Can anyone give me advice on post pregnancy?

[rhondapyle]

Now that my queen has given birth to 7 new kittens, I need information on things to watch for: example when does her belly go back to normal, how long will she bleed and how much, what should her stool look like? When to worry about her and what is normal after birth? Her kittens are 2 days old today.

 

[GemsGem]

It will take a few weeks for her belly to go back and her belly might not go back to how it was before after being stretched by 7 kittens lol :lol3:

Her poops will be funny coloured because she is washing kittens bums to make them go the toilet. So she is basically eating kitten poop ( this is completely normal and must be done by mother cat as kittens can not go toilet by themselves for first couple of weeks )
Normally this makes moms poop look green to begin with then almost black.

Bleeding ???? Mother cat should not be bleeding two days after giving birth !!!! I would be very concerned if she was and would need medical attention.

Mastitis is a big concern when kittens are being weened

 

[rhondapyle]

Thank you for the advice. I will be calling the vet first thing in the morning. She has been eating and drinking good, poop is thin and very smelly!!! I noticed this morning when she was eating that she was bleeding, I moved her food bowl into kitchen so I could get a better look. Most definitely bright red blood!!! It has seemed to be less now. Please tell me she will be ok til morning.

 

[GemsGem]

If the blood is getting less and less that's good !! You say she's eating and drinking fine so she seems ok. Hopefully it will stop completely and she should be fine. But still speak to vet first thing to see what they say. But if it should get any worse call an out of hours vet for advise.

Her poop sounds completely normal for a new mom so I wouldn't be worried about that.
I forgot to mention the smelly poop lol :lol3: but yeah completely normal. You might get some diarrhoea as her body gets use to digesting kitten poop but it should improve

 

[rhondapyle]

Thank you so much for your help I was a nervous wreck this morning. She just came out and ate lunch no sigh of blood, she even bathed herself and I didn't see any. This morning it was dripping!!! But yes I will still call the vet in the morning. If you read my first tread you will understand this has been an unexpected and difficult experience for Me. Lol!

 

[StefanZ]

Also, some diarrhea is common after they had eaten several placentas.  These are high protein-high nourishing, a real shock therapy for their food system.... In some rare but not unique cases they can even get heavy diarrhea.  so the recommendation is really, not let them eat more then 4 placentas...

With 7 kittens you must look out she get real first rate nourishing food.  It may even be a question of giving some extra calcium.

An ex forumist, a breeder, taugh me supplement feeding is rarely necessary if they get enough of good quality kitten food or "growing formula" or good quality wet food, but with 7 you are on the verge.

I hope also you do weigh the kittens every day?  a electronical scale measuring in grammes is best.

This way, you will get a warning if something is developing not so good (and you perhaps need to give extra bottle to that kitten).    And if everything goes good, it will be a nice memory.

Good luck!

 

[rhondapyle]

Thank you I was wondering the same things. What kinda supplement do I get her? She only cut the cord and ate the placenta of 3 I had to do the rest. Well cut the cord that is did not eat the placental lol the kittens were born Friday evening, I changed all the bedding yesterday. But with so many how often should I change it?

 

[GemsGem]

As long as you have her on a good quality cat food ( preferably kitten food ) you don't need to give her any supplements. Its all included in the kitten food. If she is not on kitten food change her over BUT this must be done slowly over a period of days as not to upset her tummy.

I use vetbed bedding because it easy to wash and fast dry. In the first few weeks before kittens are walking I change the bedding everyday. Then once they are up walking and using litter trays I change bedding about twice a week.

 

[rhondapyle]

She's on purina kitten chow(dry food) but I feed her special kitty twice a day (wet food) .
I'm sorry but I just want her and kittens to be healthy and I don't whats best them. I will get a scale tomorrow for sure, call the vet and give him an update, I'm washing bedding now. Lol anything else?

 

[GemsGem]

Yeah the food sounds fine. If it was me I would up the wet meals to 3 times a day. But as long as she got biscuits to graze on when she wants your way is fine.

Really recommend the scales. Just weigh them once a day around the same sort of time. They usually gain about 10 grams a day. But don't worry if they don't gain that much or lose a little one day. As long as they gain weight again the next day it's fine.
Only worry if keep losing weight every day

 

[StefanZ]

Thank you I was wondering the same things. What kinda supplement do I get her?

IF she will something extra supplement, so it will be probably calcium.  The easiest way is to give her natural calcium sources,

Goat milk,  plain unsweetened youghurt preferably full fat, cheese....   Not cow milk, unless you know from earlier she is OK with cow milk.  But processed cow milk like yoghurt or cheese is OK.

Egg yolk, preferably raw, is also very nourishing...  Say, togthter with goat milk...

Shouldnt be necessary with a healthy queen and first class food as she gets, but these here extra arent dangerous either.

 

[rhondapyle]

Mom and kitten update! Contacted the vet and she said everything sounded
normal.
I bought a scale that weighs in grams. Weighed the kittens yesterday
and the same time today, it seems as though they all gained 14-22.
except one that only gained 7g. This was also the smallest kitten when
I weighed them the first time. I will continue to weigh and hopefully it will have
A growth spurt. Also, I made an appointment for shots and spay.

 

[StefanZ]

except one that only gained 7g. This was also the smallest kitten when
I weighed them the first time. I will continue to weigh and hopefully it will have
A growth spurt.

If this kitten  IS below average, its average gaining may also be lower than the recommended 10+.

In these cases, as long its steady plus in their own tempo, its OK with them, too.

But of course, you do have here your main suspect for the moment.

Be sure it get food, the siblings dont leave him out.  Lay him to mom when siblings are asleep, for example.

If necessary, prepare for some extra bottle or dropper feeding.

Well done!

Good luck!

 

[rhondapyle]

Gracie and kittens made their trip to the vet today. Gracie spayed and all got shots, 4 went to their forever homes, 2 more will go tomorrow. Pregnant stray mission accomplished!!!!