Can’s Feel Kittens Kicking

[RejoiceErb]

Hi! I’m a beginner Ragdoll breeder and I have a pregnant cat. She mated February 8th so she’s about 7 weeks now. From all the research I’ve done, I’ve read that you should be able to feel the kittens moving/kicking at this time. But I can’t. She has a big belly and big pink nipples so I’m pretty sure she’s pregnant. Could it just be that she has a small litter? Or maybe a big litter? Thanks!

 

[lutece]

You can't always feel or see kittens kicking. The cat in my avatar has a litter of three VERY active baby kittens right now, and I did not feel or see kicking during her pregnancy, except for one tiny kick a few days before her kittens were born. So don't let that worry you.

If you want to get a prenatal checkup for the mom and kittens, you could get an ultrasound or x-ray. An ultrasound would give you information about whether she has live kittens, since the heartbeats can be seen on ultrasound. On the other hand if you want to get a count of the kittens, an x-ray would be a little more reliable way of getting that information. By 7 weeks, the kittens' skeletons have normally calcified enough to be seen on x-ray.

 

[RejoiceErb]

You can't always feel or see kittens kicking. The cat in my avatar has a litter of three VERY active baby kittens right now, and I did not feel or see kicking during her pregnancy, except for one tiny kick a few days before her kittens were born. So don't let that worry you.

If you want to get a prenatal checkup for the mom and kittens, you could get an ultrasound or x-ray. An ultrasound would give you information about whether she has live kittens, since the heartbeats can be seen on ultrasound. On the other hand if you want to get a count of the kittens, an x-ray would be a little more reliable way of getting that information. By 7 weeks, the kittens' skeletons have normally calcified enough to be seen on x-ray.

Ok. Thanks for replying! I’ll just wait and see. How did you know your cat was pregnant?

 

[lutece]

I knew she was pregnant because she mated with the male lots of times, pinked up at 21 days, and then got a big belly She also had an ultrasound in early pregnancy, and an x-ray at around 7 weeks. However, it's not absolutely necessary to do these diagnostic tests as long as your cat appears healthy.

 

[RejoiceErb]

I knew she was pregnant because she mated with the male lots of times, pinked up at 21 days, and then got a big belly She also had an ultrasound in early pregnancy, and an x-ray at around 7 weeks. However, it's not absolutely necessary to do these diagnostic tests as long as your cat appears healthy.

Ok. My cat has those sytoms as well very excited for kittens!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Here are a couple of articles that might help too

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

 

[RejoiceErb]

Does anyone know how many days before birth does a cat start making colostrum? I was able to express some from Tessa this morning.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
...copied from this article;

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

This usually begins 24-48 hours before the kittens are born. You may see some thick cream-colored secretion from her nipples. This is early milk, also known as colostrum. The cat may lick it off or it may dry up and show as small whitish scabs on the nipples. Our member HeavensKitty described this in a recent post: "Her milk is coming down a little; she has like dried up white scabbies on the tip."

 

[RejoiceErb]

60-61 days now. She has a much bigger belly compared to my other girl Krissy. Also has colostrum. I’ll try to get more pictures of her later while she’s standing.