Anxious, worried, hopeful! HELP!

My female cat Ladybug mated with our male cat on June 24th, atleast im pretty sure they mated. I heard her scream and ran to check on her and she was rolling around on the ground. My husband and I didnt know if it was possible for her to get pregnant the first time she mated. So we kept them separated until we could set up a vet appt to get the male fixed. However 3 days later, and 2 days before his appointment ,after my husband and i returned home from work, both cats were with eachother. Either one managed to open the bedroom door, or we didnt shut it hard enough. So here we are 66 days from the first mating and i'm a little worried that she hasnt gone into labor. She is very obviously pregnant, lots of kitten movement. But I am not sure if I should calculate her due date based on the first time she mated, or 3 days later when they got back together when we were at work. Shes just over a year old, our male is fixed now. Ive been obsessively watching her to look for contractions, loss of her mucus plug, anything. And ive starred at her so long, that i think my brain is starting to make things up, because im so hopeful! Based on her mating on the 24th of june, that would make her 66 days pregnant. However she isnt showing any real signs of labor. She's still eating, her nipples are producing the pre-milk but only when its coaxed out (gently squeezing), she's drinking a lot, using the litter box a ton. We are currently in louisiana, which is where the hurricane isaac is so im worried abotu being able to get her to the vet if she needs to go. I guess my question would really be, when do I need to start really worrying? The vet isnt open today due to the hurricane, how many days pregnant is a time for concern?? This is her first litter and she will be fixed after this, i cant handle stressing this much ever again lol. 

hi!

my friends cat was pregnant and it took her cat 73 days to have her four beautiful kittens. and my cat it was only 60 days its just like real pregnancy   some are late some are early...

Thanks Kittycatpaw! I just didn't want it to be too late. I'll call the vet once he opens back up after the hurricane. She seems to be content, I just worry about her. Her breathing will increase and you can hear her tummy churning, and i get a little excited,  but then she just falls asleep. Lazy kitty lol

I agree, it is too early to get worried as yet. Even if you count on the 66 day.

Better a couple days extra than too few, as cats dont manage premature delivries as good as humans.

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

ps.  Yes, it was a successful done mating you cats had this first time.   Although which of them resultet, the first or the next, we arent sure of.

Breeders, who want to be sure, want the cats to mate several times.

But if a female in heat sneaks out and has her adventure, once is often enough.

So, here it is entirely possible this first time was enough.

It is just to be prepared, and look and see.

Thank you Stefan. I find myself too often comparing her to a human But i made sure to mark on the calendar both days im sure she mated. Thank you for the help, I agree that I would rather her be over her due date rather than under. She doesnt seem to care much for the nest I built her, I have already made her 3 different ones to hopefully get a good response. But she sniffs them, sometimes gets in for a minute, then jumps right out. She sleeps on her cat tree more than anything. Honestly I don't care where she goes into labor, I just want her to be safe. My male cat seems to be taking more care of her than she does. He actually cleans her lady parts, and sometimes when shes cleaning herself, she will stop, jump up and run into one of her kittening boxes sit in them for a very short minute and then hop out. He always runs in there with her and waits outside of the box. Maybe daddy is waiting for the kittens too haha

65 days from first mating, so 28th August - yesterday - but up to 70 days is usually OK.  I'd suggest vets next Monday if no action by then.  Also make sure you know their out of hours procedures, and read the following which will give reasonable guidance as to when to call the vet:

http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html

And if you don't have a set of kitchen scales that weigh small amounts in grams, get a cheap electonic set and weigh the kittens at about the same time each day.  Weight gains of 10g+ most days suggests all is well - not gaining weight is often the first sign of a problem.  Obviously you need to keep a record day by day.

You could have had her neutered straight after as well.

