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Delivery Question

post #1 of 613
4/21/10 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
Baby Girl will be 53 days tomorrow. The babies are moving and kicking. She keeps waking me up in the middle of the night to rub her belly (this just started this week). Of all the research i've done they say labor can start anywhere from day 58-71. But then others say if they have them before day 60 the kittens won't make it. Some say it depends on the size of the litter (longer for small and shorter for large). May 2 will be 9 weeks or 63 days. She is only having 2. When should I start REALLY watching for her to go into labor?
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post #2 of 613
4/21/10 at 6:35pm
Thread Starter 
I forgot to add that she is not nesting yet. I've read that I should put her a few nesting boxes in her favorite areas. Her favorite area lately is the back of the couch.
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post #3 of 613
4/21/10 at 10:03pm
I see you are well read on and prepared. Nice she is trusting you completely. Not all preggies like to be touched on their tummy.

Count on this May the second, or days after.

But dont make heavy arrangements nor lenghy foreign journeys the days around either...
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post #4 of 613
4/22/10 at 12:37pm
I agree with StephanZ...with my fosters I never really know when they got pregnant, but it seems like with a smaller litter there's a little bit longer to wait, but I wouldn't coun't on it. I'd start watching around day 60 just to be safe- it sounds like you're very prepared
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post #5 of 613
4/22/10 at 2:48pm
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to be. I've reaserched so I know signs if something is going wrong. How to help if she needs it and everything else. The only thing I don't know for sure is when she'll have them. Thank you.
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post #6 of 613
4/22/10 at 3:51pm
When did you start feeling them move? Carly is 3 weeks out according to vet guess and I still don't feel a thing.
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post #7 of 613
4/22/10 at 3:55pm
It sounds like you're well prepared It's just a waiting game now...even though about 99% of deliveries go fine, it's good to do that research just in case...

Oh, and Carlysmom, you can usually feel them moving withing the last week or two from my experience
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post #8 of 613
4/22/10 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 
We just started feeling the kittens moving this week (after she turned 7 weeks). We never "tried" to feel the kittens (I read that we could hurt them by trying to feel them since we are not experienced to do so). We would just rest our hand on her belly and wait to see if we felt anything. It started out that you could feel them sliding around under her skin and an accasional little thump when they would kick. Now (just days later) you still feel them moving but the thumps are stronger and more often. I still haven't seen her belly moving but at least I can feel them.
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post #9 of 613
4/22/10 at 7:16pm
Thread Starter 
This is Baby Girl today at 53 days.
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post #10 of 613
4/23/10 at 10:18am
I think you could hurt them if you were just jabbing away at her belly but I've only just put my hand on Carly's stomach to see if I felt movement. It's hard to tell with the purring and gas bubbles she gets to know if it's really kittens or just her. I felt what I think are little taps last night but it was very light and then gone. We are absolutely just guessing on her stage of pregnancy but my vet has been a vet for a very long time and he guessed she had 4 weeks left last week which would be 3 now. She is nesting (she jumped in a laundry basket and started pawing at it) and goes off and hides more than she's done since she got here. I'll include a picture of her latest belly shot too so we can keep track of their pregnancies together.

This is her destroying a catnip toy. She also groomed and licked this one to death which is nesting behavior in cats from what I read. I thought it was pretty cute.
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post #11 of 613
4/23/10 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlysmom View Post
I think you could hurt them if you were just jabbing away at her belly but I've only just put my hand on Carly's stomach to see if I felt movement. It's hard to tell with the purring and gas bubbles she gets to know if it's really kittens or just her. I felt what I think are little taps last night but it was very light and then gone. We are absolutely just guessing on her stage of pregnancy but my vet has been a vet for a very long time and he guessed she had 4 weeks left last week which would be 3 now. She is nesting (she jumped in a laundry basket and started pawing at it) and goes off and hides more than she's done since she got here. I'll include a picture of her latest belly shot too so we can keep track of their pregnancies together.

