Fostering pregnant stray; when to be worried she hasn't gone into labor

I'm fostering a pregnant stray, and am just wondering given I don't know exactly how far along she is, when I should be worried that she hasnt given birth yet. I took her to the rescue's vet and he didn't run any tests on the kittens but said he counted at least 4, probably 4-6+ and that she was due any day. It's been a week now since the vet and still no signs of labor. She's been nesting for a week and a half. Are there any signs I should look for to indicate something may be wrong? I've felt the kittens move since day 1, but they don't seem to move much. I'm guessing it's her first litter since vet said she was under a year old. Any thoughts?

Dioes she have any discharge yet? When cats get ready to go into labor there is discharge. The mucus plug comes out also. Eventually you will see ripples in her sides as contractions begin. They are probably not moving much because they are squeezed.

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

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thescrappack said:

I'm fostering a pregnant stray, and am just wondering given I don't know exactly how far along she is, when I should be worried that she hasnt given birth yet. I took her to the rescue's vet and he didn't run any tests on the kittens but said he counted at least 4, probably 4-6+ and that she was due any day. It's been a week now since the vet and still no signs of labor. She's been nesting for a week and a half. Are there any signs I should look for to indicate something may be wrong? I've felt the kittens move since day 1, but they don't seem to move much. I'm guessing it's her first litter since vet said she was under a year old. Any thoughts?

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Did she dropped? ie seems suddenly lesser big than she was?  If so, its nearing.  And yes, in that state the kittens gets even more squieezed, so they move less.

Does she wants / allows you to rub her tummy?  if yes, do so. Its nice massage, and help things going.  

The  exact moment of delivery is usually difficult to know, even for owners.  The renown Waiting game.

It may be true, there are risk involved both with waiting too long, and not waiting long enough - we are always afraid of complicantions, no?

With humans, if we are in doubt and do have access to a good surgeon, its easy: we let the doc take the baby out.  It costs, but healthwise its no problems and pretty safe.

With cats, its the opposite: too early delivery is dangerous for kittens, much much more than for human babies.   While a little too late delivery is seldom any problems.

So, balancing possible risks, the advice is almost alway, to prepare yourself as well you can, but wait calmly and be optimistic.

Tx for caring!

No super obvious discharge. She sat on my lap a little bit ago and was a little wet, but I also saw her use the litter box like 15-20 minutes earlier so I'm wondering if maybe it was some pee that hadn't dried? She's not licking or anything. I've read all about the signs and what to expect, but I'm more concerned with warning signs that things are going wrong or I need to intervene. My childhood cat had a litter of a single kitten and before we got X-rays to ensure there weren't more, the vet kept telling us horror stories of what happens when kittens die in utero and so now I'm anxious.

Thanks, I guess I'll just keep waiting and try not to worry, haha. She does love belly rubs (certainly surprised me!) so I'll keep doing that!

thescrappack said:

No super obvious discharge. She sat on my lap a little bit ago and was a little wet, but I also saw her use the litter box like 15-20 minutes earlier so I'm wondering if maybe it was some pee that hadn't dried? She's not licking or anything. I've read all about the signs and what to expect, but I'm more concerned with warning signs that things are going wrong or I need to intervene. My childhood cat had a litter of a single kitten and before we got X-rays to ensure there weren't more, the vet kept telling us horror stories of what happens when kittens die in utero and so now I'm anxious.

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Yeah, that isnt nice to think about.  BUT.  It isnt unusual vets when spaying find a calcifierated rests of a kitten inside.  So apparently, the worst case scenario doenst always happens - the kitten instead of poisoning her, either gets dissolved or calcifierated, and she survives without any outer signs.

You can learn what her normal temp is. So being to measure now.  Using the method you prefer.  A nice non invasive method is to measure in the armpit of the foreleg.  The temp there is about 3F degrees lower than in teh anus,  or a full C degree lower.

The method isnt scientifically correct, but good enough to notice tendencies.

Begin measuring now....   Shortly before the delivery the temp usually falls down some. But you are worried if it raises much, no?