Pregnant stray?

[jojobeenn]

I recently found a stray kitty. Super friendly and young. The second day we had her took her to the vet to check for a chip and they told me it was highly likely she was pregnant. That was 5 weeks ago just about. You can definitely tell now that she is. She has a big belly and large pink nipples. I just want to know what to expect and how to know she's ready to give birth. Never had a pregnant cat before. I'm trying to find her a secluded nesting place but we have two other fur babies and live in a studio apartment. There's not a lot of option for her to be separated from them. The picture is from when we first got her.

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• jojobeenn
• Jul 20, 2016

she's a lot chunkier now. And she looks a lot better. I'll add a recent photo when I get home! Thanks in advanced for your advice!

 

[jojobeenn]

This is her big belly and shows how much better she looks.

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• jojobeenn
• Jul 20, 2016

We also got her a name tag to make her an official part of the family.

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• jojobeenn
• Jul 20, 2016

Named her belle because our other two kitties are beasts sometimes.

 

[handsome kitty]

If you have a large crate you can put her nest in there along with food, water and litter.  Then toss a sheet or blanket on top so it has privacy.

Here are some articles (so I don't have to type all the info and miss bits and pieces).

 [article="31379"]Pregnant Cat What To Prepare For The Birth​[/article]  

 [article="29720"]Pregnancy And Delivery In Cats​[/article]  

 [article="31496"]How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth​[/article]  

 [article="31414"]Help My Cat Is Having Kittens​[/article]  

 [article="33289"]Weighing Newborn Kittens And How This Could Save Their Lives​[/article]  

Welcome to TCS!  Keep using this thread for any questions and concerns you may have.

 

[jojobeenn]

We don't have any crates. We've put boxes everywhere with blankets. And all three cats get along really well now. So I'm hoping that won't bother her too much. If anything we can lock her in the bathroom but it gets hot in there since our a/c doesn't reach

 

[handsome kitty]

You'll know.  If she begins hissing and swatting you will need to separate them.  I've seen these playpens at Burlington coat factory and other discount places

 

[jojobeenn]

I've thoroughly read all the articles, but I'm still kind of nervous. My grandma has raised plenty of kittens and she lives down the road from me. So in case of not knowing I can always call her. I don't think my area has an emergency vets either. I've been looking around. But I do know a vet tech too.
As long as she doesn't have them this weekend I think the bathroom will be perfect. Today is 95 degrees. And it'll be hot all weekend but as soon as the outside temp lowers the bathroom will stay cooler but still warm so perfect for kittens. Thanks for your help!

 

[jojobeenn]

Still unsure when she'll have them but she has to be getting close. We just got back from a 3 day vacation. I had my grandma watch my kitties. All 3 were spoiled thoroughly. Her belly is bigger. Nipples look the same. No discernible discharge yet.
She's still super lovable but a bit more vocal. We've had her a total of 6 weeks now. I set up a few more boxes for her. She's shown a bit of interest in the one right by our bed.

I'm thinking of calling the vet in the morning and asking if she thinks it's a good idea to bring Belle in for a checkup and maybe an X-ray? Just so we know mom and babies are doing well and we know when to expect these babies.
Thoughts?

 

[Sarthur2]

An x-ray would reveal how many kittens and give an estimate of their development and due date. I had one done for my cat and glad I did.

 

[jojobeenn]

It would e been a couple hundred for the X-ray so we decided against it. I did order the pet playpen thing though. It should be here by Tuesday and I definitely think she'll be having them in the next few days. I seriously can't wait.

 

[Sarthur2]

That's an expensive x-ray! Mine was not nearly that much.

The playpen sounds like a good idea. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[jojobeenn]

This is what we got her. It's smaller than I thought so I don't think I can fit litter with her the babies and food and water.

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• jojobeenn
• Aug 2, 2016

I set up the inside with an old blanket that smells like me and a puppy pad to maybe catch some of the mess haha. I put another blanket to cover it for her. To keep it not drafty and dark.

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• jojobeenn
• Aug 2, 2016

This is Belle today. She looks like she's gonna pop!

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• jojobeenn
• Aug 2, 2016

 

[handsome kitty]

The poor girl.  The pen is fine.  When the kittens start to wander you can unzip the top so mom can jump in and out.  You can put the litter outside.  You may want the water and food inside the first few days.  Mom will not want to leave her kittens.

 

[jojobeenn]

The pen was to hopefully wall off my other two cats. Since we live in a studio apartment we don't have a room to seclude her to.

 

[Sarthur2]

The pen is nice, but mom will need to be able to come and go. It will give her privacy though from the other cats. You may be able to connect it to a box for more space.

 

[jojobeenn]

In two days we will have had Belle for 8 weeks. We took her in as a stray on June 12 and the day we got her, we had the vet check for a chip.

No chip but the vet said she was probably pregnant being that she had a belly even though she was super skinny. Cat pregnancies being 9-10 weeks shouldn't she be having her babies soon? How early can cats show? I just want to make sure I shouldn't be worried.

This was her belly two days ago.

image.jpeg

• jojobeenn
• Aug 5, 2016

 

[jojobeenn]

She has never been outside since we got her and we only have female cats. I monitored her poop and didn't see any worms because I wasn't sure if it was safe to deworm her while pregnant. She has her pick of several nests in our apartment.

 

[jojobeenn]

Petting her today I can feel a lot of tiny little kicks. They are really active little things right now. She isn't lactating yet though.

 

[Sarthur2]

I doubt anything is wrong or that she is overdue at this point. It's just a matter of waiting now. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[jojobeenn]

She had some weird brown substance on her backside that I'm hoping was her mucus plug. She was kinda nesting yesterday and she's been acting weird yesterday and today. Hopefully we'll have some kittens tonight

 

[jojobeenn]

She keeps trying to go under things she doesn't fit under and I don't want her to get stuck or hurt. Should I clear out the bathroom and put her in there? So she can have privacy?