is she too small?? HELP!

HI THERE,

i gave my cat to my sister to look after her in june when i was doing training for work away from home. my sister had her until the 13th august when i returned. when i seen her i realized she looked rather larger around the waste than normal, not too big but a little bigger.

my sister said she could be pregnant as she got out a few times and was in heat 3 times when she was there. (i know she should have been spayed, but she was an indoor cat and my sister was warned not to let her out)

on august 15th i took her to the vets to be checked, they confirmed she was pregnant with about 3-5 kittens and she was about 4 - 5 weeks pregnant.

now exactly a month later.. so 8 - 9 weeks pregnant she has not increased much in size...she is a little bigger but from pictures and videos of pregnant cats on the internet at the same stage she doesn't seem as large at all... :S

i have fealt her stomach also and can feel and see slight movement but only on her left side, is this normal?

i am just wondering if maybe the vets have getting the dates wrong or the amount of kittens wrong? or if this is normal as she is a small cat anyway?

additional info:

she is a year old herself today (11/09/2013)

she was the runt of her litter, so is and has always been small

here is a pic of her also as a birds eye view so you can see for yourself.

Guessing the dates is no exact science. The tip is, when yOU feel them move, it is two weeks left.

I suspect the kittens will be quite small, under average.

As you do have access to a good vet, you can of course consult him again. Perhaps even should. 

Living kittens will come when they they come, and it will be as it will be.  The danger here is one or two of them died. It it didnt dissolved you want a vet to help the cat.

Mom being small isnt by itself necessary dangerous. Many female cats are petite.

Good luck!

If they could even tell she was pregnant she must have been at least a few weeks at that time.    and if you're seeing movement that would usually be within the last few weeks.    so I doubt they are that far off in the estimate of how far along she is.  I think she must  be at least 7 weeks. 

 As Stefan said it could be the kittens are small size    Or it  may be a small litterz  too which is why she has not grown a lot..  Íf you see movement only on one side it may mean she only has kittens in one 'horn' of the uterus.    It could be the embryos in the other horn died and the tissue was reabsorbed by the mother's body ( which can happen if it's before the bones harden).    IF that happened , there could be various reasons - some problem of genetics or development that they were not normal,  or an infection on that side,  or that side of the uterus got twisted,  etc. 

As Stefan says many female cats are petite and still don't have a problem giving birth.   But you should definitely at least be prepared by having a vet on call or knowing the directions to get to the nearest 24 hour emergency vet ,  and have their phone number handy,   and also figure out the money situation in case you would need to pay for a c-section which can be pretty expensive especially at an emergency vet.     Hopefully she can have a natural birth but it is just best to be prepared.  

Just because cats are indoor cats is not a reason to not get them spayed.   For one thing,  cats in heat are very talented at escaping.     We hear it all the time on this forum that a cat was not spayed because she was supposed to be kept indoors,  but she still ends up getting out and getting pregnant.  

  But even if they don't get out,  going in heat over and over WITHOUT getting pregnant is not good for their health;  it puts them at risk for cysts and  uterus infection  which can be deadly.   So it's really much healthier to get them spayed.  ( which also lessens the risk of mammary cancer ) 

  Please do go ahead and have her spayed which you can do when the kittens are about 8 or 9 weeks old.    make sure to keep her securely inside until then  because cats can get pregnant even while they are nursing a litter.  and that would be very hard on her.   not to mention it would mean more kittens who need homes.  

Some articles about cat birth to read in advance...     

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnancy-and-delivery-in-cats

 A short article on normal cat birth  http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-care/normal-cat-birth

 A more detailed article about  cats giving birth ,  what is normal, what is not normal/ possible problems,   when to help,  and when to see a vet.   http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-care/cat-birth-–-when-wait-and-when-worry

& there are some more articles there about cat pregnancy, raising kittens etc.    http://www.icatcare.org/taxonomy/term-test/20/0

Hi,

thank you both for your advice!

i phoned the vets before and they have told me i'd do more harm bringing her in as she is very agitated at the vets and in the car.

they told me to give her around another week and a half, and if still nothing to take her in then? i don't know if that is a good thing! :/

they also told me to refrain from picking her up, but i have been because she likes to run up my legs and into my arms for me to carry her, she has always been very active and energetic in that way, but didn't realize it could harm her kittens? the vet also told me to check see if she is producing milk by giving a slight squeeze of her nipple and that way you can tell if she is less than a week away from birth?

- i tried this and there seemed to be little white dots appearing on the nipple, but nothing dribbling or anything.... is that the milk?

i have made her a nest box in my bedroom as it is the quietest place in my home but she does not seem interested in it instead she sleeps at the bottom of the bed :S

also would under average size kittens be a problem? 

