I want to share my news!!

hello!!
I'm so excited to be expecting my very first litter of children!
Every forum I visit I get yelled at and lectured for being irresponsible, or people tell me how many kittens they had to euthanize that morning, trying to make me feel bad.
I've been lurking in this forum/website for my cat pregnancy information for 2 or 3 weeks now, when my litter was officially 'diagnosed.'

I'm not a breeder, but I adopt strays, ferals and rescue cats. I obtained a female from a mill about a year ago (her birthday is February 11th, 2009), and about 6 months ago I lost my job and my home and couldn't afford to get her fixed. All my other cats were fixed at the time until I started rescuing some new strays, one of which was a boy.

I kept them separated during her heat, but at some point during that exhausting 7 days, he managed to get her. I do/did have an appoint for her, him, and another feral to get fixed March 9th. I'll be taking the feral (now also in heat, ughh) and the father still, and if the vet will allow, our neighbor's unfixed tomcat (who is terrorizing the neighborhood and spraying outside our door!!)

But anyway, Meatloaf (my mommy kitty) is expecting any day now.

She has been sleeping most of today and is a little restless. I was petting her just now, and one of her kittens was right up against her side.
It was possibly the second most beautiful feeling I've ever felt, the first most beautiful feeling being the day I felt the kittens move for the very first time.
But, I could make out perfectly the entire form of the tiny kitten. I could feel the head, the curve of the back, and its hind legs. I petted it gently, and it moved. Not just a twitch like normal, but it literally just.. crawled from one side of her body to the other, very slowly.

I think having a pregnant cat, being able to feel her babies, knowing that I will be helping with/witnessing her birth in a few days has made me rethink the subtle joys of life.

I'm sorry to all of the animals that have to be put down because shelters are so over crowded, but wouldn't these kittens face the same future?
We will most likely be keeping the entire litter, possibly giving one to a family member. My family has been involved in animal rescue since 1963, when my mother was born. She's an animal rights activist, and we've never been without a stray or five, and we vet and rehome our animals.

So, sorry this post was SOOO long but I am just extremely excited and happy, and I wish she would have them right this instant, LOL.

Yes, it is hard for me to enjoy kittens fully, knowing that most of them won't live to be a year old . But since you'll be keeping them, at least you'll know they won't be put down. As long as you can afford to have them all fixed before they're 4 months old. When you have unfixed cats the situation can get out of hand SO easily (as you know, I'm sure).

Have fun! Post pics!

Hi Desirai!
Well... my first instinct was to lecture you too... but after reading all your post, it is clear that this was an unfortunate accident... kind of the feline equivalent of a broken condom!
Now, what concerns me though, is... It seems to me you do some invaluable work rescuing, fostering, rehoming and and taking care of kitties in need... If you keep this whole litter, are you still going to be able to continue to do this work?
Because people like you, with your knowledge and will are desperately needed nowadays... Please think about that... As much as it might break your heart as a proud grandma, it might be better to rehome them, keep one, and continue your work saving countless lives...
Just a thought, and congrats!

Bless you for the wonderful efforts you and your family make in rescuing cats. It sounds like the little mama was very fortunate to have found you to take her in. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say we would love to see pics of her. Mama cats are so cute with their round bellies. Of course we would love to see the babies when they are born.

Just so you know, cats don't have to be in heat to get pregnant. Also males are fertile for up to 2 months after neutering, and females can get pregnant again very soon after giving birth.

Could someone tell me, what is the earliest after birth I could set up an appt to get Loafie fixed?

Also I have read mixed reviews on fixing kittens. What is the earliest they should be fixed? Some people say they can be fixed as early as 12 weeks, others say no earlier than 4 months.

My other cats I all get fixed between 3 and 6 months of age, Loafie being the only exception (I wasn't TOO worried about her since she was the only unfixed cat out of all.. 10? that I had.)

And my cats are strict indoor cats, they are never allowed outside without supervision. Unfortunately, since I work and go to school, I didn't know how to separate her from the strays I have when she was in heat. I thought for sure I had been successful in keeping her away from them, until about 2 weeks ago when I took her in for a vet appt and discovered she was about 6.5 wks pregnant.

I didn't feel the abortion would have been humane, since I could feel the kittens moving. I am pro-choice in all species and pro-abortion in specific situations. But since I am positive that I can now financially care for the kittens, and fixed kittens have a much better chance at finding a home..plus I've never experienced a pregnancy from start to finish and understood it, since I was about 6 years old the very last time I had kittens.

Oh I didn't mention, the estimated litter size is 3 kittens.

edit: Also I have a question.
What are the odds of my kittens having polydactyl? The father has an extra toe on each of his feet but the mother doesn't, but I'm not sure what her history is.

Usually 8-10 weeks after birth is an okay time to spay mum.

Kittens can be done at 8 weeks or 2lbs, the weight is more important than age. Kittens born here will be done at 10-11 weeks to give time to heal before going to new homes at 12 weeks.

This sounds to me like a responsible situation where the kittens just happened anyway. If all kittens were born under these circumstances, we wouldn't have an overpopulation problem. So, this is something to celebrate...yay little fluffy miracles!

