female cat helping pregnant cat give birth?

well, my cat Kitty just started having her kittens, i put the daddy, Morris in the crate in another room becuz he was freaking out trying to get in the nesting box before the first one was even born. he kept poofing up his fur, jumping at me and trying to jump away when i grabbed him, so my other girl, Oreo, been sticking close to the box and trying to get in it, shes rolling around, chirping, purring, and loving on KItty. im keeping her from getting in the box, but i plan to move momma and kittens into my bedroom away from my others. Kitty doesnt mind that Oreo is nearby.  i didnt even know she was in labor til out plopped a kitten. i knew she was gonna have them any day, but it was so sudden, and shes been unusually calm. is it normal for a female cat to act how Oreo is towards Kitty?

she had 5 healthy kittens. 4 born between 9:36 pm and 11:30pm. and the 5th one being born after midnight. i moved them into my bedroom so i can keep the door shut and the others out of the room. but now my girl Oreo wont quit crying outside the door. if i open the door to go in she bolts into the room and does everything short of jumping in the box with KItty. when shes in the room, she just starts chirping and purring at Kitty while watching the kittens.  am i doing the right thing by keeping them separated? i dont want to risk Oreo doing anything to the kittens. although she stayed by Kitty's side the entire time she was giving birth. before i moved them into my bedroom, morris was running thru the house meowing like his hormones were raging. but he was avoiding the room they were in. he got one sniff at the box, peaked in,  and he flipped out on me and ran away. wont even go near the bedroom door or even really into the kitchen at all. hes been hiding from me. im not letting morris in the same room with them. should i keep oreo out of the room? or should i let her in the bedroom with supervision? Oreo is not happy that she cant be where Kitty is. and Kitty doesnt growl at her or even pay Oreo any mind at all. kitty just lays in the box purring away while nursing her kittens.

I wonder if Oreo is pregnant herself?

She is clearly wanting to "help" with the kittens. The trilling, or chirping, is evidence that her mothering instincts have been aroused. It sounds like she and your cat are very good friends. I would allow Oreo to visit under supervision while you see what's going on. Oreo may be a big help in cleaning the kittens and comforting them, but since she has no milk (or does she?), it's important that the kittens nurse mom as much as needed.

I would keep Morris out for now, but be sure to give him some special attention!

Let us know what goes on with Oreo today with the kittens she wants to help mother. Cats in the wild frequently help one another!

I agree with Sarthur2.  Oreo sounds like she wants to help her friend.

Oreo is almost a yr old, and has been in heat once, and never been pregnant. but Oreo isnt a normal cat. she was a few days old when my son found her abandoned on the street. her. had just opened her eyes and could barely walk, and i had to bottle feed her for about a week. shes over affectionate and loves everyone she sees. becuz she wasnt weened by her mama, she still acts like a kitten. she does that skin suckling. on your hands and fingers.  I got Kitty who is around 1 or 2 yrs old, in february. im not sure how old  she is and the person i got her from says they dont know the age either since she was technically a stray becuz their neighbor moved and abandoned Kitty outside and they rescued it. but Kitty has always been kinda like a mommy to Oreo. Morris, wont go anywhere near the bedroom still. the bedroom is just off the kitchen,  when he goes into the kitchen, he slowly moves thru the doorway as far as he can away from the bedroom door to get food and water. he hasnt sprayed or acted out thankfully.  im surprised Kitty did so well. first time mommy and she was so calm i didnt know she was having the kittens until she turned on her side when i petted her and out popped a kitten. for now, i lt oreo into the room and let her see whats going on, and then when shes done, i take her out to give kitty some peace.

heres Oreo watching and helping Kitty deliver.

This might be a good time to get Oreo spayed before she goes into heat and gets pregnant. Is your male cat neutered?

i originally planned to get morris a vasectomy and not fixing my girls but since the vets in my area refuse to do it or will do a vasectomy but with testicle removal, ill have to opt for neutering him. for a month before Kitty had the kittens hes been acting sometimes like how a female in heat would. going around the house crying sometimes, and hes trying to hump Oreo since they were both kittens. but the vet says that since he and Oreo are so close, they have a special bond. The entire past 6 weeks, he was stuck to Kittys side constantly while he was chirping and he was helping her with her nesting. but last night, i had to crate him until all of the kittens were born.

Morris was 4 months when i got him. he has never sprayed, or been aggressive to any other cat. hes a big wuss in a way. but he was never socialized before i got him. He stops being noisy and aggravating the other cats when he thinks hes going into the crate for a time out. a few hrs a day outside also helps his behavior too.

I think neutering Morris is a good idea because eventually he will get Oreo pregnant.

