How Long Until My Kitty Will Give Birth?

Hi I am new here. I have read several things from this page and all seem very different. My kitty Nova is pregnant and I am guessing she is about 9 weeks. She went into heat and slipped out of the house around Feb 1st. She is getting really big and super lovey. She has had super diarrhea for about a week. Her milk glands have started to fill and I can feel the babies move pretty good.. Any advice for a super anxious grandma to be?

Hello Skye and welcome,
I'm a newbie too, you say Nova got out on the 1st of Feb, how long was she out for? Because by my calculations if she caught that day, she would be 79 days. Now that seems rather long to me, from what I've read on here, cats usually are pregnant for between 63 and 67 days. Could she have got out later?
Regards
Helen

Well she was normally an outside kitty.. But i tried really hard for 2 weeks to keep her in until she came out of heat.. Then she went back out.. So she may have gotten pregnant around Valentines Day.. I am just anxiously waiting. I kind of follow her around or if she disappears for a little while I go looking for her. Because it HAS to be about time!

Ok, so going from Valentines day, that would make her 66 days, so it could be any time now. Have you Seen any sort of discharge at all? From reading on here, she will have a plug that comes away shortly before she starts contracting.

Have you read this thread yet?
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/80724/all-about-pregnancy-labor-delivery-in-cats
Lots of handy tips in there.

I have been following on the Dora thread and reading. Not that I have seen. but she has been having some diarrhea for the last week, but could be due to the new kitty food i have been giving her. And i am not sure if her belly has dropped. She is more wide than round. And she just really does not move around all that much.

This is my Nova. She looks like she is about to pop

Could be the change in kitten food, but could also be because she is preparing her body to give birth, I have read that sometimes cats go more frequently before labour to give themselves more room. Must say that my Ginny has been more today than usual, had to remove more poo than usual, maybe we are getting close.
How old is Nova? My Ginny is about 9 & half months. If you want to read my story there is a thread on the Pregnant Cats and Kitten care called Ginny and also 1 on the New Kids on the Block forum called Hi I'm a Newbie ( I'll bump it up)

I am not sure how old she is. I found her at the river about a year ago.. so i would say maybe 2yrs. And she is getting to where she is just walking and pooping with diarrhea. I just had to clean myself and couch off  . and I saw a sign of worms.. 0.o which is crazy since i just wormed her about 2 months ago. but her booty is so red and irritated i tried to clean her and she just screamed and was trying to attack me poor thing. But i put up an album of her Nova's Pregnancy if you want to take a look and see if she looks similar to your kitty.

Meant to say I saw Nova's photo that you put up on the other thread and she looks gorgeous, I haven't put any photos up yet, can't do it from my mobile at the moment, but hopefully will be able to from my pc later today.

I have not seen any discharge from her hoohaa just from her red booty.. i was rubbing her belly ( and dont judge me for this) and i kind of opened her hoohaa up and there is no discharge or anything on the inside, so i would guess she isnt that close right now. I would give her about another week and she should be or already had these kittens. Since I dont know for sure when she got pregnant it is just a waiting game for me :/

Skye Brown said:

I am not sure how old she is. I found her at the river about a year ago.. so i would say maybe 2yrs. And she is getting to where she is just walking and pooping with diarrhea. I just had to clean myself and couch off 

. and I saw a sign of worms.. 0.o which is crazy since i just wormed her about 2 months ago. but her booty is so red and irritated i tried to clean her and she just screamed and was trying to attack me poor thing. But i put up an album of her Nova's Pregnancy if you want to take a look and see if she looks similar to your kitty.

Click to expand...

I would call a vet and check on her because of the diarrhea. It sounds severe. If it's been going on for a week she could be very dehydrated and it sounds like she's in a lot of pain when you tried to clean her.

You need to get her to a vet ASAP, especially since there is the presence of worms. If possible she needs to be dewormed before the kittens are born otherwise they are in serious jeopardy. 

Did you switch her food slowly? If not that could be why she's had an increase in diarrhea but it shouldn't be lasting for so long. You can put a little baby diaper rash cream on her butt to try and help with the inflammation until you can get her in. Use a very small amount as you don't want her to ingest too much. 

Cats are induced ovulators meaning they don't have to be in heat to get pregnant, and do not release any eggs until after the mating has occurred. Since you continued to let her out after it appeared she was done with her heat cycle she could have gotten pregnant at any time. So, I wouldn't try to use that time frame as your guide. She will have them when she has them. The bigger concern is getting her diarrhea under control and getting her dewormed. If she continues to lose nutrients this way she won't have enough left to properly produce milk for her babies. 

