First timer! For me and my kitty!

So my cat is about 2 months along and I need some advice for helping her nest and what to do throughout her labor, aftercare. She has a checkup in just a few days. I can feel the babies and hear their little heartbeats. I'm so excited but so nervous as well. She's a first time mommy and I've only ever had dogs or horses have babies. My cat is basically my best friend and I want to do everything I can to help.

First, a big welcome to you and your kitty!     If you have any photos of her, everyone would love to see them. And of course, when the kittens come, we'd really love to see those as well!

There are several experts in the Pregnant Cats and Kittens forum and hopefully one of them will stop by and answer any questions you might have.  In the meantime, check out the articles at the top of the page.

Here are four of those articles that seem especially relevant.  

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnant-cat-what-to-prepare-for-the-birth

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/help-my-cat-is-having-kittens

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/help-my-cat-is-having-kittens

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-do-i-know-when-my-cat-will-give-birth

I hope everything goes smoothly!

Okay so she has had lots of discharge today!! I'm getting ready for work now but my boyfriend is here watching over her! Her water hasn't broke yet but we're keep a close eye on her!

Does he have you log in info for TCS in case he has questions?

Here's a picture of my sweet girl before I left for work. So far he's told me she's just been staying in her nesting box and cleaning herself. Water has yet to break!

Handsome Kitty said:

Does he have you log in info for TCS in case he has questions?

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Yes he has my login and my vets business and personal numbers in case of emergency. Only two more hours in my shift to go and I'll be back home with her.

first little boy has made his arrival

Awesome! I see you are home for the births!

Yes thankfully! She was clearing in the nesting process when I got home around 5PM and wanted me by her side constantly and then around 7 she started mewing and getting restless and I could tell that the babies had dropped into the canal. So far she's the momma to 5 gorgeous and healthy babies! 2 blacks, a calico, then twin tabbies one orange and other grey with White back paws

sarthur2 said:

Awesome! I see you are home for the births!

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firs

Aww ... They all look to be nursing. Let's hope she's done! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Well another little one decided to make its appearance! It's solid grey!

I just want to brag on my sweet girl Dej for becoming a momma!! She has 3 boys 3 girls! I was so pleased with how well developed the kits are to tell gender! They are all happily snuggled up to their momma now in the nesting box soaking up her milk! Overall it was about a 7 hour process. From 5pm when she was laying in her bed panting and mewing and wanting constant companionship and attention. She was tensing up about every twenty or so mintues and seemed to be having small contractions but showing no signs of discomfort. Around 7pm her water broke and within about an hour the first sack began to make it's appearance. She didn't know what to make of the pain and was grabbing at anything nearby. At one point she got up and ran around a bit and then plop there was the first little black darling! Thereafter it was anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes for the kittens to be born! 2 blacks, 1 calico, 2 tabb twins orange and grey, and 1 solid grey. The last three worried me a bit as I am a first timer to kitten delivery. The placenta always made pretty quick follow up for the first two, the first one was within 5 minutes or so and the second was directly after. So on the third when the placenta didn't directly drop or even relatively quickly I was so worried!! But about 30 minutes later my sweet momma was clearly pushing out another little darling and I quickly realized it was twins!! Oh happy day!! And the placenta immediately followed the little grey tabby's arrival. It was almost an hour later and she had cleaned up herself and all the kittens and they were happily nursing and mewing at their momma when she began to have contractions again clearly in great pain but not nearly as much as the first kitten (who so far is clearly the runt of the bunch) and she repeated her run around process as the first kitten and dropped her big grey baby right in my lap!! She layed in my lap until the placenta was clearly away and she rested for a moment then she picked up her kitten and went back into her nesting box and they've all been content and nursing ever since! And I am just thoroughly drained! As you can imagine so is my sweet girl!

You'll definitely want to watch for a runt with 6. Can you weigh them every day?

Congratulations!

Sounds like mom did a stellar job!

You will definitely have one or two runts, so daily weighing is critical. If all do not gain the minimum 6-10 grams daily, you'll need to supplement with powdered kitten formula or goat's milk.

Putting the runts to mom for extra suckling while the others sleep helps too.

If mom ate 6 placentas she may experience loose bowels. You'll want to offer mom a dish of kitten formula a day as well. With 6 kittens to nurse, mom will need the extra fat and calcium to make good milk.

Keep us posted! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thank you all so much for the feedback I had a little scale to be used for daily weighs but it decided to go kaput on me, so I'll be buying a new one tomorrow! Is there any particular brands that are more accurate? And what formula brand would you recommend for queen's daily use?

hellcathalea said:

Thank you all so much for the feedback I had a little scale to be used for daily weighs but it decided to go kaput on me, so I'll be buying a new one tomorrow! Is there any particular brands that are more accurate? And what formula brand would you recommend for queen's daily use?

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No paticular brand, just make sure it is capable of weighing them in grams, as that will be the easiest way to tell if they've gained weight.

PetAg kitten formula is wonderful. Just make sure to get the powdered kind, not the pre-mixed as the pre-mixed is known to cause tummy problems.

Are you able to keep mom totally inside and away from intact males until the kittens are weaned? Mamas can get pregnant within a week of delivery and without going into heat.

PetAg is best. Royal canin and GNC are good too. No Hartz or Sergeants! Definitely go with powdered not premixed.

Any digital kitchen scale from Walmart will do.