Pregnant cat, belly is getting huge

Hey catlover,

I'm caring for a cat (little younger than one year). She's pregnant and her belly is getting quite big.

I don't know exactly for how long she's been pregnant. How do you even know? I mean there's at least a couple of days before the signs of pregnancy are there(?)

However I'm getting a bit worried as her belly is getting quite large.

Additional information

She's eating quite much - her apetite is great

No licking at the vagina

Some noises/crying during sleep

Still very playful and active

There's been some contractions one day ago that lasted for a few minutes

Haven't seen any discharge

She doesn't have insurance and it's not my cat really - I'm not sure if I can afford taking her to the vet. It's quite expensive in my area.



Given that, I'm wishing for your best of advices! Any signs I should be looking for? Am I too paranoid? 

I have also attached some pictures for your reference.

Thanks in advance and warmest regards! 

Guess what? She actually delivered four kittens today!

The father is getting quite threatening, high noises, towards them however. So I'm separating them from eachother.. Anyone know for how long I should keep him away? I get the impression that he can't recognize that these are cats yet. Because he never had trouble with any other cats or dogs.

Congratulations! The father needs to be neutered ASAP, and he shouldn't be left alone with mom or babies for about a month after that.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

He has been neutred since two weeks back. 

I have noted your advice, I will try to make them meet again in about a week in my presence.

I get the impression that he thinks they are mice or something of that kind.

Hi,

So my cat gave birth to four kittens on 29th of  March.

I weighted them all at birth and once again one week later (toaday).

They've all gained 80-90grams except for one who has only gained 10grams.

I'm super worried for this kitten, I bought catmilk today and a bottle feeder for cats but they don't like it, they all just turn their heads away from it.

Any advice? I'm quite poor and not sure if I can afford to get her to the vet.

Warmest Regards

Nursing kittens will not take a bottle.  You need to use a small (1 -2- ml) needleless syringe.  The kitten and the food both need to be warm or the kitten cannot digest it.  Are you using cat milk (a treat) or KMR?  You need to have KMR or full fat goats milk.

Feed the kitten who is the smallest 1 -2 ml 1 - 2 every hours.  Her stomach is too small to take much at one time, so you need to give small feedings close together.  Place the kitten on a table paws down, lift the head slightly and put a drop or two into her cheek .  Wait for her to swallow, take a breath and repeat.  It takes time to get it right.  If the kitten is squirming you can wrap it in a towel like a burrito.  If the table is cold, put something under the kitten.

Weigh her ever 12 hours until she is gaining consistently.  She needs to gain 6 - 10 grams every 12 hours to grow.

Super thanks for your advice!

She has only gained 10 grams for an entire week, I will monitor her carefully now.

She is nursing at her mom but I think she's so much weaker than her siblings that she gets pushed off too often.

By warm food you mean room temperature?

I tried to give her this milk:

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Whiskas-Cat-Milk/39984011

But it says on the back of it that's for kittens 6 weeks and older. I'll try to see with the vet if they have any KMR milk

Thanks once again, hopefully you saved a kitten's life!

Hi,

Super thanks for your reply!

By warm food you mean room temperature?

The milk I was trying to give her was this:

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Whiskas-Cat-Milk/39984011

Checking on the back of it now it says that it is for kittens 6 weeks or older.

So I should probably check with a vet if they have proper cat milk.

Thanks once again! Hopefully you saved a kitten's life!

That's a treat.  You need Kitten Milk Replacer.  You can find it at Pet stores or even some Walmarts.  Pet Ag, GNC, Royal Canin are good brands.  Avoid Hartz and Seargents.  Get the powdered form, the pre-mixed can cause diarrhea.

Will do so when the stores opens up tomorrow!

Is it dangerous if she had little of the treat already? I managed to get her some earlier..

Thanks once again

Goat milk will also work. She needs to start eating immediately. Milk should be warmer than room temperature. Not hot, but warm.

You can also make kitten glop - recipes are available online.

You can also try leaving her with mom at a good nipple while the other kittens are sleeping.

Do you plan to spay mom when this litter is weaned?

The cat milk won't hurt her it just doesn't  have the nutrients she needs to grow.

By all means feed her the Whiskas cat milk for now until you can get KMR. The cat milk is better than nothing and won't hurt. She just needs the nutrients in formula. Have you been able to syringe feed her? She desperately needs supplementing! She needs to gain 10 grams per day. You can also put her to one of mom's bottom lower nipples when the others are sleeping. Those nipples tend to be the best. Let us know how the supplementing goes and if she is gaining weight. You need to feed her several mL's every 2-3 hours. She needs to get stronger. How much does she weigh?

