Penelope and Her Kittens

I was just looking over my pregnant girl's belly because it looks like she is losing some hair around the nipples and I saw a flea! The vet did see 2 fleas on her a week ago and suggested I buy a flea comb and comb through her and kill anything I find. So I have been doing that and haven't found anything. And she doesn't seem bothered. Now I'm concerned since I saw it and wasn't able to get it (it was right around her nipple, she started scratching at me for bothering her. What can I do?! I'm obviously not good at finding them with the comb. I really don't want the kittens to get them, I know how dangerous that can be. and the vet said she can't have flea meds. Is there any natural solution to this?

You finding new fleas isnt nothing peculiar.  In a established flea colony there is always more eggs than fleas.  So if you comb, it is a task several weeks long.

You can try and bathe her in water wish a mild soap, in USA they often use Dawn dish soap, but probably any mild soap should work.  The soap makes the fleas (and eggs) do drown.   Just make sure it is warm there, no draugh, and you dry off her afterwards.   The same remedy if you find fleas on the kittens.

Peculiar the vet doesnt recommend any flea preparates.  While it is thrue many OTC preparates are dangerous, so for example Revolution drop on is know as OK, they even do make a special bottle with suitable dosages for pregnant...

Anyway, with a mild infection bathing in Dawn soap and combing, should be enough.

Good luck!

Ok, that's going to be fun! Lol! Thank you so much for all of you help. I think first I'll try calling the vet again ask about the stuf you mentioned and see what they say. I really don't think they know much about pregnant cats/kittens. Unfortunately there aren't many vets close by but I'lllook into some other places.

I'm sorry if I am being annoying, I'm just so clueless about pregnant cat and I'll admit a bit paranoid!

For the time being we have Penny confined in the master bed/bathroom. She always seemed to like it there and would rather be in there. A couple times a day I bring her downstairs and put my dog away. I have introduced them a few times but don't want to get Really into it and stress her out.

The past 2 day she has been really trying her hardest to escape the bedroom before we can put our dog away. Today I grabbed her a bit hard because a cat running out full speed would spark my dog's interest a little too much.i hope I didn't hurt her while grabbing her! My cat seems quite determined to get out of her room that used to be her safe haven and tries to escape outside too, which won't happen. At worst she'll just make it into the garage. She is actually scratching at the door and even seems to really want to the basement , which I don't really let her go in usually because I like to have an eye on her and it's just a bunch of moving boxes and kid toys and places to get lost down there. She is just always trying to get out. I thought things were going so well with her, could she be trying to tell me she is getting too stressed out that she feels she needs to get away? I keep her in a very low key part if the house and give her lots of loving. She seems like she enjoys us, runs up to me and likes being loved on yet is not content at the same time.

What is going on and how do I help her not feel like she needs to get away ?

I guess it is like you suspect. By some reason she doesnt feel safe there any more.  Which is her right to do, some cat moms are renown for moving her kittens to different places every day or even several times a day...   And yet, normally the best for our home girls is to be confined to one room.

I presume you had done her a couple of nests?   IF she uses already one of the nest, change the bedding several times a week, preferably each day.  So it doenst get smelly.

Try also with a Feliway diffuser, to make her more confident and at ease.  Calming relaxing music may also be useful...

Good luck!

You can try calling some other vets and they may give you advice over the phone. My vet told me it is ok to use Revolution, frontline, and Advantage. I really like revolution since it also treats roundworms and hookworms, ear mites, and heartworm.

The feliway diffuser is a good suggestion. When my cat was pregnant she did the same thing, though she wasn't quite so intent. She would scratch at the door, meow a lot, and try to dart out when I was leaving. I always thought maybe it was because she was a stray and was used to living outside, or maybe she wanted to go outside to find a spot to have her babies (even though I had set up several "nests" inside), but I'm not a cat behaviorist or anything, I could be wrong. However once she had the babies she settled down quite nicely and stopped trying to escape. (Every cat is different, so this may not be the case with your girl. Just thought I would share my experience)
You could also try getting her some toys and a cat scratching post if you don't have those already. She might also appreciate some cat grass, or even a catnip plant.

My cat was abandoned outside for about 2 weeks, I think.and before that, I believe the previous owners just let her outside all the time (which I'm sure is how she got pregnant) so maybe she just wants to be out because she is used to being out, I did just put up a few more boxes and nesting areas, but she prefers to sleep in the hard bathroom floor

You might also try getting her one of these:

http://www.chewy.com/cat/petsafe-sl...etSafe&utm_source=shopping.com&utm_medium=cse

You can put some treats in it every once in a while (she should have a bowl of her regular food available at all times though) and it will keep her occupied for at least a few minutes and will be a bit of a challenge, my cat loves Temptations treats :-)

I know I'm not alone here, just wondering who else has a pregnant cat currently and is going through the same nerve wrecking journey as me?
If you have a pregnnat cat, how far along is she, do you know how many kittens? and what is going on with her behavior?

I tell you this whole thing has me incredibly anxious and nervous, it would be nice to compare and talk with others going through it right now as well

My cat is very young and I am worried that things won't go as smoothly as they should because of that (I adopted her pregnant) I really don't know how far along mine is. I'm guessing 6/7 weeks, she is about as big as some cats I have seen that are 6 weeks with about 4-5 kittens. So who knows.

She isn't nesting, I cant feel any babies, her belly sticks out on the sides and is very hard. She is affectionate but I don't know how she was before getting pregnant.

I have possible homes for 2 but we may also end up keeping one, god willing they are all healthy. Penny is getting spayed ASAP and so will the kittens

Feel free to post a pic of your kitty too, I am forever obsessing over pregnant cat pictures, trying to get an idea when mine is due. I just hate not knowing, I want to be prepared in case if she has any troubles.

