Pregnant cat lethargic and panting. Going into labor or sick?

thescrappack said:

mom wasn't happy, but I think I accurately got them all. Some are definitely smaller than others, but for appx. twelve hours old, 102g-118g is fine so far, right?

Black: 107g
Gray: 116g
Dark striped: 113g
Striped white neck: 109g
Black white white nose: 103g
Black white black nose: 118g
Light striped: 102g

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Yes, its good weight.  Fully normal range - but good.

Different aspect of mothering. Having given birth night before last to 7 kittens my foster cat is so far showing great mothering instincts, but this morning I woke up to find she moved them from the warm and cozy stair landing to a little nook near the front door that is quite chilly and with very little insulation from the cold tile floor. I've tried moving them back, but she brings one back as soon as I go to get the next. There are 7 of them which I know helps keep them warm, but shes not spending all her time there and even I start shivering if I'm there too much. I already set up a heater but the heat all rises to her old spot leaving the new spot cold. Does she know what she's doing? She attends to them if they start crying enough but I'm still not sure they are getting enough warmth. What do I do?

thescrappack said:

........is so far showing great mothering instincts, but this morning I woke up to find she moved them from the warm and cozy stair landing to a little nook near the front door that is quite chilly and with very little insulation from the cold tile floor. I've tried moving them back, but she brings one back as soon as I go to get the next. There are 7 of them which I know helps keep them warm, but shes not spending all her time there and even I start shivering if I'm there too much. I already set up a heater but the heat all rises to her old spot leaving the new spot cold. Does she know what she's doing? She attends to them if they start crying enough but I'm still not sure they are getting enough warmth. What do I do?

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As long as she is with them, they should do OK.  In nature it can be quite chilly...  And momma cant always be with  them, she must find food now and then...

Can you get an IR-heating lamp?   Someone rheumatic neigbour perhaps??  These do warm from some distance.

There are cat heating pads at your local farm store, Amazon has them too. I would just watch them and keep a blanket around them to keep the chill at bay, be careful they can't get tangled up in it though. Or put them in a box on it's side with a blanket or towel on the bottom.  Feral moms raise litters in the freezing cold, so they should be OK. 

Thanks, I think I'm just being overanxious. My only other kitten experience was with a young cat who very much acted like a teen mom and had a litter of one. It was nearly impossible to keep her warm because mamma wanted nothing to do with her and I had to hold her down so she could nurse, plus round the clock supplemental feedings.

I live in NYC and don't drive, so I don't think there is a local farm store. They have a hot water bottle but I can't track down an IR heating lamp. It looks like mamma knows what she's doing.

StefanZ said:

Yes, its good weight.  Fully normal range - but good.

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So everyone is gaining really well except a now clear runt. White nose is only 106g today, so only a 3g gain. The rest gained 9-18g since yesterday. I'll start supplementing KMR, but is there more I need to do or be worried about with him?

thescrappack said:

So everyone is gaining really well except a now clear runt. White nose is only 106g today, so only a 3g gain. The rest gained 9-18g since yesterday. I'll start supplementing KMR, but is there more I need to do or be worried about with him?

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ONE day  with less gain isnt not yet alarming, not with these good birthing weights.  But its of course good you do notice this, and prepare.

One common problem is, some more energetic push off the less energetic.   So a good idea is to rotate them soms, say take a couple of the most pushing, to their own little extra nest, after they have eaten and are sleeping.  So the smaller ones has more of quality time with momma.

You can take the two pushers, half and half, or - if there is one decidely the runt, let it be alone with momma.  The active feeding as such isnt very long, part of the "suckling time" they are more or less asleep, happy and content now.

And yes,  you do observe more closely all the interactions, and weigh him more often, say every 12 hours, till you notice he has stabilized and gain nicely 810+ a day.

thescrappack said:

Thanks, I think I'm just being overanxious. My only other kitten experience was with a young cat who very much acted like a teen mom and had a litter of one. It was nearly impossible to keep her warm because mamma wanted nothing to do with her and I had to hold her down so she could nurse, plus round the clock supplemental feedings.

