Nipples; How Warm is too Warm?

ritz

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How pronounced will the nipples be before birth?  We are trying to guage how imminent delivery may be based on the size of her nipples.

My friend * is fostering "Myrtle" (I will help somewhat), no idea when she is due, but looks soon.  She is exhibiting some of the common behaviors--somewhat restless, licking her vagina, panting somewhat--but you can only see one nipple easily.

She is around six months old, thin, coat is rough, very very friendly.  Pretty sure she's been owned before, the person who had been feeding her was able to pet her too, so it's hard to tell if the friendliness is part of the pregnancy or her normal demeanor.

ALSO: I've read that you should keep the kittens warm after they are born.  But she will be in the Cattery, upstairs, no air conditioning, lots of fans, very shaded area.  (The cattery is sometimes cooler than my condo, which has ac.)  Washington, DC area is having a heat wave, and the heat index this weekend will exceed 100.  So warm is too warm, too cool? Will we need to bring out a heating pad?  (It was comfortable in the cattery early this morning.) 

* This is the same friend who rescued Ritz and converted one of her rooms into a Cattery where we successfully resocialized and placed into Forever Homes four cats, who had been part of my cat colony.  We're still working with "Mystique", who still loves loves the dogs.
 

orientalslave

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She is almost certainly older than 6 months if she's about to give birth - she would have got pregnant at 4 months which is pretty precocious.  However I can well believe she's not that much older.  Hope she has been wormed & treated for fleas.

So long as she stays with her kittens most of the time they should be OK - she will keep them warm, not quite like a bird brooding but you get the idea.  If it gets very warm she may well leave them more than if it's colder.

My house is never 100F - it's never 80F - but the cat I fostered last year was just fine.  I did put the kittens on a heat pad when she was busy delivering more kittens, once she had finished and I put them all in with her they were fine.  It was probably below 70F in the room they were in most of the time, possibly in the 50s early in the morning before the heating came on.
 
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ritz

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Thanks.

Good point about 6 - 2 months = 4 months when she got pregnant.  Hard to tell if she looks younger because of her weight (thin but not emaciated).

She has been treated for fleas but not worms. 

The temperature in the Cattery in the afternoon will probably reach at least 80.
 

missymotus

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Agree mum keeps them warm enough, heat pad won't be necessary and can cause flat chests so I won't use them.

I have one girl who always has a litter mid summer when temps are over 100 for days/weeks and she just lays outside the box if she's too hot, likewise the bubs will crawl away from each other if warm

Just watch them, if mums panting you'll need to use a fan, shielding the babies from it
 
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