The waiting game

So my indoor-outdoor mouse catcher is preggo. I first noticed June 11, as she was getting a little fat and her nipples were swollen. I have no idea when she got herself knocked up, I had called to get her spayed but they couldn't get her in until June (this was in April). I took her in late March from an abusive situation, and the day she was brought to me she had delivered 2 kittens the day before. She came with her brother (also unfixed, but I had an appt to get him fixed even before I picked him up). He was fixed April 12, and until yesterday I didn't realize he could still get her pregnant for up to 6 weeks after that! Nobody told me this!!! 

Anyway, I'm not sure when she got pregnant as it could have been him or it could have been outside. All I know is that she is HUGE! The first pregnancy the people didn't know she was pregnant until she the day before she delivered, so I've been expecting kittens for the past month. Now it's just getting ridiculous! 

So anyway, I'm in the waiting game. She's huge, milk is coming in (I was able to get a drop today from her nipples), and I just wondered if anyone wanted to follow my journey. 

My birthday is Sunday, and I think my sassy mama is going to try to hold out until then but man I hope not!

She has pretty swirly markings.

Congratulations and Welcome to TCS! 

So time for all the questions - in case you need/want help down the road. 

How old is your mom cat? 

What happened to the kittens from the first litter?  Were they okay?

What are you feeding her (from her size I'm guessing she's getting plenty)?  Kitten food has plenty of nutrients she will pass onto the kittens in her milk.

Since the pregnancies are so close together I would be concerned she may not have enough calcium in her system for the future larger litter coming.  If you wait until it is an issue it can be fatal.  You can give her a dish of KMR (kitten milk replacer) or full fat goat's milk a day.  You can also crush an egg shell (after removing the membrane inside) and mix it with her wet food.  Plain yogurt is also a good source for calcium.

Yes, of course, we want to follow your cat's story.  We love pictures of new born kittens and their moms here.  It sounds like you'll have kittens in a couple of days, a week at the latest.

Do yo have all your supplies ready?

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

I have no advice I'm afraid, I'm somewhat a newbie still. But your cat does look quite big and uncomfortable. Cats are pregnant for roughly 65 days but can be a few days either side of that. I hope she doesn't have too much longer left. She is gorgeous btw

Thanks all, still pregnant here... I hadn't considered that she would be low on calcium. I have chickens so I often have an egg or two that is cracked each day, I usually scramble these and give them to the dog or cats. I will be crushing up a shell inside, thanks for the advice! 

I'm just frustrated with the waiting! GAH! I've been expecting them any day now for 2 weeks! 

OK, so next week I am going to my parents to visit... I come back every other day to take care of my animals. Should I take her with me if she hasn't delivered? I hate to move her but I don't know if it's a good idea to leave her here alone either. 

Also, as far as her previous litter I really know nothing other than she had 2 kittens that survived. I don't know if she had delivered more or not. Someone literally dropped them off on my porch and left, and it's not someone I know well so I can't go back and ask them. They just wanted to get rid of their cats and I was willing to take them in, end of story. I'm curious now if there had been more. I also highly doubt that they were only a day old when they were dropped off, but since this person didn't tell me she was pregnant when I agreed to take her I think they just pretended the kittens were just born so that they didn't have to explain. I'm sure they were less than a week, but Darwin certainly did not look like she'd just delivered kittens the day before. 

Either way, I love my cat dearly and she came from a really bad situation (her and her brother were so skinny, they've gained so much weight just by being in my house and having food all the time, they were being starved and one person in the house had said they were going to just kill the cats). I'm glad I took them in, but now the fact that I don't really know her history is frustrating. 

Oh, and as for age... she is just over a year right now. 

She came from a litter of 6. 

And I am feeding her kitten food, but she does still have access to the regular dry cat food that is out for my other cat. She kinda goes back and forth. right now she's eating just a few bites at a time, I'm sure her tummy can't hold much! Plus I have been giving her canned adult cat food once or twice a day for the last week. and occasional scrambled eggs. She's definitely eating enough!

So here's a question... I first thought she was pregnant on June 12 because her belly was getting big... from what I've read people usually notice that around 30 days gestation. That puts today as day 63.--ish 

However, I'm pretty sure she's got a LOT of kittens in there... would she show earlier with more kittens? 

In your experience, how far along would a cat be when you can first tell by her belly (when you were NOT looking for it)?

for the record, after I noted her belly I looked online and discovered that her nipples should show by then, and yes, looking at the nipples it was very apparent that she was pregnant. 

