Pregnant kitty, questions:)

Okay, so here goes:
I have to cats, ginger (female) and jade (male) brother and sister from the same litters, but I believe they have different fathers...anyway, I've had them since they were 4 weeks, I rescued them. I was told by several vets I couldn't get them fixed at that time. Well, I waited until the appropriate time but my fiancé lost his job and we were doing really bad. Couldn't afford the measly amount it takes to get even one fixed (that's how bad), the way my luck goes as soon as we get back on our feet, and are about ready to get then fixed BAM ginger is pregnant, swollen nipples, the whole nine yards. We had noticed them getting frisky and had stopped them every time but in the hustle and bustle of a stressful month they did the deed behind our backs. So my question is, how soon should I expect ginger to deliver? And will the kits be healthy? We've been feeding her good quality food but lately she isn't eating as much as She was and is super active, running around like crazy one day, sleeping all day the next. I just wanted an educated guess because I want to know when to separate them so he doesn't bother her. I've set up a box with all sorts of blankets and she goes in there alot. I'm just worried shell have them when I'm gone and he will disrupt her or hurt the kittens. Please help?! **and I know I should've gotten them spayed and neutered but I literally could not afford it, and couldnt very well separate them for 24 hours a day**

I'm also worried about her size. She was the runt of her litter and she's very small, despite her age..will this impact the delivery?

They are preg about 65 days. The nipples get visibly rosy about day 20. The last two weeks you usually feel the kittens move.  So there are the check points to know when the delivery may be.

Everything else is guesses, and just to wait... (unless she is in a long fruitless labor, if so you dont wait, you contact your vet).

If the cats are good friends, and he is nice and helpsome with her, it is not sure you must separate them. Not so few males are acting help moms.

But if he IS bothering her, better to separate them already now.  The high preg must have it not stressed.  This is priority nr 1.

Her being small?  Many females are petite, and yet they do manage.

But if she is both young, small, and runt - yes it may be a problem.  If you are thinking on abortion - yes, medically it is surely fully possible, and some would recommend it.  You must make the decision yourself.

The kittens being from bro and sis is not necessarily dangerous. With a little luck they may be sound anyway.

Some links to read on whom I stole from my collegues, dont forget youtube films either:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnancy-and-delivery-in-cats
 
http://www.cat-world.com.au/parturition-birth-in-cats

http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-care/normal-cat-birth

http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens    ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )

Keep reporting and asking!

   Good luck!

 Welcome to our Forums!

Thank you StefanZ! I will check all those links!

Originally Posted by StefanZ  

If the cats are good friends, and he is nice and helpsome with her, it is not sure you must separate them. Not so few males are acting help moms.

But if he IS bothering her, better to separate them already now.  The high preg must have it not stressed.  This is priority nr 1.

Her being small?  Many females are petite, and yet they do manage.

But if she is both young, small, and runt - yes it may be a problem.  If you are thinking on abortion - yes, medically it is surely fully possible, and some would recommend it.  You must make the decision yourself.

The kittens being from bro and sis is not necessarily dangerous. With a little luck they may be sound anyway.

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StefanZ has given you a lot of great info. A couple of things I would like to add. Since your male is not neutered, he will need to be separated from her as soon as she gives birth. Cats can get pregnant shortly after giving birth.

While the inbreeding may not cause any birth defects, you do need to be prepared for the possibility. Also, as Stefan mentioned, is spay/abort an option for you? Given the inbreeding, her being young, small and the runt, spaying now may be the safer option since it's still early in the pregnancy.

If you are planning on allowing her to give birth, are you prepared for any medical emergencies during birth like needing a C-section? Having kittens will be expensive with all the extra food and litter since you should plan on keeping them at least 12 weeks before adopting them out. If there are any complications, it can get very expensive very quickly. Are you planning on keeping them? If not, do you know of good homes for them? Are you planning on spaying/neutering and vaccinating them before adoption? Just some things to think about and plan for now. Good luck.

Thanks for the added advice. I had assumed it was too late for an abortion because it is only at five weeks do you notice you cat to be pregnant and that it was too late, maybe I was misinformed? And yes, I am prepared for all of hose possibilities if any are the case. I love my animals and am planning on finding good homes for the kittens, and may even keep one. As for the vet care I am now looking for a lower cost good vet in my area to take both cats to and to call if an emergency were to arise. My boyfriend is going out of town (job related) for a month and I will most likely be alone for the birth. I have a spare bedroom I can dedicate to my queen (isnt that what a pregnant cat is called?) and I am planning on spaying/neutering both her,her brother and all kittens that she may have. I might be asking more questions if any problem arises. Should I start a new thread, if and when this happens? I will post another pic of her, Aerial view so you can see how small she is and if I should be concerned. Take care and thanks again!

I felt the kittens move today! Very strong kicks and she's nesting! I'm excited, I'll post pics of the kittens when they arrive!!

 Yes a pregnant or nursing cat or cat intended for breeding  or really just a mature female cat who is not spayed,  is called a queen.       

