# New to site - Cat pregnancy/birth advice required



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Hi

I 'think' my daughters 10 month old kitten is pregnant. I've been reading all the relevant threads on here and it's all pretty scary stuff! 

My questions are:

It can be up to 1hr between births but how do you know when she's done? Because it says that if it's more than 1hr you should seek a vet but how do you know that the last birth wasn't the last birth, if you know what I mean?

I read on one site advice if a kitten isn't breathing, they said something about stimulating it to start it breathing but I can't find that site again and it's not mentioned anywhere else. Does anyone know? I hate this to happen and a kitten died when I could have prevented it.


----------



## Lumpy (Jun 5, 2008)

Well, I'm not a breeder and I am sure there will be someone along to give you expert advice soon.

I just have pet moggies and when Tabitha had her litter 12.5 weeks ago I judged by her size that she had had all the kittens. There was a longish gap between three and four but she still looked big - quite lopsided in fact. After number five she looked slender again. I don't think that is always the case though.

One of Tabitha's kittens didn't seem to be breathing so I just rubbed its chest gently with a finger and put Tabitha's mouth on it and she started washing it vigorously. It may have been the wrong thing to do but it worked! 

Watching Tabitha's kittens born was one of the most wonderful and exciting moments of my life. It was a bit scary as I am very squeamish but I did read a lot beforehand and I think some of that came back to me at the time.

I wish you loads and loads of luck.


----------



## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

I have never had a cat give birth that performed exactly to what the text books say. Yes there is lots that can go wrong and it is a huge responsibility Mum and babies lives in your hands  but most cats are excellent at doing it all themselves (unless they are siamese and too posh for the icky stuff in life  ) so don't worry.

Books are great for what to expect, but trust your girl. If she is happy and not unduly distressed in anyway then everything is fine. Some cats have been known to have 48 hrs in between kittens, their owner thinks they are done, and then they find an extra one suddenly. 

Mums don't tend to be overly attentive to babies whilst they are giving birth, they clean them and do the necessary but then they are concentrating on the next one. If she settles down with her babies and encourages them to feed then thats a good indication that she has finished. Make sure that you have the same number of kittens as afterbirths, sometimes they can get detached in the birth process, but you don't want one left inside as that can cause an infection so keep a count.

When the kitten is born, Mum should clear off the bag and her licking them helps stimulate their breathing and circulation, but if one looks lifeless, then you may need to intervene. It doesn't always work but its worth persevering, especially if they have a pink colour to their nose and mouth etc. This is bit of a quick explanation but clean the kitten and rub gently with a towell or flannel, make sure their mouth and nose are clear from mucous, kitchen towell is good for soaking this up with the rubbing you may find the kitten starts to gasp a little if so keep going if not try swinging them - hold the entire kitten securely between the palms of your hands so the head isn't flopping around, stand up and keeping a firm grip swing your arms downwards, this will help get rid of any mucous the kitten may have inhaled. Then its just a matter of rubbing and swinging. You can also give them mouth to mouth, open their mouth a bit cover their nose and mouth with yours and give a short blow. Most of the time a couple of swings and rubbing is enough. Make sure the kitten is warm, have a heat pad or a covered hotwater bottle near by so that you can keep them warm until Mum is finished, it they get too cold that slows down their circulation. The Old Style siamese club sell excellent fleece nests with a little micro waveable heat pad in the bottom. They are great for popping kittens in to keep warm and dry off whilst Mum is busy. 

Hope that helps a bit. Do you know when Mum is due?


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Thanks Saikou, for all your advice.

I've just remembered that I have a fleece bed in the attic that has a microwavable pad that goes underneath. But I'd never of thought to have used it if you hadn't mentioned it.

I don't know when she's due that's another thing that worries me. But I've read that she will leak milk a couple of days before so, assuming that's true, I'm going to examine her daily.

I'm going to find a nice box and move her food and litter tray somewhere tonight and hopefully get her used to it all being in one place.