My understanding is that the issue with spaying a mom cat is that her milk often dries up, so it shouldn't be done until the kittens are old enough to wean (except in the case of an actual emergency, such as birthing gone wrong, which happened to one of the family's cats). 8 weeks should be fine unless any of them are runty; in that case, run it past your vet.

Well congratulations on you soon-to-be new babies!!! Do you know that I have loved and had cats all my life and have never seen the actual experience of a mama giving birth? I have always felt like I have really missed something precious by never seeing that

What's done is done and if you can afford to spay/neuter the Mom and all of the babies and to properly care for them, then I applaud you! I look forward to sharing this experience with you, and hope you show lots of pictures!

Originally Posted by ebrillblaiddes

This sounds to me like a responsible situation where the kittens just happened anyway. If all kittens were born under these circumstances, we wouldn't have an overpopulation problem. So, this is something to celebrate...yay little fluffy miracles!

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Sorry I have to disagree - if you cannot afford to get some cats fixed then you shouldn't adopt more.

From the original OP:

I obtained a female from a mill about a year ago (her birthday is February 11th, 2009), and about 6 months ago I lost my job and my home and couldn't afford to get her fixed. All my other cats were fixed at the time until I started rescuing some new strays, one of which was a boy.

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Hopefully everything will go OK with your job so you can get your babies fixed today. Well done taking your neighbours cat in too.

Just wanted to restate the fact that females can get pregnant ALL THE TIME, not just when in heat. So males MUST be away from females until the female is spayed.

Males can still impregnate females anywhere from 1-2 months after being neutered.

Siblings can and WILL mate and it can start as young as 4 months old. So keep this in mind with the litter you are keeping.

Kittens can be fixed at 8 weeks or 2lbs. My shelter has done thousands upon thousands and they are all happy and bouncing back to their normal selves shortly after waking up.

I also do wonder if you keep the whole litter, will you still have the room to rescue more?

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Sorry I have to disagree - if you cannot afford to get some cats fixed then you shouldn't adopt more.

From the original OP:



Hopefully everything will go OK with your job so you can get your babies fixed today. Well done taking your neighbours cat in too.

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I just wanted to say, from what I read, she had financial trouble AT THE TIME, wich have been solved now as she said in her later post:
(quote) "But since I am positive that I can NOW financially care for the kittens,..." (end of quoting)

I just wanted to clarify.

Hi, yes, I was in a financial mess in 2008. I was living with an abusive boyfriend.
I took in many pets in 2008 that I couldn't handle, including stray dogs.

I have since rehomed every animal I acquired in 2008 except my 2 cockatiels and one of my cats. (However, 2 cats I had were stolen from me in October, and I'd had them for 2 years. I am still grieving over them and I think the new kittens I'm expecting are kind of filling a hole that was ripped in my heart.)

But an update, since I am obsessive, I have counted the days from the earliest she could have gotten pregnant to the latest she could have gotten pregnant, and from the earliest date, today, March 10th, she is exactly 9 weeks pregnant. From the latest date, she is today exactly 8 weeks and 4 days.

Also, yesterday I took a tom and another pregnant female to get fixed. I didn't feel bad getting her a spay abort because they weren't kittens yet.

The reason I didn't get a spay abort on my cat Meatloaf is because her babies were kittens by the time I found out she was pregnant. They were actually moving and had their bodies mostly formed (legs and tails)

Sorry I haven't provided pictures yet, but don't worry because upon birthing, there will be dozens of pictures and videos.
If you would like, here are pictures of her I took a few weeks ago--


This is Meatloaf's angry face--


Playing with string--


As a kitten after her very first bath! She was COVERED in fleas, ticks and mites. I bathed her daily for almost 2 weeks to get rid of them.

Originally Posted by Desirai

Also, yesterday I took a tom and another pregnant female to get fixed. I didn't feel bad getting her a spay abort because they weren't kittens yet.

The reason I didn't get a spay abort on my cat Meatloaf is because her babies were kittens by the time I found out she was pregnant. They were actually moving and had their bodies mostly formed (legs and tails)

Click to expand...

That's kind of how I feel about it too, for animals...like, if they can move, they can probably feel pain, so unless they got anesthesia too (and I don't think we could be sure they got enough second-hand from the mom cat), it'd be unborn animal abuse. (Of course, I'd say to do it anyway if the mom cat medically needed to not be pregnant any more.)

Yea, if the vet HAD aborted, they would have done a c-section and pulled out a litter of fully functional, living breathing kittens and would have put them to sleep. I feel like that would be murder for human and animal alike.

I'm pro-choice/pro-abortion. I feel the same about humans. Until it is fully formed and moving and can be born and function and breathe, it is NOT murder. If meatloaf's kittens had been just little globs of cellular data and some meat, that's not a kitten. It might have been relatively shaped by one, but it couldn't breathe, think, or move.
Same thing with a baby. It might be shaped like one, but it can't breathe, think or move.

She's a gorgeous kitty, I can't wait to see kitten pictures I hope her delivery goes smoothly for both of you.

I have a kitten named Meatloaf.

*hugs* to your mama kitty and may she have healthy loaves..tee hee.

She's beautiful! And I think what you're doing for all these kitties is wonderful...I wish everyone could do that I agree too, I think it should be pro-choice until they can move, and live outside their mothers body- then it just feels like murter. Anyway, as long as the kittens all get spayed, then they won't add to the overpopulation, so thats good