Thanks all for the help! It's more than highly appreciated.

This is her weight table, I will be much more consistent in weighing them. As you can these numbers are quite worrying.

I'm giving her much more priority at her moms nipples now, and I've just placed her there now whilst the others are asleep.
I do not own a syringe yet, it's quite early/late here. I was pushing out a bit of milk from the feeding bottle I bought. I fear that I will push out too much of it such that she will drown. I wil grab a syringe and KMR as soon as they open up the store. 

What do I do if she doesn't open her mouth? 

Thanks once again!

She will likely open her mouth to cry. You go one drop at a time in the cheeck (side of mouth not front), and not back in the throat. Much easier to control with the syringe. Let her swallow, breathe, and go again. Tummy down, head up. You can wrap her in a towel like a burrito to stop her wiggling if need be.

She needs 36mL's over a 12- hour period, so you will feed her 3 mL every 2 hours around the clock, until she shows a significant gain. She could literally turn and go downhill overnight, so the supplemental feeding is going to be her lifeline. You will feel more confident each time you feed her, and she will get used to it and not fight it. In fact, she should become hungry for it.

Please get a very small, 1-2 mL syringe if possible - easier to handle. And more is always better, so if she wants more than 3 mL, give it to her, but 3 mL every 2 hours on time is the minimum required for her to gain weight. And she and the formula need to be warm, not hot.

Looking forward to your update later! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thanks thanks and thanks!

Sure,

I brought some royal canin Milk replacer. It came with a feeding bottle but it too wasn't very good for her. Actually all of the kittens had trouble drinking from it.

I bought a pipette, it goes up to 3ml,  which seems to be quite good for this task - and it's soft. I managed to give her 1.5ml through it and I will try to give her another 1.5ml in the next hour.

I'm not sure on how to do when her mom is feeding, should I keep giving her the milk replacement and then put her back on her mom. I mean is there any risk that she will have too much milk or that she's getting too much on a short notice?

The mommy's bottom nipples are all quite small compared to the top ones which they usually drink from. It is as if there is only room for three and she is almost always being cut off.

Any ideas on how to make the other nipples more accessible? I've tried to put her on the bottom nipples but she keep stretching for the top ones.


Warmest Regards

Kittens pick their favorite nipples and stick with them for the whole time they are nursing. It sounds like she's been relegated to a less productive nipple. What you can do is to place her on a better nipple while others are sleeping.

No kitten who has a mom to nurse from is going to accept a bottle, so the pipette is a fine choice.

You should continue feeding her until she is strong enough to contend with her siblings. By weighing her every day you will know how much she needs to eat and if she is gaining enough.

How is your male doing now? Is he still threatening to the kittens? And if mom isn't yours, are you allowed to make medical decisions for her? Can you have her spayed when these kittens are 8 weeks old?

If mom's top nipples are most productive, then top nipples it is!

Royal Canin is excellent, and so is the pipette. At this point she needs as much as she can get from you and from mom. The point of you feeding her is to get her to gain a fair amount of weight and to get stronger for nursing on her own. She's not getting enough from mom at all. It's difficult to overfeed a kitten, as they are eating machines and constantly growing. Continue feeding her every 2 hours today and let's see how much she gains. You may have to feed her for several days, or even until she weans. She really needs it! But the more she gains and grows the less critical it will be, and the feedings will be more mL's and further apart in hours.

You guys deserve the warmest hugs!

I think I can spay her, what would be the benefits of doing that? As she is an indoor cat I don't think she will get pregnant again as there are no sexually active cat males here.

The male is not threatening anymore. He was pushing around the kittens with his paws (out of curiousity I'd guess) however I keep him seperated as I wish not to take any risks. 

Time here is 16:00 she is weighing 127.5g right now

Means she gained 6.5g in the past 20 hours  - it is starting to look like something. Hopefully even better soon!

Another question for you heros:

When mixing the milk according to instructions I do a 20ml bottle with each mix.

But I only use 3ml per serving each 2 hours. What do I do with the leftovers? Do I throw it away? Give it to the male? Or simply just rewarm it for the next dose?

Thanks once again!

You can mix the milk and keep it in the fridge for up to two days. Also it would help mama to drink it!

Getting her spayed is much better for her health and happiness long term. Multiple heat cycles can lead to cancer or pyometria, an infection in the uterus.

It's also stressful for her emotionally and physically to have hormones controlling her several times a year, not to mention unpleasant for everyone she lives with!