Opposing "due" Dates From Vets

[Amerrill]

Hi everyone,

I got a cat from a private residence around Christmas that I thought was spayed. However about the first or second week of January she kept putting her butt in the air. No meowing, just sticking her butt in the air. I have never had a cat that wasn't fixed. However she only did this for one day. So I didn' think anything of it.
About 2 weeks ago she looked bigger. I took her to our vet on the 15th and they confirmed she was about 4 weeks pregnant.
Yesterday I brought her to the vet in town, because our vet is about 30 min away. I wanted this vet to examine and know her history in case we needed emergency help. Also to try and get an estimate of how many kittens we should expect. They took an x-ray and said she was having at least 4, but that the kittens weren't very visible. They suspected she was only 4 weeks at that time.
I'm confused. My cat has gained a couple pounds, we can feel the kittens move occasionally, but we don't see a lot of movement from the outside however we see some. Her nipples are very large compared to before. You could barely see them before even if you were looking for them, but now you can feel them and see them if she is on her side. She was eating none stop for two weeks but yesterday slowed down. So who is right? The vet at a little over 6 weeks, the vet at 4 weeks, or according to the weird behavior in January about 7 or 8 weeks?

 

[kashmir64]

I can't help you with how far along. Hopefully others that know will answer soon.
However, I do know that you should be giving her kitten food and if you can get KMR or goats milk, give her a small bowl of this a day. This will help with her calcium needs as well as giving the kittens a good chance to be healthy.
I've never had an unaltered house pet either and deal mostly with abandoned kittens. But I've learned a lot about pregnant cats on this site.

 

[Amerrill]

Omg thank you! I didn't know that. I feed wellness complete health for dry food (free fed) and one can of wellness core a day. However I switched to two cans a day for Tusken (my cat). I did buy kitten replacement milk because Tusken is about 11 months old. I didn't know how she would be as a mom. I will give her a little everyday.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to The Cat Site. Interesting that the vets suspect 2 different pregnancy dates.

Is Tusken an indoor/outdoor cat, or indoor only. If she went outside in early January, when she was doing her "butt in the air" thing, then I would guess that's when she got pregnant. If she is indoor only, then she would have gotten pregnant before you adopted her.

The site has a lot of articles on cat pregnancy. Here's a few to get you started:
Cat Pregnancy
How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?
Pregnancy And Delivery In Cats
Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

There are also a few advisers who watch this forum and will be able to answer any specific questions you may have as it gets closer to her delivery date.

Also, we love pictures here, and would love to see a picture of Tuscon. You can either post it here in this thread, or do an introductory thread in the New Cats on the Block forum.
How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post

 

[Amerrill]

She is an indoor/outdoor cat. She was mostly outdoor at her other house. She almost seemed uncertain of the people when we got her.

 

[Willowy]

Be sure to keep her in until the kittens are weaned and she's spayed. You don't want the babies getting orphaned due to an accident, and she can get pregnant again very soon after giving birth.

Usually you can feel them moving about 2 weeks before birth. So she probably got pregnant when you saw her in heat in January. Should be soon! But they'll come when they come so don't worry if they take longer than you think.

 

[Amerrill]

Yes. She will be inside until after she is spayed. If I had known she would have been spayed immediately as will the kittens when they are old enough.

 

[Amerrill]

View media item 420812
This is Tusken. Below is out rescue KD

View media item 420811

 

[rubysmama]

Beautiful kitties.

 

[Amerrill]

Awe thank you! They are both so sweet.

 

[Amerrill]

So this might be a strange question, but we have our house setup with lots of high travel spots for our Cats. My pregnant cat keeps going to a ledge that is about 7-8 feet off the ground. It is the length of our room, but not very wide. Will she know this is a bad spot to give birth? Should I block it off?

 

[rubysmama]

Hopefully she would know that it not a good spot to give birth, but since it's concerning you, it probably would be best to block it off.

Have you set up nesting boxes for her yet?

 

[Amerrill]

Yes we have one in every room, but we have isolated her to the livingroom (this has always been her favorite room). She continuously follows me around so I just sleep in the livingroom. She only lays in one spot for 30 min and then switches to another place. She has been doing this for almost a week. I think her stomach has dropped in the last couple days. As it has gotten lower toward her back end, but she doesn't seem smaller on the sides. I wish I knew about when she would have the kittens. My husband misses me sleeping in the bed. Lol

 

[Sarthur2]

It really sounds like it will be any day now!

 

[Amerrill]

I think it's time. I was on the phone and Tusken started growling. I thought she was growling at the dog, but then she started meowing at me. She lead me to her box. Now she seems to be pushing every 5-10 min. So maybe kittens soon.

 

[GlitterKittie]

I hope all goes well, good luck!

 

[Amerrill]

Going great so far! 3 born so far, and she is a natural mommy!

 

[Amerrill]

View media item 420911
6 are born now, but I think she might have one more inside.

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh my! That’s a big litter. Weigh the babies daily. They need to gain 6-10 grams per day each. You may have a runt or two who will need supplementing.

 

[Sarthur2]

Oops. Double posted.