My pregnant cat has had 9 kittens

Hey all,

I'm really new to this, so I hope I'm doing this right. I'm getting really concerned about my cat.

She's about eight months old, and used to be a stray. She's my family's first cat, so we're still new to this. 

When she followed my sister home in about middle September, I believe, she was a few weeks pregnant. Vet diagnosed and all. About two weeks before Halloween, she miscarried that litter. A week after that, she was in heat, I'm pretty sure- sticking her butt in the air all the time, clingier than usual, louder than usual. She had never stuck her butt up like that before and didn't ever do it again after four days of doing it, so I assume that was her in heat. She's an outside cat, and there are lots of strays near our neighborhood, so she spent that time away from our house before I could convince my parents to keep her inside (my mom's allergic to cats). It's easy to assume she got pregnant, since there are so many cats around here getting pregnant by stray toms. 

Anyway, she is currently staying inside because of the freezing temperatures outside, and I changed her diet a bit. So when she got fat, I thought it was just her getting pudgy. But she put on a lot of fat REALLY quickly. Like, we went on vacation for a week, her food regimen stayed the same, but when we got back her stomach was HUGE. It now sways from side to side as she walks, and it feels rather firm to the touch. She hasn't gotten wider anywhere else on her body.

I thought she obviously must be very pregnant, except that one of the biggest signs of pregnancy is the pinking up of the nipples, and hers are still brown and shriveled, although they are sticking up if that means anything. She's gotta be pretty far along, but her nipples aren't matching any description of pregnant ones I've read about. 

Also, today she's started meowing almost nonstop, just wandering the basement and not shutting up. I've fed her, she's got water, her litterbox is clean, I tried letting her outside but it's too cold and she blatantly didn't want to, and I'm not sure what her deal is. I've petted her, she's got her bed nice and fluffy, and she just won't stop. Any ideas?

Here are pics of her today, her stomach is huge.



And here's a picture of one of her nipples; they all look like this, none are producing milk (obviously), and they don't look anywhere close to pinking up anytime soon. Does this mean she's not pregnant? Could this be a tumor? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My cat is the same age as well, and pregnant. Her nipples are doing the same thing. I will add a picture. She saw a vet today, and she is indeed pregnant, and due anyday. Even though her nipples look exactly like that. Cats pregnancies last anywhere from 61-70 days, or roughly 9 weeks. If she was outside and is not fixed, and the timeline works out, shes probably pregnant. Cats are very fertile.

KittyMum1992 said:

My cat is the same age as well, and pregnant. Her nipples are doing the same thing. I will add a picture. She saw a vet today, and she is indeed pregnant, and due anyday. Even though her nipples look exactly like that. Cats pregnancies last anywhere from 61-70 days, or roughly 9 weeks. If she was outside and is not fixed, and the timeline works out, shes probably pregnant. Cats are very fertile.

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Thanks!! This really helps!

I'm glad!

G gracievi

Welcome!

Your cat is clearly pregnant, and getting close to the end. Cat pregnancy averages 65-70 days. Cats can become very vocal towards the end. Do you plan to spay her after this litter weans?

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-pregnancy

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

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

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

Things sound normal for now. Keep us posted! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful advice! We took her to the vet, got her an ultrasound, and saw that there were at least six kittens in there. I was worried that since her nipples hadn't picked up that maybe she wouldn't be able to produce milk, but the vet said it's not something to worry about.
And today, at four in the morning, she climbed into my bed on top of my blanket and woke me up again at 8:30 with a cry as she pushed out the first kitten. ...Oooon my good blanket. It took five hours, but she safely delivered all NINE kittens- all of which alive and squirmy!

Oh my goodness---9! That's a huge litter. You may need to help her out by supplementing some of them. Get a scale and weigh them every day at the same time. If any lose weight, or don't gain an average of 10 grams a day, you'll need to supplement. Don't want to lose any.

Willowy said:

Oh my goodness---9! That's a huge litter. You may need to help her out by supplementing some of them. Get a scale and weigh them every day at the same time. If any lose weight, or don't gain an average of 10 grams a day, you'll need to supplement. Don't want to lose any.

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Thanks! I've ready weighed each today- smallest is 96 grams and the biggest is 115. All are eating healthily, but I do have milk replacement handy in case some aren't getting enough nourishment!

G gracievi

You may want to read this thread about another member whose cat had 9 kittens. They thrived due to the assistance of the owner. You will definitely need to split them up, rotate, supplement, and help clean them if you want them all to make it.

It's an informative read:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/323928/advice-for-a-large-litter-9-kittens

Also, please remove the collars from the newborns. They are very dangerous while they are so tiny!

We're here for you! [emoji]128571[/emoji]

sarthur2 said:

G gracievi

You may want to read this thread about another member whose cat had 9 kittens. They thrived due to the assistance of the owner. You will definitely need to split them up, rotate, supplement, and help clean them if you want them all to make it.

It's an informative read:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/323928/advice-for-a-large-litter-9-kittens

Also, please remove the collars from the newborns. They are very dangerous while they are so tiny!

We're here for you! [emoji]128571[/emoji]

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That was very helpful, thanks! But why are the collars dangerous? These are specifically made for kitten/puppy IDing. I don't like having them wear them, but there are so many of them and there are three blonde ones and four grey ones, with only one with unique patterning, so they're currently impossible to truly tell apart and I can't keep track of their individual weight gains and thus their individual feeding needs if they don't have the collars on.

