Still No Kittens

It's been 16 days since we took our what seemed to be very heavily pregnant female into rescue, and 15 days since the vet told us "just a few days" and still no kittens. They are still very active inside her stomach, as I can see/feel them move around. We've been back to the vet and everything seems to be normal. Her belly has dropped enough that when she lays down, she *almost* doesn't look pregnant. Her nipples are not bright pink but are definitely large and in charge. She can no longer reach back to clean her backside, so as gross at it sounds, I take a wash rag and do it for her.

 We had an xray done when she first came in (not ideal but it's all they offered) and he let us know that she may have been on the earlier side of when kittens are visible on xray. If she's not had kittens or started the labor process by next Friday, he wants us to bring her in for another exam and possible inducing of her labor via oxytocin and c-section.

We have no idea what daddy could be since she was let outside right after her last litter of kittens (via the people who brought her to us) so I was wondering - since the kittens can have more than 1 dad in a litter, are all the eggs fertilized at once? Or can a fetus be older/younger than the others, delaying birth until all kittens are finished developing?

I've been sleeping in her room so that I'm on hand when the kittens are born in case she has issues, and so she'd get used to me before they came. She's blossomed from a very shy girl to running to me when I come in the room, though she hisses at anyone else who dares enter her domain.

Unless your vet works with a shelter or breeders they're really not very accurate with guessing how long a girl has left in pregnancy. 

Being mated over several days doesn't delay labour, it can be they didn't take on the first few days though. 

I wouldn't stress her with another unnecessary vet visit, she will have them when she's ready. No need to rush into a c-section, which can result in you having to hand raise the kittens. Oxytocin shouldn't be given to a cat not in active labour - but neither should x-rays be done on a pregnant cat....

I would absolutely not allow the vet to induce. Since nobody knows when she got pregnant, that would be very dangerous. Unless she seems to be in distress, there's no reason to interfere. The kittens will come when they come.

I'm suspicious of MDs who want to induce, too . A friend of mine let her doctor convince her to induce because he said she was "dangerously overdue" and her baby turned out to actually be premature. And that was an obstetrician, who really ought to know these things, while most vets are not reproductive specialists.

Agree, while she is well simply wait.  Has she been wormed and so on?

Yes, with Drontal & Strongid.

SSBCR said:

I was wondering - since the kittens can have more than 1 dad in a litter, are all the eggs fertilized at once? Or can a fetus be older/younger than the others, delaying birth until all kittens are finished developing?

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1. Nay, they are not necessarily fertilized at once. The possible fertilizing period is several days, so there may be several different dads (although most often they simply do looks different from one dad. Most moggies ARE a mix up).

Or they could have several successful matings over several days. (happens for example with breeders if the pair is allowed to mate perhaps a whole week).

So yes, it can be so the first fertilized may be a couple days older than the latest fertilized.

2. It is actually the other way around!  They can deliver them days apart!   So they tend to deliver them "just in time".    Although it happens the first is a premature one.

So a quite common scenario is, they deliver one or two, premature or healthy, and the labor stops although they have apparently still with babies inside.

Panic??  It depends. If they are stressed and in unfruitful labor, or in other difficulties - yes, do worry, contact your vet and be prepared to rush in.

If they are contend, unstressed, taking care of the already born, without any visible difficulties - be watchful, but take it easy.   She will deliver the rest when their time comes. Several hours later or a couple of three days later. 

Phone your vet if you feel for it, but there is no need to rush in.  Not yet.

Your protegé is a beauty!

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Good luck!

Delivering days apart is very, very rare.  Taking a break of several hours during labour is quite common. 

Cats are induced ovulators - the first mating sets off the process that leads to ovulation, and the cat releases several eggs at prety much the same time.  Then they are fertilised by whatever sperm is there, which is most often be from several different males if she has been freely mating outside.  It's a great strategy for her as it ensures genetic diversity in her offspring.

To have kittens of different maturity she would have to ovulate again several days later which is very, very rare.

Many years ago I fostered a cat who looked ready to burst when I collected her, and 2 weeks later she had 6 large healthy kittens.

Because of her history you simply have to sit and wait until either she has kittens, or is clearly unwell.  Hope all goes well.

OrientalSlave said:

Delivering days apart is very, very rare.  Taking a break of several hours during labour is quite common. 

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Agree kittens over days is rare, labour can be stopped due to stress, being moved or too many visitors while in labour can interrupt things. Rarely do they naturally deliver over 24 hours.