first time here :)

hi i have four feline babies 3 were feral that i saved and one is a seal point siamese two of my babies are fixed the older ones. and my newest edition which we thought was a female turned out to be a lil guy. so my lil guy ended up impregnanting my 6 yr old female that was still intact   she is due anyday now this will be her first litter and she just started her prelabor this morning. my lil guy will be getting neutered this week. i dont think she will be having a large litter because she is a smaller cat and i dont feel but a couple lumps that move about. any suggestions are welcome. i am a nervous granny

First, welcome to TCS! It sounds like you have done some wonderful work in rescuing feral cats in need. 

Do you have any experience with raising kittens? Since it sounds like she is close to being due hopefully you have a birthing box set up for her and have your birthing kit ready. At a minimum it should include extra towels and blankets, a notebook with your vet and emergency vet's numbers in it, and a scale that weighs in grams. Weighing the kittens at the same time everyday is the most important thing you can do for the first few weeks as weight loss is the primary sign that there is a problem. 

Also, be certain that your birthing box is in another room away from the other cats. Most new Moms are going to see other cats as a threat to her babies and you don't want there to be any fights. Also remember that she can get pregnant again very quickly after giving birth so make sure she has no access to the intact male. If possible I would get him neutered ASAP but remember he is still fertile for several weeks after the surgery. I would make sure that they have no contact until after she is spayed as well. 

If you have some time look through some of the other threads in the Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care section. Reading other people's experiences will give you more insight on what is to come and may answer questions you didn't even know you had! There are also a lot of helpful articles at www.thecatsite.com/t/249018/tcs-resources-thread-pregnant-cats-kitten-care-articles-and-threads . I also really like this article: www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html  . I think it does a great job of explaining what to expect with labor and delivery and outlines some of the complications that can arise and how to handle them. 

Finally, do whatever it takes to make sure you or someone else is present for the labor in case anything does go wrong. She will let you know how involved she wants you to be but it is important that someone be there in case she needs help. 

I am asking a mod to move this thread to the Pregnant Cats and Kitten section so that you can get more feedback and advice. Please, ask more specific questions if you have them and be sure to let us know how it goes! 

Good luck! 

Do get any other unneutered cats fixed ASAP, don't let the recently fixed male near her after she has the kittens.  He will remain fertile and able for a while and cats can get pregnant again very soon after birth, even when nursing a litter of kittens.  Find out how soon after delivery the vet will neuter the pregnant cat and take her along then.

he is getting neutered friday and no he will not be allowed around her. she had her babies today 5 live one was stillborn they all are doing well momma needed help cleaning off the babies but she did a good job. question about the stillborn it was fully developed but when it came out the placenta was wrapped around its sack is that what caused its death? i tried cpr and rubbing it and everything, but i could just tell it was passed when it came out i had a birthing box for her but this morning she came to me and wanted her belly rubbed like she has been last few days. but i could feel a couple strong contractions coming so i put a blanket in the closet and took her about half hour to deliver the first baby and then the rest came faster than she could clean them. she is resting and cuddling with her babies now. now should i keep her on the soft food as well as kitten food until she is done weaning?
 

also is it normal that a still born is followed by a live birth?
 

Sillbirths and live deliveries can occur in any order, and the placenta is a different shape in kittens to people.  A human placenta is like a dinnerplate, a cat's one is like a ring with the kitten in the middle (zonary, a dog is the same).  It's unusual to get kitten and placenta togeather and that might be why the kitten was stillborn - the placenta detached too early.

Let her eat as much food as she wants, kitten food if you have it.  Also introduce a variety once the kittens start on her food - they don't need weaning, they wean themselves.  Raw mince is often popular, try different flavours of kitten / cat food, and the cheapest fillets of frozen white fish cooked were popular with the last litter I fostered.

thank you! i also noticed theres a runt and hes having a hard time competing for a dinner spot. should i buy some kitten formula and bottle just in case
 

Are you weighing them each day?  That's the best way to work out if there's a problem.  Today is Monday, if you don't have scales get those, you could get a bottle etc. but the most important thing is to know if he's putting on weight.  If he is, don't give him a bottle.  Normal milk bar behaviour can look very rough to us.

ok i will do that and thank you.. they are so beautiful glad mom isnt camera shy she let me get some shots of the lil ones nursing.

my mama cat gave birth this morning all seem well but my mom cat wont leave kittens to drink or use litter pan is this normal for a first time mama cat?