 You can notice the nipples at 3 weeks.    it's true that they usually dont really start showing in size  until 5 wks.   but sometimes it can be just a little earlier.    

Some vets will do spay/ abort after that.   so if you are considering that,   talk to them right away.    Shelter vets   & vets at low cost spay/ neuter clinics are generally more likely to be willing to do that because they know more about the tragedy of so many homeless kittens and cats being killed in pounds.    

   I think with her being so small , you do need to take into consideration the possibility of complications that could require emergency c-section.   that could cost $1000 or maybe twice that.  and I'm not making those numbers up,  it's actually what people i know have said it  was at emergency vets.  

 So if you are in touch with the lower cost good vet you mentioned,   ask about that ASAP.  Would you be able to have that vet on call if your cat got in difficulties,  about how much would it cost ,  and how would you pay for it?     Hopefully if you do decide to go ahead with the pregnancy  there will not be any serious problems but it is always best to be prepared because it  can happen!   and it is really tragic when the people can't afford the vet and can end up losing both the cat and kittens.  

Re  inbreeding you never know.   Often there are not obvious problems.   Occasionally such close inbreeding does cause a litter of badly deformed kittens.  but that's not really the norm.  It is more likely that if it did cause a problem it would be something affecting their health later on in life.  

It all depends on what genes they have --  like if they both inherited an uncommon recessive gene making them susceptible to some disease.  Ordinarily if they mated with unrelated cats  it would not be likely the other cat had that same gene.   But with a brother and sister they can have a lot that is identical in their genetic makeup.  so it's more of a risk they could both have the same bad form of a gene,   and could both give it to some kittens.   

  I'm not sure why you think they have different fathers.  If that were true that would make the risk less than if they were full siblings.    but it's pretty hard to be sure of that..... if it's just because they are different colors  that could happen even with the same parents.    And  cats with the same parents can look different in size, shape etc. -- maybe taking after different parents or grandparents.  

 This red classic tabby girl is beautiful!   I love that deep red color. 

Thanks! I love her, we call her squeak!

She's a cute Squeak!   just wonderful markings.  

  OK.    we cross posted  so  I had missed that post that you felt the kittens move.     She probably only has a couple weeks to go.    Personally I would not want to do such a late abortion.    so if you can plan ahead for what to do in case  she would need emergency surgery ,  then I would just wait for the kittens to arrive.   Hopefully she will manage just fine.   I do know some quite small queens who have had normal natural births. 

  If you read those links Stefan posted earlier ,  that will help you know what signs would mean she needs to get to a vet.   

maewkaew said:

She's a cute Squeak!   just wonderful markings.  

  OK.    we cross posted  so  I had missed that post that you felt the kittens move.     She probably only has a couple weeks to go.    Personally I would not want to do such a late abortion.    so if you can plan ahead for what to do in case  she would need emergency surgery ,  then I would just wait for the kittens to arrive.   Hopefully she will manage just fine.   I do know some quite small queens who have had normal natural births. 

  If you read those links Stefan posted earlier ,  that will help you know what signs would mean she needs to get to a vet.   

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okay, will do! I'll keep you updated!

I'm very glad your not aborting. I know lots of kittens and cats need homes, but the ones waiting to be born deserve a chance too. Good luck!!

bobbiandcharlie said:

but the ones waiting to be born deserve a chance too. Good luck!!

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I agree thank you!

Hey everyone it's me again! Haha. Well, I've been feelin the babies move for about two days now. I don't know when they started moving because I wasn't checking- however I've noticed my little girl has been getting these weird hiccups. Sporadically her body twitches. It only had happened twice today but I was thinking is this contractions? She's been trying to get in our bedroom, very affectionate and she loves my closet in which I set her a box temporarily until I clean out my spare bedroom. My other question is this- when my boyfriend and I are out of the house should we keep her in this room since it may be close? I don't want my other cat to disrupt or harm her like I mentioned above. Also, it appears as if he has some dried blood on her private part although I can't be sure that's what it is. I know she's not secretin anything otherwise it would be case for alarm unless she is about to give birth right?

It might be early contractions. . .or maybe the babies have hiccups :lol3:. Can you imagine a whole litter with hiccups inside your belly? That must feel crazy!

Yes, keep the male away from her until she's spayed or a month after he's been neutered---as was said, females can get pregnant immediately after giving birth, and even if he's neutered right now he may still have retained sperm in his tubes for a while. If you have him neutered VERY soon, it should be safe to let him be around her after a month, and that's about the age that the kittens will start to play and he might want to play with them (some toms kill kittens but some are very good daddies; you have to keep an eye on him until you know which camp he's in). Keeping her in your bedroom while you're out would be a good idea.

Thank you!!!

Hey guys, thought I would update! My cat had four beautiful healthy kittens last night around 7pm. She had no trouble at all and is very attentive. Here's a pic
!

Congrats! Too cute!!

 I'm so glad to hear that everything went well for beautiful Squeak .    

 Looks like she is being a good mama cat.