This is her destroying a catnip toy. She also groomed and licked this one to death which is nesting behavior in cats from what I read. I thought it was pretty cute.
Wow!! Carly is BIG! You may have a big litter on your hands... I just got a new foster, Zoe, so I'll add a pic of her here...I'm not sure how far she is, but I can feel them moving, so less than 2 weeks!!! I can't wait!


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post #12 of 613
4/23/10 at 5:06pm
Thread Starter 
Compared to Carly and Zoe, Baby Girl has a small belly. But then to she is only having 2 kittens so that would make a big difference in their sizes. They both seem like they are as far if not farther then Baby Girl. I really think Zoe will go first. LOL. What did the vet do to confirm Carly's pregnancy? I've read that it's hard to feel the kittens after so many days (I think it was 35 or something like that). She looks like she's alot farther then 4 weeks (I'd guess at least 6 weeks with a large litter or more for a small litter). I can't wait to see all of the kittens.
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post #13 of 613
4/23/10 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cslenker View Post
Compared to Carly and Zoe, Baby Girl has a small belly. But then to she is only having 2 kittens so that would make a big difference in their sizes. They both seem like they are as far if not farther then Baby Girl. I really think Zoe will go first. LOL. What did the vet do to confirm Carly's pregnancy? I've read that it's hard to feel the kittens after so many days (I think it was 35 or something like that). She looks like she's alot farther then 4 weeks (I'd guess at least 6 weeks with a large litter or more for a small litter). I can't wait to see all of the kittens.
I guess the three of us will have to see who's mommy will blow first! I agree, I think carlys getting pretty close... Baby girls definatly smaller, but she's definatly got a good sized belly Zoe may look a little bigger because of her long fur I did have a shorter furred tabby like Baby Girl in the fall, and she had 3 babies. When we got her she was probably about at the same stage as Baby Girl- I can get a pic of her at that stage for you tomorrow if you'd like to compare
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post #14 of 613
4/23/10 at 9:25pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not worried about Baby Girls size. She's only got 2 and she still has a week to go. She has really bloomed out this past week and I expect her to get bigger during this week too. I really didn't think she would get this big. But it will be very interesting to see which one "blows" first, lol.

I'm finishing up her room so that I can start putting her in there. Before I open the door to go out I check where she is so she don't get outside but today she came out of no where and was out before I knew what happened. Thankfully the bigger she's gotten the less time she will stay out so she came in within an hour. I want to be sure this does not happen again. I have been letting her go out on my screened in porch so she's somewhat outside.
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post #15 of 613
4/23/10 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 
Forgot to add that I'd love to see a picture if it's not too much trouble.
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post #16 of 613
4/23/10 at 10:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cslenker View Post
Compared to Carly and Zoe, Baby Girl has a small belly. But then to she is only having 2 kittens so that would make a big difference in their sizes. They both seem like they are as far if not farther then Baby Girl. I really think Zoe will go first. LOL. What did the vet do to confirm Carly's pregnancy? I've read that it's hard to feel the kittens after so many days (I think it was 35 or something like that). She looks like she's alot farther then 4 weeks (I'd guess at least 6 weeks with a large litter or more for a small litter). I can't wait to see all of the kittens.
He palpated. He said 3 but I felt the "balls" the other day and I swear one is hiding under the ribs. I really think there are 3 one one side and 1 on the other. I still don't feel movement but according to what he palpated, I wouldn't until next week. I'm so excited for next week.
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post #17 of 613
4/23/10 at 10:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CuteKittenKat View Post
Wow!! Carly is BIG! You may have a big litter on your hands... I just got a new foster, Zoe, so I'll add a pic of her here...I'm not sure how far she is, but I can feel them moving, so less than 2 weeks!!! I can't wait!
Zoe is sooooooo cute! I'm really surprised that they don't abort kittens there. I'm really happy they don't but so many of the shelters and rescues do.
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post #18 of 613
4/24/10 at 5:10am
I guess you'll have to wait and see! Feeling them move is so amazing- they really get rowdy in there!

