I am haveing kittens!

lilly

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This is my first visit to this site! I want to say this is a really great place to talk to other cat lovers! I have 3 wonderful cats. Lilly is my baby, she is only 6 months. I also have Minnie and Jerry, (brother and sister)they are 2 years.

I have wonderful (and scary) news! My little minnie snuck out of the house in the middle of august. I knew right away when she got home late that night what had happened. A mothers instincts I guess. Now its getting closer to time and I am getting very nervous. I checked out a book from the library. It had alot of great advice. I would appreciate any advice from anyone who has been through this before. I have also heard conflicting reports on the length of pregnancy. Is it 2 and a half months or three months? How much do I really have to help her? What are the sighns of labor?
I am so anxious and can not waight to see the babys! It is so great I can share my news with fellow cat people! Thank-you in advance for your replies. I look forward to talking to all of you in the future!
 

vettechstudent

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Just wanted to welcome you.Don't really have any advice for you because it has been a loooong time since any cat of mine had kittens.Good luck and as soon as the babies are old enough to be weaned,please take your baby and get her spayed.
 

rfox

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as soon as your cat gives birth take her to get spayed. that is very important. also, get the kittens fixed as soon as you can too. I have no advice for you, sorry, but there are many other wonderful people here that can.


get ALL your cats fixed now! do not wait for them to escape as well!
 

jenluckenbach

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I do not believe you can spay the mom cat until she has finished nursing the babies. But please try not to let any surpise pregnancies happen in the future. I wish you luck with the little ones.
 

mom of 10 cats

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Here is a link to a thread discussing feline pregnancy.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=24518

We adopted a cat from the SPCA a few years ago and found out 3 weeks later that she was pregnant. That was my first experience with cats having kittens. We were nervous and excited, and it was quite an experience.

Read all you can about feline pregnancy and birth, and also talk to your vet. If there are any problems during the birth, call the vet ASAP!!!

You do have to wait until the kittens are weaned before the momcat can get spayed, but definitely do spay her as she can and will go back into heat right away once the kittens are weaned. And please get the others fixed, as brothers and sisters can and do mate, as young as 5 months!!!
 

yayi

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Hi, Lilly!

It is wonderful about the coming babies! I agree with the others about spaying though.
My Skinny came to me pregnant (abandoned). Based on my experience, when the time drew near (that's about 12 hours prior), Skinny was very nervous and ran around like she was looking for something. Armed with her basket, old newspapers and towels, I put her in the unused bathroom in the basement of the house.
Anyway, once she settled down, I noticed she was breathing fast, she was fidgetty, stood up often, circled, sat down again, licked herself a lot (her rear and her nipples). Cat birth is very quick and quiet. In Skinny's case, it took less than 30 minutes before the kitten came
!
 
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lilly

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Thank you for all the great advice. I do want to say that all my other cats are fixed. minnie was never fixed for a couple reasons,
#1. She is very very nervous by nature and doesnt like the vet.
#2. she has very little interest in being outside.( the only reason she ran out is becuase we just moved in august and she was very nervous about the new house.)
#3.Where we lived before there were no other cats in the neighborhood, at least that were outside. (now however, we are dealing with a coloney of feral cats)
#4. minnie is very quiet about being in heat, I actualley never knew for sure if she ever had been in heat.

thank you agian for all the great advice. I do plan to get her fixed as soon as the kittens are done nurseing. I have also had her at the vet, and spoke to him about the kittens and when to get her fixed. I actually had just hoped to get more "hands on" advice (rather than "medical" advice like my vet and the book i checked out could give) about the pregnancy and labor, even weaning of the kittens, as this is my first experience dealing with pregnancy.
 

mom of 10 cats

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As far as hands on advice: prepare a place for her in advance and get her used to it. We didn't do this, and Lil had her kittens in the middle of our bed, when I was sleeping in it! (Well, I woke up after the first one was born and mewing!)

It is messy! Have lots of towels on hand!

Lil got very friendly and lovey-dovey the day she had the kittens. She purred through the delivery and let us handle the kittens immediately.

The one thing Lil didn't do well was wean her kittens, we had to help there as poor Lil was getting way too skinny and the kittens were 11 weeks old and still nursing!


Keep the kittens warm! Do a search on this site for Snuggle Kitty, you may want to invest in one.

Be prepared for more cuteness than you can handle once the kittens are clean and dry!
 

mzjazz2u

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I don't have any advice but can't wait to see pictures of the babies after they are born! Do you have pictures of Minnie?
 
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lilly

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I know I have alot of questions. I made a "nest" for her a couple weeks ago. I bought an old fashion wooden playpen from a garage sale. I fixed it up with her favorite blanket and a baby crib bumper to keep the kittens from crawling out. I also have a heating pad to use to keep the bed warm. What is a snuggle kitty? the playpen is upstairs in my room, where she can be warm and quiet away from the kids.
She is so big! she cant get comfortable when she lays down. I feel so sorry for her. I could see the babys moving around alot last week. Now they dont seem to be moving as much. Does this mean its getting close to time? I wish I knew for sure the date she got pregnant. I think for some reason it was the 19th of august. I wish I could remember for sure.
 
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lilly

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I have such wonderful pictures of my cats, but i do not have a scanner. I am going to buy a digital camera as soon as I can afford it. then i will post pictures.
 

lorie d.

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Hi Lilly and welcome to TCS!!!
I do want to say that all my other cats are fixed. minnie was never fixed for a couple reasons, #1. She is very very nervous by nature and doesnt like the vet. #2. she has very little interest in being outside
I understand what you are saying about Minnie not liking the vet. But... Even if you expect her to always be an indoor only cat, it's still best to have her spayed after the kittens have been weaned. A spayed cat is happier and healthier, and is a much more enjoyable pet.
 

kiwideus

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I agree with Lorie. And what if she happens to escape again? She will feel better after being spayed - a LOT better.

Best of luck with the kitties.
Do tell us about it and don't forget photos.
 
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