Thanks alot + ill keep you posted on her progress  

Carrying.  I suppose if you are careful, and she herself wants to be carried, this should be OK. But it is of course true you got to be extra careful with a high preg.  You must support her correctly etc.

Milk.  IF there is milk, it is nearing yes. But many cats gets milk very late, some even first when the kittens are born, so this is an unsafe method.  Good for yes, but not good for maybe.

Yes, too small kittens are living dangerously.  Say under 80 grammes - normal is about 100.

Under 60-65 being critical, survival in danger, you must help actively.

And we are talking about these fullborne.  Premature have it extra difficult, a couple of days to early and survival is at stake.

Thanks again

i have confined her to my bedroom, with litter tray and everything she needs so she is not to climb up onto me as i am a bit petrified to let her be carried now.

 I  totally agree with Stefan's comments both about carrying a queen in late pregnancy and about low birth weight kittens.   

 It is a good idea to weigh kittens daily for about the first month at least.  often a kitten not gaining - or worse losing weight - is the first sign you might notice of a problem.   

the only problem with that is i don't want to interfere too much with the kittens!

today she seems to of gone off food and is sleeping and cleaning herself alot soo... i think the time is nearing

Weighing them daily will not cause problems. It is actually very important to weigh them, as mentioned...it is your main way of telling is something is wrong. It allows you to tell if you need to supplement a kitten or if maybe there is more going on.

Mark White said:

 
the only problem with that is i don't want to interfere too much with the kittens!

Click to expand...

CatPack has right. Daily weigting and quick look see is essential, and no problem. Even rescuers with shy semiferalaes can usually do it!

The trick is to do it with respect. You do it near the nest, so the mom see you are near with her kitten, and can hear if the kitten is protesting.  You dot it rather quickly, and lay the kitten back when you are done...  You talk friendly in the time.  So no sneaking... 

That said, you DO have right.  You  shall not interfere too much with the kittens, unless verry necessary.

So, these daily weighting and quick  look see, and also changing the bed daily, or as minimum, thrice a week...

Usually you dont handle the kittens more than this the first two weeks, their mom does the most.

Stefan is exactly right in his comments    Many breeders and rescuers weigh kittens at birth and daily .  It's true that in the first couple weeks,  you should only have minimal handling of the kittens   and do not take them out of the queen's sight.   but it is  a good thing to weigh and have a quick look .     Weighing often will give you the first sign there is some problem.   and briefly having a look at them you could also notice other things wrong , for example an infection of the umbilical cord stump.   And it's also actually a good thing that they have a little  human contact from an early age.   Anyone who tells you that your pet cat who knows you would abandon the kittens if one calm human family member touches them ,  must be mixing it up with advice about wild animals.   Usually even feral cat mothers would not do that.   and not tame cats who trust you.   ( but they will give them a bath afterward!) 

Thanks a lot guys!

i will weigh them daily! and clean as much as possible  

i think shes nesting today around my bedroom, she keeps going behind the tv so i have had to block it off, she still is not much interested in her nesting box :/

Mark White said:

 
Thanks a lot guys!

i think shes nesting today around my bedroom, she keeps going behind the tv so i have had to block it off, she still is not much interested in her nesting box :/

Click to expand...

Its quite common they dont use the nest before kittens are on the way, or even first after the delivery. Its from the natural instincts against predators.  They dont want their nest to become smelly too early. Nor any predator notices where they are going...

So they often look after extra hiding places, if and when...

Good luck!

my cat didnt give birth until 67 days pregnant. i was worried crazy though i knew cat can stay pregnant until 71 days.

She didnt want to eat much so her weight's rather light. But now kittens r healthy.

 dont be too worried and ready when she's in labour. good luck

Thanks again stefan! Your a great help

And thanks pc Nguyen! That's a huge relief!

She seems to be a bit anxious and restless today and the kittens are moving a lot inside so I think they could be on there way.

i looking forward to hearing about her. i wish she& the kittens are healthy. Sometime cat can be anxious some days before she is really in labour

well....9 days later and still no kittens! vets must have been wrong :| i think they may have just put 2 and 2 together on what i said and thought "she must be pregnant" lol

however i am a lot happier as in the last week it seems she has doubled her size and kittens are moving A LOT and on BOTH sides  

no loss of appetite yet! and what i thought was milk on her nipples turned out not to be!         

here is an updated photo:

any ideas how far along you guys think she is!?

The only reliable way of knowing when a cat is due is to know when she mated.

Weigh the kittens about the same time every day, and weigh them in grams.  Ounces are too large, and you end up dealing with decimal points.  A healthy kitten puts on 10g per day or more, most days.

She's a lovely cat, hope all goes well. And keep her in until she's spayed!

thank you! and yeah she is a lovely cat and yes she will be getting spayed now for sure! lol 

She has had 4 kittens all fine with mommy today at 2am on my bed! Lol right as I was just getting to sleep lovely to wake up to though