Is it necessary for the cat to eat the placenta?

With regard to your original question ...

It is (in my opinion) a good thing for Momkitty to eat the placentas. Not only are they rich in all kinds of good things for Momkitty, they help to stimulate the flow of colostrum in the first hours of nursing.

Let her eat as many as she wants. If she doesn't eat them, then dispose of them.

I agree, let her eat as many as she wants. My mamma kitty gave birth to 8 kittens in Aug and ate 6 of the placentas and just wasn't interested in even removing the placentas from the last 2 kittens, so I had to do the honors. I think she was just really too tired to care by that point, LOL.

The puppy is adorable! My best friend has a pit/dane mix and it is the most lovey dog and such a big slobbery baby. He gets along very well with her 2 cats, even when they were kittens.

I think the key to all pet introductions is that each animal can see and smell the other animal...but knows it is safe and cannot be cornered. I think it is a really good idea to keep the dog crated when around the mamma or the kittens at least until they can fend for their own and are very accustomed to eachother.

Be prepared that the mamma cat will have a bigger problem with the puppy than the kittens. They will know no different, he will just be a normal part of the household to them. But she will be in protective mode and CAN and WILL attack the puppy if she feels ANY threat at all. I would watch her very carefully. What seems like just mistrust on her part can turn into an all out fur flying brawl in a matter of seconds.

To be honest, I would be more worried about the puppy's safety (at first) than anything. He will only be curious, she will be automatically defensive.

Let us know when the blessed even happens, how exciting!

yea..i think she may be very close..shes been grooming A LOT lately and even grooming us..lol my bf woke up this morning to her licking his whole face...its around 11:45pm here ans her stomach was moving and shes been licking herself and her bottom area a lot..I noticed her nipples are pink and seem to look different than b4...However, shes still eating so maybe shes not going into labor just yet?

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Sounds just like my kitty... it's like their mother instincts kick in and they start grooming everything in sight I could feel Chloe's kittens moving like crazy for about a week before labor. Also, she never stopped eating. A lot of others on here told me their cats didn't stop eating either, so don't let that fool you! Good luck in this exciting time, and with that adorable puppy!!

She doesn't have to eat each placenta but it is normal for her to do so and the placenta is very nutritious. It is necessary for her to pass a placenta after each kitten, but normally she eats it so unless you watch the whole birth you will probably not know if this happened.

5 weeks is much, much too young for a puppy to be away from Mom. Puppies are less mature at birth than kittens and are slower to develop physically, socially, and (especially!) cognitively. I would never recommend separating a puppy from his mother before 12 weeks.

I would strongly recommend keeping the puppy and the cat completely separated for the time being. If the cat is not used to dogs a new puppy will be very stressful for her and you need to keep her stress level to a minimum. She may find a puppy's energy and curiosity extremely frightening and this could cause problems with her delivering the kittens. If it is at all possible, I would try to delay bringing the puppy home until after the kittens are born.

Good points made semiferal. ITA.

Hi Guys..thanks for the advice..I agree..will try and talk to people to see if at all possible to keep pup until at least kittens are born If not, then I will def keep him in the 2nd b/r and/or the cage so that patty doesn't feel too threatened...i think Patty may be due any day now and I'm worried about leaving her home alone as I go to work..do you guys thinkI should go or stay with her? she seems to follow me everywhere..I was petting her a while back and she started licking my hand almost as if grooming it for a while..LOL As she does this I notice her ears go back and as she licks she purrs a little...is this an indication that she's almost ready? Thanks again Guys

Do you know if the puppy has started weaning? If he's starting to eat solid foods then 5 weeks is fine to remove him from mom, however, if he's still only nursing or nursing more than eating solid foods he should stay with mom for about a week more... 12 weeks is far too long for the puppy to stay with mom, 8 weeks is generally the age of adoption but the puppies are separated from mom (within the same home) at about 6 weeks or when they stop nursing. The most important time for socialization of a puppy is between 5-10ish weeks so make sure you start taking him places where there are other dogs (after he's been checked by a vet and vaccinated). A good place to do this is petsmart because people always have their dogs there and it's in a controlled environment. I would reccomend the petsmart puppy classes too because puppies get to interact with each other in a safe friendly environment.

