I think my cat is pregnant.

[Ellecot]

I’ve never had a pregnant cat before but my young girl seems to have gained weight very fast the past 3 weeks. Her nipples have enlarged almost 3 times their size. She seems be quite aggressive towards our males (who have been neutered) is this normal? I can’t quite feel her tummy I’m not sure if she’s early on with a lot of kittens or late with only a few. I will be attaching a photo to see if anyone can sort of help me.

 

[Norachan]

If she hasn't been spayed and she's been around intact males it's safe to assume she's pregnant.

When were your boys neutered? Male cats can still father kittens up to 30 days after being neutered, so if they were recently done one of them could be the father.

Does she go outside?
How old is she?

 

[Rodosi]

She might be pregnant if she had mated with any male cat.... If she is kinda aggressive she must on the mid stage of pregnancy (if she is).

 

[Ellecot]

Okay Thankyou!

 

[Ellecot]

hi, she’s just a little over a year old so she is still young. She’s not been spayed yet she’s an indoor cat and our other male has been spayed says his old owner but I’m not sure when he was spayed.

 

[Ellecot]

I’ve never had a pregnant cat before but my young girl seems to have gained weight very fast the past 3 weeks. Her nipples have enlarged almost 3 times their size. She seems be quite aggressive towards our males (who have been neutered) is this normal? I can’t quite feel her tummy I’m not sure if she’s early on with a lot of kittens or late with only a few. I will be attaching a photo to see if anyone can sort of help me.View attachment 462347View attachment 462348

Updated photos taken of her side.

 

[Norachan]

If she is pregnant it looks like it's still fairly early days The best way to know for sure would be to have a vet check her over.

Are you happy for her to have kittens? It can be very expensive and quite stressful to have a cat give birth at home. If you're going to let her go through with the pregnancy I suggest you read up so you can be prepared and know what to expect.

Have an ER vet number stored on you phone, just in case of any complications.

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth - TheCatSite

How To Save Your Cat From These 16 Life-Threatening Pregnancy Risks - TheCatSite

Post-birth Complications In Cats [A Comprehensive Guide] - TheCatSite

Premature Kittens: The Comprehensive Guide To Care - TheCatSite

Weighing Newborn Kittens (and How This Could Save Their Lives) - TheCatSite

If you can't afford a litter of kittens it is still possible to spay-abort at this stage. Talk to your vet about that if you're unsure about whether you can care for kittens and a nursing mother.

 

[Ellecot]

So after monitoring my girl the past few weeks I decided to take her to the vets to get a proper diagnosis on if she is pregnant or not and it’s been confirmed that she is!!! We’re super excited and have everything ready for her little ones!
but over the course of the past few days she’s had really loose stools. A few days ago was liquid with slight blood in it (it could’ve been caused from an allergic reaction give to her as we had to treat her with some medication which we hadn’t used before but apparently it works best on pregnant cats) after that her poops went back to normal so I wasn’t worried but now last night she had a tiny bit of poop which wasn’t hard neither was it really runny. This morning she ate a really big bowl of food and immediately let me know after she needed the toilet again so Followed her and she had a really big poop which was similar to last night but slightly more runny. Then afterwards she darted upstairs and continued To eat the rest of the food.
is this normal behaviour?

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds normal. It’s due to hormones. And most cats have diarrhea in the days before going into labor to clear out their system, plus more hormonal fluctuations.

Did the vet give an estimated due date?

 

[Ellecot]

hiya Thankyou! She’s still got really loose stools this morning. The vet estimated her due date for Wednesday the 8th of this month which has already passed so she is most likely very very close. We also live with 5 other cats at the moment so I’m wondering if it could be due to stress. My only issue is when I separate her from them she seems to hate it she just can’t settle.

 

[Ellecot]

Babies have safely arrived

 

[Sarthur2]

Wonderful! How many? Have you weighed them yet? How is mom doing?

 

[Ellecot]

We have a total of 3! So the maximum for first time momma. We haven’t be able to weigh them as we don’t own any proper scales but I’m trying to find a family member who can perhaps give us theirs though I’m not sure if human weighs work? Mom is quite fine, she’s been really looking after them and has only really stood up once to get away from them when I walked off but she kept meowing at me everyone I’d walk away to go to the toilet so I think she was just scared of being on her own. She’s been non stop purring but seems to be really heavily breathing and it only really calms down when the kittens stop taking milk. But they’ve basically been latched to her all day bless them!

 

[Sarthur2]

Nursing is hard work, especially initially, and causes the heavy breathing. Please see that mom gets a dish or two a day of kitten formula to drink to provide the extra calcium she needs now. It should help the heavy breathing. Powdered PetAg KMR is best and can be found at Walmart.

Good to hear the kittens are doing well!

Ellecot

 

[Ellecot]

Thankyou! I will be sure to buy her some in the morning as I am in UK I do have a slight concern with mom as she keeps getting up and wondering off either as soon as me and my partner leave the room or move. Or she’ll just get up to try and see the other cats. She does go back to her babies but she seems to just be laying on top of them and not really looking at her surroundings she’ll hear them, see them but then still proceed to lie on top of them which makes them then squeal.

 

[Ellecot]

I’ve weighed the kittens. One is exactly 3 ounces. And the other two are between 2.8-2.9. So they’re very very small. But they have a heck of a lot of strength in them so I am hopeful! Mom has always been really small herself. She is refusing to drink anything at the moment so we’ve got her on kitten food and some tuna. And we have had to nudge the smaller kittens a bit with help towards getting milk

 

[Sarthur2]

The kittens are definitely on the small side and need to gain 6-10 grams per day, if not more.

You might want to supplement the kittens for now with a syringe and kitten formula to ensure they are getting enough to eat and are gaining.

Please check out this video:

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

Ellecot

 

[Ellecot]

thankyou. Our momma seems to be ignoring them a lot more now. She is pretty much refusing to stay with them. But when she does go to them she’s really good with them when cleaning and letting them nurse. But she’s just really bad at responding to their meows and won’t stay to keep them warm.
it’s currently night time where I am now so I have no way of getting any formula or a syringe.
I am beginning to get worried for her and the kittens. I rang our vet and they advised I just ignore them but since I’ve done that, this is when mom has been ignoring them aswell.

 

[Sarthur2]

Close her in the room with her kittens, her food and water, and her litter box. It’s okay if she takes breaks from the nest, but most moms return to feed.

Put a heating pad set on low under the blanket in the nest to warm the kittens, or use a rice sock heated in the microwave and wrapped in a towel.

Check on her and the kittens every couple of hours.

 

[Ellecot]

So mom is still frequently leaving them. The two small ones have gained weight this yesterday afternoon (it’s now the next morning) they’ve gained 6-7 grams. However the bigger one has lost 6 grams now. Im just a bit concerned on how much she’s leaving them she does go back to feed them and wash them and when they cry whilst im weighing them she gets really stressed out and has to watch to make sure they’re okay. So she is responsive. But this morning I found her hiding behind a dark hidden spot in our bedroom. Im wondering if she’s too hot as I have a heater on by the nesting area with the kittens because she keeps leaving them I worry they’ll get cold so I don’t usually turn it off. She still meows at me quite often. Is it possible she’s missing our other cats? And when would be best to introduce our other cats to the newborns?