NerdyGirl said:

 My male cat seems to be taking more care of her than she does. He actually cleans her lady parts, and sometimes when shes cleaning herself, she will stop, jump up and run into one of her kittening boxes sit in them for a very short minute and then hop out. He always runs in there with her and waits outside of the box. Maybe daddy is waiting for the kittens too haha

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Not so few males are acting help mothers. Studs too. If a breeder, they are not always the father, but as long he IS very best friend with the mom, so... 

Having toms, or even males nearby, is not always without risks, so we urge to precautions, at least the first days.  But if mom is comfortable with his presence, and you see it is OK  -> calulated risk, but the odds are heavily on your side her.  (or on that "extra help moms" side     )

Especielly here where he is not only her best friend, but also nowadays neutered.

Good luck!

ps.  Of course, if they are NOT good friends, or if the mom shows she wants to be left alone, or is in any way irritated by the male, or the male isnt friendly to the kittens, there is no discussion at all.  Just separate them.

"Obey the mom!"

Thanks Oriental and Stefan. 

She will be spayed after she's done weaning the kittens. The male is already fixed, and I could never bring myself to spaying her while she was pregnant. We have already found homes for them, well 7 of them, assuming she has 7 or less. And if there are more, i'm sure i'll find great homes for the remainder. We own a large family business. They won't go without. Thank you for the tip about weighing the kittens. 

As for the kittens dad, he refuses to leave her side. It's actually quite cute! But i have read that male cats usually the un-neutered ones can act aggressively. But like you said stefan, I feel if she's calm about him being around, and with supervision, after the first week or so we could introduce them.  Do pregnant cats have frequent nightmares, or twitches during sleep? Tonight she's been sleeping on her cat tree, and every bit of her is twitching and i can see the kittens rolling around.Her breathing increases to nearly 4 breaths a second for several minutes, then slow down to 2 breaths a minute. I am not sure if she's just having dreams or what's happening. But i'm keeping a sharp eye on her.  She's so big that you can actually see the outlines of the kittens pressed against her stomach. I have not had a pregnant cat since i was a young girl, and was not anticipating having another. But I must admit I am terribly excited!!! 

I really appreciate the tips and support. If anything occurs, i'll create a new thread with updates.   This is my little lady bug

and here's daddy! Although he has put on about 10lbs since this picture haha. I think hes been gaining weight with her!!

We count from the second day of mating, my girls tend to go on day 64 or day 66, up to 70 is ok as said.  I don't let other cats around my girls in their last week, they need to be relaxed during birth and afterwards left to bond with their kittens not be worried about other cats being around.  Once they're around 6 weeks they are allowed short supervised iterations with the other residents. 

The kittens will be very active and then before birth they drop down, the girl appears visibly thinner as they line up for birth. They quiet down right before, not all girls stop eating too I have one who likes to eat right up until birth almost. 

Thank you MissyMotus. 

I wasnt aware I should wait so long to introduce the kittens. I have been wondering that lately. She seems as though she isnt interested in anything but sleeping, and the rain tonight. Very docile, which is a little odd since she's generally up in everyones face begging for a tummy rub. I tried to love on her a little but she looked me up and down and jumped in her rocking chair. So i guess she doesnt want any love tonight  

I'll be sure to separate her from the male cat, I have been but she lingers at my bedroom door waiting for me to open it to go see daddy cat. They snuggle and clean eachother, even when we were trying to keep them apart while we waited for his vet visit, they both just sat at each side of our bedroom door, sticking their paws underneith. I like to think they're a great little love story, but then again i'm a little silly like that. But I'll separate them, I worry she will go into labor with him around, and with him being so stuck up her butt the last week I'd hate for anything to happen to the babies.

Thank you again missy, I really appreciate the advice and help!

