Question about My Pregnant, Petite Cat.

Hi. I have a 10 month old kitty. She is pregnant, but she is very petite. I'm worried she may have trouble giving birth. Please help me! She is my cat, and she is my life (thus my my username: mycatismylife). I love her very much. Can you please help me?

Hi and welcome to The Cat Site. I have never raised any kittens. You have posted in the right forum to get some answers. Just keep checking here and I am sure there will be many who have had experience with pregnant cats and kittens who will help you.

There are several different answers, depending on what you really want.

If you want to play it safe, do spay / abort NOW,  safeguarding the mothers health. Besides, you want to spay anyway, sooner or later.

If you by any reason dont want to abort (and want to spay later when the kittens are weaned), you CAN hope for the best.  Read on, prepare as well you can, and take it easy.  After all, most cat females are visibly smaller than the male, and some are real petite, kitten size.  Most of them succeed excellently even with a litter of 6.

Also, quite many are young mothers. In nature they get pregnant early, on their first or very latest, second heat as there are always fertile toms around.

There is a higher risk for complications compared with fully grown, but not dramatically higher.

And 10 months isnt not SO very young either.  

We had a recently example of two who did got preg at 4 months, and delivered without big problems.

Some few of the young mothers are unsure in their mother duties, but the physically they usually manage.  So, be sure you do have  kitten replacement milk and suitable gears ready and waiting.

The third variation is you try to be smart, and deliver them by a cesarean.  Which is fine as far as emergency cases go  (costly!), but we dont recommend to sneak in being "smart". Unless you know exactly when they did mated. Reason? Kittens dont manage premature deliveries well.

Human babies can be born / cesarean very early, and manage with just a little help. Two month early isnt nothing extreme.

Cats dont manage, more than a couple of days early, and the premature is in danger, even if the owner tries to help.  So if you guess wrongly, you do have a litter of dying premature kittens on you, and you are doomed to an uphill fight to try and save at least a couple of them.

I dont know if I answered your questions, MyCatISmylife.

You are welcome with further questions and comments.

  Good luck!

  Welcome to our Forums!

ps.  Before you make any decision, I recommend you do consult your vet for a check up, AND discuss it over with him/her.

I know that my cat mated on the 30th of April, so she's about 4 weeks pregnant. I DO NOT want to abort her kittens/pregnancy. I know I sound stupid, but I don't want to end the lives of little unborn souls. I know of the cat overpopulation, but I will be keeping all of her kittens. She's very petite, so I am unsure wether she will be okay. I have heard of some cats dying when giving birth, so I just want to make sure she'll be okay. She's got a little nesting box with some old clean washed towels in there. She loves to go in there and mess them all up and hide under them. I love her very much, and that is how I chose my username: mycatismylife, because she is my cat and she is my life. To all smart cat lovers out there on this website: I need your advice and your help! She is my first pregnant cat, so I'm new at this. Please help! Thank you! God bless to all pet lovers!

Ok, so plan for scenario 2. She is 7 weeks now, 2-3 left.  Read on (feks the articles on our site, and other threads here), prepare as well as you can.

Have knowledge of your vet, day and night.  theirs phone nr etc...

Make sure the vet feels you are his paying patient, so you dont need to hesitate to phone him when in need of phone advice.  So perhaps a visit with check up, deworming etc...

If you have nearby someone experienced with preg cats, you can try and get this person to help too. Perhaps a rescuer, perhaps a breeder.  At least, some advices, and if they are willing to give advices if there are complications.

Chances are good, but there are risks.  Both at delivery and afterwards, she not understanding what she shall do.

Our forumites manage often surprisingly well any complications. Most people tend to grow in moments of great need, average mom/dad changes into a great hero!  

But. You are asking for help. The thruth is, YOU must go through it. Nobody of us is at your place, even if sometimes we can give advices almost minute for minute.

Please continue with reports and questions.

Good luck!

Hi, my cat is also a petite 10 months old who was expecting, she had 2 beautiful healthy kittens this morning, one at 2.40am which I watched her deliver she was fine. I was ready to assist if need be, but she did it all herself cleaned up and nursed the kitten, then she rested & restarted labour a few hours later and the second one arrived at 9.30am (UK) time, again all was fine. I would advise that you try and be there when she delivers and keep an eye on her, watching videos on you tube reassured about what to expect when a cat is in labour and how they deliver and also how to help if you are needed. if you have a good relationship with your cat she will probably let you know when she's going into labour, as mine did so I put her in her nesting box, but she jumped out and gave birth on my bed next to me, she is now in her nesting box and being a great mummy although we suspect they're may be 1 more kitten due, good luck xx

Thanks! I am very grateful for all of your advice!

