Pregnant Newly Strayed Cat

[Calishell]

Hi everyone. Im going to try to explain this predicament that i find myself in as short as i can. I have cats all of them are fixed and vaccinated. I have never had a pregnant cat. I have had kittens even litters but i normally find them abandoned on the side of the road and always around this time of year and i can not bring myself to leave them. A few weeks ago i was driving down the road and there was a car a good distance in front of me and i saw them throw something out the window. I was too far away to see what it was but when i got to the spot i found out that it was a pregnant cat. She was injured so i picked her up and called my vet who agreed to see her that day. He examined her and said everything was fine that she was just a little scruffed up. He performed an ultrasound and then an xray. He estimated that she was 50 days pregnant and has 4 or more kittens. This was on the 20th. That would make her 61 days today if the vet was accurate. I know average delivery is 63-65 days gestation (the vet informed me of that). She is driving me crazy though. I have her locked in my bedroom with nesting boxes as the vet suggested and she is away from the other animals.i have looked at numerous websites and none of them has exactly what i as looking for. She has no interest in the nursing boxes. She just lays in the middle of my floor. She will roll on her back wanted her belly rubbed and at first she purrs then she attacks my arms...teeth and claws included. She yowled today amd i went to check on her and she just started purring and rubbing on my legs. She will also crouch down on her front legs and lifts her tail and back side in the air like she is in heat. My vet just tells me that she is a moody pregnant female. This waiting game is stressful. I honestly do not know how people like breeders do this all the time. I will have her spayed as soon as i can (i might as well keep her) and i want to have the kittens spayed/neutered and vaccinated before o rehome them. My question mainly is why is she displaying this behavior amd why does she act like she is in heat?

 

[Sarthur2]

Calishell

Thank you for rescuing her! People are so cruel!

She is acting this way because of her pregnancy hormones. They are the same hormones that appear during heat.

Pregnant cats are very affectionate to begin with, and this cat is no exception. She clearly was once loved and is accustomed to affection.

Some cats will go to 68 or 70 days, and most will not use the nesting box until time to deliver.

You'll have kittens soon, and she will settle down some after they are born.

 

[Calishell]

That makes me more impatient. I prefer my skin on my limbs and i miss my sleep. She keeps me up more than my infant daughter does

 

[Sarthur2]

So she is bothering you when you sleep?

Would she scream all night if she were closed in a bathroom with her food, water, and litter for the night?

It sounds like she only has a few days left.

Can you post her picture for us?

 

[Calishell]

Yes. She gets in my face and meows until o wake up and pet her untik she is content then she runs off and lays back down in my floor. My bathroom is where i keep the litter boxes for the rest of the cats it also does not have a latch due to kids continually locking themselves in. Jer picture is actually my profile picture but it was take about a week ago. I am at work right now so i can't get one of her at this time

 

[Calishell]

This is the most recent i have of her on my phone and it was still a couple days ago

 

[Sarthur2]

She looks ready to pop soon! Poor thing. She's trying to bond with you, I think.

 

[Calishell]

Her belly isnt that much to the sides anymore. Its hanging low and her sides look narrow i guess is the best way i can explaim it

 

[Sarthur2]

That is because the kittens have dropped down closer to the birth canal. This is a sign that she's getting ready to go into labor soon.

 

[Calishell]

Would that be why she only nibbles at her food all day long and she won't even touch the dry food. But use to be she would eat like sge was always starving and here recently her food is lasting all day. I can give her two cans of wet food (its kitten food so the cans are small so i give her two of them) and it will last her all day

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, that would be why. And she'll eat the placentas when the kittens are born.

Here are some helpful links:

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

Help! My Cat Is Having Kittens!

 

[Calishell]

I apologize if i spund completely ignorant but this is all new to me. Im use to kittens and i know how to handle orphaned kittens ive raised a couple by hand before. Orphaned kittens is usually what i find. Sometimes they dont always stay when they get older its like the wildness never leaves them. But i have never taken care of a pregnant cat before and i admit i have no idea what im doing or what to look for. Ive done research online looking for labor symptoms and its all contradictory sometimes. I read that they will pace and become restless and pant and cry and i have also read that sometimes they make no noise at all. I read about the temperature and i did try that last night but i dont know hpw accurate it was. It read 97.9 but im not too sure if it was accurate and i didnt want to do it a second time because she really did not like it and i didnt want to stress her out more then necessary

 

[Sarthur2]

Calishell

This is what we are here for! There's a first-time for everything. Those links are our own articles. Please ask whatever you need to.

Temperature is not a reliable indicator, so you're right not to further stress her by taking it anymore.

Some cats cry through labor, and others are quiet. Mine was quiet. It just depends on the cat.

I feel so badly for this cat having been thrown out the car window. I'm having trouble getting the image out of my mind.

 

[IndyJones]

Temperature is not a reliable indicator anyway. She will be ready when she's ready. The best you can do is be sure she is quiet and peaceful.

 

[Calishell]

People's cruelty is why i have always had mine spayed and neutered. Every animal i have except for my sugar glider are abandoned animals i have found. I never wanted to take the chance of one of my animals having a litter and then being abandoned when they are no longer a kitten or a puppy. Its also better for their health and of course over population. I never realized the cost factor in it until i started taking care of a pregnant cat. Its cheaper in the long run to spay as well which is something i have recently learned.

 

[Calishell]

It is also why i want to get the kittens spayed and neuter and vaccinated before i rehome them. That way a cat wont be abandoned just because she is pregnant. It relieves a little worry off of me on what will happen to the kittens when they are old enough

 

[Sarthur2]

I could not agree more! It troubles me that when so many kittens are given away, I know that many of them never get spayed and neutered. It condemns them to an unhealthy life of non-stop breeding, and perpetuates the cycle. I wish we had laws about it.

I applaud you for taking care of it beforehand. Do you have a low-cost local clinic, or will your vet give you a discount rate? It does add up!

 

[Calishell]

We do have a low cost vet clinic close by. We have an Angels of Assissi clinic in the city next to where i live at about 30 mins. Their prices includes rabies vac and microchips as well.

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like you have good choices! Moms are spayed when the kittens are 8 weeks old. Kittens need to be 8 weeks or 2 pounds. I recommend they stay with mom for 12 weeks. They are well-socialized and taught manners by mom by that point.

 

[Calishell]

Im glad you said that because i was gonna ask how old they had to be to get spayed or neutered