----------



## nicki2202 (Jul 10, 2008)

hi 
just noticed you said that your cat will leak milk prior to birth.....mine never....just trying to let you know that all cats are different. My cat went very quiet in the days prior to birth, she followed me around constantly and was very clingy too.


----------



## LousKoonz (Feb 9, 2008)

My girl showed absolutely no sign she wanted to give birth whatsoever, then 3 days overdue she popped out 5 babies and pretty blooming quickly i may add lol xx
so yes all cats are definitely different lol xx


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Ooh I'm getting quite nervous. I'm obviously not going to get any notice then. She's sleeping and eating a lot at the moment with the occasion burst of energy.


----------



## Saynamore (Feb 28, 2008)

Can you keep your laptop/pc near her as I am sure there will be at least one of us with experience online when the happy event happens, in case you need to ask anything


----------



## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

Try not to worry too much, the vast majority of cats kitten perfectly naturally.

You only need to worry if the cat has been actually straining for over an hour. A rest of several hours between kittens, with no straining, is quite normal and there is no cause for concern as long as the cat is happy.

Liz


----------



## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Hello and Welcome G-700Girl - how exciting - a new queen. Well I think you have lots of advice but to fill in any gaps and here I cross my fingers and hope that I have not missed that someone has already posted this ... the key things to look out for if you do not have a date as such, might be these:

1 Normal gestation is between 63 and 68 days but as Kim says, queens do behave differently and you can never rely on a textbook delivery. My own queens have typically delivered on days 66 to 70. For guidance, expect babies around day 65, plus or minus a couple of days.
2 nipples start to become pink at around 21 days
3 tummy begins to swell with growing babies and appetite increases at around four weeks
5 at 7 weeks you may be able to see tiny movements in queens tummy, queens likes to eat well and sleeps more
6 at 8 weeks you definitely should be able to see some movements and queen tends to eat more frequently but smaller amounts - she will also be showing nesting behavour, finding nooks and digging around, treading fabrics to form a bed, trying to find hidy-holes.
7 at nine weeks she might be more sedentary and perhaps a little more clingy.

Sometimes a queen will refuse food the day before the birth but some queens tend to eat normally. Just before the birth you will see a slight colourless discharge. Birth can be expected around 24 hrs afterwards. 

Breeders tend to allow for kitten watch over a period of several days. 

Regarding your question about how to know if there are any more kittens, well the trick is, if you are inexperienced, mostly trust your queen, she will make it clear when she is "done". All you need to do, as Kim explained, is to make sure that you have (or have seen - some queens will eat an afterbirth) the same number of afterbirths as kittens. The queen will be happily licking her kittens and lying back for them to suckle or cleaning herself up etc. 

Experienced breeders or some vets will be able to palpate the tummy to feel for any kittens still inside if necessary. Cross that bridge when you come to it. My guess at the moment is that your daughters queen will be so natural that she will make it plain when she has completed delivery of all her kittens.


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Thanks everyone for all your advice.


----------



## nicki2202 (Jul 10, 2008)

Any news yet??


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Nope not a sausage!

She seems to be getting bigger by the day but I can't feel any movement and that's worrying me now as Rraa said 


> 5 at 7 weeks you may be able to see tiny movements in queens tummy
> 6 at 8 weeks you definitely should be able to see some movements
> 
> 
> > and as she's been showing for at least a couple of weeks, I'm guessing she must by about 7-8 weeks gone. So I should be feeling movement.


----------



## Lumpy (Jun 5, 2008)

Hi

I'm not a breeder, just a moggie pet owner, but I never saw any movement at all when Tabitha was pregnant. I know I spent hours just stroking her watching her huge tummy while she purred and I saw absolutely nothing move at all - and my eyesight isn't that bad!

