How Long Until My Kitty Will Give Birth?

Honestly the vet you talked to does not sound like he/she is very knowledgeable cats ( a lot of vets concentrate on dogs). Pepto is similar to aspirin which is toxic to cats. Here is an article written by a vet on what the research says about giving pepto to cats (http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/does-pepto-bismol-work-for-cats-and-dogs). It is up to you if you want to give it to her, but I wanted to let you know there is a risk.

Things that are safe to give to cats is canned pumpkin (not pie filling), metamucil, plain yogurt or probiotics and slippery elm bark. She still needs to see a vet but these things may help tide her over-though because she is pregnant and has been sick for a week I am not advising to wait to see a vet. Also because the kitten food may be the reason she is sick, because it is new food, I would not give that and just give her boiled chicken and rice (no broth).  

Nova resting in her birthing area

Momma definitely does not feel good, but has a full belly.

Just fed round 2 of new food. She loves it. She has slept all day.

I'm still in agreement with FranksMom- I would not be giving her Pepto and I very much question the advice given by your vet. It sounds to me like they just didn't want to go to work on a weekend, regardless of the animal's health. 

It's good that she is keeping in the bland diet but I have to be honest, she looks VERY sick and VERY dehydrated. She is clearly in desperate need of SubQ fluids. 

I would keep her confined to just one room so she has absolutely no access to the dog food. I would also be adding some warm water to her mix of kitten food and rice (hopefully you are feeding her wet food only as kibble is going to be too hard on her stomach) to try and increase her fluids. If you are giving her dry food I would stop immediately and give her: 1) boiled chicken, 2) all meat baby food (no garlic or onions) or 3) wet canned kitten food. 

I am VERY concerned about her going into labor in this state and would still urge you to get her to a vet sooner than Monday. But, it sounds your mind is made up. I do hope she and her kittens don't  suffer because of it. 

I appreciate all of your concerns and advice but you sound very negative at the same time. i trust the vet i go to. nothing he has ever told me to do with my animals have ever harmed them. and her looking very sickly, well would you feel good after you have diarrhea for a week and your anus is inflamed and painful? No. PLease do not put me down because i cannot get her to the vet until Monday. she is taking in fluids, she is eating and her bowels are becoming more solid.. I believe you genuinely have concern for my baby but i am doing the best i can. I came to this site to get more knowledge of what to expect from my pregnant baby in this last stretch of her pregnancy.. and have mostly received negativity that points to me being "a bad cat owner" because i have not rushed her to the kitty ER. I will continue to post updates on her for those who aren't on the side lines judging my decisions not to rush her to the ER, but instead have tried the home remedies. I don't have money like that. Thanks.

sleeping momma

Now can you imagine going into labor in this state? This is where all the concern comes in. Because if she isn't physically strong enough to go though the delivery then you are going to find yourself in a super emergent situation. If a baby gets stuck in the birth canal and she doesn't have the strength to push them out you will have no choice but to get her to a vet and even then it is unlikely that the kitten will survive. The cost of this kind of emergency care will far exceed what it would cost to find a vet open on the weekend who could help with preventative measures. 

I'm sorry if you feel I am being negative. My goal is not to berate you but to try and get you to see the domino effect that her stomach illness is going to play into her delivery. There is nothing wrong with home remedies in addition to veterinarian prescribed medications and treatments. However, you need to ensure that her fluid levels are up and that the underlying problem has been taken care of before relying on them. With as much diarrhea as she has had she likely needs a dose of SubQ fluids to replenish her. And, you need to be sure that the home remedies you are relying on are, in fact, safe. 

In regards to your vet's advice in administering Pepto Bismol: I would like to refer you to a 2011 edition of the Journal of Veterinary Medicine which states that there is an aspirin derivative in the product that is highly toxic to cats, to the point that just two to three doses can be fatal. http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=752242&sk=&date=&pageID=4 . I would also refer you to an article on the website Catster which explains the dangers at an even greater length: http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/does-pepto-bismol-work-for-cats-and-dogs . Please, do not give her any more, as it is likely to increase her symptoms and cause significant gastrointestinal damage. So no, I don't have a lot of faith in your vet, given the blatantly wrong information they have provided you with. 