A cat starts to show about week 5.  If you can remember when you first saw or felt the kittens move, the kittens should be born 2 -3 weeks later.   I would think the cat would show earlier if she had a large litter but I don't think that is the case.  They are definitely larger at the end with big litters or she could have a small litter of large kittens.  Either way, being a cat means she will deliver on her own time.

Kitten food only if possible.  Wet and dry.  When she delivers she may not want the other cats nearby.  You clue in if/when she starts hissing at them.  Do you have a nest in a quiet, low lit area?  A closet in a bedroom that you can put all her stuff (food, water, litter box) in and keep the other animals out of?  Moms usually keep the kittens away from everyone until they are about 3 weeks old.  Then she will begin to socialize them.

Taking her to your parents is a tough call?  Has she been there much?  Is she comfortable there?  A new situation could stress her out.  On the other hand, she may need help with the delivery.  Can you postpone the trip?

Oh yes she's got a number of nests already built... and they're in one of my kids' rooms, and they're at dad's this week so they're not around. And in the summer when I have my kids we go to my parents. I would normally just stay home next week but it's my birthday and one of my kids birthdays, so my parents have big plans for the week! I'm not sure what I'm going to do except hope she delivers before then! 

I'm hesitant to lock her in the bedroom where her nests are because right now she is staying close to me lying on the floor. The room does have food and water and a litter pan, as well as 3 spots to nest all set up, As soon as I think the's starting I will put her in there. I'm going to move the other cat food up to the table (she's too fat to jump up right now lol) and she will have only the kitten food. 

It won't hurt her to have the adult food, just that the kitten food is better. 

She may want you with her when she delivers.

Still waiting... I keep thinking it must be close and then nothing happens! I swear I saw a couple contractions yesterday but then nothing happened. Right now she's hiding in one of her many boxes, which is interesting because she's been mostly avoiding them. This is the first time she's gone into one and laid down, and she occasionally wiggles and pushes on the wall of it. So I hope it's something. But probably not, I swear she's taunting me! 

Kittens seem to be moving less, is that normal towards the end? Her sides and belly have been super hard (not sure if it's a small contractions or just that full of kittens) today. I have seen/felt some movement, but it's definitely less than yesterday and I'm hoping it's because they're cramped and they're not having trouble. She seems fine so I'm not really concerned. Just ready for her to be done! 

No discharge. And she just left her box. STOP TEASING ME!!!!

I think i see a mucus plug!!!

how long???

It could still be a couple days but she is showing signs of impending birth.  Hope over to the cat lounge forum for the babble thread.  They are getting close to 4000 posts and the 4000th post wins a TCS T-shirt.

I put her in the bedroom with 3 different nests... she is now hiding in one of the nests! That's progress, up til now she's just been lying in the middle of the floor! I'm pretty  sure she's in early labor because she keeps switching positions and is holding her tail up away from her bum. Hoping for tonight!

suliah14 said:

I put her in the bedroom with 3 different nests... she is now hiding in one of the nests! That's progress, up til now she's just been lying in the middle of the floor! I'm pretty  sure she's in early labor because she keeps switching positions and is holding her tail up away from her bum. Hoping for tonight!

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I've been following your thread, excited to hear about these little babies when they come. Good luck x

Well I'm thinking she's in early labor... but I feel bad because she's so big that she can't even reach down to lick the mucus away, and that makes me nervous about her not being able to reach down and clean kittens or chew cords. She is literally so fat that she can't lick herself. I'm hoping that once they start to move down into position that she will be able to reach again, but right now there's a pile of mucus that came out but got all caught up in her fur. If she will let me I think I'm going to have to clean it up for her. 

Sounds like early labor. She'll be able to take care of the kittens!

So my Darwin has put herself into one of the nesting boxes and is not moving... but she's trying to sleep! is that normal for early labor or is she just faking me out again??? She still has a mucus discharge, like thick boogers. 

Cats rest through labor too. It's normal. Stage one labor can last up to 24 hours. Hang in there!

so I gave up on her because she was just sleeping. Bad idea... I missed it ALL! Woke up at 6am to find 6 kittens! and she was done! They were mostly still wet, but I seriously missed everything! I'm glad she had them and she's happy and healthy but I wanted to see it...

Anyway, working on the kitten pictures!