I need a little help!

I have two cats, one 3 years old (Rommy - spayed) and one around 4 years old (Chloe - not spayed). It's kind of backwards because Rommy stays indoors and Chloe goes outside from time to time. The only reason we spayed Rom is because she had surgery on her mouth and the vet said they would reduce the price to spay her. So of course we agreed. We didn't think there were any Toms around us because we live in the woods around a bunch of dog owners. The only cats we knew of were long gone or killed by wolves/coyotes.

      Jan 31 Chloe went missing. She was gone all day and all night, a total of 26 hours. Scared the crap out of me. The past few weeks she's been getting fatter and her nips have gotten bigger and pink. About a week ago my grandmother saw another cat casually walking up our drive like it belonged here. It was black like our Chlo-bug so she called out to it. It ran away and she saw it had a white beard and white boots. Chloe only has white on her chest and tummy. So there is, in fact, another cat around. We don't know if it's male or female or where it came from. We haven't seen it since.

      Chloe hasn't been acting differently but she keeps getting bigger. She would be in her 7th week if she is pregnant. We can't feel movement or lumps. She hasn't been eating differently and we've put her on kitten food just in case. She got like this last year, big belly and pink nips, but she went back to normal after a few weeks. Could there be something wrong with her or is she simply pregnant? And what should I do if she is? The last time we had a pregnant cat I was young and my grandmother had to help with the delivery. I'm a very paranoid person. I don't want to hurt her or her kittens. She scares me every time she jumps and recently she's started losing her balance because of her large belly. I managed to catch her twice without touching her belly much, I just went for her armpits and hind end. 

      I just need to know what to look out for if she's pregnant, behavior and other things. I'm new to this. 

Thanks in advance!   

~Amber

Just showing what her tummy looks like. I hope you can tell how big it is. She's a very active cat and there's no fat spread out over her body. It's just her tummy.

Welcome to TCS! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Your cat sounds and looks pregnant. Kitten movement can be seen and/or felt the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy, so that should become apparent soon.

Please keep her inside now where she will be safe, and not go into the woods eventually to have her kittens.

Male cats will travel miles to mate with a female in heat, so please spay her after this litter is weaned.

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

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Thank you! We'll be sure to keep her inside and we've already planned on having her spayed. 

That's great news!

My cat, Chloe, is very pregnant. About a week ago she started to produce milk. I don't mean a lot. Like it's there but barely. I was wondering how far along she is and how much time she has left. She looks like she's about to pop and I'm a nervous wreck [emoji]128584[/emoji][emoji]128517[/emoji]

when had you began to feel the kittens move?

Has she dropped as yet?  ie suddenly seems less big?

StefanZ said:

when had you began to feel the kittens move?

Has she dropped as yet?  ie suddenly seems less big?

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We've been able to feel them move a little for about 2 or 3 weeks. And she gets bigger every day [emoji]128514[/emoji]

Amber0318 said:

We've been able to feel them move a little for about 2 or 3 weeks. And she gets bigger every day [emoji]128514[/emoji]

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Ok, so its soon.  the usual is though,  a day or two before the delivery, they "drop".  Its when the kittens wander down into the birthing positions, and momma from a senior male baskeball suddenly seems to be a basketball for women...  

There are many signs, but none of them is 100 reliable so to speak, they just tell its nearing, its nearing...  So its just to prepare as well you can,  have joy with observation, and wait.

Chloe had her kittens. 3 were born breech, 2 of those stillborn, and one normal but it's very small. It won't nurse and I'm really worried. The other one is bigger and seems to be doing fine. [emoji]128557[/emoji][emoji]128557[/emoji][emoji]128557[/emoji]

Amber0318 said:

Chloe had her kittens. 3 were born breech, 2 of those stillborn, and one normal but it's very small. It won't nurse and I'm really worried. The other one is bigger and seems to be doing fine. [emoji]128557[/emoji][emoji]128557[/emoji][emoji]128557[/emoji]

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So you must be prepared to handraise it yourself.    for example using a needle less syringe or a dropper.    Kittens whom are too weak to  nurse, or even has a cleft palate, and cant suckle, are often able to swallow, and thus, may be saved by such measures.

Do you have access to any kmr or goats milk?  Raw goats milk has an edge here if you can get it.

Does momma takes care of it?  warming up, licking / washing?  The tiny and weak has often extra difficult to hold up body temp.

You can give some quick energy by smearing a little honey solved in water on their gum and lips - glucose sugar / dextrose in honey goes straight into blood already in the mouth.

StefanZ said:

So you must be prepared to handraise it yourself.    for example using a needle less syringe or a dropper.    Kittens whom are too weak to  nurse, or even has a cleft palate, and cant suckle, are often able to swallow, and thus, may be saved by such measures.

Do you have access to any kmr or goats milk?  Raw goats milk has an edge here if you can get it.

Does momma takes care of it?  warming up, licking / washing?  The tiny and weak has often extra difficult to hold up body temp.


You can give some quick energy by smearing a little honey solved in water on their gum and lips - glucose sugar / dextrose in honey goes straight into blood already in the mouth.

Click to expand...

She takes care of it. She licks it and keeps it beside her. I check on it every now and then. I tried holding it's head up to a nip but it just turned away. I don't have anything that I could use to feed it here. Should I take it to the vet or just buy milk?

