Diet for preg. cat

Hello! Sadie is beginning her 4th week of pregnancy.
I have the Purrinlot pregnancy calendar, so I know what is going on inside her as far as the babes.
Is there anything extra or special I should start doing for her at this time? Such as diet/nutrition? Or anything else? I know it is still fairly early.
If there are any good links you can think of for this type of question, please include them. Thanks!

Originally Posted by HotPink

Hello! Sadie is beginning her 4th week of pregnancy.
I have the Purrinlot pregnancy calendar, so I know what is going on inside her as far as the babes.
Is there anything extra or special I should start doing for her at this time? Such as diet/nutrition? Or anything else? I know it is still fairly early.
If there are any good links you can think of for this type of question, please include them. Thanks!

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Welcome to TCS. Well...if you know she is indeed pregnant, you can start feeding her good quality kitten food (make sure it has protein as the first ingredient). You should also start making her a nesting box for when it time for her to have her kittens..that way she can get familar with the box. I read in one of your other posts that you have 4 male cats. Is one of them the father?? Typically it would be a good idea to set her nesting box up in a room where the males will not be able to get access to her or the kittens. And if your males are not neutered yet...now is a good time to get them neutered.

Katie

Can anyone give me some suggestions for a diet for my pregnant cat.
I'm thinking of feeding her fresh things like chicken breast and veggies anything specific I should be feeding her?
She is just begining her 4th week. Any links on this would also be appreciated.

3 of my males are neutered, but the father is not, obviously. He was a stray, an unexpected one at that. Milo.
The only place I can think of that the boys won't bother her is my closet. The door is usually shut cuz they pee in there! But since the door is usually shut, she won't be able to get in there when she needs to.

I will start her on the kitten food, but what about fresh things, like chicken or cooked vegetables?

Hey we are on the same schedules. Meeka has just finished her 28th day of pregnancy. Good luck with your girl.

Your little girl should be receiving a high-quality kitten food in both canned and dry varieties (mostly canned with a little dry down to nosh on throughout the day). Chicken or turkey meat baby food can be used a couple of times per week in addition to her meal as a treat. If you want to give her a little boiled chicken every now and then, I am certain she will like that too. You can also try to give her a little goat's milk with her meals, some queens will take it, others won't. If you are feeding a good, high-quality kitten food, then you shouldn't need to add any veggies to her diet.

She will probably want to eat more than you are used to feeding her and that's OK ... let her eat what she wants, but don't overfeed. If you put down food and she only eats half of it before walking away, only put down the half portion the next time to gauge her consumption habits.

Cooked foods would be nice. She probably won't touch vegetables. If you give her to much cooked chicken that could give her diarreah as cats are sensitive to diet change (even with the kitten food switch). The protein from the chicken would be good for her but not in a quantity to upset her stomach. We do a raw diet for our cats.

I merged the thread you began in the Health & Nutrition forum as they were really the same topics.

Originally Posted by HotPink

3 of my males are neutered, but the father is not, obviously. He was a stray, an unexpected one at that. Milo.
The only place I can think of that the boys won't bother her is my closet. The door is usually shut cuz they pee in there! But since the door is usually shut, she won't be able to get in there when she needs to.

I will start her on the kitten food, but what about fresh things, like chicken or cooked vegetables?

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I have no familiarity with feeding fresh food so I cannot address that question.

Are you planning to have Milo neutered? I would definately have him neutered now. After cats deliver, they can get pregnant again about a week after giving birth and males can have active sperm for about a month after being neutered. I just think it will be all around better if you get him neutered now so you don't have to be concerned about him getting her pregnant again.

Can you keep her in your room with the door shut? Sometimes males can be fine around kittens..but mom definately needs her privacy.

Katie

Yes he will be getting neutered soon.
I didn't know they can still impregnate a female for up to a month after! thank you!
I suppose I can keep her in my room, but when should I do that?

Originally Posted by HotPink

Yes he will be getting neutered soon.
I didn't know they can still impregnate a female for up to a month after! thank you!
I suppose I can keep her in my room, but when should I do that?

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I would set her up with a couple of nesting box options. It would probably be best to make one of those options in your room. I fostered a mom and her kittens and I kept them in my bathroom so that my cats wouldn't disturb this family. I had a nice nesting box, litterbox, food and water all in the room. I actually fed mom both kitten wet and dry. Also...you may want to buy some KMR which is kitten milk replacement. It's good to have on hand in case one of the kittens doesn't look like it's getting enough time on mom's nipple.

Katie

Do you think the garage is a smart option? For one of the locations? Or is such a place to dirty?

Originally Posted by HotPink

Do you think the garage is a smart option? For one of the locations? Or is such a place to dirty?

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I would not recommend the garage...I would try to keep her confined inside the house. Not only is the garage dirty, it is probably not necessarily warm enough....plus, when those little ones are ready to "explore" a garage can be filled with hazards.

Katie

I started giving the pregnant mom kitten food at about the 6 or 7th week of pregnancy. And continue feeding her kitten food till the kittens were weaned.

Ok, today I am going to set up a couple of nest options. One in my room, one in my moms.

I have another question,
How much weight should she be gaining everyday?