great thanks for the advice Melsa..I ended up going work today..Patty didn't deliver yet..We bought the pup home..I came in, and put her in our bedroom and then quickly opened the back door so my bf could take the pup to the 2nd bedroom..hes with him as we speak..Patty def knew something was up and went towards the closed door and had her tail puffed up..so I started talking baby talk to her and assuring her she was still my baby...I opened up a can of wet food(science diet) which I give her every so often and was petting her..even took her to our room and she almost fell asleep...she started licking me and smelling me..I smell of the pup who was on me before I came in. I've been throwing her kisses and giving her re-assuring words she seems ok but is alert to any noises in the 2nd bedroom which for safety of the pup we are keeping closed..I'm nervous and hope they can get along..well that Patty can accept him...The pup is not nursing anymore..stopped about a week ago..and has been eating solid puppy food for a while now. I think he still tried to nurse on his mom today but she has not been letting them and immediately walks away. Take Care all and thanks for the advice

That's awesome news! It sounds like you're doing everything right!

thanks...an update is that Patty haven't given birth nor does she have an immediate signs of going into labor anytime soon. Its odd b/c I think her "due date" is tommorow or at least a few days from then...I'll keep my eyes open....I still have Lobo in the 2nd bedroom..Patty knows hes there but I want to take it slowly with them Take Care all Thanks again

I would go to work as usual. It would be good if you can come home and check in on things during your lunch hour but not absolutely necessary. Even if a problem does develop, in the vast majority of cases you have a few hours to seek medical care before the situation becomes critical. And if something significant happens, you will probably have to use some leave from work to take care of the kittens and maybe Patty too. Realistically even if everything goes well you can plan on visiting the vet at least a couple of times for one reason or another (even just for kitten vaccines) and you may have to take time off from work for these. So in general I definitely would not take time off from work at this point. What you want to avoid is a situation where you've used up your leave and/or your boss' good graces by taking time off on days when nothing at all ends up happening, because then you will be in a very bad situation if something serious does happen.

thanks semiferal you have a very good point Update: no kittens...I wonder if she is pregnant sometimes..lol Shes been playing and sleeping a lot. Its so cute shes been sleeping with her little toys..lol Since the arrival of the pup, I've had my bf stay in the 2nd bedroom with the pup and Patty sleeps with me. She's been very good when i call her and she'll come and lay down..I'll place some toys in front of her and cover her with a blanket Shes so cute..if I'm watching tv, she'kll watch it too..its almost as if shes human sometimes..lol My bf said today she got up from her nap and picked up one of her toy mice on the floor and carried it back to the bed to sleep..lol

Have you felt the babies wiggling yet?

I thought I did on thursday but maybe i was wrong..shes been eating and even being a little extra playful/curious..I wonder sometimes..lol...either way, I'm keeping a close eye on her Also, Patty seems to be adjusting to her bro..the dog has been in the 2nd bedroom but she has been able to smell his scent on us and through the door..when we first allowed her to see him on friday she hissed but we pet her and assured her she was still our baby Since then I have my bf spending the nights with the pup and I've been with patty..we put the pup in the cage on sunday afternoon which is in the l/r but he just started crying non stop..she approached and hissed and I pet her and talked soothingly to her..she walked away and just gave him an evil/whatever look from the bed..lol..today my bf said he allowed her to see him as he was napping in the livingroom and she hissed but my bf pet her and she went and sniffed the pup and was ok. He took him back into the room...feel like they are on the road to living with one another peacefully Thanks again for the advice

Any news yet on the arrival of the kittens?