I have a whole buch of pictures of Zoe here in Fur Pictures if you'd likehttp://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=215426

I tried finding a picture of Molly, but, of course the pictures do not wat to be found so I only found one on tinypic that I'd put up- it's not great, but here it is-


I guess Zoe was pretty pregnant when she came in, but they had to keep her to treat her ear, and all the mites she had I don't think my shelter even does abortions at all...

Haha, Zoe won't leave me alone-she keeps stepping on the keyboard! Haha, this is a message from her...

zL;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;P7\\

And now there's fur all through they kepboard

I think Carly will have 4 too
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post #19 of 613
4/24/10 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
Do you remember how far along Molly was in that picture? She looks just like Baby Girl. What color kittens did she have? I wish I knew what the father of Baby Girls babies looks like. I have an intact male kitten that is just now 8 months old. I had read that the males can't make babies until after a year but I researched again and some sites say as early as 6 months. Do you think it's possible he is the father? He goes in Wednesday to be neutered to make sure either way. I read somewhere that even after being neutered a male can still get a female pregnant for a few weeks. I'm not sure about this but she will be seperated for a few weeks anyways because of the babies. As soon as she is able she is getting spayed, too. I'm excited about the kittens and they are ALWAYS adorable but we won't be having any more. But I think fostering for the local shelters would be great because I could still have all the excitement of kittens without having added to the problem.
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post #20 of 613
4/24/10 at 8:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cslenker View Post
Do you remember how far along Molly was in that picture? She looks just like Baby Girl. What color kittens did she have? I wish I knew what the father of Baby Girls babies looks like. I have an intact male kitten that is just now 8 months old. I had read that the males can't make babies until after a year but I researched again and some sites say as early as 6 months. Do you think it's possible he is the father? He goes in Wednesday to be neutered to make sure either way. I read somewhere that even after being neutered a male can still get a female pregnant for a few weeks. I'm not sure about this but she will be seperated for a few weeks anyways because of the babies. As soon as she is able she is getting spayed, too. I'm excited about the kittens and they are ALWAYS adorable but we won't be having any more. But I think fostering for the local shelters would be great because I could still have all the excitement of kittens without having added to the problem.
I don't know the answer to the first question about the age thing. I know in dogs you certainly can use an 8 month old male to produce a litter. Obviously it's not advisable because you don't know if the boy has any health problems because he's not even old enough to be checked for them yet. I guess it would work the same in cats. Animals are really just made to continue to reproduce. Like the female can get pregnant 48 hours after she has a litter. I didn't know that until I read it on here. I also read that it takes 3 months for a male to become sterile after a neuter.
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post #21 of 613
4/24/10 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cslenker View Post
Do you remember how far along Molly was in that picture? She looks just like Baby Girl. What color kittens did she have? I wish I knew what the father of Baby Girls babies looks like. I have an intact male kitten that is just now 8 months old. I had read that the males can't make babies until after a year but I researched again and some sites say as early as 6 months. Do you think it's possible he is the father? He goes in Wednesday to be neutered to make sure either way. I read somewhere that even after being neutered a male can still get a female pregnant for a few weeks. I'm not sure about this but she will be seperated for a few weeks anyways because of the babies. As soon as she is able she is getting spayed, too. I'm excited about the kittens and they are ALWAYS adorable but we won't be having any more. But I think fostering for the local shelters would be great because I could still have all the excitement of kittens without having added to the problem.

It's very likely that he is the father. Most cats can reproduce at 6 months, but they're only fully grown at 1-2 years. In other words, he'd be like a "teen father"
I'm not positive how far Molly was, but she probably had a little longer than a week to go She had 3 all tabby babies, so I'm assuming dad was a tabby too.
What colours your boy?
It is quite possible for him to get her pregnant again after he's neutered, so you may want to keep him separated
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post #22 of 613
4/24/10 at 10:03am
I have a question about Carly's behavior. First my husband said she was acting very odd earlier, I wasn't there so I had to just go by what he said. He said she was just sitting in the kitchen floor staring at everyone when they ate. Usually she's sleeping during the day so she's not really seen but the past few days she has spent a lot of time awake and trying to be with the family. We are a very large family so there are people all over the house and she will go from one person to the next just staring at everyone. With me she is only bothered when I'm sitting at the computer. That's when she will come up and cry and paw at me and try to get my attention. I have no idea what she's going on about. I guess she could be further than my vet said by 1 week but wouldn't I feel kittens by now?

