Please help Ive got a pregnant kittty!

You'll get plenty of good advice from our experts here. I've moved your thread to our health and nutrition forum so it gets the proper attention.

First off, let me say that I am not an expert, but I breed Pixie Bobs and went through that first litter jitters. First of all, cats have been having kittens for a long long time, so it pretty much comes natural and all should go fine.
I feed our cats Eukanuba dry food. When our queen was pregnant, we also included the Eukanuba kitten food. This provides the extra nutrition they need for their babies. She will carry her babies from about 55 to 65 days. Our queen carried for 68 days, but she had 7 kittens. As for helping her, provide her with a box that she will feel secure in and yes, put some blankets in there. Make sure it is not in a drafty area, because new born kittens do not make their own body heat and will depend on their mother to keep them warm. Most of the time, all will go fine and mother will have her kittens without incident. But, there are times when the kitten will come out "feet first" and here is where you may need to help. If the queen is having trouble with a kitten coming out feet first and it seems to be stuck, you can assist by gently pulling the kitten out. Be careful, do not yank the kitten out. The kitten will be slippery, so you should have a wash cloth, or something similar to help you hold onto the kitten. When the kitten comes out backwards like this, time is crucial, becuase the kitten will die if it stuck to long, It will not get the air it needs. The mother should start cleaning the kitten as soon as it born. This will stimulate it to breathe and also clear the kittens nose and mouth so it can get the air it needs. You may get one of those tools used for babies to clear their noses. I believe it is called an aspirator? If the mother is having troubles, gently wipe away the membrane from the kittens mouth and nose and use the aspirator to clear out any fluids that are also present in the mouth and nose. Our queen had a kitten approx every 15 minutes, they do not come out all at once. You should also have some pet nursing bottles on hand and some kitten replacer milk, KMR is one of them, just in case a kitten needs help nursing or if the mother should get sick or if she rejects a kitten. Do not worry though, it should all go fine. There are good books out their that will explain things in detail and even show pictures to assist you. There are many great web sites out there too. Try to resist holding the babies for the first few days too, that is unelss you have to help them. It is very important that they get their mothers milk. Kittens have no immunity when they are born. the mother's milk provides this immunity against diseases. I hope this helps. I know there are others out here that have more experience than I, so they may help point out anything I may have missed. Good luck, you and mother cat should be fine

AmbertheBobcat gave you great advice. You can also refer to this article here: In case something does go wrong and you have to hand rear the tiny ones:

http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_care/care.php?a=hand

I would take her to the vet. Two reasons, he can answer all your questions and at least get hands on with your cat and be ready for your phone call when she goes into labor in case something does go wrong. I am not saying anything will, but it is always a good idea to play it safe. I don't know how young she is, but he will be able to tell you that as well. If she is under a year old, there may be problems.

You were given excellent advise here. We really do have some wonderful cat people on our boards. I will keep your kitty in mind and hope everything goes well for her.


Perhaps after the litter is born you can get her spayed. That way if she accidently gets out you won't be getting any more surprise kitties!


Good luck to you.

Welcome to TCS!!! First...if you can afford it take her to the vet!! She needs a check up. Sometimes vets can notice things wrong before its too late. Also is she inside or outside? she really needs to be inside. Some of my Tomcats mated with one of my females the night her water broke. Luckily I was there. They could've seriously harmed her. Oh and some toms will mate with with kittens and accidentally kill them. Inside you can protect her from toms and the elements.
(1)Unless you know how long she has had them, you cant know for sure. It's usually around 3 months total.
(2)It's best to stay nearby and check on her regularly. They can have problems and you will need to be there. If something goes wrong you can call your vet for questions, or better yet be able to take her there. My last litter was the only one with problems...the umbiblical cords were hung around her back foot. I had to cut the cords lose, seperate them, and that could've never been done without keeping an eye on them. If I wasnt there, the kittens would've died cause they couldnt reach her to nurse. She would've also lost circulation to her paw. If you have to asist make sure you are sterile and that anything u use is sterile. Dont handle the kittens unless you have to because they need help. Dont play with them or seperate them from mother.It will be several weeks before you can play with them. Also, some cats prefer to be left alone. If she doesnt seem to want you there then check on her without disturbing her..just so you can make sure everything's ok.
(3)This again depends on inside or outside. Outside her natural instinct is to find someplace. Depending on her dependency on you she may not follow her instinct like she should. The cat that the toms wouldnt leave alont came to us and meowing untill I scooped her up as gently as I could a put her in a large storage size cardboard box. Yours if outside will either want to be alone or want to be with you. It's best to make a box just incase. Just make sure to line the bottom with old clean scentless towels, or newspaper. Just dont shred the paper. Lay it flat. The reason the umbiblicals got hung on my last kittens was the afterbirth(which by the way the mother will eat and needs to cause its full of nutrients.)stuck to the paper pieces and she could'nt eat it and chew off the cords. If inside you can do the same thing. Oh and cats prefer a dark and silent place to have their kittens if inside, so provide plenty of opportunities like closets.
(4)That can happen sometimes even if the person knew what they were doing. Expect deaths. Even if you do everything you learn to do, it can still happen. Weakness, inability to nurse cause of weakness, defect, illness and injury....even the mother can accidentally smother or purposefully smother if she notices it's too weak to survive. Prepare yourself for this. Make sure you keep intouch with your vet if you notice problems.
Remember we are here too to help. Just keep us up to date Good luck!

Help! two young strays recently adopted me. i had a cat already. one of the new ones i have just had spayed. the other new cat came in a pregnant condition, starving. she has since had plenty to eat and health has improved. the pregant cat is very very close, almost 8 weeks if vet was correct. a few days ago she started acting as if she is in heat (calling, tail up, butt in air, loving all over you . is this normal? i see no reference to it anywhere.

and now, she peed several places in her separate room, including the chair she likes to sit in. this is new. but what isn't new is that it is hopeless for me to make her the box every one talks about. she has peed in each and every one of them. to her, an out of the way cardboard box with blankies inside seems to be a litter box. what else can i provide her? i tried to set up blankies in the bottom of the closet, and she peed on them. in desperation, tonight i switched her into the garage, it is sealed and she has a heating pad on cushions with a cover over it. is the peeing around the place ever heard of before birth? there is not love between these cats, so that may be a factor, but she is separated, with her own private room (or tonight, garage).

i am worried that the heating pad will not be warm enuf for the newborns, esp if she chooses another spot, or that it will be too warm. i just couldn't have her peeing more in that room. help!!!