8-9 week pregnant queen

I have a 1 year old queen named Hydra. When adopted, we were told she was spayed so she has been an indoor/outdoor cat. Well about a month ago I noticed she could be pregnant and took her to the vet and they confirmed her pregnancy. I don't have an exact idea of her due date but I do remember seeing a lot of cats hanging around our house the last week of January. I'm just curious if anyone can let me know what are the signs that labor is near and what I can expect during and after labor.

I have already set up her cat box and for a little over a week the kittens have been moving around like crazy in her belly. She also seems to be sleeping a whole lot more than usually and today she ate a very small amount of her wet food(which she normal devours as soon as I give it to her). I have also noticed a powder substance on the tips of her nipples.

Sounds like she's getting pretty close. But still could be several days. Some will not eat and just sleep, only to be "normal" the next day. It's usually a process, but some go quicker than others. Hope everything goes smoothly!

The vet usually can give you and estimated due date. Did he say anything when you saw him to confirm pregnancy?

Thanks so much for the response and advice!

The vet said she looked 5-6 weeks along. That was the February 29.

That would make her due anytime from today to a week/ week and a half from now.

A few signs of impending labor are loss of appetite, sleepiness,nesting or looking for a place to labor, vaginal discharge, leaking milk, emptying her bowels. Some cats show all these symptoms and some show none...

Thanks so much for the information! I want to make sure I am prepared and she has everything she needs and stay comfortable throughout everything.

A acrab1211

If her nipples have a flakey white substance on them, then she is probably starting to lactate a little. Sometimes that causes their nipples to get dry or chapped, if that happens you can rub a little olive oil on her nipples to make her more comfortable.

You generally start seeing the kittens move 2-3 weeks before the due date (depending on the size of the litter and the size of the cat). So I'd say she's probably pretty close to being due.

Do you know how many kittens she is having? Or did the vet at least give you an estimate on how many she is having?

I've only noticed the movement of the kittens a little over a week, but my husband said he's seen them moving around over 2 weeks ago. Thanks for the info on her nipples. She does have this powder like substance on the tips and around them as well. I noticed that yesterday. The vet estimated 4 kittens. She is a small cat, was the runt of the litter from what I was told.

Here's a little light reading for you

 [article="31379"]Pregnant Cat What To Prepare For The Birth​[/article]  

 [article="29720"]Pregnancy And Delivery In Cats​[/article]  

 [article="31414"]Help My Cat Is Having Kittens​[/article]  

Keep using this thread for any questions and Welcome to TCS!

Thanks a bunch for the read! Very insightful!

My female cat Lucy is pregnant to I noticed weird things in her ! ;3

L lynnnadi1 how far along is Lucy and what wierd things have you noticed?

Such a sweetie. I love tabbies. Hope everything goes well for you.

@acrab1211     I also have a very pregnant queen. Due any day, but unsure when she bred. Try not to worry too much. She knows instinctively what to do, but stay close to her so that you will be near when she goes into labor and can assist in delivery if you need to. Here is a picture of my Minnie. Your girl is beautiful! Good luck! I pray everything goes well.

pixiecat1979 aw Minnie is such a cutie pie! It's very exciting to know there will be baby kittens soon! Have you noticed any odd behavior from Minnie? Today I noticed Hydra's belly is a lot lower than before. She was carrying all on her sides(by her ribs) and now her belly is all underneath. She did eat her wet food this morning and than went right back to sleep. Yesterday evening she seemed like she was looking for something and than went into the are I prepared for her and just layed on the floor next to the cat box. My daughters birthday is this upcoming Saturday and she is hoping the kittens share her birthday...we shall see.

acrab1211 said:

@PixieCat1979 aw Minnie is such a cutie pie! It's very exciting to know there will be baby kittens soon! Have you noticed any odd behavior from Minnie? Today I noticed Hydra's belly is a lot lower than before. She was carrying all on her sides(by her ribs) and now her belly is all underneath. She did eat her wet food this morning and than went right back to sleep. Yesterday evening she seemed like she was looking for something and than went into the are I prepared for her and just layed on the floor next to the cat box. My daughters birthday is this upcoming Saturday and she is hoping the kittens share her birthday...we shall see.

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Sounds like she dropped - the kittens are in the birth canal and should be here in a day or two.