# 8 month old cat giving birth NOW!!



## Huge Heart (Jul 8, 2012)

I took in a kitten that was trapped & rescued from a drain pipe when "HE" was 4 weeks old. I planned on getting "HIM" neutered when it was 9 mos old because I was told it to wait until a year but because "He" kept sneaking out of the house, I decided to make it earlier. I am not irresponsible, but my father got Stage 4 terminal cancer & my focus turned to that (he is now in remission, thank God). Well, I noticed that my now 6 month old kitten was getting fat...hence "HE" is a SHE & PREGNANT. She is giving birth now & delivered 3 healthy kittens within an hours time frame, then 4 hours later delivered 1 more. She is handling Motherhood wonderfully, but I have a few concerns. How do I know if she has finished delivering her litter? She won't let me leave her side. She actually lead me to the nesting area to give birth in my presence. Her breathing & heartbeat is still very rapid. She has eaten & drank water but hasn't gotten up to use the litter box in 10hrs. I read that birthing can continue for 24+ hours. What else should I be doing to assist her?? She's still meowing to keep me by side & still appears frightened..HELP : :


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## alan g a (Feb 23, 2011)

These things happen even to the most caring and rational people. Try to keep her calm and (if she lets you) stay with her. She will instinctively know what to do. Get her and her babes checked out at the earliest opportunity. Although it is usually fine, many things can go wrong. It is better to be safe than sorry.


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## Huge Heart (Jul 8, 2012)

"These things happen even to the most caring and rational people."..phewww, Thank you..I didn't want to get yelled at for allowing her to get pregnant. YES, she IS allowing me this stay by her side, She is actually demanding it. I feel like she's treating me like one of my overly needy 20+ year old kids..LOL..It's 3am here & I'm exhausted but she meows whenever I try to leave her. Does that mean she still has more to deliver? She WANTS me to keep my hand on her side even though she is nursing. My biggest concern is her very rapid heartbeat. She is also exhausted. She has only slept 10 min in 12 hours or used the litter box. Can she still be in labor or just still scared??


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## alan g a (Feb 23, 2011)

Huge Heart said:


> "These things happen even to the most caring and rational people."..phewww, Thank you..I didn't want to get yelled at for allowing her to get pregnant. YES, she IS allowing me this stay by her side, She is actually demanding it. I feel like she's treating me like one of my overly needy 20+ year old kids..LOL..It's 3am here & I'm exhausted but she meows whenever I try to leave her. Does that mean she still has more to deliver? She WANTS me to keep my hand on her side even though she is nursing. My biggest concern is her very rapid heartbeat. She is also exhausted. She has only slept 10 min in 12 hours or used the litter box. Can she still be in labor or just still scared??


My late Candy defiantly wanted me to be with her for the birth of her kittens. A couple of hours before the kittens were due, she gently took my finger in her mouth and tried to drag me to where she wanted to have them. I still have 3 of those kittens today. Good luck. I hope all goes well for you.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

A friend had a cat who wouldn't go to the litter tray for quite some time after giving birth - she always exploded when she did!

Suspect your cat is simply a bit overwhelemed by what has happened, but if you are in any doubt the person to call is your vet. Did she deliver a placenta for each kitten? It can be hard to be sure sometimes when the mother eats them (the placentas) as soon as she delivers them.

Keep a good eye on her over the next few days. A little bloody discharge is normal, if it becomes obvious or offensive she needs to go to the vet PDQ.

Has your cat been wormed? If not she needs worming and the kittens will as well. You can get Panacur on the Internet for the kittens - cheaper than from the vet but make sure you get the right one. However she would be better off with a Milbemax which is vet only.

Hopefully you are on top of flea control.

She will need as much good-quality food to eat as she wants, the kittens will start weaning themselves in a few weeks and then they will need as much as they want to eat, which is more than an adult! They need to be with her for at least 8 weeks, 12 weeks is much better, and ask your vet when they will spay her. Many vets won't spay a lactating queen, a few will.

And keep her in! You can't afford for her to go missing when she is feeding and caring for tiny kittens, and she could get pregnant again in just a few weeks. Kittens can be neutered at 6 months at the latest, again vets vary. Some will do early neutering, others go by weight. Again ask your vet.

One of the best on-line site is the FAB

fabcats : feline advisory bureau - the website dedicated to feline wellbeing


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

_i hope mum cat and kittens are ok, i agree with above posts, good luck and keep us posted._


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

It sounds fairly normal and you should find she is soon bonded with the kittens and won't need you around so much.

Liz


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

> You can get Panacur on the Internet for the kittens - cheaper than from the vet but make sure you get the right one. However she would be better off with a Milbemax which is vet only.


I'd reckon on the three day protocol with Panacur to be a safer option for any cat which hasn't been wormed regularly. It's a gentler regime which doesn't result in a sudden expulsion of a large worm burden so less chance of an intussusception.

It's also the cost effective option in this case as there are also kittens to be wormed on a regular basis so best use of a bottle of Panacur.


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

Years ago I had a very young cat who gave birth to 6 kittens. She seemed fine but about 6 hours later I noticed she was bleeding and rang the vet. I was asked to take her (and kittens) in. They realised she was exhausted, too tired to deliver the 7th kitten. They gave her an injection to restart labour and warned me the 7th kitten would probably be dead. A very tiny kitten was born alive and the mother welcomed it. It looked like a little bat! It eventually caught up with the others and was fine. Just keep an eye on your cat incase the same has happened to her.


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