# Is my cat going in to labour?! Help!!



## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Hi guys, found out my baby is pregnant about a week ago. The vet didn't say how far along she is, but suggested that she is in the later stages of pregnancy. She is quite chunky (inserted pics) but I'm not sure how far along she is. I took her temp tonight 3 times and it was 37.2, So I checked my other cats temp to see if it was just a bit cold tonight but his temp is 38.5. She's not showing any unusual behaviour such as nesting and there is no milk coming out of her. Advice please guys?!


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

You have to wait. It's not possible to say how on she is from a photo. Not all cats nest.

Don't let her out until she is spayed. You don't want her having her kittens outside, or going out when they are tiny and having an accident, or getting pregnant again. If your other cat is the father get him castrated asap. He could be fertile for several weeks afterwards.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Stop taking temperatures, it's inaccurate and bothersome to the cats.

Do you know when she was allowed outside or is your male the father?
Without a mating date none here can predict when she'll go into labour.

If your male is intact he needs neutering asap and to kept away from her until she's spayed as he'll remain fertile for up to 10 weeks.

Set her up a birthing box in a quiet room, your bedroom is ideal for overnight monitoring if she labours at night.

Mum needs to stay indoors and away from intact males until spayed.
Kittens need to remain with mum for minimum 12 weeks of age and should be neutered prior to adoption.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

I’m aware of this, he is being neutered in 5 days and they are both indoor cats anyway. I wasn’t aware it’s in a inaccurate as vets seem to do it and rely on it quite a bit


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

As they mated indoors you must have an idea of dates? It's not a quiet event usually.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Hol Con said:


> I'm aware of this, he is being neutered in 5 days and they are both indoor cats anyway. I wasn't aware it's in a inaccurate as vets seem to do it and rely on it quite a bit


Hopefully you mean you are aware he will remain fertile for some time after castration, so needs keeping completely separate from the girl. They can mate in seconds if you turn your back.

Vets might diagnose pregnancy quite a bit, but what do they reply on? Their estimations of when kittens are due are just that, estimations, and not very accurate usually. As above, the best way is to know when they mated.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

spotty cats said:


> As they mated indoors you must have an idea of dates? It's not a quiet event usually.


No, I don't know the date


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## Rufus15 (Dec 4, 2015)

Do you have an idea of when your girl's nipples changed? Vets are not breeding experts and their dates are often woefully incorrect


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Rufus15 said:


> Do you have an idea of when your girl's nipples changed? Vets are not breeding experts and their dates are often woefully incorrect


I noticed a change about 2/3 weeks ago, they were a lot larger. They now look dry/ flaky


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Attached a picture of her nipples. She has been meowing quite a bit today and following me around constantly


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Can you feel any movement?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> Can you feel any movement?


Yes I think so


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

She had an ultrasound?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

gskinner123 said:


> She had an ultrasound?


Yes she had one just over a week ago, the vet said she can't estimate how far along she is but she could see multiple heartbeats


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

And you have absolutely no idea when they may have mated? It's quick but noisy & given the chance they will mate many times in a day.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> And you have absolutely no idea when they may have mated? It's quick but noisy & given the chance they will mate many times in a day.


As I've stated, I do not know. My only guess is around the 23rd of March but it's a very rough guess


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Hol Con said:


> As I've stated, I do not know. My only guess is around the 23rd of March but it's a very rough guess


If you are right, that date Plus 65 days would give a due date of 27 may, 2 weeks away. Being nosy, why do you think then?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

This morning she was meowing a lot and has a yellowy discharge, I think it’s her mucus plug. How long before she has the babies usually?


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

If your mating date of 23rd March is anything like correct she is too early to be going into labour. An average cat pregnancy is 65 days from first mating. If she is due today then she first mated on or about Monday March 9th. Kittens born before 60 days are very unlikely to survive - that would be a first mating of Sunday March 14th - and if your date is correct she is only at 51 days.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> If your mating date of 23rd March is anything like correct she is too early to be going into labour. An average cat pregnancy is 65 days from first mating. If she is due today then she first mated on or about Monday March 9th. Kittens born before 60 days are very unlikely to survive - that would be a first mating of Sunday March 14th - and if your date is correct she is only at 51 days.


As I said, I wasn't sure of the date. I'm pretty certain it would have been before March 23rd


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

You will find out if it's her plug. Time from that to delivery starting is quite variable. Could be today, could be in 2-3 days. Check the colour against what you can find online for women.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Nothing yet, she’s just been cleaning herself loads and sleeping. Her belly is gone from being very rounded to like this this morning


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

She has dropped. Kittens fairly soon - a day or two.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

She’s still cleaning herself lots and has started looking for nesting places


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Last night she had a little bit of clear discharge and this morning there’s yellow discharge. I took her to the vets yesterday and they said she’s doing fine and babies seem to be ok. Still no closer to having the kittens it seems but the vet said she’ll give birth imminently.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Any news?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> Any news?


Still no babies. She had a slight pink discharge last night


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Any changes?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> Any changes?


