My cat is pregnant! will she deliver safely?

I found out my cat is pregnant yesterday, as it was 3 weeks yesterday and her nipples are "pinking" However I'm worried about her size and having kittens. She is a year old but she is a small cat. probably about 6-7 pounds. Do you think she will deliver safely?

 Nobody can answer this for sure .  Most cats do manage OK,  even small cats  but sometimes there can be serious complications.  and that's more likely with a cat this small.  

Do you happen to know the size of the male(s) she mated with? 

 If your primary concern is the safety of your cat ,  you could choose to get a spay/ abort -- especially since it is still this early in the pregnancy ,  you really have that option.    And if you know people who want kittens,  you could   suggest they adopt from a shelter.  There are already so many homeless moggies on the streets or in shelters,  with  large numbers of them being killed for not being adopted --  including kittens. 

  If you decide for her to go through with the pregnancy  make sure you would be able to get her emergency medical care if needed,  including a c-section.  You might check the price at the nearest 24 hour emergency vet hospital.  Someone I know just paid over $2000 total  in LA.  

 I have seen some very sad posts on various websites when people let their cat get pregnant  and then she had complications and they could not afford the vet. 

Another option,  if you know exactly when she conceived,  is to get radiographs done shortly before she is due to check the size of her pelvis compared to the kittens heads,  and if the vet thinks she is too small,  you could do a scheduled c-section at your regular vet.  This would usually be less expensive than doing it at an emergency vet.  and can  be safer for the mother if she really is too small.   But if you're not sure of the dates and you do it too soon,  the kittens could be too premature to survive.   

  

 Is that the cat in your avatar?   She has a beautiful face and eyes.  

If the cats nipples are only now pinking she is only 3 weeks roughly pregnant. You should really get her spayed but I know a lot of people wont.

Your main concern is obviously the cat, take her tot he vets and they will check for any healthy problems, and will give you the ok to go along with the pregnancy if she is healthy. If you can not afford to get her spayed, please please do not let her have kittens, they are very costy, my kittens are two days old and I have already spent 75 pounds on them already and that's without worming them as there not two weeks.

If you do decide to carry on with the pregnancy you have to understand there are risks no matter how rare they are, they do happen!

However just to put your nerves at rest a little bit, I took in a stray pregnant cat who was roughly 10 months to a year old. She is very small for a cat but she has just delivered five beautiful healthy kittens. Most cats do not hazve trouble but some do and you have to be prepared. I did have to deliver one of the kittens for her as she was exhausted, In a few days time, I will be taking her and all the kittens to the vets for a check up which you should also do when the kittens are born. After your cat has delivered please spay her!

I actually strongly considered getting her spayed but (some people may not agree with this) I dont think I can bring myself to do it. I had an appointment to get her spayed but she accidentily got let out while I was sleeping. I only found her about 27 hours later and when I found her she was hanging out with an orange tomcat. I'd say his size was about 10 pounds.

and along with the cat population problem, I think it's sad and not fair to them which is why I'm even considering getting all the kittens spayed and neutered before I give them to their homes.

I do also know she got pregnant june 3. It has been 3 weeks this past monday which is how I know she is pregnant for sure because of her "pinking" nipples.

The cat in my picture is my little Pixie girl she is an Egyptian Mau mix. I tried looking up about this breed with having kittens because I wanted to see if they have complications but I found absolutely nothing on breeding this type of cat. I think I'm gonna make an appointment with my vet asap when he recovers from back surgery.

also, if I do have to help her in any way, how do I do so without harming her or the kittens? and what is the average littler size? can she still have up to 4-5 if she's a small cat? just so I'm prepared for the amount of kittens she could have.

Ok I understand,

It's a very good idea spaying all of her kittens before rehoming, that is what I am planning to.

Generally speaking your cat should be fine, but as I said before you have to be aware of the risks and your vet is the best person to explain them to you.

