TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care › Is my cat pregnant?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Is my cat pregnant?  

post #1 of 24
11/11/10 at 5:01pm
Thread Starter 
First and foremost I must say as I know many jump when cats are spayed/neutered. She was going to be then my loser friend let her outside while I was away after I told him not to. She and all her kittens will be fixed before going into new homes. I am keeping her and one kitten.

Now, Chloe was let out on September 6th. I got a call from my neighbours who found her on September 11th, thats when I went and picked her up. She was in heat when she got out and remained in heat for a couple days after I brought her home. I dont think shes been into heat since. I started to notice a belly on her around 5 weeks after I brought her home and now its just enormous. The last few days I notice shes been using the litter box often, she eats lots and sleeps. The odd time she will walk around and snoop. She purrs when I pet her and is over affectionate towards the dog.

Here is a pic...please tell me what you think.

post #2 of 24
11/11/10 at 5:38pm
Do you have a side view or top view? It definitely looks like something's going on!
post #3 of 24
11/11/10 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
Yes I grabbed some just now









Okay now that said, as she was on her back (I put her there for a pic) I out of curiousity dabbed a kleenix on her crotch and this is what came off.



I dunno what that would be. She recently just started showing interest in licking that area etc. She will scratch and lay for a bit, then get up and hop on my bed, scratch and lay there. Then she will try to get into the pantry closet which she has never tried to get into before.

Now the litter I use I would notice if there any blood in her urine because the litter is white...
post #4 of 24
11/11/10 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
An update, her nipples are now producing milk. If that means anything lol
post #5 of 24
11/11/10 at 9:38pm
Well, you'll have some little kitties pretty soon now. I think it's usually about 48 hours after you see milk. You should be able to feel the kittens kicking around in there if you put your hand on her belly.

She'll have orange males and orange or black females (the only colors a tortoiseshell can have). Post pics when they're born! I hope birthing goes well for her. Have the emergency vet's number on hand just in case.
post #6 of 24
11/11/10 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 
I dunno how long she has been producing milk lol. Could of started yesterday morning for all I know. Why can she only have those colours? I have always wanted a orange male..
post #7 of 24
11/11/10 at 11:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chloe16 View Post
Why can she only have those colours? I have always wanted a orange male..
Just the way kitty genetics are. I found a good cat color chart, but my computer messed up and I lost the bookmark. . .I'll try to find it again and link to it here. A tortie carries the genes for red (orange) and black, but she can't pass both on to her kittens, so she can't have torties/calicos, and she can't pass the black gene to her sons.

Black does include dark tabby, tuxedo, and mostly-white-with-black-spots, not just solid black. And red would include red tabby and red-tabby-and-white. I'd say your chance for an orange male is pretty good! Unless she only has girls, LOL.
post #8 of 24
11/11/10 at 11:36pm
Thread Starter 
Interesting. So my hopes for a pure white are bashed LOL. I would prefer to keep a male as they are cheaper to fix. Plus, I like males better..not sure why. One thing I noticed is I havent felt any kittens moving around. Then again I havent really had my hand on her belly to often.
post #9 of 24
11/12/10 at 3:19am
Oooh, I hope everything goes all right when she has her kittens! Good luck!
post #10 of 24
11/12/10 at 5:05am
Ohhh, she certainly looks like she could go anytime now! Beautiful girl, good luck to her and her precious babies.
post #11 of 24
11/12/10 at 8:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chloe16 View Post
Interesting. So my hopes for a pure white are bashed LOL
Well. . .another funny thing. White is a "masking" color that covers up the cat's true color. So a white can pop up in any litter, IF both parents carry the white gene, which you can't know until you see the kittens (or know the pedigree way back). So there's a slim possibility.

Hope everything's OK. When Sonja was that far along, I could definitely feel the kittens. . .sometimes I thought I could SEE them moving when I looked at her tummy, LOL.
post #12 of 24
11/12/10 at 10:02am
That picture of her belly - looks like she has an extra nipple on the right side of her lower belly. Is that right? There are 3 on that side and only 2 on the other side? I'm not counting the 3 that are visible on her upper chest.
post #13 of 24
11/12/10 at 10:46am
Oh yea! Please let us know how the birthing goes. You'll have to post LOTS of pictures for us, too! We love babies!

Do you have a little nest prepared for her that's secluded and safe from other kitties and dogs? You can use old towels or an old blanket to line the box (or whatever you're using as a nest). Keep an eye on her and if you notice her having any problems, call the vet. Know that she can go back into heat quickly after birth, so you'll need to watch for the signs and get her to the vet ASAP so she doesn't get out and get pregnant again.
post #14 of 24
11/12/10 at 11:01am
She's definitely pregnant! Post pics when the kittens come!
post #15 of 24
11/12/10 at 11:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom View Post
That picture of her belly - looks like she has an extra nipple on the right side of her lower belly. Is that right? There are 3 on that side and only 2 on the other side? I'm not counting the 3 that are visible on her upper chest.
That tuft of fur is probably covering up the nipple on that side, it looks like a particularly thick patch in that area.
post #16 of 24
11/12/10 at 11:31am
Thread Starter 
I know shes got at least four nipples on each side. I dont feel any movement from kittens but, she doesnt stay still long enough for me to get a good feel. Today I wooke up and checked her for more discharge and found white things near her crotch. It didnt look like worms but more like dried paper..could that of been disharge that dried up? I wiped it down and fur came off in that area. When they prep do they lose fur around their crotch?