I don't have a pregnant cat, but I did a double take when I misread the thread title as "Anyone else pregnant with a cat now?"

How soon after having babies does a female go into heat? I really don't want to deal with my cat going into heat and trying to get out..I have 3 kids who aren't good at shutting doors, I'm pretty sure a very determined cat will get out eventually. I have heard that spaying a mother while kittens are nursing can be done but also can mess with her milk supply . And also would that be dangerous to keep the kittens away from their mother for that long? Also how long does a heat last? I could just keep her in my bedroom and not let her out and explore the house while she is in heat but I hate to keep her locked in there for a very long time.

It may be as soon as one week- ten day after.  Not uncommon at all.

As you say, spaying while she is nursing is not impossible, although nobody recommends it unless its desperate.  Sometimes the moms gets complications and must have emergency spaying.  In these cases they are usually back at their work in 24 hours, often just several hours after the operation...

You can combine your chances.   Do your best not to let her out.  IF she manage to get out, you have a couple of weeks when you can do this spaying without any ethical problems whatsoever.  Not medical problems either with the surgery, none  whatsoever.    The only the surgeon must be careful not to cut any mammary glands.

Thus, them getting out because of heat, the worst danger is not "they can become in these circumstances", But being eager to find a tom, she gets lost or overrun by a car, hunted down by  dogs or mean kids, or get on herself some disease, or at least, fleas and mites... Perhaps leaving you with a bunch of kittens to take care of on your own.

Explain this to your kids.  The big danger is not she gets an extra litter, but she leaves her kittens as orphans...

Good luck!

Hello my cat is no longer pregnant but gave birth only 2 days ago. I am no expert on pregnant cats but thought id share our story with you hope it helps.

My cats behaviour did not change at all during her pregnancy I also have a young cat around a year old she did not have any complications and is a naturally small cat but gave birth to six healthy kittens with no trouble at all.
She never nested I had two birthing boxes set up for her and she showed no interest in them in fact she tried to have the babies on my bed I moved her to her nesting box and sat right beside it petting her and telling her what a good job she was doing (she wanted me right next to her and was not happy unless I was there petting her) well that worked and she gave birth to all six in the box and has not moved them.

Her behaviour did not change until half an hour before birth she become very loving wanting to be with me and pushing her face into mine a lot I took her into my room and laid on the bed wit her as this was were she always sleeps I noticed she had started to contract only 5 mins after bringing her in and thought it was early stage off labour as I had not seen any other signs I was wrong 15 mins later she was pushing and like
I said tried giving birth on my bed she never me meowed or cried she only purred very loudly the hole time she was in labour, I was there comforting her so I'm not sure but think that put her at ease.

I could see and feel the kittens moving for just over two weeks before she gave birth so that's a good indication but not a exact because all cats vary I hope this has helped in some way and please keep us posted would love to hear updates from you here is a picture off my mummy cat (amber) exactly 2 weeks before the babies were born

My very pregnant cat keeps jumping up on high surfaces. The other day she landed badly when she jumped down. I'm worried because I'm not feeling much movement from the kittens the last 24 hours now. I feel something very faint every once in awhile, and very rarely. Maybe just one kitten. The vet said guessed she has 2 in there, but there is very very little movement. I started feeling movement last Wednesday and could see the movement on Friday. I'm guessing she is maybe now 8 weeks? Should this warrant a trip to the vet? I don't notice any blood or discharge...

How do you keep a pregnant cat from jumping around? As soon as I turn on the water in the bathroom she runs and jumps up on the bathroom counter to watch and play in the water or drink from it It seems dangerous to me . I'm getting her a fountain water dish because she only seems to drink from the sink but I doubt that will keep her from jumping up there.

Do you have a neasting box? Also, you may want to limit the dangerous jumping. How far along is she? Also make sure food and water are not up high. Give her pleanty of fresh water and give her can and kitten.

Some cats are active alot during pregnacy they may not even show! I just want to help, but if you don't mind, are you planing on spay/neutering them? It is pretty hard core for a tiny cat to have 7 babies! I didn't get mine spayed in time, so don't feel like you have to beat yourself up. Unless you are a breeder. I would love to see pictures on how big she is.are you feeling any kittens? Mine is small.

You usually feel the kittens about 2 weeks before the delivery.  The last days of pregnancy you feel them less, as they had slid into the birthing postions.  At least, you must feel after them further down...

So your observations here, and thus conclusions, depends in much on how good you are with palpation...

This said, do phone your vet and ask opinion.

Besides, if something happned with the kittens ist not probable the vet can help anything.   A human baby can often be salved by a cesarean even if premature.   But cat babies dont manage premature deliverys more than perhaps two days.  so their fate is theirs.

What the vet can do is to save the mom if she got hurt.  But as far as you know, she is entirely OK.

Knowing that, please do phone your vet.

Good luck!

Is it possible to isolate her in one room, preferably one without high surfaces? Having her own safe area that is quiet and out of the way of the general traffic of your house may help her to relax and feel secure as she prepares to give birth.

I actually do have her isolated in my bedroom/bathroom. Her food and litter is in the bathroom because that is the only place I can put it. I am entertaining the idea of bringing her in the basement but because she is so young, I really don't want to miss her having the babies just in case if I need to help. Also it is colder in the basement. When I am there with her I try to keep her from jumping up but she is very determined to be with me as I get ready or as soon as I turn on the water.

To feel as little movement as I am feeling suddenly and for as big as she is, it doesn't seem right. I think I will call the vet today. I guess there is not much they can do anyway?