Finally, you stated in your original post that you wanted "any advice." And that's what you got. If you have specific questions then please, ask them and myself or other users will do their best to answer. But I for one cannot ignore advising on what is nothing short of a life threatening situation. It would be morally reprehensible not to. You can choose to accept this advice or to not, but, until she has seen a vet and has been properly treated I will continue to say it. Whether you choose to listen or not is your choice. 

TCS is a site that is filled with knowledgable users who can offer a great deal of advice and support. But, that advice is not always going to be what you want to hear. The majority of us are here looking out for the best interest of the animals and are going to say what that is, regardless if it hurts your feelings or not. 

Skye Brown said:

I appreciate all of your concerns and advice but you sound very negative at the same time. i trust the vet i go to. nothing he has ever told me to do with my animals have ever harmed them. and her looking very sickly, well would you feel good after you have diarrhea for a week and your anus is inflamed and painful? No. PLease do not put me down because i cannot get her to the vet until Monday. she is taking in fluids, she is eating and her bowels are becoming more solid.. I believe you genuinely have concern for my baby but i am doing the best i can. I came to this site to get more knowledge of what to expect from my pregnant baby in this last stretch of her pregnancy.. and have mostly received negativity that points to me being "a bad cat owner" because i have not rushed her to the kitty ER. I will continue to post updates on her for those who aren't on the side lines judging my decisions not to rush her to the ER, but instead have tried the home remedies. I don't have money like that. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I'd like to respond to this post, if I may. EB24 is doing everything she can to help you and to help Nova. She is not responding negatively to you at all. She has done nothing but try to help you, try to answer your questions, and she has done so in a wonderful manner. While you may not like what she's saying, she is being realistic. 

Nobody is judging you for being a bad cat owner. EB24's concern is for the coming kittens and for the mama cat. She's giving you the absolute best advice she can with the information she has from you. She can do nothing less. She is worried that Nova may not be able to give birth properly and that a sick mama cat may not be able to take good care of her babies. 

We all wish Nova the best of luck with her vet appt on Monday and with giving birth.

Nova Update:

She is eating well. I am adding extra water to her food mix so she will take in more. She has an appointment for the morning, so I will give updates after. She is still loving and wants affection. Baby are moving like crazy and her tummy has gotten tight. Not sure if it is from a full tummy or if she is just growing and babies dont have enough room. But non the less, she seems more comfortable than she has been.

Hope she's doing better today. Did you stop giving her the Pepto-Bismol? I agree with the others that it can be toxic to cats.

The advice to fast her for 12 hours is not out of line and is highly unlikely to cause hepatic lipidosis. It's pretty standard to fast cats for 12 hours before a surgery. Also, a lot of people feed only twice a day, which means kitty is going 12 hours or more between meals on a regular basis without any problems. Going 3-4 days without food can precipitate a crisis, but even that is not an absolute. There will always be some cats who come through with no issues and others whose bodies react badly much more quickly.

Let us know how the vet visit goes.

Nova Update.
Vet gave her a clean bill of health aside from a case of worms. he gave her the worm med and powder to put in her food to help with her gut. he says she is a little over mid term and should expect babies in about 2 weeks. she was not deydrated at all.

her cone of shame. her hiney was very inflamed so they shaved her and applied cream. she has to wear it for a few days.

Glad the vet visit went well!  I hope she is feeling better very soon!

Nova is resting. she seems very sore and angry about her cone of shame. while cleaning and applying new butt paste she had a 10in worm come out. glad to know the wormer is working.. more updates later.

I'm so glad to hear that her appointment went well, and that she is further away from delivery than you were thinking. Hopefully this will allow her body time to heal so that she will have enough strength for delivery. 

Hopefully the wormer has enough time to work so that the kittens aren't born with them but this is something you are going to need to watch for. 

Glad to hear shes ok...keep me posted!!

Nova is doing much better today. her hiney is not as red and inflamed. looks like a booty hole again. she is still eating and drinking. so i think tomorrow i will take her cone of shame off. her bowels are not fully solid yet but isdefinitely not as runny as before.so she is getting there. have seen a lot of dead worms in her poo so Im very glad the wormer is working. although she has her cone on she is playing and being the loving kitty i know her to be.