pregnant cat not sure what to expect and issues with the male

okay so I have an 8 month old that's about to have kittens. we're guessing she conceived around the middle to the end of October. before people yell at me about not spaying- we took her in when she first got pregnant to try and spay while she was only a week or so in. the vet proceeded to tell me she was not pregnant and too young to be pregnant and not to worry about it and to neuter him instead. weeeellll she's definitely pregnant now and very close to delivery but I'm not sure when or what to expect. the other issue- the daddy keeps biting her neck and mounting whenever they are together and I hear this horrible yowling and hissing from her to him but then when I separate them they both meow for a good hour before they stop. I want minimal stress on mama so they come out as healthy as possible. they've been kicking strong for almost a week now and this is my first time dealing with a pregnant cat. I've got mounds of blankets in the bathtub for her since she spends all her time there so she has a nest area. how much longer? will she produce milk that I can see by squeezing her nipples? should I keep them separated or together? what do I expect? anything will help. I am also getting her spayed as soon as they are weaned completely and I know to keep them separated while in labor and while they are still kittens and while she is not fixed. View media item 250316

I also know she doesn't look very big here but in person she looks like she swallowed a pomegranate. her name is sapphire.

I keep adding lol. those pictures are also not recent as she won't stay still long enough to get a good picture.

sapphiretubby said:

I keep adding lol. those pictures are also not recent as she won't stay still long enough to get a good picture.

Click to expand...

I will write an answer in about half an hour. 

If you felt them move a whole week, there is about 1 week left, perhaps a tenday.

Some high pregs seems to behave like in heat, so it may be why your male is mounting her the whole time, and she accepts it without protesting, and calls on him when you separate them.

Thus, I hope it will be better later on.  But beware,  they can come into heat quite soon after delivery, already about a week later.   With a fertile male nearby, its even more probable.   So my advice is you do spay him asap. - Observe, he will be fertile at least a whole week after the spaying.  Theoretically even up to 6 weeks....

A friendly male, best friend with mom, is usually no threat for the kittens, and if mom allows him near, and your observations shows its OK, you could normally let him be with her and the kittens.

But the safe playing of the situation is to separate them.  You dont want her stressed, nor in a new pregnancy immediately after the first one...

So yes, do separate them as now.   For how long, it will depend.

Here some links I usually try to add.   But you may of ocurse always come with new questions, reports, comments.   There is always somebody here who tries to answer.  One of our friendly forumists, or someone of us "staff".

Good luck!

Most of these links have been readied by our forumist  Red Top Rescue:

We have a good collection of articles in the Cat Health section which you can access by scrolling up to the brown bar, clicking on Articles,and then choosing the Cat Health section and scrolling through the choices.  To make this super easy for you, I am copying the links regarding birth, delivery and newborns for you here.  After reading this information, let us know if you have any more questions.  And good luck with your approaching new arrivals.

 Birth, Delivery and Newborns

How to Tell if My Cat is Pregnant?

Cat Pregnancy

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What to Prepare For the Birth

Help! My Cat is Having Kittens!

Premature Kittens

Post-Birth Complications in Cats

And also:

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"  )  

Fleece or flannel good to use in the bedding for kittens.