Adopted by a pregnant cat in the middle of a move

Stewball said:

That must have been fun

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It was an eye-opener.  I conceived a deep and abiding love for Glad Lawn and Leaf bags that day.

Mamanyt1953 said:

It was an eye-opener.  I conceived a deep and abiding love for Glad Lawn and Leaf bags that day.

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What's Glad Lawn and Leaf Bags?

They are large bags used for leaves in the fall among other things.

Still nothing! I think she's holding out on purpose to mess with me, now

Can clearly feel the outlines of the kittens around her belly so they're definitely getting pretty squashed for space in there!

Stewball said:

What's Glad Lawn and Leaf Bags?

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They are great big plastic trash bags, made to line large cans and to hold lawn clipping and raked leaves and such.  When cut open down one side and across the bottom, they give you a large, waterproof sheet of plastic.  I put one across my lap with a old, soft towel on top, and away we went.

garnermeg said:

Still nothing! I think she's holding out on purpose to mess with me, now

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Yeah, it can feel that way.  If I had to make a guess, tho, I'd guess she's as ready to have them as you are for her to have them.  I remember what it is like to be in those last few days/weeks, 

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
Yeah, it can feel that way.  If I had to make a guess, tho, I'd guess she's as ready to have them as you are for her to have them.  I remember what it is like to be in those last few days/weeks, 

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There was a woman at my church decades ago who looked like she was about 10 months pregnant at 8 months.  It made my back hurt just to look at her.  We had a baby shower for her, to which her husband also came, and the best card she got read "Shop 'til the baby drops."

Her husband was not amused. 

Basically, unless there's a problem and the doctor decides to induce labor, it happens when it happens, without regard for the preferences of mother, father, cat parent, anyone.  Generally at the most inconvenient time possible.  Probably 2:00 a.m.

Margret

Haha, yeah I'm sure she's pretty miserable at this point! It's been 2 full weeks since I first started feeling the babies move in there so she's gotta be ready to pop by now. Poor thing.

Ok so question: she's most likely overdue (felt kittens moving around 16 days ago), but seems ok, except she has for the last few days had just THE WORST diarrhea. I mean totally liquid and smells Awful. Is this normal or should I be concerned?

I have been feeding her wet kitten food along with her usual dry kitten food so I know her stomach isn't used to it but it's high quality food w/no grain and fillers (both dry and wet) so I don't think that's really the issue.

garnermeg said:

Ok so question: she's most likely overdue (felt kittens moving around 16 days ago), but seems ok, except she has for the last few days had just THE WORST diarrhea. I mean totally liquid and smells Awful. Is this normal or should I be concerned?

I have been feeding her wet kitten food along with her usual dry kitten food so I know her stomach isn't used to it but it's high quality food w/no grain and fillers (both dry and wet) so I don't think that's really the issue.

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I've had many cats experience diarrhea in the days leading up to labour! My one female has been having yellowish soft stools. It's just one of those pregnancy symptoms from all of the pressure down there. I even had a rescue cat who was pooping and giving birth at the same time, I had to make sure the area was constantly sanitized as the kittens were coming out. She gave birth to 8 beautiful little blackies! All healthy. It's just from all of the pressure but she had them within 48 hours after experiencing her first loose stool.

quinnmcc said:

I've had many cats experience diarrhea in the days leading up to labour! My one female has been having yellowish soft stools. It's just one of those pregnancy symptoms from all of the pressure down there. I even had a rescue cat who was pooping and giving birth at the same time, I had to make sure the area was constantly sanitized as the kittens were coming out. She gave birth to 8 beautiful little blackies! All healthy. It's just from all of the pressure

but she had them within 48 hours after experiencing her first loose stool.

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omg the poop while giving birth would SERIOUSLY gross me out! i sure hope that doesn't happen, and boy am i glad i got those latex gloves just in case! seriously this stuff smells so bad it actually makes me sick, it is FOUL. poor kitty. she's been having it for several days now, surely she's gotta be getting close!

garnermeg said:

omg the poop while giving birth would SERIOUSLY gross me out! i sure hope that doesn't happen, and boy am i glad i got those latex gloves just in case! seriously this stuff smells so bad it actually makes me sick, it is FOUL. poor kitty. she's been having it for several days now, surely she's gotta be getting close!

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Yeah, it was quite awful. That's why I don't care what anyone says about leaving the mama alone to birth, ANYTHING can happen, so I'm always on standby. It definitely doesn't happen all the time, it's more of a rare occasion thing. I had a mama give birth to 7 kittens last year, and no poop was involved lol!

That much diarrhea could be just a near-labor symptom, or it could be from a virus. It really shouldn't go on for days. You might want to check with your vet.

We've got kittens! I woke up to them this morning, she never made a sound through the whole thing and I had no idea! Mama has eaten and had water and had good appetite and energy so I think she's doing great!

And 5 wee babies, born on st paddy's day so maybe some good old Irish names are in order? going to weigh them now and try to get more photos

Awww! They look great!

I think she may have one more in there. I feel what I think is a kitten. But she doesn't seem to be in any distress at all, she's resting and eating and letting the babies eat.

I know interrupted labor can happen, what should I watch out for to know if she's in trouble?

Looks like two sets of twins - one pair of white and brown and one pair of dark brown - and one lone grey one.

Grey: 100g
White collar: 103g
Brown collar: 94g
Fat brown one (I can NOT tell these two apart other than that one is tubby and i know that's not consistent, not sure what to do): 128g
Little brown one: 99g

garnermeg said:

I think she may have one more in there. I feel what I think is a kitten. But she doesn't seem to be in any distress at all, she's resting and eating and letting the babies eat.

I know interrupted labor can happen, what should I watch out for to know if she's in trouble?

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Watch out for her acting like she's not well, not eating, not using the litter box, etc. Note that she might not use the litter box much if she emptied herself out before labor.

Also look for any sort of trouble delivering, like pushing for over 30 minutes without result. You could also see a greenish discharge if there were an issue.

You may also a feeling the stretched out uterus. It can be lumpy before it goes back to normal.

talkingpeanut said:

Watch out for her acting like she's not well, not eating, not using the litter box, etc. Note that she might not use the litter box much if she emptied herself out before labor.

Also look for any sort of trouble delivering, like pushing for over 30 minutes without result. You could also see a greenish discharge if there were an issue.

You may also a feeling the stretched out uterus. It can be lumpy before it goes back to normal.

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Got it, thank you!