So nearly an hour after I last updated, ladybug got really antisocial. She's been anything but antisocial! Shes always up for a belly, or chin rub. When i tried to rub her neck she pulled away from me. Then she started breathing very quickly and she tensed up and let out a low meow. I tried to pet her again for reassurance but she immediately got up and walked to the litter box. Half way to her litter box she stopped and squatted. I thought she was going to go potty on the floor but after a minute she got into the litter box. She looks very mad. I dont know a better way to describe it. Just mad. And she wont let me touch her, if i try to, she leaves the area. I put her in her room and shut the door. Do these sound like contractions? Any tips for a first time kitty midwife?? 

I think it is contractions.  Or possibly just pre contractions.

some cats wants Moms around and assurances, others prefer to be let alone.

Good luck to your little beauty and you!     *vibes*

ps.  Dad is also handsome.

Sounds like she's close, has she lost the mucous plug yet? Though with the male cleaning you could have missed it. usually they are very clingy the day or so before

I don't leave mine during birth, you need to make sure all kittens are born easily, don't get stuck, are breathing, make sure she does the cords
Move kittens out the way of being squashed as she has more and count all placentas, a retained placenta will cause infection

Thanks you guys,

Actually Missy, i had wondered if she had disposed of her mucus plug. But after 3 or 4 of these seemingly smaller contractions, she fell asleep. I rubbed her tummy and she was fine ,but when she rolled onto her back, her mucus plug was hanging out. Or what i would think was her mucus plug, its dim in our room but it was white, or cream colored an very sticky. It stuck to her fur. Her contractions had been at a halt for an hour and a half. Then as i was rubbing her head she got back up and shunned me again. Then the contractions started again, theyre about every 5 minutes. She has them and her legs shuffle a little, and she changes positions and stares at me like "help". In the past hour shes been all over the room, under my bed, in the corners, on a blanket placed on the ground, and now ending in her birthing box. She isnt meowing, but every 5 minutes her back ripples and her legs tighten up and she feels the need to change her position. These are definitely contractions, now if theyre just pre-game contractions, im not sure. But she seems pretty uncomfortable and wants me in the room but doesnt want me near her or touching her. So i heated up some coffee and im in for the long haul. Just hoping the long haul isnt going to be 24 hours. 

Thank you stefan, the daddy cat is a pixie bob, and my female is 1/2 bengal, 1/2 tabby. Im hoping for some begal-ish kittens with a pixie bob tail!!! I'll keep you guys updated.

Since she is so close to the male I'd see what happens if I let her see him once the kittens are feeding and gaining weight, under supervision.  A friend's cat was very very close to her brother and after a few days was always desparate to see him, and he was a great daddy.  But be very careful, maybe let her out to see how she reacts.  But don't let her out of the house.

Well lady bug has been in labor since 2am, since then she has delivered 4 kittens (so far)

Shes had 2 bobtails, and 2 full length! 

5 Kittens total. She had 3 bobtails, and 2 regular length tailed kittens. I hope shes done with labor, we waited an hour, and she would not stay in her box. I transferred the kittens to a box in the same room as her birthing box became too cluttered after 3 babies. After the 5th was born, she sat for a while, had some water, then darted towards the box with the 5 kittens. I did my very best to count all the placentas, but she made it very difficult. There is only 1 in question. After the 3rd one, i put the other two in the box, between the time i put the kittens in another box with a heating bad on low, she was meowing and delivering a 4th, BEFORE SHE CHEWED THE CORD TO THE 3rd! The 3rd and 4th were literally about 4 minutes apart. I had to snip 3 of the cords, all 3 were for the bobtails, im not sure if she just got confused and thought their cords were their tails lol. But shes in the box with fresh linens with all 5 kittens, they are trying to latch on and ive attempted to help but only 1 seems to get it. The rest have drifted off to sleep soundly with mom who you can tell officially loves them to pieces! She nearly clawed me alive when i tried to put her in the fresh box while i transported the kittens back with her. She just wanted to be with her babies. It has been a long night!

CONGRATULATIONS!! Thats such exciting news! I wish you all the very best. Both your cats are totally adorable. I'm sure the babies are gorgeous. Yay!