She went on to have five very healthy and happy little fur babies (who are now 13 weeks and busy wrecking my house and eating for England)


----------



## Anna Shafto (Aug 18, 2008)

If you cant feel any movement at all - its probably best to take her to the vet to be checked over - it wont hurt her but will give you peace of mind, they can give her an ultrasound and make sure all is well.

You dont want to risk the health or life of your girl


----------



## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

Gas700girl said:


> Nope not a sausage!
> 
> She seems to be getting bigger by the day but I can't feel any movement and that's worrying me now as Rraa said
> 
> ...


Try not to worry too much. It depends how many there are in there. If they are packed in tight, you don't tend to see too much movement. I sometimes don't see any movement until the last week, then other you see them dancing around, never before 7 weeks though. Sometimes it can take a while to feel anything. Try when Mum is asleep next to you on the sofa or something. Just gently stroke the sides of her tum, if one is awake the kittens sometimes respond. Or just leave your hand resting gently on her tummy, movement may just feel like bubbles under the skin or other times you can feel and see a head or arm, they are all different. If Mum is happy, eating well, has no discharge then I would just keep an eye on her. Every cat is different, they do what is right for them.


----------



## Anna Shafto (Aug 18, 2008)

Kim is right of course, that movement can happen at any point, if at all and all CAN be well.

However I nearly lost one of my girls - I didnt feel much movement at all in the later weeks of the pregnancy and thought it strange, I spoke to fellow breeders and we concluded the same as Kim has said.

She was fit, healthy, eating well and completely happy and purry...

She got to 68 days and started the birth process, one day later nothing had happened, so I took her to the vet as I still had the niggling doubt in the back of mind, all kittens were dead and mummified inside and had started to decay - she had to have an emergency Operation and nearly died when her uterus exploded when SHE contracted, luckily she was already open and FOUR vets had to help to save her...

As a breeder, I dislike going for unnecessary trips to the vets, however, a vet trip wont hurt but will tell you if everything is okay. I am so glad I took her when I did or she wouldnt be alive today.

Sorry to contradict you Kim, but I felt I had to throw my experience into the ring.


----------



## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Just thought I'd amend what I said earlier about possibly seeing movement at around 7 weeks. As Kim and Anna say - this may or may not happen and all could still be well.

For example, my queen's last litter did not show any movement until after around 8 weeks and then it was only very faint. The kittens were born without a hitch and all were healthy. Its difficult to say that x or y definitely happens in all cases - there is room for variation but in general, my earlier post is simply a guideline of what *may* be expected at or after certain periods of the pregnancy.


----------



## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

Contradict away  I have had a decayed kitten that caused problems at birth as well, but those are few and far between. Alice was seen by a vet for a routine check up a week and a half before she went into labour and nothing untoward was suspected. Until kittens are born there is very little a vet can tell - xray - scan - without any outward signs like Mum being ill or having a discharge what else do they have to go on? I have no doubt had you taken your girl before she gave birth you would have been told nothing was wrong. 

Like most breeders I have often thought it is a design fault that girls don't come with a clear inspection window, but that would be the only way you know whats going on inside for sure. 

I personally would weigh up the pros and cons of upsetting and unnecessarily stressing a perfectly healthy Mum.


----------



## Anna Shafto (Aug 18, 2008)

Yep I agree - in the end its about weighing up all the advice you've been given and making your own way..

Anyone that could _ever_ write a book called "Cat Pregnancy and Birth - ALL the answers" would be inundated!


----------



## Lumpy (Jun 5, 2008)

I think maybe I couldn't see Tabitha's fur babies moving as Tabitha is a very dainty little cat and she had five fairly big kittens so there probably wasn't much room inside for movement 

I hope all is well with your little one and she has a trouble free labour.


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Wow! So much advice, it's great. Thank you.

Charlie is a very small cat so maybe as with Tabitha there just isn't enough room in there to swing a cat! 

