Pregnant cat, not sure how far along(pics)

erwinhead

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Hello, so I've been looking around on here for some answer but haven't seen any threads with the exact answers i need. I have a pregnant cat, she was a rescue I had picked up as a kitten, was told she was fixed had all of her shots and was completely healthy. Turns out she wasn't fixed and now I have an apparently very pregnant cat. I can feel the babies jumping around inside of her so i know she has to be at least 6 weeks by now. Her nipples are very large and full but no milk production yet. She has barely wanted to move at all and shes constantly stretching and laying with her bellie in the air. She is grooming a lot also and seems to be nesting although she doesn't want to move very much so she only does the nesting a few times through out the day. I just wanted to know if any of the people of this forum, based on the pictures, could tell me if she could possibly be going into labor, if these are the first stages of labor, or if she even looks like she could be giving birth soon.

Thanks so much!!

Erin

( i can't get any pictures of her sitting up or standing as she NEVER wants to. Shes always either laying down on her back of curles into an upside down looking ball possition)
 

StefanZ

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Difficult to know. She doesnt seem as  large as some others, so prob a small litter.

Have you any  idea when she can have got mated? Ie met the tom?  Add 65 days for it, so you will get a decent guess.

I know there is somewhere a site with their bodies compared with weeks, I perhaps find the link... among mine 100:ds of bookmarks.

I hope you are giving her good food? Say kitten food.  She need all nutritions she can get.

Good luck!
 
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erwinhead

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Ya she eats a TON and yes she is being fed kitten food. I've read everything I can find online and took her to the vet but my vet couldn't give me any answers either. Its her first litter and when i palpate her stomach i can feel little heart beats and they seem very large because I can feel their entire bodies moving around in her tummy, but I can't tell how many there are. She is also a fairly large cat so maybe thats why shes doesn't seem very big. Thank you for your responce!
 

orientalslave

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She probably hasn't had her shots either since they lied about her being fixed, and she probably hasn't been wormed.  Would check with your vet about this - in the UK Milbemax is available from the vet and can be given to pregnant and lactating queens.

It's almost impossible to know when she is due except 'soon'.  How long have you had her?
 
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erwinhead

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I've had her for about 9 months, and I took her to the vet after I got her and they gave her the normal kitten check up, but they never said anything about her needing to be spayed and they saw the same mark on her tummy which looked like a scar from a spay so I am completely in amazement that these people could have tricked both me AND our vet. Today, she was acting very different and keeps trying to get outside, why I'm not sure. Is this common in a pregnant cat? To actively try to get outside? I've read that in most cases the pregnant queen will want to stay inside and cuddle, but my queen just lays on the kitchen floor all day, and then when I get up or walk around she starts "talking" to me and running to sit by the front door.
 

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Honestly, she doesn't look pregnant to me, or at least not almost full term. Usually a pregnant female loses fur around the nipples, and looks like she swallowed a basketball :lol3:. Her nipples are larger and pinker than normal, but do not look like she's in late pregnancy. And she looks a bit chubby, but not round. I wonder if it's a hormonal problem (sometimes a bit of ovarian tissue is left after a spay) and she's having a false pregnancy.

I know you say you can feel the babies moving, but I took in a very fat cat I thought was pregnant, and I was sure I could feel kittens moving! But 3 months later and no kittens, I figured out she's just fat :tongue2:. I still don't know what I was feeling in her tummy :dk:.

Now, if she is pregnant, is there any way to figure out when she saw a tomcat? Is she allowed out freely or was there a certain time she got out?
 
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clynn11

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I agree with Willowy, my pregnant female had lost all hair around her nipples by end of week 4. Best bet would be to take her into a vet and get an ultrasound done, I suppose?
 
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erwinhead

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Well she is 100% pregnant, when I took her to the vet he confirmed and he said she has to be at least in her 7-8th week now, thats why I'm on here she does seem extremely small to be this pregnant. Any clues on why? And could she just be late with gaining her milk because its her first litter? This is why I'm on here lol, I have a ton of questions.

 

clynn11

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Sometimes they don't get their milk until after they give birth, but she should be losing the hair around her nipples definitely. Her being small could just be the fact that it's a small litter, probably 2-4 kittens. She's beautiful! I love her markings.
 
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erwinhead

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Thank you so much! I love her and I am just worried about her haha. Hopefully she will start loosing the hair, because i found her nesting in my bathtub this morning. She's never been in my bath tub before, she was actually scared of it so i hope the time isn't coming that quickly.
 
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erwinhead

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She has had a white crust on her nipples for the last week, is this normal? They are not tender, and she lets me touch them and the rest of her bellie as i want, they seem a bit warm not hot and they are not tough just have a crust on them. Has anyone else had this problem? I am very worried about her, she is my first pregnant cat. :/
 

lindz2785

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My last foster mom didn't get milk in until after the kittens were born. And the white crust I think is just like dried skin.
 
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erwinhead

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Someone had told me that it could be dried milk? Is this at all possible? And how much hair do they usually shed around their nipples before the kittens arrive? She has lost a little bit of hair since i last posted pictures and I'm just wondering how much more to expect.(She is a very fluffy long hair)
 

lindz2785

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I found a picture of one of my previous foster mom's and her belly the day before she gave birth. You can kinda see how much hair was gone, there's a pretty good sized ring around them.



I don't know about the dried milk thing.. My foster mom Muriel has the dry white stuff on the nipples that the kittens DON'T use and that are dried up (the kittens are 6 weeks old and beginning to wean so they only use a few of the "good" nipples). I think it's just because they're dry, not from milk.
 
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erwinhead

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Well my kitty is growing by the day so i presume she will start loosing more and more of her hair, i keep finding little tufts of hair all over the place lol. Thank you so much for sharing the photo and I saw your blog, your an amazing photographer!
 

autumnbottom

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The "Crust." is just probably dry milk. it means she's getting VERY close. My cat is exactly where yours is, but she's very little and looks like a blimp :p
 
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