Female cats who are not spayed also have a high risk of developing pyometra, which is an often fatal infection of the uterus, from repeat heat cycles. So they are healthier and happier once fixed too, and then no more litters to worry over.

I love how much your cats get along.

You need to start getting them fixed soon.  Mother Nature always gets her way.

morris is the first one whos getting fixed. he got my Kitty pregnant somehow thru the crate i had her in her entire last heat cycle. i assume he was on his hindlegs, used the top on the plastic pet crate as leverage, and she put her butt to the metal bars on the door of it and he got her. kinda impossible from picturing it. but thats the only possible explanation. i dont think my boyfriend had them both out at the same time. altho he felt bad that kitty was in the crate and would take her out and put morris in it. i could always tell when she was getting ready to go into heat becuz morris would start howling at the top of his lungs with this meow that was like "meow-ow" so bad that i couldnt sleep even behind a closed bedroom door. last time Oreo was in heat, which ended a week ago, he didnt even try to get at her. even tho she was crated the whole time. kitty goes thru silent heat, oreo was aggressive and was in a biting hissing mood the whole week she was in heat.

Kitty can get pregnant again as early as a week after giving birth. 

theres no way morris can get in the room. and i had to schedule a vet appt with an out of town vet becuz where i live the vets charge over $300 minimum. not including the pain shot and antibiotics for the neutering.

That's a lot of money! Do you have a Humane Society nearby? They do low-cost spays and neuters. Or any other low-cost spay/neuter clinics in your area?

I had a cat when I was younger that was fixed and my mother brought home a pregnant cat that someone had left at her office. The older cat watched and watched as "preggers" gave birth. Once they were about a week old she would climb in with Beakers and clean them with her, she even taught them how to use the litter box. My mom told me some cats have kittens and some are midwives. We tried to separate them but that wouldn't work.  My mom found a home for the 3 of them and Beakers would not have it. She would hide the kittens. We ended up keeping them all. Until beakers passed away they were a family and they cleaned each other even. I think Oreo is just like my Beakers was. I agree I would watch to make sure all is well. 

morris got his first real look at his offspring tonight. he peaked in the box, chirped and licked Kitty before running off purring

 the nearest vet that is income based  is an hr or more away from me.

sarthur2 said:

That's a lot of money! Do you have a Humane Society nearby? They do low-cost spays and neuters. Or any other low-cost spay/neuter clinics in your area?

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heres an update. Kitty's 5 kittens are doing great now. but an odd thing, Oreo, who has been in heat once and never been pregnant, is acting like the kittens are hers.she tries to nurse them and i have to watch her becuz she keeps trying to pick them up by the neck and carry them off. she cleans them and she just chirps and purrs when shes near them. they are almost 3 weeks old. is this normal behavior? and should i watch her? the daddy, Morris wont go near the kittens or even the bedroom where they stay. i never let Oreo around them unsupervised. but Kitty doesnt seem to mind if Oreo is near the kittens.

melbox said:

 
heres an update. Kitty's 5 kittens are doing great now. but an odd thing, Oreo, who has been in heat once and never been pregnant, is acting like the kittens are hers.she tries to nurse them and i have to watch her becuz she keeps trying to pick them up by the neck and carry them off. she cleans them and she just chirps and purrs when shes near them. they are almost 3 weeks old. is this normal behavior? and should i watch her? the daddy, Morris wont go near the kittens or even the bedroom where they stay. i never let Oreo around them unsupervised. but Kitty doesnt seem to mind if Oreo is near the kittens.

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Yes, this is quite normal, as mentioned too by other examples in the thread.   The only real problem is if Oreo carries them away to her own place....  Esp as they still need nursing milk from mom...  So as long as she has tendencies to carry them away, you must either superwise some, or make sure they are all in the same room, ie closed in.  OR, she is outside when you cant superwise.

Re the daddy -  quite a few adult cats, esp males, are afraid of small kittens - they simply dont know what they are...   While other are more comfortable and are willing to help out - even quaite a few toms.   If they are friends with mom, they often will.  

(and toms being friends with mom are verry seldom any danger for kittens - its toms being "foreign" whom can be a real danger for the kittens)

Oreo mainly just picks them up and carries them back into the nest when they go exploring. Oreo has now started sleeping with Kitty and the kittens. I keep Morris outside most of the time since he is an indoor outdoor cat. But he acts so scared of them he wont go anywhere near the bedroom where they are.  The only one who goes near the kittens is Oreo. and she never goes near them without Kitty being there. I live in an area where i cant leave my cats outside unsupervised due to the amount of wild animals. with the weather in my area already getting cold, my cats dont wanna go outside at all. I already have good homes ready for all the kittens when they are ready to go.

I think that's sweet that Oreo likes to sleep with Kitty and the babies [emoji]128149[/emoji].