Pretty normal. In the wild thdy might get eaten if she leaves, after all. Put the litterbox and food and water dishes near the kittens, where she can still see them when she's in the box or eating/drinking. Make sure she gets lots of good food, as much as she wants, kitten food if possible. While nursing she'll eat at least 2-3 times as much as normal, maybe even more. Canned food will help keep her hydrated so she can keep up her milk supply.

thanks she has canned and hard food right by her also water. i will move the litter box closer. dont think the runt of the litter is going to make it, he wont suckel and is very lethargic
 

OrientalSlave said:

Are you weighing them each day?  That's the best way to work out if there's a problem.  Today is Monday, if you don't have scales get those, you could get a bottle etc. but the most important thing is to know if he's putting on weight.  If he is, don't give him a bottle.  Normal milk bar behaviour can look very rough to us.

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I totally agree. It's always smart to have some KMR and a bottle on hand just in case but it's best to let the milk bar shenanigans play out as they will. If you are getting weights everyday then you will know if he's getting enough to eat even though it may look like he's not. 

And yes, let her eat as much dry and wet food as she wants while she is nursing. She's going through so many calories she needs all the extra ones she can get!

I'm sorry to hear about the stillborn but I'm glad the rest of the labor went well and that you still have five healthy babies. The pictures are absolutely adorable and from what I can tell it looks like you have at least three torties who are almost always female. Have you thought of names yet? 

She has probably eaten the placentas which will keep her going for a couple of days.

Are you weighing them each day at about the same time?  A gain of at least 10g each most days shows all is well.  You need a cheap set of electronic digital scales, and weighing in grams is far easier than fractions of an is simpler, plus 10g is a nice round number to remember.  I record the results in an Excel spreadsheet.

Don't let her out - she can get pregnant again very quickly, and you also don't want to risk her having an accident and leaving you with tiny babies to handrear.  Ask your vet how soon after delivery they will spay her.

She needs to be let eat as much as she wants, ditto the kittens, prepare for needing massive amounts of food and cat litter.

mom cat has not been outside in 6 years when i found her. her mom abandoned her at a friends shed outside and she had a terrible upper respritory infection and covered in fleas. i took her to vet got her meds for her sickness  found out she was only 2 weeks old and bottle fed her. she got impregnanted because we thought we had rescued a girl kitten and it turned out to be a boy he is being neutered friday. shes confined in a room and not allowing other cats to go in there. i honestly think she gets upset when her babies cry and feels the need to be by them at all times its her first time. i had to hold the bowl of soft food up to her while she let the babies nurse and she would eat it like she was starving, poor thing. i tell her its ok to go eat and she just talks to me wish i understood cat language lol..unfortunately the runt of the litter didnt make it through the night the rest of them have big fat bellies and are doing great.
 

the runt didnt make it through the night unfortunately i knew it was going to happen because i would rub his mouth to a teet and he wouldnt even try to nurse and he was so skinny and lethargic. the rest are doing great got fat bellies and constantly eating. thank you i cant wait to take more pictures as they grow. no names yet i want to wait until their personalities come out and take them to vet and find out for sure which are boys and girls when they get their first shots.
 

Don't let the male near her, even after he's neutered. She can get pregnant again very quickly, and he can retain sperm in the tubes for a while after neutering (at least a month, although there are documented cases of horses impregnating mares up to 3 months after being gelded, so it could possibly be that long for cats too). And do get her spayed as soon as the vet will do it. . .you're lucky she hasn't gotten pyometra, after 6 years of cycling constantly it's a fair possibility.

ok good to know that. i will talk to the vet about the pyometra when i take her in to have her checked out with babies
 

Pyometra is a risk if you don't get her neutered as soon as the vet will do so.  Make sure to deal with worming when you get them checked.

kittens and momma will get a full physical and anything that needs to be taken care of. first set of shots at 8 weeks?

i cant get her spayed until the kittens are weaned thats what i read on a post here