Amber0318 said:

She takes care of it. She licks it and keeps it beside her. I check on it every now and then. I tried holding it's head up to a nip but it just turned away. I don't have anything that I could use to feed it here. Should I take it to the vet or just buy milk?

Click to expand...

Most vets dont know much about small weak kittens.  So unless your vet IS knowleable on it, or has a vet tech whom is, there is no much point with it.  YOU  are the kittens best chance.

However, the vet has probably suitable kitten mothermilk replacement milk, if there is none good in your nearest pet shop  (Walmart is good here).   Avoid  the Hartz brand, most others are OK.    WHAT COUTRY are you in?

the vet has prob also other gears alike needleless syringe, and can show you how to use it.  Its not difficult but you must know how to do it.

Perhaps phone and ask if they can sell you the gears, and tell how to do it on a dummy.   Better not to move the kitten from momma, it can easily get chilled.  And or get on it bacterias you dont want.

I hope with milk you mean kmr or goats milk.  Common cow milk not good.  Processed goats milk you can buy in many shops, among them Walmart    Take a full fat one, its ok to use.   But if you find raw goats milk, fresh or frozen, its even better.

Which country are you in?

You can perhaps lend gears from neigbours?   In occasion of need, the sociale behavior norm is to help out if they can.

So, you will need, a needless syring or a dropper.    (possibly a little sponge of the make-up type may do - works nicely for some).

kmr or goats milk.

Glucose sugar/dextrose  may be honey or white caro syrup

a scale, best electronical scale measuring in grammes - they dont need to be costly

an IR warming lamp  may become handy - such used by rheumatic people, and for terraries, are OK.    You hold the kitten warm also when you give it food or wash it.

An extra heating pad you can make from rice and a sock.     Or a warm water bottle, but its more fussy.

And you are in a hurry!   A healthy kittens manage quite a long without food, but this is a weak one.

StefanZ said:

Most vets dont know much about small weak kittens.  So unless your vet IS knowleable on it, or has a vet tech whom is, there is no much point with it.  YOU  are the kittens best chance.
However, the vet has probably suitable kitten mothermilk replacement milk, if there is none good in your nearest pet shop  (Walmart is good here).   Avoid  the Hartz brand, most others are OK.    WHAT COUTRY are you in?
the vet has prob also other gears alike needleless syringe, and can show you how to use it.  Its not difficult but you must know how to do it.

Perhaps phone and ask if they can sell you the gears, and tell how to do it on a dummy.   Better not to move the kitten from momma, it can easily get chilled.  And or get on it bacterias you dont want.

I hope with milk you mean kmr or goats milk.  Common cow milk not good.  Processed goats milk you can buy in many shops, among them Walmart    Take a full fat one, its ok to use.   But if you find raw goats milk, fresh or frozen, its even better.

Which country are you in?

You can perhaps lend gears from neigbours?   In occasion of need, the sociale behavior norm is to help out if they can.

So, you will need, a needless syring or a dropper.    (possibly a little sponge of the make-up type may do - works nicely for some).

kmr or goats milk.

Glucose sugar/dextrose  may be honey or white caro syrup

a scale, best electronical scale measuring in grammes - they dont need to be costly

an IR warming lamp  may become handy - such used by rheumatic people, and for terraries, are OK.    You hold the kitten warm also when you give it food or wash it.

An extra heating pad you can make from rice and a sock.     Or a warm water bottle, but its more fussy.


And you are in a hurry!   A healthy kittens manage quite a long without food, but this is a weak one.

Click to expand...

I live in America. Our local vet is very knowledgeable. And I didn't mean cow milk. I know cats are lactose intolerant. We have a syringe like what you said (had to have it for our dog who had Leukemia) and we know how to use it. It's just so tiny I figured a vet would be more experienced in dealing with it.

Amber0318 said:

I live in America. Our local vet is very knowledgeable. And I didn't mean cow milk. I know cats are lactose intolerant. We have a syringe like what you said (had to have it for our dog who had Leukemia) and we know how to use it. It's just so tiny I figured a vet would be more experienced in dealing with it.

Click to expand...

Sounds good.  So do take advices and leads from this vet, BUT unless he suggests him take over, YOU must do all the practical work.  Very few vets has the time and practical possibilities more than a couple of hours.  Unless they want their vet techs gets some extra training, or perhaps some vet school student they want put to honest work....  

So phone, ask for advices - esp as you ARE their paying patient.  They may even show you some extra tricks if they are that good.   But be prepared to do 99% of the work yourself.

ps. I forgot to say, small kittens need small syringe, of about 1-1,5 mll.  I presume your dog uses a bigger syringe.     @Amber0318  

Please get to the vet right away because the baby needs food. The vet will surely have kitten formula as well.

With luck, perhaps a couple of days of hand feeding and the kitten will become strong enough to latch and nurse on its own.

Please keep us posted!

She keeps laying/rolling on them and she's meowing a lot. Is this normal behavior??

She may be about to deliver another. Move them out from under her.

This is the weak kitten. It's fur is really patchy. It moves but it doesn't meow.
Healthy kit. Slightly larger. Moves more and meows.