pregnant bobtail

Hello. This my first time on here. I have a beautiful bobtail cat (2yrs old) named 'Bear'. She recently got pregnant on December 14 (hear it and caught her in the act). She is due around the 15th of this month. Any ideas and tips as to what to do would be great! I have had her on kitten food for the last 6 weeks. I prepared a birthing box but she is showing little intrust in it. She has been searching out areas though. I can SEE the kittens kicking and rolling in her belly. I am a mother of 3 so this whole thing is so familer to me and I can't wait to see the beautiful little kittens!

Welcome to the forum. I don't know anything about pregnant cats but someone will be along shortly to answer your question.

Agree with your due date, assuming it was the first mating you caught...

Kitten food is good.  Consult with your vet about flea and worm control for her and for the kittens.

Make sure you know your vet's out of hours arrangements.  Most cats deliver with no problems whatsoever, but when you are in a panic isn't the time to find out you have to go somewhere different to normal - some UK vets use an out of hours service now rather than provide one themselves. 

She needs a box with plenty of washable bedding - fleece is great.  Towels are bad as tiny claws can get caught.  I put newspaper underneath, a puppy training pad would be good as well.  Just something that's absorbant.  Watch where she is starting to nest and put it there.  Some people confine a pregnant cat to one room for the last week or so, and put the box somewhere secluded in it so that they don't find the cat has gone AWOL at the crucial moment.

Errr....  Where is daddy cat?  She needs to be away from other cats, dogs, small children and so on for the last week or so, and while the kittens are small.

Lots of stuff on the internet about what happens and when to call the vets.  She will probably eat the placentas but try to keep your eyes on what is going on so you know that there is one per kitten.  The last queen I looked after ate them right by her vulva, the give away was the squelchy noises!

A second box with a gentle heat source can be useful if she is ignoring the first kittens while she delivers later ones - it stops them getting cold.  And if she isn't cleaning them but leaving them wet, I use a microfibre cloth to do enough that they don't chill really easily.

The only problem I've come across is occasionally a kitten (two kittens once!) dangling on a cord at her vulva and mum turning around to try to get at it to break the cord, but not being quite able to.  That can damage the kitten, so I break the cord as near to mum as I can using clean fingernails.  As you know. cords must be crushed not cut.

The other thing I've come across that looks strange but is normal is for her to take a break between the first few kittens and the last one or two.  So long as she seems well and the break isn't running up to a day I wouldn't worry.  The cat that did that to me took an 8-hour break and had just had the last kitten when I went up in the late afternoon - she was still cleaning it.

So far she has been eating and drinking good. She had problems with over eating a few weeks ago and would vomit. She has been sleeping more than normal the past few days. She is a rather small size cat for her being full grown and all. So I just concerned with how she will do. I have contacted the vet and they gave me the number to the 24 hr clinic in my area just in case of an emergency. I have had to help my dog give birth in the past but never my cat. She is like my baby so I'm just a concerned momma haha. As for the daddy cat he is a stray that comes and goes. Bear is an indoor outdoor cat (my fault for not spaying) but I have 2 homes set up for two of the kittens. Assuming by the size of her belly there are at least 3-4. Oh course I will be keeping one

Sounds good!  

So no other cats at home?   Ok, so you dont have the problem of thinking what to do with the cat pal.

How is your dog?  ARE they very good pals and she wants the dogs company?  If yes, you can perhaps consider something....  If not - do as OrientalSlave advices and keep them apart without thinking twice.       Important is the mom is so unstressed as possible.  Both when high preg and when having small kittens.

did you said something about children?  Noiseful people? [ah, I see Oriental already did mentioned this]

Good luck!    *vibes*

Unfortunately we lost our dog due to old age a few years ago. But we do have. Another cat in the house but we have been trying to keep them separate. I have 3 children and have informed them to give her space and not to bother her.

Well today I noticed some crustys around her nipples so I am assuming she has started lactating a little. How long after lactation has started do they normal go into labor? If I calculated right she should be due by next Wednesday.

Since they are cats, it varies.  8 minutes, 8 hours, 8 days... 

Lizzie's nipples r not leaking milk but has like a patch on her nipples of like dry skin. It confuses me. Lol my first cat litter born in a house. Kinda nervous. But I hope ur cat has a great delivery.

My first litter also I'm excited and nervous lol. I hope everything goes good with Lizzie also!

Well she started nesting last night and she has not been eating hardly anything in the past 12 hrs. She may go at anytime now.my husband and myself are keeping a close eye on her.

Good luck let us know

Any kittens yet

Not yet. I don't know what was going on with her. She should be due by tomorrow. (that's her 63 day mark) we shall see.

furbabies5 said:

Not yet. I don't know what was going on with her. She should be due by tomorrow. (that's her 63 day mark) we shall see.

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Better a couple of days longer than shorter, so we shall not complain as yet.  Kittens dont manage too short pregnacies well, much worse than human babies do.

How is the eating? She had a period she didnt ate? Like them sometimes not do immediately before delivery. But  If she doesnt eats a longer period it is not good...

She is eating normally now. But Sunday she ate very little. I would check her temp but she is a fisty one at times. I definitely don't want them to come early. But just like a human baby we are excited to meet them and see what they look like but we don't want them to come to early.

Well Bear is alot more restless today but she is still eating and drinking good.. no kittens yet.

Maybe tonight

Bear is still having trouble getting comfortable. She is trying to find a nesting place that she really likes. But she keeps trying to go in my children's rooms so I have shut there doors. But she seems to favor under my bed. If we don't have kittens by Saturday, its off to the vet we go.

Well I wish u the best of luck. And hope bear has a easy delivery.