I know all cats are different, but I hope this helps. Good luck.

Thanks... Suma had her litter last Sunday. No meowing no nothing.. just went into a pet carrier and tried to lay down, but not big enough. So she moved to the box I made as a birthing box and before we knew it, there was one and it was feeding already. We ended up with 6!!!!

My cat was the same way, really quiet. I remember my dad just woke me up and he said she had babies but he couldn't find them. I went downstairs and she was in the hallway cleaning herself. Turned out she had 3 babies tucked under the sofa, but she forgot to take one out of the sack. The other two were perfectly healthy and crying for their mama. If they were quiet, we probably wouldn't have known where to look.

Peaches discharged allot of mucous for two days before the kittens so we knew they were coming .

She actually waited until I was awake in the morning & had finished my breakfast (how thoughtful!) before having her kittens. She was sitting in the dining room with me and just started, well she can't meow, so just "chittering" as loud as she could to get my attention. I scooped her up, dropped her in her box and she prompletly jumped out and had her kittens curled up beside me on a towel.

But that's just the way Peaches is .