Very large pregnant cat

We recently adopted a stray to find out she was pregnant. We have no idea how far along she is but has been looking like she's going to explode for almost 2 weeks now. I'm worried that she's young. She's showing no signs of nesting. I've been feeling the kittens kick for about two weeks as well. Any hope that she will have them soon?

Welcome

Thank you for taking in this mama kitty. She does look big and ready to have those babies any time now.

There are some great articles under Pregnant cats and kitten care to help prepare for the birth.

What preparations have you made for her?

Thankyou! We have a box for her, that she goes in and scratches every once in a while, but never stays in it. For the most part she likes to sleep near where people are. Last week she had a bit of milk, but now there's not any.

She is probably down to her last week. Once you feel kittens move, delivery is about 2-3 weeks away. She's looking like she's almost there.

As long as you have a nest set up in a private place and have shown it to her, many cats do not nest until they are in active labor and ready to deliver.

She needs a good diet of kitten chow and wet cat food, like Fancy Feast.

We have many informative articles on pregnant cats and kitten care if you'd like to read up on what to expect.

It's very kind of you to rescue this pregnant cat. Welcome to TCS!

So she has a nesting box... That's good and it's very common that they aren't interested in staying there until they have the kittens because their instinct is not to soil the area or draw attention to it, even though she is safely in your home.
Can you still feel the kittens move? As she gets closer and the kittens move to prepare for birth you might not feel as much movement.
Is her appetite good? What have you been feeding her?

I'm feeding her a high quality kitten food royal Canin (I'm not sure they have it in the states), and wet food once and a while as well. I definitely don't feel kittens move as much but still feel a kick here and there, her belly feels hard as a rock. And she is snacking all day long.

Thanks for all your info!

We took in a pregnant stray a few weeks before she gave birth. She is very affectionate but was super clingy the day and night before she gave birth. Literally followed us everywhere!

We didn't know where she'd chosen for her nest til the day before, when I discovered she had been clawing the carpet in the corner of the living room under a table. So we put a box there and she got right in it.

I'd recommend checking her for fleas. We had really bad flea problems and had to treat Poppy, the kittens and the entire house when the kittens were 2 weeks old because we weren't thorough enough before they were born and thought they were gone.

Ours are 4 weeks old now, half the living room is boarded up with card board to keep them and our stuff as safe as possible - but I wouldn't trade it for anything, they're amazing!

Oh and royal canin do a babycat dry food and a mousse for very tiny kittens too. You can get them online in the UK from zooplus or pets at home.

So she began having her kittens this morning! As soon as I was awake she called for me and went in her box and had her first kitten after 5 minutes. It's been over an hour since she had her second one. She's resting, but contractions come on and off. Should I be concerned that it's taking awhile for more to come out?

It's so hard to know WHEN, but it's easy to tell by the size of her to expect a large litter. Believe it or not, I had a cat that was even bigger and she had 8! I can't believe she could go so long without exploding!There shouldn't be a problem with time in between kittens, just watch her to see if she is distressed or just resting comfortably. If you can see contractions it shouldn't be long! I hope an advisor will come along soon and tell you how long is too long! All the luck, and keep us posted!

Give it a google - I'm sure I read before Poppy gave birth that some cats will be in labour for 24 hours in some cases and they did also talk about how long is to long between kittens but I don't recall what it said! I think our longest wait was 1 and a half hours.

What colour is the first one??

Ok, now I'm realizing its been 3 hours! She doesn't seem distressed. But wondering if it's taking too long. The first two are tabby grey like their momma

You could call a vet and ask, even the desk people are usually well trained. Good luck!

If she isn't in distress or pushing for 30 minutes w/o giving birth, she is fine.

Cats can have interrupted or delayed labor. Some cats will birth a kitten or two, then birth the rest a few days later.

If she's not in distress she will finish the job when the kittens and her body are ready.

Our cat just gave birth yesterday. She did a great job and has been acting like a good mom. However, this morning she keeps leaving the nest and acting restless meowing. We put her under the stairs with the litter box and food. So I don't know what she needs. I'm wondering if she wants to move the kittens and be closer to us, she still super affectionate with us.

Everywhere I've read is that they stay in the best for a few days and don't like people near. So I'm just confused by what she needs.

Thanks everyone! She gave birth to four.


I just posted a new forum but will post it on here too:
Our cat just gave birth yesterday. She did a great job and has been acting like a good mom. However, this morning she keeps leaving the nest and acting restless meowing. We put her under the stairs with the litter box and food. So I don't know what she needs. I'm wondering if she wants to move the kittens and be closer to us, she still super affectionate with us.

Everywhere I've read is that they stay in the best for a few days and don't like people near. So I'm just confused by what she needs.

Congrats on the kittens

Could she possibly have more kittens to birth?

Poppy did that with us for a couple days after giving birth, she kept coming and getting us and meowing when we weren't in the room. Does she settle down if you sit with her near the kittens?

Poppy did also spend blocks of time away from them (and still does) but always runs abck if they meow