Cat gave birth in ceiling vent!! Please Help.

Hello there. My friends cat (basically our cat), was pregnant and today she gave birth. But, she crawled up into a cieling vent, where we can't reach her. She gave birth in there, the only way we can tell is because we can hear the kittens meowing.
I don't know how safe it is up there, and we don't know if the kittens are healthy or what. How do we go about handling this situation? Like I said before, theyre out of reach and basically hidden from sight with the chunks of insulation here and there. I know we arent supposed to touch newborn kittens, and I also know that cats don't leave their babies for the first few days? How long do you think the kittens will be up there? And, if theres a way, how should we get them out?
Thank you.

CrimsonCat said:

Hello there. My friends cat (basically our cat), was pregnant and today she gave birth. But, she crawled up into a cieling vent, where we can't reach her. She gave birth in there, the only way we can tell is because we can hear the kittens meowing.
I don't know how safe it is up there, and we don't know if the kittens are healthy or what. How do we go about handling this situation? Like I said before, theyre out of reach and basically hidden from sight with the chunks of insulation here and there. I know we arent supposed to touch newborn kittens, and I also know that cats don't leave their babies for the first few days? How long do you think the kittens will be up there? And, if theres a way, how should we get them out?
Thank you.

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Nay, that is a myth.  It may be true for rabbits, but cats dont abandon their kittens if a human handled it.  Especielly not if she knows you are friendly.  We dont recommend to overdo the touchings, but all breeders and most rescuers DO weigh their  kittens from day one. See.

So, in some variation you can possibly scope them out, by just sticking in your arm.  Why?  If the kittens meows much, it hints they arent very happy.  Contend and fully satisfied kittens are usually quiet.

The easiest and safest is probably to make do a prepared nest for her. Or a couple.  Cozy and nice.  So she decides by herself to move them to this better nest.

I suppose she is going out sometimes, to fetch food, drink water, relieve herself?  Perhaps even stretch her legs some?   Let one of the nests be nearby so she cant avoid to see it.

Next question is, why did she choosed such a complicated birthing nest??   Is she worried by something in the house?  You?  or whom or what else??   Analyse, and work with this.

Relaxing calming music, and or a Feliway adapter may also add to give her more feel of being safe, to calm her.

Please come back with reports.  

Yes, if there is any way to get them out of there, please do.  They should really be in a nest on the ground, ideally in an area like a closet.  

Can you make sure that mom stays 100% inside and away from intact males until the kittens are weaned?

You'll need to either remove the vent cover, or go up into the attic and bring them out - all the kittens and mama cat.

Let us know what hsppens!

It is difficult to understand exactly what the situation is, regarding their location. Are they in an air condition vent, or and exhaust vent for a bathroom or kitchen? The first one can be more complex, since this system normally runs like a spiderweb throughout the home. The other too are normally short distance, direct from point a to point b.

What matters most, is accessibility. If you can track down the vent location, is it covered completely with drywall? Or is it accessible through an unfinished basement or attic? If you are not a do it yourself kind of person, and are concerned about causing damage or injury, then I would ask a friend who is a carpenter to help out. If not, you may need professional help.. Getting the kittens out of the vent, so you can assess their health and keep them safe, is the highest priority. You also don't want to lose any kittens in the vent system, that would be a smell that you can't get rid of easily, and will become a horrific reminder for a long time to come.

Thanks for the input guys. We decided to cut open the cieling and got the kittens out. Mama and her kittens are safe. Three in total.

so you cut out the drywall in the ceiling? Sorry for dumb question-cant figure out how they got up in the ceiling to begin with-she climbed up into the vent? post a picture of the vent if you could-we can use this situation to warn future kitten parents to watch out for this. So glad you got them out of there!

Glad to see you went all out to get them to sager ground (no pun intended). Looks like a wonderful little family, good luck with the little furbabies, they whole group shall bring out years of joy. Sincerely, the kitty keepers.

