My TINY Pregnant cat help & questions...

kriskitties · Jul 14, 2015

Hello, my 11-12 month year old cat "Baby"is pregnant. It took me by complete surprise because I keep her and my male Prince in separate rooms and there was NO contact during her first heat cycle, yet after that, they were in a room with me while I was watching them. Anyways, it happened.

First of all, I am extremely concerned about her size. She is full grown 6-7 lbs, and the mate is almost 10-12 lbs. I keep reading this is a real problem and my vet refuses to ever give me a straight answer on anything.
How much of an issue is this? This is her very first litter and I read that first litters have enough things that could go wrong, excluding the size issue.

My last question is a personal one. Baby and I are with each other pretty much 24/7. She lives in my room, She goes on rides with me, she's affectionate to me only, and her personality is unlike any cat I have ever known.
Will this change after her kittens?
I know that she will be in "Mommy Mode" after she gives birth, but I mean once the kittens are all gone. Will she be a different cat then I know now? Or will she revert back to who she is now?

And a side note. I have this nagging fear that she will not take care of these kittens. I don't see her giving birth and knowing what to do. She's so young and I never wanted this for her. I'm very scared and no one around me understands.
SORRY this was long, I've never done anything like this before...
I'll appreciate anyone's opinion on whatever they have experienced or know.

Thank You

handsome kitty · Jul 14, 2015

I'm not sure why the size difference would be a problem. Maybe during conception because the male mounts the female.

The mothering instinct should kick in when she is giving birth. If you read some of the threads you'll see most cats want their human with them when they are in labor and going through the process. So you should be there to help in case of problems. (read the articles at the top of the forum) There have been some instances when the mother didn't want to nurse, in that case we can tell you how to hand feed until she is ready to take over. Some of the kittens giving birth are younger than yours and did fine.

Do you know when she is due?

BTW if a male mounts a female and she isn't in heat she can drop eggs for fertilization. But wouldn't it be funny it none of the kittens looked like him and it was another tom? (sorry it's late here)

I don't think her attitude will change afterwards but she is going to be big and uncomfortable for a couple weeks before she gives birth and nursing until about 8-10 weeks afterwards. So things will need to be different for awhile.

Sarthur2 · Jul 15, 2015

Have you considered having your male cat neutered in the meantime? And do you have plans to spay your mama kitty once she weens her kittens?

Your cat will most likely be fine. Her kittens should not be too big to deliver. Cats have instincts that take over and guide them with their babies.

She will probably nurse just fine, and will continue to be your wonderful cat, even with taking care of her kittens. She will just need to spend a lot of time nursing them, and you need to encourage that.

On the slim, off-chance that she does not nurse enough, you would have to feed her entire litter by hand around the clock. Just in case, go ahead and pick up some KMR (kitten milk replacer) at a pet store or Walmart, and a 1mL syringe in case you need to supplement. The mama can drink some now, and the kittens can drink it when they begin to wean.

Most cats do just fine delivering and nursing their kittens!

kriskitties · Jul 15, 2015

Well, as it turns out, I think her water broke an hour ago. I walked into my room after being gone 10 minutes and there was a pretty good sized wet spot on my bed. I checked to see if it was pee and it deffinatly wasn't, plus she has never ever peed anywhere but her litter box.Then all within the consecutive hour, she "hid" from me ( not in her normal spots to where I could find her) and she has been grabbing rugs and things and pushing them to her birthing box.

The vet said she will be due any day now.
I took her temp two days ago and she was at 100.03 F
I have everything set that I'm supposed to have (I'll post pictures so you all can see if I'm missing something). The only thing I have to get is the milk. I do have a 1mg syringe, I have two so I can use the other for the kittens airways if need be.

And yes, Prince is going to be neutered here soon, and Baby is going to be spayed once I get the okay from the vet.

However again.. Her water may have broken and her temp is down.. Two medical signs they are coming soon yes? [emoji]128563[/emoji]

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kriskitties
Jul 15, 2015

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kriskitties
Jul 15, 2015

Just need the milk, and I have plenty of towels, and the scissors are sterilized, the scale to weigh the kittens to make sure they are gaining properly, the litter box of paper towels because I read new moms will go to the litter box and deliver and they can't clean if litter is stuck to the kittens..Anything I'm missing?

