Approximate delivery day for this mama kitty?

We had a friend call us to help her catch a stray cat that had been lurking around her home and driving her indoor cats craaaaaazy. We got her and she was so sweet, we kept her. This was a week ago. She is very obviously pregnant. For the past 4 days now, I've noticed when she lays down, I can watch her entire stomach dance and when I rub her tummy, I can very clearly make out the shape of 4 fetuses. I was able to feel separate fetuses from the day we caught her. I have 2 cats but both are spayed so I've never dealt with feline pregnancy. At what point in a feline pregnancy would I see and feel these things? My research online has mostly yielded results for Siamese and Persian cats, which from my understanding have slightly longer pregnancies. This cat appears to be just an average tortoiseshell cat. I'm hoping to get an idea of when to watch for kittens so I can get bedding and supplies ready beforehand. Thanks for having me in your group!

Here is a link to help you determine how close you are or at least let you know when you are really close.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-do-i-know-when-my-cat-will-give-birth

Some of the milestones like when her nipples turned pink or when you first saw the kittens move are past so can't really help you.  

There are other articles listed at the top of this forum w/ info on birthing, kitten care, things to do to prepare for the birth.

Do you have a picture?

What a beautiful cat.  Do you know if this is her first litter or about how old she is?  Young first time moms , well all are different, some ace the whole birth and mother thing, some are scared and may need help w/getting the sack off the first kitten, another got tired and needed help birthing the last one or two.

Pregnant moms like to have their bellys rubbed and it can help them feel better when the contractions start.

She needs lots of food.  I think the moms eat more as the pregnancy progresses.  Kitten food (wet and dry) is recommended for the extra vitamins, and you can give her some Kitten Milk Replacer for the same reasons.  

Thanks for the link! I wish we would have had her a longer period of time. So many of the signs won't be obvious for us. I'm not sure how affectionate she was before pregnancy. She seems the same now as a week ago, except she doesn't cower when I reach for her. She will not sit in anyone's lap and doesn't let anyone near her except my mom and me, which is probably due to her being a stray. Her fetuses seem to be about 4-5 inches long from what I can feel. They push outward on her stomach hard enough that I can rub her stomach and identify facial features.

@sarthur2  can give you a pretty good guess.

The next milestone will be when her stomach drops.  It will get hard and she will look a little thinner.

I'm not sure of her age or whether she's had litters before. Her teeth are not in good shape so I'm guessing she's not real young. She definitely eats a lot. We do science diet cat food but we've been free feeding her and doing a couple cans of wet food per day also. The past 2 days, her appetite has been coming and going. She will refuse food for a few hours, eat, refuse, eat......

Handsome Kitty said:

@sarthur2
 can give you a pretty good guess.

The next milestone will be when her stomach drops.  It will get hard and she will look a little thinner.

Click to expand...

her stomach is SO hard. It feels like a plastic hamster ball.

Good looking cat! If you are seeing kittens move, she is probably within 2 to 3 weeks of her due date. When her belly tightens and drops, and you can no longer discern movement, she is moving into the final days.

Go ahead and set up 2 or 3 nesting boxes for her, and show them to her. They should preferably be in dark, mostly quiet places away from the routine household traffic. A closet is ideal, or private corner.

She needs to be eating lots of kitten chow and wet cat food now and through lactation. Go ahead and pick up a can of kitten milk replacer to have on hand. She will enjoy drinking some now, and the kittens will lap it up after they begin to wean down the road.

Check out our links, and please ask questions as they come up.

Welcome!

Just saw your posts that came in while I was responding. Please be careful with all this palpating and feeling of cats. You do not want to harm the babies. Her diet sounds great!

Oh, and do you plan to have her spayed after the kittens wean?

Thank you all for the advice. I don't push on her stomach. What I feel is only felt by rubbing her. I'd be afraid to push and kill one of them. She is most definitely getting spayed after this litter. Not that kittens aren't exciting because I'm sure it will be a fun experience to have little crazy kitties bouncing around but I volunteer with our animal shelter and I see too many loving cats who never get a 2nd chance. It's almost unbearable.

I have mama kitty sitting with me right now. She is frantically trying to lick her abdomen but she can't. She's so big around in the middle that she can't lick herself. Heck, she can't even scratch her head now unless she stands up first. Is this to be expected?

Poor mama kitty. Yep, they get so big they can't lick their own bellies very well. She looks pretty big around the middle in your pictures. And she looks like a smaller cat herself. She may be closer to her due date than we think. Let us know as you notice signs.

I will keep you all posted. I'll probably have more questions. With only having her for a week, I think many of the typical signs she's nearing her due date might be missed. I cleaned out my closet and placed a box with blankets in there and placed her favorite bed in the spare bathroom. . Also had to block off my bed as I really don't want birth remnants in my carpet under my bed. I have a feeling she may have them ON my bed. Her favorite place to lay is on my pillows. :lol3:

It sounds like she could be due any day now! My cat sounds and acts just like yours. Good luck!

Signs of impending labor include discharge, loss of mucus plug, water breaking, stomach rippling with contractions, restlessness, and vulva dilating.

Just an update: no babies at the moment but her temperament has definitely changed. She is grazing on her food and eating drastically smaller portions. She has started laying on her tummy with her haunches up (almost like a mating position), and she has been hibernating in my bedroom except for short trips out to get catnip. She has also stopped hissing at my other animals and has begun accepting their presence. Not sure if any of this has to do with her pregnancy but she's changing.

Good news!

Sounds good - keep us posted on her progress!