Right now shes walking around meowing and shes WAY affectionate to me and the dog. Yes I have a box made for her, shes locked into the bathroom at night because thats the only place the dog cannot get to. If I go out she is allowed to roam the apartment as the dogs crated so he cannot get to her if she has them outside the bathroom. Here is the box I made using boxes I had here lol

post #17 of 24
11/12/10 at 12:06pm
To clarify some genetics as there were a few wrong things. First of all white is a masking color (there is color under the white) - its shows up only if one or both of the parents IS white. The cat cannot carry a "white" gene - it either is there or its not.

Second - torties have a red and black gene. Mom gives colors to the males and females; dad gives colors to females.

You have a XX (female) or XY (male) - so mom gives one of the colors - either a black or red and dad gives one color.

Depends on what color the male(s) are and she can be bred by more then one father; this will determine what colors you can get.

BTW if she is close to giving birth you do NOT want her walking around in the house when you are not there - there is no guarantee she will hurry up and go to her box to give birth. I confined my females to their rooms/cage the last 2 weeks so they would have them where I wanted them to be.
post #18 of 24
11/12/10 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 
Ugh still not kittens, the wait is killing me.

Someone told me today she may have pyromtra. Now, I know what that is but would pyrometra cause her nipples to produce milk? Or her stomach to get that big? Shes not in any obvious pain or anything.

Maybe I am worrying lol
post #19 of 24
11/12/10 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
BTW if she is close to giving birth you do NOT want her walking around in the house when you are not there - there is no guarantee she will hurry up and go to her box to give birth. I confined my females to their rooms/cage the last 2 weeks so they would have them where I wanted them to be.
I second this, my friend's cat delivered kittens while she was at work one day and she couldn't for the life of her find them. She heard them mewing sometimes, but the mother had hidden them very well. She even knew what room they were in, but the mother cat wouldn't let her in the room to look around. It was three days before she ever saw the kittens, and that was after calling me over so I could look as she distracted the mother. You know how most build-it-yourself dressers have about 3" in the bottom of the back side that is open? Yeah, the mother had crawled behind the dresser (maybe 2" of clearance between the wall and dresser, still don't now how the preggers cat got in there) and under the bottom drawer to give birth there.
post #20 of 24
11/12/10 at 5:38pm
Oops on the genetics. . .it's been a while since I read up on it . It is true that certain color females can only have certain colored babies, though, right? Like, red females can only have red males and red or tortie females (depending what color the father is), right? Anyway, I should look up more info on that, I guess.

If she's being extra cuddly and walking around meowing, I'd say she's pretty close! I wouldn't let her have the run of the house when you're not there, either. You don't want her having them somewhere awkward.

I think it's far more likely she's pregnant than has pyometra. If pyo was that advanced she'd be pretty sick by now.
post #21 of 24
11/12/10 at 5:43pm
To some extent yes, but there are a lot of recessive genes involved and if you don't know what she is carrying sometimes you have "surprises".

If she is one color then she can only pass on that one color (or the dilute version of that color). For example:

Black mom carrying blue as the dilute bred to a Black father (carrying dilute). The ONLY colors that you can get are blacks and/or blues

Black mom carrying blue bred to a Red father (carrying dilute).
Black males, Tortie females or Blue males, Blue-Cream females
post #22 of 24
11/12/10 at 6:18pm
Thread Starter 
I notice tonight when I was petting her rump she would lift it up and lick her hind legs up and down like how they do when they are in heat. Coincidence or?
post #23 of 24
11/13/10 at 10:20am
That is also the position they do when they are going into labor and giving birth - should be by end of this weekend.
post #24 of 24
11/13/10 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
No kittens yet...ugh this wait is killing me.

Anyway I have decided to give her the bathroom cupboard to birth in. I will double check to make sure the piping gaps are less then 1/2 inch if I remember correctly they should be if I did them. Then I will take all the stuff out and layer with blankets and tie the door halfway open and leave the second one closed. I dont like the look of the box I made for her, its falling apart. Plus the smell of the litter is strong in there and the only litter she will use is sadly the clumping grey stuff. This one isnt scented so I went out and bought a scented one and will keep it at the other end of the bathroom from her and her food etc. See how that works.

When its done I will post pics.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care
This thread is locked  
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care › Is my cat pregnant?