When you take her in also ask them about what should be done in regards to her diet. Many cats benefit from a bland diet for a few days to help their stomachs settle but she can't afford to not have the extra calories. So, it's a fine line that you need to address with them. 

Call your vet as soon as they open and get her in. This is NOT something you can afford to wait on. 

Well I will have to call on Monday. No vets around here are open on Saturday. But I did introduce kitten food slowly to her, but she also eats dog food. I know dog food is not as good for her, but I know it will not harm her. She just prefers it over Cat food. Always has. So that could be her problem. I gave her this home wormer. I read everything on it and it didnt have any warnings about pregnant cats on it. So hopefully she will be alright. But i will definitely get her to the vet and keep everyone posted on her condition. I could bet it is just the food she eats. My mother-in-law told me to put her on a fast for 24 hours of just fresh clean water to stop the diarrhea and then just give her can meat for a few days and then introduce the kitten food back in to her.. 

Do not put her on a fast! If a cat does not eat for more than 12 hours they are in danger of hepatic lipadosis ( fatty liver disease) which can cause death. She also needs nutrients as she is pregnant and has been sick for so long. Try giving her boiled chicken and rice and please take her to the vet. If you call the vet clinic there will be an emergency number on the answering machine - call it. I do not mean to alarm you but this is very serious and she needs to be seen right away.

Franksmom said:

Do not put her on a fast! If a cat does not eat for more than 12 hours they are in danger of hepatic lipadosis ( fatty liver disease) which can cause death. She also needs nutrients as she is pregnant and has been sick for so long. Try giving her boiled chicken and rice and please take her to the vet. If you call the vet clinic there will be an emergency number on the answering machine - call it. I do not mean to alarm you but this is very serious and she needs to be seen right away.

Click to expand...

I completely agree with everything said and I do mean to alarm you. This is an urgent situation and one that needs to be tended to immediately- it shouldn't have been allowed to happen for as long as it has been and it absolutely cannot wait until Monday. This much diarrhea has deprived her body of vital nutrients that the kittens need for their development, and is sapping her of the strength she needs to deliver them. Failure to take action can not only result in significant harm to the kittens, but is, quite literally, life threatening for the Mom. 

As mentioned, call your vet for an after hours/weekend number. If they do not provide one get online and start looking for the closest ER vet or for one who is open on the weekends. She does not necessarily need to see your vet, she just needs medical treatment. She must be pretty dehydrated by this point and is in desperate need of fluids. You can also call local shelters and see who they use. If you put in the legwork you will find a vet who is open on a Saturday. 

You can put her on a diet of boiled chicken (or all meat baby food) and rice, though I again emphasize this will not replace veterinary care and poses risks of it's own. Hopefully it will help with her diarrhea and give her some relief but she will NOT be receiving the nutrients she needs to allow for a safe delivery. 

Please, do whatever you have to do to get her to a vet first thing in the morning. Part of being a responsible pet owner is dealing with emergencies at whatever the cost. You can't change the fact that she is pregnant but you do need to act immediately to make sure she doesn't lose her life from it. Don't hope that she will be alright- make sure of it! 

Called the weekend vet and he said that i could give her some Pepto every few hours. That i COULD FAST her on food for 12 hours then start her on chicken broth w/ rice or kitten chow moistened with Kitten milk/plain yougart. He said she would be fine for the weekend, that if she seemed dehydrated I could give her some Pedialite until Monday when I can get her in to be seen. I do not have the funds until Monday anyway. So I will keep you posted on her condition. Also he told me I could try and put some Vasiline on her booty to help with the redness and irritation.

Please do not fast her. I am very surprised a vet would give such advice- it is very dangerous to fast a cat. Pedialite is a very good idea and some plain chicken with rice. It is honestly better to bring her in today most clinics will have credit care so you can wait to pay until you have the funds.

Well from what I told him (everything I have talked about on here), he didnt feel that she was so sever that she needed to be brought in right away. She is eating on some chicken broth and rice right now. I gave her 1ml of Pepto an hour ago. She has not used her litter box yet, so hopefully the pepto is working. But Monday I will definitely post her progress.

Well, Nova seems to be a little more energetic. I gave her some Kitten food mixed with rice and supplement milk. Gave her another dose of pepto. She is sleeping in her little area for now. Still some diarreha and leakage, but not as frequent as last night. More updates later.