She's not very happy with me at the moment because I won't let her out (she sits and cries for me to open 'her' window) so she won't sit on my lap and hates me feeling her tummy. Not in a, it hurts, way so I'm not worried she's in discomfort or anything. So I have to try to make her stay still to feel for any movement and if, as said, any movement is usually on slight anyway then I guess I could easily miss it with her struggling.

If I only knew how many weeks she was I could make better judgements. But I think I'm just going to keep an eye on her and when she starts contractions if they last more than half a day I may pay a visit to the vet.


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Good news, I'm 99% sure I felt movement last night! 

Phew! Now it's just waiting for the big event.


----------



## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

Good luck, you will both be fine I am sure  Sending loads of vibes for a safe and speedy birth for babies and Mum your way


----------



## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Yay! That's good news. You'll know more when she starts her nesting behaviour - my girls usually do this starting from 8 days before the birth to 3 days before the birth so it can vary a bit here, too.


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Hi

What is nesting behaviour like? She's been frantically trying to get into cupboards for weeks and weeks now. I have to check all kitchen cupboards before I go out or go to bed because she's been know to get stuck in one for hours before we've realised.

Is this the behaviour? Or does it get more intense?


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Just thought I let everyone know that we are STILL waiting! It will be two weeks tomorrow that we first felt any movement, now they are doing sumersaults!

I'm getting quite impatient now. What's the most anyone has waited after first movements to the birth?


----------



## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

THey sound like nice healthy babies then  the more exercise they get the fitter they are when they come out  Possibly not too long to wait.


----------



## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Gas700girl said:


> Just thought I let everyone know that we are STILL waiting! It will be two weeks tomorrow that we first felt any movement, now they are doing sumersaults!
> 
> I'm getting quite impatient now. What's the most anyone has waited after first movements to the birth?


Nice to read that they are doing their gymnastics -  - sounds like a very healthy troupe in there.

Not sure I can answer your question adequately but it can vary from queen to queen and from litter to litter. For example, my queen Suki, who has had four litters, would sometimes show her kittens movements at an earlier stage and therefore it would be longer between first seeing this movement and the delivery of kittens. Another of her litters was so large that the kittens did not have a lot of room for much movements and they did not show it until quite late so there was not much more than a week and a half between first really noticing movements and the delivery.

Some breeders say that they notice the shape of the queen's tummy change slightly just a few days before kittening. More experienced breeders will say that they notice a change in the body temperature of the queen but I (not being that experienced) just go by my queen's demeanor. Nesting behaviour, digging around to make a comfy bed and seeking out hidden cosy nooks, tells me that in a few days, she will be giving birth to her babies. Clear fluid from her nether regions signifies the imminent onset of labour, within say 24 hours.

Others may give more/better information.

Crossing my fingers and hope it all goes well for you, your "girl" and her babies.


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

Hi



> digging around to make a comfy bed and seeking out hidden cosy nooks
> 
> 
> > She been doing this for weeks which is why I've been so confused as to how far gone she is.
> ...


----------



## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Oh that's interesting ... see that has taught me something. Am sure there will be others on here to give you more information. What has your vet advised? 

Hope your queen is well in herself though.


----------



## Gas700girl (Aug 27, 2008)

UPDATE:

Charlie went into labour at 9pm on Sunday 21st and had her first around 3am on Monday 22nd Sept (first day of autumn!)

She had five with absolutely no problem at all and is a fantastic mum, I was worrying for nothing! 

Two pure black, one black and white, one grey and one grey and black.

Mum seems to want to go out. Is this wise?


----------



## Sungold-Bengals (Mar 10, 2008)

Oh this is really good news - really pleased for you.

regards letting her go outside, I'd say not a good idea.
She will want time away from the kittens but I wouldn't let her go outside.
Try and take her mind off it by making more of a fuss of her & hopefully she'll go off the idea!


----------



## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

congratulations,


----------



## LousKoonz (Feb 9, 2008)

congratulations  xxx


----------