Still none, SHES had more pink discharge and is nesting like mad but still no babies


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Is this colour discharge normal?!?


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Hol Con said:


> Is this colour discharge normal?!?


I found it very hard to see in the photo. Are you able to get a bit of it on a piece of white paper?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> I found it very hard to see in the photo. Are you able to get a bit of it on a piece of white paper?


It was dried so I wasn't able to get it, I've added another picture


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

She’s now got this sort of discharge, I’m really concerned! She’s acting fine and eating fine, still nesting and can still see movements


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

Me thinks you will be having kittens at some ungodly hour tonight.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

lillytheunicorn said:


> Me thinks you will be having kittens at some ungodly hour tonight.


I hope so! Been so worried about her recently but fingers crossed they'll be here soon!


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## Tigermoon (Apr 2, 2013)

Did they arrive last night? The photos look pretty typical for the mucus plug. Some cats lose it all in one go, others over a few days. Usually kittens arrive pretty shortly after the plug goes.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Tigermoon said:


> Did they arrive last night? The photos look pretty typical for the mucus plug. Some cats lose it all in one go, others over a few days. Usually kittens arrive pretty shortly after the plug goes.


 No, none born yet but will keep a close eye on her


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

She’s had more of the same discharge but no other signs


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Hol Con said:


> I'm aware of this, he is being neutered in 5 days and they are both indoor cats anyway. I wasn't aware it's in a inaccurate as vets seem to do it and rely on it quite a bit


That was May 12th, so he was booked in for the 17th, did it happen and did it go well? And how is your girl?


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> That was May 12th, so he was booked in for the 17th, did it happen and did it go well? And how is your girl?


Yes he is absolutely fine, still keeping him separate but he's recovered well  still no babies unfortunately, I noticed a clear fluid leaking from her nipples last night


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

You suggested 23rd March as the day she was mated, no idea why, but I think that was the date it happened. It's 63 days before today, normal pregnancies are 60-70 days (usually 64-66) days counting from date first mated.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

She had them this morning. 3 were born not breathing (I tried to resuscitate all of them) but 1 is still alive. Have been keeping him warm and feeding him, trying to get mum to accept him back and feed him


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

He weighs 61g too


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Hol Con said:


> She had them this morning. 3 were born not breathing (I tried to resuscitate all of them) but 1 is still alive. Have been keeping him warm and feeding him, trying to get mum to accept him back and feed him
> 
> He is 61g


Sorry for this outcome, and unfortunately the survivor is very small at 61g.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

He is a tiny little thing! Keeping all my fingers crossed and just trying to do as mich as I can for him. He’s only eating roughly 0.5-1 ml every hour or so but it says he should be having atleast 1ml every time? He seems fairly active and alert so I’m praying


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

It's dangerous to force him to take more than he wants, it can lead to it getting into his lungs which is usually a killer. You know to toilet him before and after each feed, and to feed him in the position he would suckle his mother?

The best online resource I know js the Kitten Lady videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5VvB6tmC4lu_WCx7hE0PZA


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> It's dangerous to force him to take more than he wants, it can lead to it getting into his lungs which is usually a killer. You know to toilet him before and after each feed, and to feed him in the position he would suckle his mother?
> 
> The best online resource I know js the Kitten Lady videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5VvB6tmC4lu_WCx7hE0PZA


Thank you,watched a bunch of her videos this morning to make sure I was doing it correctly


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Please be aware that hand rearing a newborn especially a very small one is not only very hard work - you get very tired, and it's very emotional - but even the best at it lose some kittens.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

Ive never felt this heartbroken
I fed him and made him go to the toilet, put him back on the warmth and went downstairs to get something to eat, I came up less than half an hour later, picked him up and he was struggling to breathe. Within a minute or so he’d stopped breathing. I managed to bring him back but he only took one more breath hes now going to buried with the other babies in the morning. Thank you all so much for the amazing responses and help ❤


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Very sorry, but sadly this is not unexpected with such a tiny kitten - he looked premature to me in your photo. Keep a good eye on your girl for a week or so to make sure all is well there - you are especially watching for signs of an abnormal discharge (a small amount of bloody discharge after delivery is normal) and/or hard, hot breasts. 

And please book her in to be spayed as soon as your vet will. If they are not being helpful it's worth ringing round.


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## Hol Con (Jun 17, 2019)

OrientalSlave said:


> Very sorry, but sadly this is not unexpected with such a tiny kitten - he looked premature to me in your photo. Keep a good eye on your girl for a week or so to make sure all is well there - you are especially watching for signs of an abnormal discharge (a small amount of bloody discharge after delivery is normal) and/or hard, hot breasts.
> 
> And please book her in to be spayed as soon as your vet will. If they are not being helpful it's worth ringing round.


Thank you, she seems to be doing okay so far, just a little upset and confused. I'm wondering what could have happened, as soon as I woke up I went to check mum and noticed quite a lot of blood, then less than 5 minutes later the first kitten came out. They all had a fair bit of poop inside the sacks


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