Thanks a million times over!

Sarthur2 · Jul 15, 2015

Dental floss in case you need to tie off a cord?

A child's "bulb" for suctioning mucus would be easier to use than a syringe if you need to use one.

Heating pad?

Looks like you are all set!

Keep us posted!

kriskitties · Jul 18, 2015

I just woke up and there are two kittens!

She is cleaning them, but their placentas and cords are still attached, I don't know how long they have been like that. Should I cut them off? Or let her do her thing for a while?

SO NERVOUS!
Thanks!

blueyedgirl5946 · Jul 18, 2015

Has anything else happened yet.

kriskitties · Jul 18, 2015

i can't believe I ever worried about her not being a good mamma. She is doing beautifully! She didn't chew the cords off or eat the placentas, but I took care of that for her. Tied them off with a different color string and cut it off. She didn't seem interested in the placentas so unfortunately I just disposed of them.

How do I know when she's done?!

kriskitties · Jul 18, 2015

BTW she had a third kitten, and she's moving around like she wants to deliver another

blueyedgirl5946 · Jul 18, 2015

Here is an article until someone with birthing kittens experience can help you. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/help-my-cat-is-having-kittens One thing of importance I saw in skimming the article is to be sure she expels a placenta for each kitten.

StefanZ · Jul 18, 2015

KrisKitties said:
i can't believe I ever worried about her not being a good mamma. She is doing beautifully! She didn't chew the cords off or eat the placentas, but I took care of that for her. Tied them off with a different color string and cut it off. She didn't seem interested in the placentas so unfortunately I just disposed of them.

How do I know when she's done?!

Its often difficult to know. but the answer is easy. As long there are no problems, you can wait and see. Its just if you notice problems, you shall be alarmed.

For example, a prolonged active delivery...

As now, its sounds fully normal so far. Even if most does eats the placentas. its nourishing, and probably some hormones too...

Sarthur2 · Jul 18, 2015

Congrats! All your preparation paid off so you had the supplies and knowledge to tie and cut the cords!

It is not necessary that she eat the placenta.

Three kittens - did she have a fourth?

Are the kittens latched and nursing?

Post pictures when you get a chance!

kriskitties · Jul 19, 2015

Yes, she had a forth and I can tell she was done then because no more pushing and there is no movement in her stomach.

I did have to tie off and cut all the cords but it actually works out perfectly for me!

I tied them all off with threading string(got the okay from my vet) however the strings are all different colors.

So kitten one is white, two is green etc.
So now when I weigh them to make sure they are gaining properly, I have the strings to help color coordinate! Lol
However they will fall off soon so idk what to do then..

However, there are two kittens that have gained less than an ounce in one day, and the other two have gained a full ounce.
This is their second day, should I go to the replacement milk, or give them a little more time to nurse naturally?

At first it seemed like they weren't latching on at all, which worried me, however they all seem to nurse and sleep very comfortably. They aren't crying because they are hungry I mean.

They are all very warm and pink and move around with vigor.

I just want to make sure they gain enough.

Does any one know when their eyes will open, or can at least hear? Also I'm sure I'm wrong, but I read somewhere you can tell the gender as soon as their born?

Here are some pictures of their first day, and this morning [emoji]128570[/emoji][emoji]128571[/emoji]

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kriskitties

Jul 19, 2015

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kriskitties

Jul 19, 2015

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kriskitties

Jul 19, 2015

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kriskitties

Jul 19, 2015

PS: Once the cords fall off soon, I don't have a way to separate and weigh the kittens correctly, since they are all so similar. Any tricks would be helpful

Thanks Again!

Sarthur2 · Jul 19, 2015

You can mark their tails with colored sharpie pens to help you.

They all look just beautiful, and it sounds like your kitty is being a good mama!

Give them more time to nurse. They get mostly colostrum the first day or two. It is not unusual for kittens to even lose a little the first day, so yours are doing fine so far!

Keep us posted about their weights!

Sarthur2 · Jul 19, 2015

Oh, eyes open in 7-10 days, and ears will be up around three weeks. They still need low lighting as their eyes will need time to adjust for a while after they open.