Well, my cat just gave birth to I'm pretty sure is her first litter, and she popped out NINE little ones. Everyone is pretty healthy and happy. She's been recuperating with them in our basement in a special bed I got her. I also live in the basement, my room being in the corner and kept hidden by a room divider. Stella has been doing well with her kittens, and is very patient with them. But now she's acting strangely. Whenever she leaves the kittens for a bit to stretch her legs and whatnot, she always makes her way over to me on my bed, and she then meows almost urgently. She's talkative by nature, but this is a whole new level. I'll go check on the kittens to make sure she's not telling me something happened to them, and they're always fine. I don't know why she acts so urgent; I pet her, but she doesn't purr and will often jump right back off the bed, just to turn around less than a minute later and jump back up. Should I be worried, or is this normal for new mommies?

Gracievi said:

 

sarthur2 said:

@Gracievi

You may want to read this thread about another member whose cat had 9 kittens. They thrived due to the assistance of the owner. You will definitely need to split them up, rotate, supplement, and help clean them if you want them all to make it.

It's an informative read:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/323928/advice-for-a-large-litter-9-kittens

Also, please remove the collars from the newborns. They are very dangerous while they are so tiny!

We're here for you! [emoji]128571[/emoji]

Click to expand...

That was very helpful, thanks! But why are the collars dangerous? These are specifically made for kitten/puppy IDing. I don't like having them wear them, but there are so many of them and there are three blonde ones and four grey ones, with only one with unique patterning, so they're currently impossible to truly tell apart and I can't keep track of their individual weight gains and thus their individual feeding needs if they don't have the collars on.

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Collars are a real liability.. they can't be tight, but if they're not then things can get caught in them..   They can even cause strangulation.

Try using a tiny bit of nail varnish on a claw or the claws of one foot.. or some people will use a little food dye on a specific place on all of them.

Gracievi said:

Well, my cat just gave birth to I'm pretty sure is her first litter, and she popped out NINE little ones. Everyone is pretty healthy and happy. She's been recuperating with them in our basement in a special bed I got her. I also live in the basement, my room being in the corner and kept hidden by a room divider. Stella has been doing well with her kittens, and is very patient with them. But now she's acting strangely. Whenever she leaves the kittens for a bit to stretch her legs and whatnot, she always makes her way over to me on my bed, and she then meows almost urgently. She's talkative by nature, but this is a whole new level. I'll go check on the kittens to make sure she's not telling me something happened to them, and they're always fine. I don't know why she acts so urgent; I pet her, but she doesn't purr and will often jump right back off the bed, just to turn around less than a minute later and jump back up. Should I be worried, or is this normal for new mommies?

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This is quite common for cats whom love their Momma.    In nature, young cats have often co-help from their biological mommas, so this isnt that peculiar.   Many owners move the nest to their bed, or  move their bed to the nest.

You have a big litter.  Watch out, it may easily happen one or two will fall behing in growing.  Perhaps not because they are weaker,  but they may get shuflled out of the way by stronger siblings...  And get less to eat, and thus, gets weaker and weaker.

Two common  remedies is to rotate them, perhaps 4 +5, half asleep, half nusing, rotate then.    And or, be prepared to supplement some.

So, be sure momma gets good nourishment - kitten style.  Some extra calcium too.  Get a scale, weight them daily.  They shall add minimum 6 grammes a day, preferably 10grammes - more is allowed.

Get home some kmr - kittenmothermilk replacement, or goats milk.   And a small needleless syringe,  about 1,5 ml...

Please report and come with new questions as need arises.

It's sounds pretty normal. There were a few momma cats at the shelter that were quite good at asking us to babysit while they took a break. If you sat down next to the kittens, they'd eat, groom, rest on a cat tree or shelf, or just chill in a window for a while.

I agree, this is pretty normal. But she may be sort of asking for help - it is a very large litter, especially for a younger mother. The first 48 hours are critical - any who do not get enough to eat will start to fail. So it is urgent that you start now to weigh them and identify any that may be crying or are restless as they will be hungry. If you cannot tell them apart then mark them with a dab of coloured mail varnish on a claw or even just inside the ear. |Get a notebook, mark it up with their colours/names and record their weight every day at the same time. And get some kitten supplement milk from you vet or pharmacy, plus extrasmal bottles and teats, and what I always use, several 10cc syringes without needles - it is often much easier to get milk into them this way than with a bottle. With this number of kittens it is almost certain that the mother will not be able to produce enough milk for all of them as they grow, even if she is doing it now. AS Stefan says, rotate them now so all are getting something, but momma only has 6 nipples so you must be careful to ensure they all eat. Feed momma as much as she can eat of kitten food, as it is rich in the nutrients she needs now, and give her some kitten replacement milk too, or goat milk, fresh or sterilized, so she has as much nourishment as possible. She has a huge task ahead of her and will need help, and maybe she is already feeling overwhelmed by it all.

This is not going to be an easy thing for you or for her - if you have any friends experienced in cat birthing or raising, I would call them in. Also, inform your vet as they may be able to recommend someone to help and advise. Please do post pictures of the litter, and we will help as much as possible. But nothing beats someone experienced on the spot.

Apologies that I have repeated some advice, this is because I have combined your two threads.

The mother cat wants your attention. She wants you to help with her kittens. You may want to move the kittens into your sleeping area so mim cat feels more secure.

How are their weights today?

It is highly likely that you have 2-4 runts in need of supplementing already. I cannot stress enough the importance of staying on top of the situation!