KellyAnn, welcome to the Forums!  Good luck!

Thank you stefanZ, no more kittens have arrived so I think she's done with 2 but its nice and easy for her.

Also, her nipples are a peach-pinkish color. Those who suggest aborting the kittens, save your breath. I have prepared for these kittens and are looking forward to them.

Aww, good luck! Ignore anyone who tells you to abort, it's the most magical thing watching a mummy with her kittens, xx

mycatismylife said:

Those who suggest aborting the kittens, save your breath. I have prepared for these kittens and are looking forward to them.

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kellyannpink said:

Aww, good luck! Ignore anyone who tells you to abort, it's the most magical thing watching a mummy with her kittens, xx

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Sorry but I just want to point out that no one has forced the issue of a spay/abort. I think StefanZ did a great job of laying out all the options you had in front of you. You chose to continue the pregnancy, which is an absolutely fine choice, and no one has said otherwise. If anyone does, they are simply expressing their opinions in response to your original question (not everyone reads all the comments before offering their advice). As the adage goes, "if the shoe fits, wear it. If not, throw it away." So, don't immediately assume people are going to be on you for bringing the litter to term and, if anyone is, just take it with a grain of salt. Most people here are simply trying to help in the best way they can. 

The best thing you can do at this point is read as much as you can to be as prepared as you can. Looking through older threads is very helpful, as is reading through these links: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249018/...regnant-cats-kitten-care-articles-and-threads . Start preparing your birthing kit and make sure you are set up with a vet you trust and know you can get ahold of in case of an emergency. In addition to creating a birthing box for her be sure you block off any areas where you don't want her to have the kittens (such as under the bed or dresser). Most Queens do best when confined to one room with all their essentials. This way she can have her privacy and it makes kitten proofing much easier on you. Her age and size do make her a higher risk preg so be sure you take the time to really know what is involved with labor and delivery so that you know if you need to intervene or not. Another great article on this subject can be found here: http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html . 

Finally, be sure you are feeding her a high quality kitten food from this point forward. If possible let her free graze dry food and give her wet food 2-4 times a day. And, remember that she can get pregnant again anytime after giving birth so if she's used to going outside now is the time to bring her in full time to get her used to it. From this point forward she needs to remain indoors and away from any intact males until after she is spayed. 

Good luck as you make your preparations. Please, continue to ask questions as you need to. The more specific you are the better advice you will get. 

My petite slender cat had 6 kittens.  It was tough for her.  I'd suggest being there when your cat gives birth.  My cat had a really hard time with the first kitten, and then she was so exhausted that by the time she had the last one - hours later - she could barely take care of it.  I had to help her with some of the umbilical cords and sacks because she just couldn't do it.

After the birth, she had no energy at all.  She also bled so much that I was worried she needed surgery.  Turns out no, she just had some extra tears because of the problem she had opening up the birth canal wide enough for the kittens to pass through.

Since the first two or three days, however, she's done great.  The kittens thrived and are healthy, and we didn't even get a runt.  (I think it helped that she ate kitten food throughout the entire pregnancy. It was a planned pregnancy - though we never expected 6!)  The kittens hit every milestone.  I think she's about ready to stop nursing - poor momma, all those teeth!

I was really concerned for the first month because she seemed to lose weight for a long time after they were born, but she's at a good weight now.  Compared to my male cat, man, she's scrawny, but that's just how she is and always will be.

She probably had extra complications because she's so slender.  But it worked out fine in the end.  Just try to be there with her if you can, and expect it to take longer than a standard labor, especially if it's her first litter.

Good luck!

ck2d said:

My petite slender cat had 6 kittens.  It was tough for her.  I'd suggest being there when your cat gives birth.  My cat had a really hard time with the first kitten, and then she was so exhausted that by the time she had the last one - hours later - she could barely take care of it.  I had to help her with some of the umbilical cords and sacks because she just couldn't do it.

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My tip is to have dextrose handy also for the mom, not only for weak kittens.  Dextrose = Glucose sugar, that perks extra energy in  instantly, in them cats and us humans.  White caro syrup or honey are alternatives, but dextrose is best.

I agree with you CK2d being there at the delivery is essential, especielly if you suspect there may be complications.