# My cat gave birth on sofa



## Darren42 (Oct 23, 2015)

Hi new member here. About 4am yesterday my cat gave birth on sofa, I'd fell asleep watching a movie and was woken up by squeaking noise, and found Lexi on the sofa with her first kitten. This was followed by 3 more over next couple of hours. We had got a box ready for her at the side of the sofa just incase and I had noticed that while i was watching the movie she was going in and out the box trying to get it comfy. We have since moved mum and babies into the box in the lounge by sofa.
My question is: Should we move them somewhere else as ours is a busy household (3 kids, one being a 2year old) and usually a lot going on in the lounge, plus the dad is also around too (he has been and seen mum and the babies and both had a bit of groom session. We are short on rooms that are not busy as kids are usually bombing in and out of everyroom and no cupboards to speak off to put her in and she does seem very happy in the lounge. Any suggestions for a newbie?


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Mum needs to be in a quiet, peaceful room so she can bond with her kittens.
Once they are older they can come out into the house.

Keep your boy away from them as she can get pregnant again quickly. He needs to be neutered ASAP and will also remain fertile for up to 8 weeks afterwards.

Mum and her kittens can be spayed & neutered at around 10-12 weeks.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with spotty cats, it is really important that you find a quiet spot somewhere in the house for mum and kittens, so she has peace and quiet to bond with her kittens. Give her a large cardboard box and line with clean fabric - old sheets are useful. Towels are not so good as the kittens get their claws caught in the fabric. Vet Bed is warm and easy to wash and dry. (buy from [email protected] or amazon).

She will also need a litter tray in the same room as her bed, as you must NOT allow her to go outside whilst she is nursing kittens in case something bad were to happen to her. Then you would be left to hand rear the kittens, which I can promise you would be VERY hard work, involving 2 hour feeds night and day.

You should make sure the children leave mum and kittens alone until the kittens are a few weeks old and starting to walk, then you could have mum and kittens in with the family in a kitten playpen like this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easipet-Fab...qid=1445600657&sr=8-1&keywords=kitten+playpen

Mum cat needs large amounts of food whilst she is nursing. Feed her Kitten Food from now until the kittens are weaned, and let her eat as much as she wants. She may need 5 or 6 meals a day, a whole pouch at a time. Do not ration her, or the nursing will really take a toll on her health. If she has some dry food that's OK, but some of her diet should be wet food to ensure she is getting enough fluids in her diet (lots of fluids are required to produce milk).

As spottycats also said, you should keep the male cat away from mum and kittens, as mum can get pregnant straight away even though she is nursing this litter. You certainly don't want the mum cat to have litters of babies one after the other! It would potentially be very bad for her health. So now is the time to get the male cat neutered. If there are issues with finding the money to pay for it, you can contact Cats Protection and explain your circumstances (including that you also have an unspayed female cat) and they will provide vouchers for you to pay the vet for the neutering costs.

Good luck with everything. Please let us know how you get on and please post again if you have any questions at all we can help with.


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## Squeaks (Oct 16, 2014)

Hi @Darren42. I hope you don't mind me asking but how old is Lexi? In the second photo you posted she still looks like a kitten herself?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hopefully Darren is intending to get Lexi spayed as soon as the kittens are weaned. And to be keeping her indoors until then, and also away from his entire male cat so there is no chance of her becoming pregnant again. Because to let her become pregnant again would be irresponsible when all the Rescues are crammed full of kittens waiting for homes. This year it has been harder than ever to find homes for all the kittens in the Shelter where I volunteer.


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