With helping do not in anyway touch her or help her unless she is having problems, if you have seen the kitten in the birth canal for more than 15 minutes and she is straining try gently easing the kitten out, do not tug or pull. With my cat after I gently helped it came straight out along witht he placenta. There are videos which can show you how to help and what to expect. It is certainly possible, my cat was tiny, I mean probably smaller than yours, she looked much younger than she was and she had five kittens so yes it is possible

Yes she could have 4 or 5 kittens.    I know a few 7 pound cats who have had 7 kittens,  even in a first litter.    I doubt she would have more than that  at her size.  but 4 or 5 would not be a surprise.   There is just no telling how many.   but an experienced vet might be able to feel right now how many there are.  Later it gets harder  to tell by palpating.    

Re what you can do to help her ,  for starters make sure she is getting a food high in animal protein.  either kitten food or an "all life stages" food for both cats and kittens. 

Here are a couple links about kitten birth, what is normal and abnormal,  how to help if needed and when you would need to get her to a vet if something goes wrong. 

This one is set out in a sort of outline   http://www.cat-world.com.au/parturition-birth-in-cats

This goes into some more detail  http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html

Make sure you have a vet on call and know how to get to the nearest 24 hour vet.

 Also as I mentioned before,  make sure in advance you would be able to pay for emergency care if required including surgery.  Probably it would not be necessary but you do not want to be in the situation of not having this figured out if your cat's life is in danger.   

Another thing to think of in advance --  IF for some reason your cat were unable or unwilling to care for the kittens ,  would your schedule allow you to do feedings every 2 - 3 hours for  the first couple weeks then at least every 4 hours until weaning?   ( or find someone else to do it)  

 If you KNOW ( like you have actually seen a parent's registration paper) that she has a lot of Egyptian Mau in her,  then  you might have to at least consider the possibility that she could have a  longer gestation period than the average cat.   I have heard they can go to 73 days.   That is for a purebred Mau.   I don't know how that would play out in a Mau mix.     Normally in most cats,  around 63-65 days is average and you would not want to let it go past 70 days .  So that could be a bit difficult not knowing what to expect.     

 If you do allow the pregnancy to continue ,  that is a good idea to have the kittens altered before they go to new homes.   That way at least you know you would not be responsible for adding a lot MORE cats to the population within a few generations.   

Even though this was started a few months ago I wanted to tell everyone that she delivered safely! She had 4 beautiful kittens who are now soon 4 months old! I kept 3 of them and a good friend of mine got 1. The mother was just spayed yesterday and the kittens are getting spayed and neutered in december! They are all spoiled little kittys!

Pictures, or it didn't happen, LOL!

Glad to hear about the outcome.

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The kittens! the picture was taken last week


When the kittens were about 1 week old There is 4 here, the little boy was just under all his sisters!

Such irresistible faces, they look so engaged. Love 'em.

Thank you! I love them to death! They are definately spoiled.

Hope you will now get her spayed.  Remember she can get pregnant again very soon after delivery, so don't let her out again until she is spayed.

BTW if you'd had her spayed as soon as she stopped calling once you knew she had been mated that would have been before any implantation, and possibly before conception which takes time in cats.  The first mating gives her hormones a kick and she ovulates a day or two later, and conception is another day or so on.  If you wait to see if she is pregnant she almost certainly will be. 

Yeah, I got her spayed once she stopped nursing. Her kittens are going to get spayed and neutered too within the next month.

Great you are getting the kittens done as well.

hi I have just read about your cat having her kittens ....
I have a cat who is about a yr old that I rescued and she is having kittens any day now but we have been told they may not live as she's to young ,
I'm so worried this will happen but reading your story made me feel a bit better as yours lived

Random Jacqui said:

hi I have just read about your cat having her kittens ....
I have a cat who is about a yr old that I rescued and she is having kittens any day now but we have been told they may not live as she's to young ,
I'm so worried this will happen but reading your story made me feel a bit better as yours lived

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random jacqui You have posted here in an old thread. You might want to start your own thread so that you can get help with your cat and her delivery when the time comes. Good luck.