StefanZ · Jul 19, 2015

KrisKitties said:
Yes, she had a forth and I can tell she was done then because no more pushing and there is no movement in her stomach.

I did have to tie off and cut all the cords but it actually works out perfectly for me!

I tied them all off with threading string(got the okay from my vet) however the strings are all different colors.

So kitten one is white, two is green etc.
So now when I weigh them to make sure they are gaining properly, I have the strings to help color coordinate! Lol
However they will fall off soon so idk what to do then..

However, there are two kittens that have gained less than an ounce in one day, and the other two have gained a full ounce.
This is their second day, should I go to the replacement milk, or give them a little more time to nurse naturally?

At first it seemed like they weren't latching on at all, which worried me, however they all seem to nurse and sleep very comfortably. They aren't crying because they are hungry I mean.

They are all very warm and pink and move around with vigor.

I just want to make sure they gain enough.

Does any one know when their eyes will open, or can at least hear? Also I'm sure I'm wrong, but I read somewhere you can tell the gender as soon as their born?

Here are some pictures of their first day, and this morning [emoji]128570[/emoji][emoji]128571[/emoji]

PS: Once the cords fall off soon, I don't have a way to separate and weigh the kittens correctly, since they are all so similar. Any tricks would be helpful

Thanks Again!

You are talking about gaining a full ounce? No misspelling?    That is much, 30 g a day, not unheard of, but not the common.

Our mandatory gain is 0,3+ounce... ie 10+.gram.....   May even be less if they were very smallish when born.

Anyways, the gain the first day may be less, because they usually even lose some. So this natural losing + the gain, makes together a less total gain than is hoped for....

But at latest day two they shall gain what they shall, ie 10+ grammes, or 0,3 Oz.

O,1 Oz the second day is too little, and you must consider supplementing.

kriskitties · Jul 28, 2015

Hi, I know I have been gone for a while, and yes. They were gaining full oz. They are all pretty big and one has a very big tummy.

( The following I might put in a new thread, but I wanted any help from you all if you still can since you are all very knowledgable.)

However I have a real health concern for the kittens, I need to know if I need to take them to the vet.

My cat Baby who had the kittens was a stray I found on the street, along with her mate Prince. Both of them has discharge coming from the eyes, and both sneezed quite often.

I took them to a shelter vet and gave me some medicine (she said it was not important, that is was a cold and they would get over it).. I incidentally lost the prescription, however, when I suspected Baby of being pregnat, I took her to my regular vet. When I asked about the discharge from her eyes (which is a deep red) and all the sneezing and if it would effect her kittens he said quote "No none of that will effect them at all."

Now they are a week and 3 days and all their eyes finally opened, I today noticed though, that one of the kittens "Blue" had both eyes open yesterday, and today one was crusted shut. Before this they had each maybe sneezed with me there once, and I noticed some little brown dots or wetness around the eyes, however I figured this was from them opening their eyes for the first time.

However with Blue's eye being crusted shut, I am getting worried. I am worried that this "cold" I was told it is, will effect these kittens in a harsher way.

Is this normal, or should I be calling my vet?

Fyi I am calling the first vet and getting the scripts again becuase nothing has changed for either of them.

I am tired of vets not listening to me and telling me everything is fine with my cats when it obviously is not fine...

Thank You For Any Advice..

Sarthur2 · Jul 28, 2015

The kitten has an eye infection that is quite common in newborn kittens. A tube of terramycin will do the job. It's applied across the eye with a finger tip twice a day for a week, though the eye will likely clear within a day or two.

In the meantime, use a warm, damp cloth over the crusty eye to soften the crust. Once it is soft, you can use the cloth to wipe across the eye to remove the crust and the eye will open.

Just ask the vet for terramycin for the kittens' eyes.

Sarthur2 · Jul 28, 2015

Is the mama kitty over her cold? Are her eyes clear? If not, she should see a vet for an antibiotic to clear her system of any infection she may have, such as an upper respiratory infection (URI).

Let us know how mama and kittens are doing soon!

Sarthur2 · Jul 28, 2015

Also, you may want to ask a vet if your kittens need de-worming. One sign of worms is a distended belly. The belly could be a healthy belly, but it could also be worms. The only way to know is to ask the vet.

My TINY Pregnant cat help & questions...

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