A nicely grey-blue cat momma!   What is the color of her eyes?   Is they are green, I will immediately engage her as a stand in as a Russian Blue.

Is she hasnt green eyes, we will manage anyway, just avoid pics of the face from forward.

Jokes aside.  Im very glad you did found a solution, and the little family is OK now.

Just proceed to take care of them - momma mostly, and keep an eye the do develop nicely.

That's great. They were not safe up there. Glad to hear they are doing well.

Go ahead and make a nest in a quiet area for mom, and put her food, water, and litter nearby. She'll be grateful! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Hello there, recently (Yesterday morning actually) my friend's cat had kittens! Four survived. Three of them are black (No white markings) and one is white with gray spots. I was curious as to if the black kittens might gain some markings? Two of them look like they had some stripes on them, and I wonder if they might get lighter as time passes. As I recall, my cat who I got as a kitten, was all black but now he's black with brown tabby stripes.
The mother cat is gray with shaded/smokey tabby stripes showing through. The father cat is a stray, and we think he's a black tom. Thank you for the support and answers!

Black cats are usually born with ghost stripes but the stripes generally get less visible with age. So they'll most likely be solid black.

CrimsonCat said:

Thanks for the input guys. We decided to cut open the cieling and got the kittens out. Mama and her kittens are safe. Three in total.

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• crimsoncat
• May 21, 2016

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Oh well done. Hands clapping.

Many cats have the tabby gene in hte background and may have stripes htat can be traced through other colours. I have both solid black and solid white cats whose genetic marks can be seen in certain lights. I have also had amost tabby kittens who became solid black or dark grey (Blue) as they got older.

I recognize the pic, I offered the momma a job as a stand in for Russian Blue.    What is the color of her eyes?  is it green?  

Anyways, blue is diluted black, so its nothing peculiar the kittens are black.  And thus, dont carry true tabby.

I presume daddy had white spots on him, but wasnt not tabby him either.  So the kitten seems to be Harlequin in pattern.   (and got gray tx to  the dilutation gene from Ma)

Most back cats are actually tabby cats, with tiger stripes. We learned this from our black cats, which at first glance, appeared to be all black. Under the right light, usually sun light, and the right angle, you will see the faint markings of tiger stripes. It is difficult to detect on kittens, but when they come of age, the stripes will appear more clearly.

We have three black cats, Bruce (the miracle kitty almost eaten by a python), Toothless, another full black cat we got as a sweet kitten, now he is just devilishly mischievous, finally, our newest rescue of black cats, Luci. She is still in the segregated room with all the kittens and new arrivals.

Black cats rule, I will be posting pictures and introductions of all our kids, we have more than 30 rescued cats, and they share their home with us. We pay our way by feeding them and cleaning up their poop, I still think we got the better deal!

StefanZ said:

I recognize the pic, I offered the momma a job as a stand in for Russian Blue.    What is the color of her eyes?  is it green?  

Anyways, blue is diluted black, so its nothing peculiar the kittens are black.  And thus, dont carry true tabby.

I presume daddy had white spots on him, but wasnt not tabby him either.  So the kitten seems to be Harlequin in pattern.   (and got gray tx to  the dilutation gene from Ma)

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Yes, she has the most beautiful green eyes

I thought I should update, its been about two weeks since the kits were born. There are three black ones, two of them with grayish tabby stripes and the final with a classical tabby pattern appearing. I dont know how one of them could have classical tabby pattern though, but she does!

CrimsonCat said:

I thought I should update, its been about two weeks since the kits were born. There are three black ones, two of them with grayish tabby stripes and the final with a classical tabby pattern appearing. I dont know how one of them could have classical tabby pattern though, but she does!

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• crimsoncat
• Jun 2, 2016

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• crimsoncat
• Jun 2, 2016

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There could be two fathers. It's quite common to have kittens from two different makes if the act takes place around the same time and an egg drops.