Question about seeing kittens moving

Aww, that's sweet! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Weirdest thing just happened and I have no explanation. She got up to come to me and three quarters of the way over here she suddenly flipped out and threw herself on the ground and was trying to get to her back end. She tossed herself around and went right back to the babies. Looks like she MAY be having contractions. Dang that was something else.

Or it could be after pains. They have those also for a couple of days after giving birth. That must have been unnerving to watch!

It was very strange! She's up and using the litter box now. I'm baby-sitting. They're sound asleep

I did move them into a bigger box and slid the old one over. She's content with the new box but likes to "get away" and rest outside the box and seems to like the old one there. I'll remove it after a couple days but she seems to like it so it'll stay for now. I figure, just in case she does have another one in there maybe she will feel safer having it in that box instead of with the 5 kittens.

That's a good thought to leave the old box there for awhile "just in case".

I love the kitten pile! Lots of moms like to rest away from the kittens while they sleep. Think how often they have to nurse them in the early weeks - it's a big job!

When my cat's kittens were about 6 weeks old, my cat started slinking upstairs to nap on my bed, leaving her kittens for me to babysit. I felt sorry for her because she was so exhausted. I was happy she felt she could go take a nap!

Everyone is still doing very well. It's so cute how you can see personalities forming already. The black and white one likes to lay spread eagle across mom after eating and the one with no face markings likes to crawl away from the others and towards the entrance of the box when mom leaves to eat.


This was taken the day she gave birth. There's 3 of the tuxedos and I think the 4th one in the pic is the one without any white on its face.

That's so cute of their little faces! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Just thought I'd share another pic. 3 of the 5 have their eyes open now. I also wanted to share more of what happened the day she gave birth in case anyone else finds this thread later (I google questions sometimes and come across old threads on this site that I find helpful and interesting).

It's worth noting that she did not really have any telltale signs that she would give birth that day. She ate, didn't have any noticeable discharge, etc. I did not take her temperature. She was not overly needy or affectionate. She was her normal self.

I came home from a short day of work. I believe Evie ate some. I sat down and she was her usual lovey self. She climbed on my lap and was enjoying pets. When she climbed off there were two small wet spots on my jeans. I'd seen the kittens moving quite a bit before she got on my lap. I believe she had a contraction as she began rolling on her back. She got up and went into a nesting box. Then she came back out and meowed at me before going back in. I got closer to the entrance. She began having stronger contractions. I took note of the time. It was 3:55. Then a gush of fluids. More contractions. The first baby was delivered. She cleaned him but wasn't quite sure about the afterbirth. I waited but ended up cutting the cord and removing it to prevent it was wrapping around his leg and potentially cutting of circulation and also to prevent the afterbirth from chilling him since it starts to lose heat the minute it comes out. The second kitten followed soon after. I also took care of the afterbirth and cord. Then a third kitten. She ate the afterbirth of this one. After the third kitten there was a moment when she was laying down and I could see movement in her belly. It was definitely a kitten moving around so I knew there was at least one more. Then the contractions started. They were violent and she was throwing her body around. I quickly pulled the three kittens out and into my lap so they wouldn't accidentally get crushed. The fourth kitten came out and she ate the afterbirth. Then she had a fifth kitten. She did not take care of the afterbirth so I removed it. I did end up helping wipe away the sac from at least two of the kittens to help momma out. I had a soft wash cloth that I used to wipe it away and stroke their backs to get them moving.

Wonderful information to share for future readers, and thank goodness you were there to help!

That's a great kitten pile picture! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Are they all gaining at least 6-10 grams daily?

I believe so. I usually am crazy about weighing my young fosters daily (actually twice a day and I've been known to kee meticulous charts) but I've been lax with these guys since they're all nice sized and active. There isn't a single kitten in this group that struggles to get a chance to eat. I'm so used to getting moms with very young babies and being told that one was not completely expected to make it. It was never hard to figure out which one because there as such a huge size difference. I'm happy to say all of the ones who the shelter thought might not survive have. I weighed the small one (at least I thought she was small!) and compared it to her birth weight and then weighed one of the two larger ones (so I thought) and they were almost the same exact weight! The "bigger" ones seem to have a thicker fluffier coat. I keep a close eye on them but don't want to stress Evie out if I don't have to. The pic I just posted is when they were 6 days old. They're a bit bigger now at 11 days. They're all noisy and have their favorite nursing spot. When they all begin struggling and scrambling to find it Evie lets me place them in their spots.

Sounds like they are doing well! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Momma kitty has a lump. Almost like she is pregnant. We are going to the vet just to make sure nothing is wrong or retained. Her babies are 3 weeks old. She is acting normal. Maybe a little more spazzy and affectionate. She's eating and drinking a ton and doesn't have any discharge. Any thoughts on what could be causing this?

That's interesting. An x-ray should shed light on it. I hope it's not serious. Please let us know tomorrow.

Vet said its possible she has a hernia and they'll take a closer look when they spay her in several weeks. Nothing to worry about

Yes, hernias are generally repaired during the spay surgery.

Thank you for the update! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

It is 9:55pm and this is not an emergency so we are waiting to call vet until tomorrow. However, I have no idea what is going on with the momma cat. Yesterday morning she had a slight runny stool shortly after throwing up. Afterwards everything went back to normal. Her poops were solid and normal but very slightly discolored. Today her poop was also normal. Until this evening when she had horrible diarrhea twice in half an hour. A few hours later she threw up again (more this time) and went to the litter box where she only had a small loose stool but she continued to strain. She got out then went back in and strained some more. Then she gave up and is now sleeping on a folded up blanket on my bed and looks pretty miserable. She hasn't had any change in diet, been exposed to any cats other than her kittens, hasn't ingested anything or been exposed to anything she shouldn't have been. I am just very confused by this whole situation. The kittens have begun eating some soft food the past few days and I have only seen two of them poop so I'm wondering if she is still taking care of it and that is what is making her sick? I am definitely Italy bringing her and a stool sample in to the vet. I do hope it is not contagious. I would hate it if the kittens al got sick too

F fostersrule

This is interesting because you are the third person to post about a cat becoming suddenly ill with diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy in the past week, which makes it sound like a virus, such as feline parvo virus.

Whatever it is, she needs to stay hydrated. That is the single most important factor in recovery.

I'm so sorry she's ill. She must feel terrible. Please let me know what the vet says.

It's the strangest thing. Luckily I am able to give her fluids if needed. She is still hydrated at the moment. She's always been a huge water drinker and she always has wet food. I will post after fecal and vet appointment.

Okay, thanks. I hope it doesn't get any worse. [emoji]128533[/emoji]