By his estimate she is 6 weeks and has 3 weeks to go.
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post #23 of 613
4/24/10 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlysmom View Post
I have a question about Carly's behavior. First my husband said she was acting very odd earlier, I wasn't there so I had to just go by what he said. He said she was just sitting in the kitchen floor staring at everyone when they ate. Usually she's sleeping during the day so she's not really seen but the past few days she has spent a lot of time awake and trying to be with the family. We are a very large family so there are people all over the house and she will go from one person to the next just staring at everyone. With me she is only bothered when I'm sitting at the computer. That's when she will come up and cry and paw at me and try to get my attention. I have no idea what she's going on about. I guess she could be further than my vet said by 1 week but wouldn't I feel kittens by now?

By his estimate she is 6 weeks and has 3 weeks to go.
Pregnancy hormones She did look furthur than 6 weeks, but who knows Sometimes you don't always feel them at 2 weeks before, I've even read that sometimes you can't even feel them at all(but I always have with all of my mothers). To be able to feel Zoe's I have to make her lie down for a few minutes and relax her belly before I can feel them
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post #24 of 613
4/24/10 at 10:48am
My vet said the exact same thing. He said that you might not ever feel them. She is definitely in nesting mode. I got a box and tore up newspaper so she has nests all over the place. I have this neat little cat play thing that she keeps going in and I put newspaper on the bottom of that. She will go off and I can't find her so pretty soon I think it's going to be time to keep her in one area of the house. I shaved her belly already and have taken off some hair from her back end that she wasn't able to clean.
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post #25 of 613
4/24/10 at 12:54pm
Nesting is a pretty good sign! Keep trying to feel them, hopefully you eventually will...Do you have one place where you want her to have them? If you do you can started putting her in there for periods of time so she gets used to it
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post #26 of 613
4/24/10 at 2:59pm
Yeah I prefer in the closet in my master bath because it's quiet, dark, and connected to the restroom that has her litterbox and food and water (they are far from each other it's a big bathroom).

I felt them pretty well today and by my estimation and the website that is a vet site and has them measured out at each week, she is 6.5 weeks. I don't feel kittens moving yet but they feel about 9.5 cm. That's 6.5 weeks. The kitten I felt was a lot bigger than the last time I felt it. Last time it felt the width of a hot dog and this time it felt double that. I've got her due date down as May 12 but like everyone has said she could go early if she's got a bigger litter and a little later if it's smaller. Just in time for Mother's day!
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post #27 of 613
4/24/10 at 3:38pm
Thread Starter 
Try feeling her belly after she's been sleeping for a little while. If there's no movement try lightly massaging her belly and see if you can make them move. When Baby Girl is on her side I can feel one of the kittens very well. If it's not moving i'll rub it as if I were trying to wake up a baby. This usually results in alot of moving, kicking, and tons of dirty looks from mama, lol.

What website are you looking at? Just curious.

Beaux is Gray and very fluffy.
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post #28 of 613
4/24/10 at 3:40pm
Thread Starter 
this is Beaux
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post #29 of 613
4/24/10 at 3:58pm
Thread Starter 
Here's a better picture of Beaux.
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post #30 of 613
4/24/10 at 4:22pm
She HATES me messing with her belly. The only time I can is if she's in a deep sleep and I sneak up on her and just gently lay my hand on her. 9 times out of 10 she will get up and try to move and that's when I was able to feel the lump and size of it. Let me find that website for you but as a warning, it's graphic and if you don't like seeing medical dissections and stuff you won't like it.

Here's the website that has helped me a lot.
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetai...ice-online.com
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