Place your bets...how many kittens is she carrying?

Hey guys...
I've given this post more than a second thought but I've decided to proceed anyways...please don't flame me or lecture me, just let me enjoy this process

So...
I've taken in yet another pregnant stray cat. You can read my lengthy explaination of how she came into my care and the controversy surrounding my decision to let her continue the pregnancy as opposed to a spay and neuter HERE---> http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=33946

The vet guesstimated Lola's due date to be around tax day, April 15 2004. I know in the past I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your stories so I'd like to share this journey with you.

The first step is to post some photos of poor Lola that I took earlier today (exactly 7 days from her anticipated labor and delivery). I thought it might be fun for everyone to place their guesses as to how many kittens she's harboring in there. From what we can tell she is about a year old and therefore this is probably her first litter.

Here are her pictures:




I can tell she's already tired of dragging those babies around. As you can see from the second picture she used a container of litter as a step up from the floor to the food rather than just making the big jump. After she filled her already bulging belly she just plopped down and went to sleep right on the table. She hasn't been nesting yet but she's been sleeping in the nesting boxes and she seems to be pretty happy here in my house. I'd like to think the kittens will be born shortly but after watching the last stray deliver I've come to learn that a watched cat never births

So....anyone have any guesses as to just how many kittens she's growing?

Heidi

My guess is 4.

There's 5 in there.

I say 5 also.

I think 3 or 4 kittens .
But then you never know

i bet 5

going with 4 here

I'm going to guess 5!

She is a cutie! She looks EXACTLY like my first cat, Bashful, who I got when I was about 10. She lives with my mom now and is the fattest thing you ever did see! but her coloring is just like Lola's!

I think 5-6


She's a cuttie. Let us know how many and when she has them and of course, take lots of pics!

Three!

I bet 4! My Mimi had 4 and she was about that size!

What a beautiful girl...is she a silver classic tabby?

Anyhoo...my guess is 6 to 8

I'm with the 6-8 guess also...

Spotz

6-8?? ehhe What are you guys trying to do to me?

It only seems fair that I place my guess as well, so I'm going with 4. The stray I took in this past fall had 4 (although only 3 survived) so I think it's a pretty safe bet.

I'm not sure exactly what brand of cat she is since she's a stray but she does have an interesting tabby pattern. The other stray tabbies I've rescued in this area were brown/gray with white splotches. Lola is unique in that she has the tabby markings, no white splotches, but some patches of orange tabby peaking through. This makes me very curious as to what those kittens are going to look like.

You better believe I'll inundate you with photos. In the fall I was lucky enough to catch Charity giving birth to the 3rd kitten of the litter and I even managed to get a few 30 second video clips of the process. It was definitely a learning experience hehe If anyone hasn't seen a kitten being born, and is interested in checking out the 1.5 minutes worth of video I captured, feel free to contact me and I'll post it on my website for everyone to see.

I didn't intend to become the caretaker for another pregnant stray but I'm glad I've got people to share this process with. My boyfriend is being very supportive of my decision to care for Lola (surprising after the arguments we had last time around) but he's not really a "cat person" so he doesn't show a lot of interest in my daily updates.

I'll let you know as soon as she starts showing some signs of labor. Keep those guesses coming!

Heidi

My guess is 4

I'm sorry but there's no way that gal is holding 6 - 8!!!

Being a breeder I would be very suprised if she had more than 6, they would be rather small. I'd defintly go with 4. Good luck!

I'll guess 3-4. She's small, a year old, first litter - she's not going to have more than 4, and more likely will have 3.

Yup, kitten season is upon us!!

Just to share, a Curl from my lines had 8 her first litter...not common (she was also young), so it can happen. I still think she looks big enough for more than 4...

I had a really little cat(her name was Loonie) and she had four litters and she was always large as a house and each time she had six big healthy kittens, including her first litter. It really depends on the cat and I don't think being a maiden is going to change the fact that she has more or less... but the number of matings definitly does.

Can't wait to find out how many she has.

I say 4