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• thescrappack
• Mar 7, 2017

I live in NYC and don't drive, so I don't think there is a local farm store. They have a hot water bottle but I can't track down an IR heating lamp. It looks like mamma knows what she's doing.

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You can use a sock filled with raw rice and tied off. Microwave for 5 minutes. It will hold the heat!

Great advice from @StefanZ  , as I read how many were born I thought you will very likely need to rotate, because the lower 4 are the best milk producers and sure enough you will see the biggest will have those and will not allow smaller kits to intrude. They will find their faves and nurse there throughout now.

Alternating is simple once you get the set up.

A very small container with soft bedding and a heating pad under it set on low, leaving one part unheated in case of getting too warm they will scoot to the cooler spot.

You can tell and see who is smaller and weaker and divide the groups this way.

Every 2 hours rotation is best.

If mom protests then you will need to put the box in another room.

This is a good amt of babies for mom's milk to support so be sure to feed her canned pates and plenty of fresh water often, even a dish of formula per day is good.

With a litter of 7, there will be runts, so I want to advise you to be prepared to divide them in to groups by size/weight, otherwise you will have some that will not get enough to thrive and survive.

If you choose not to do this please be prepared to supplement feed the smallest.

Also want to mention that mom moves the kits when she is unhappy and insecure about her nest spot, usually due to noise, people, lack of privacy and seclusion, a small private closet is often a great spot for mom and she will stay there for longer periods too rather than leaving them so much.

Thanks for the help and reassurances everyone. The two runts are gaining really well now with minimal interventions. A tiny bit of KMR seems to have kick started their appetites. With everyone gaining well now, is there still a reason to rotate groups? I hadn't yet started rotating so they managed those gains without.

Also, is there such a thing as growing too fast, or is that just a good sign? I assume newborns cant really be overweight, but just wanted to double check. The biggest gain today was 22g, lowest gain was 8g. Their weights now range from 125g-147g at 2.5 days old.

If they are doing well without supplementing it's fine. Kittens can gain as much as possible and it's all good! If anyone gains less than 6 grams a day they need supplementing right away! Continue to weigh them and be vigilant.

Everything's going well with the kittens, but I noticed momma had a couple drops of bright red bloody discharge yesterday and today. I know some discharge is to be expected, but was under the impression bright red is a problem? Is that so even if it's just a drop or two a day?

Note it's not even really dripping. I only see the red where she sits down to eat and drink so it's not even really enough to "drip" exactly.

It's okay. It should turn pinker and then brownish, and then disappear. It takes 7-10 days as the uterus heals. An increase in bloody red discharge or a foul odor would indicate infection and require an immediate vet trip. Most cats heal just fine. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

So the kittens are now 9 days old, and everything's been going really well, but the biggest kitten also isn't consistently gaining, but is on average gaining well. Is that okay? On day 5 she only gained 4g after a 17g gain on day 4, and then she gained an average of 16g days 6-8, now day 9 she didn't gain at all. Shes 218g and still the largest of the litter, so I assume it's okay? No need to supplement or anything, right?

thescrappack said:

So the kittens are now 9 days old, and everything's been going really well, but the biggest kitten also isn't consistently gaining, but is on average gaining well. Is that okay? On day 5 she only gained 4g after a 17g gain on day 4, and then she gained an average of 16g days 6-8, now day 9 she didn't gain at all. Shes 218g and still the largest of the litter, so I assume it's okay? No need to supplement or anything, right?

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Yes she is fine.

Not because she is big either, if she had no sibs to compare her to it would be easier to remember that she is just as fragile, just a little puddin pop

Lack of gains that are concerning and should be given supplement feedings are 2 days in a row of no or very low gains, often it's just to get them back on track if prior they had done well, or consistent low daily gains, less than 6 grams says kitten is getting pushed off and not getting enough.

I'm sure tmrw you will see a good gain for her, she sounds good and stable.

Glad you are monitoring well!