Will my Willow ever have her kittens!

[dellyvs]

Hello
I've read lots of posts and you are all so helpful so I thought I'd join.
Willow is my very small cat. I just discovered a week ago that she is pregnant. I'd noticed she had a big belly 3 weeks ago but it seemed to fluctuate so I thought she was bloating after food. 8days ago I was looking at her and thinking she looked really big when something poked right out of her side twice. Obviously I realised immediately she was pregnant and took her straight to the vet to be checked. The vet said she'd have them anytime within 2 weeks.
In the last 8 days the kittens have got massively bigger. They bulge right out when they move and her whole tummy bulges and dips in almost constant movement. 3 days ago she began losing hair around her lower nipples and they finally started getting bigger. She has been sleeping and eating loads. My question is,she doesn't seem to be getting any bigger in the last few days,despite the kittens getting bigger by the minute. Is this normal? I'm very worried about the birth as she really is tiny (the vet mentioned how small she is but was confident she'd be fine) and seeing her babies getting so big is a worry.

 

[mwallace056]

we can't give you a exact hour or day she will have them but it sounds like she around 9 weeks so anyday now. do you have nesting boxes ready, the more you make for her the better as she will get more choices

Re small if she not in distressed, it should go fine without any major problems

please feel free to ask any question you have.

Most of these links have been readied by our forumist  Red Top Rescue:
We have a good collection of articles in the Cat Health section which you can access by scrolling up to the brown bar, clicking on Articles,and then choosing the Cat Health section and scrolling through the choices.  To make this super easy for you, I am copying the links regarding birth, delivery and newborns for you here.  After reading this information, let us know if you have any more questions.  And good luck with your approaching new arrivals.
 Birth, Delivery and Newborns
How to Tell if My Cat is Pregnant?
Cat Pregnancy
How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?
Pregnant Cat? What to Prepare For the Birth
Help! My Cat is Having Kittens!
Premature Kittens
Post-Birth Complications in Cats
And also:
http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens     ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )  
http://www.kitten-rescue.com/
http://www.kittenrescue.org/index.php/cat-care/kitten-care-handbook/
http://www.hdw-inc.com/glop.htm
Fleece or flannel good to use in the bedding for kittens.

 

[dellyvs]

Yes,I prepared a nesting box the day I found out. She loved it the first few days but now only goes in it to scrape about and rearrange it. I have read the links,thankyou very much For listing them I've been swotting up on everything I can get my hands on to try to be prepared as possible when the time arrives. It's just very nice to have some experienced company while I play the waiting game. I've had cats for 25 years but this is the first time I've had kittens on the way (very embarrassed to say it is my fault entirely and I feel very bad about it) so all my years of cat experience counts for nothing right now. X

 

[mwallace056]

i suppose i don't need to say please consider getting her fixed when all of this is done?

 

[dellyvs]

No lol! This is the first time I've ever been late with spaying or neutering in over 20 years and many beloved cats. She was booked in but the vet found she had a temperature on the day so it had to be postponed. My son then had to have open heart surgery,then I had surgery. It's been absolute chaos and as a result her op had to wait. I have read I can get her spayed once the kittens are weaned at the earliest, would you know if this is correct?

 

[di and bob]

Yes, if you keep her in the house. I had a cat get pregnant again when her kittens were less then a month old, so watch out! All the luck!

 

[dellyvs]

Oh blimey! Ok,thankyou. She will have to stay in then. X

 

[dellyvs]

The kittens which have been rolling around and moving vigorously for days have suddenly gone very quiet. Willow is fine in herself,no signs of distress or illness. I'm very concerned though,is this normal? Thankyou for your help x

 

[dellyvs]

They are still moving,but not as much and don't seem to be as near to the surface as before. They seem lower and deeper if that makes sense

 

[mwallace056]

They dropped, she nearing

 

[dellyvs]

Thankyou! That's fantastic

 

[dellyvs]

Help please,kitten won't latch on

 

[mwallace056]

D dellyvs What the temp in the nest? It may be too cold, how long he haven't eaten?, is he crying?

catwoman707

 

[dellyvs]

I've had them on a heat pad,he was born an hour and 10 mins ago. He seems to search for food but won't open his mouth. Not crying,but is moving as energetically as the other two.

 

[mwallace056]

You may have to feed him yourself, I suggest getting a 1ml syringe or a small dropper and good kmr like Petag kmr or royal chains

I done what I can, I paged an advisor she will be able to help and offer advice, she will be able to tell you how much to feed and how often

 

[dellyvs]

Thankyou so much. I have some formula made up,just in case. I really appreciate your help xx

 

[dellyvs]

He's fed from mum she had a gap then had one more who is trying to suckle but hasn't managed yet. Hopefully he'll manage soon

 

[mwallace056]

Ok give him some time to figure it out

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, mom is still birthing. Put the baby to mom when things settle down. Also, the heating pad should be on low, under the blanket. Kittens should not be right on it. Let us know how it's going. How many has she had? Are they all latching on now & nursing?

 

[catwoman707]

Sometimes it takes them a bit to latch on and nurse, others will just get right to it, but when mom is still delivering they seem to sense her stress and can be the cause for lack of nursing right away, hard to know for sure.

Glad he is feeding now!

Mom still delivering?