Hi.

The cat I told you about which I have which is pregnant clearly has a very big belly and if you look at her from above its swollon on both sides and very big. Her nipples are pink and swollen.

Problem is she is an unsociable cat at the best of times. When she lies down I have tried to gently put my hand on her belly but she will only tolerate it for a few seconds then she growls :roll: She is happy for a fuss if you stroke her head but if you touch her belly she hates it. So I cant feel long enough to feel any moving.

I phoned my vets at hallam to see if i could bring her down for them to check how far gone she is but they didnt seem interested and just said most people just let cats get on with it.

So can anyone help?

If she won't let you feel then you're stuck with letting nature take its course I'm afraid. It's really hard to feel kittens moving anyway and it can hurt even very friendly cats to the point that they get stroppy to feel the little ones moving.

It's not likely to be too much longer if she's really big and her teats have pinked up properly though- give it maybe a week or so and I'm sure the small guests will make their appearance.

She is still eating. She cant seem to laydown comfortably. She keeps jumping up on our knee for a quick fuss for a couple of seconds, then she jumps down. She still seems quite energetic and keeps playing (chasing) one of our cats so maybe she isnt due yet. I dont know whether to just tell the vet I want her checked over anyway to see how far gone she is. But to be honest I dont like the thought of putting her in a carrier and taking her to the vets cos it will be uncomfortable for her.

The vet won't necessarily be able to tell you very much closer than you can work out anyway.

If cat gestation is 9 weeks and she's been in Jackie's care for the last 3-4 weeks, and she wouldn't have been identifiable as pregnant for the first 3 weeks or so then it's got to be within the next 3 weeks hasn't it?

If she's still eating normally then it's not likely to be within the next couple of days, but then I've known cats eating their dinner whilst in labour.

I wouldn't bother with the stress of putting her into a carrier if you don't have any direct health worries- the last thing you need is for her to turn all secretive and try hiding away to give birth or hiding the babies when they're born.

Hi.

She isnt anything to do with Jackie, she is in my care.

I think your right, I wont take her to the vets. I will just keep my eye on her.

Sorry- I thought you were fostering her for Jackie.

I think that one morning you will wake up to the sound of mewing and she will have been as secretive as cats can be and delivered them while you weren't looking.

sounds to me as if she might not be too far away, particularly if she's finding laying down uncomforatble now. You may hear the pitter of tiny paws for Christmas. Hey, maybe we should have a sweepstake on it? I reckon it could be a week tomorrow - Saturday 22nd December 07

Dont bother stressing her out wit ha trip to the vets - sounds like you've got it all under control anyway and as long as you carry on feeding her good quality food and giving her a warm safe place to stay, she'll reward you with her babies soon enough.

Yeah lets have a sweepstake lol. I think end of next week. :)

will you be having the cat fixed after birth as there is a cat over population you know ??

No kittens yet lol. Only trouble is when im at work she is in the houe with my other cats. Would it be safe for her to have them when my other cats are around? I would put her in a room on her own everyday however she would hate it and realistically It could be a week or so until she has them, and I cant seperate her everyday for that long cos she would be upset. I dont know what to do. I would just hate to thing that when she has them if im not here and one of our cats did something to them. I mean I cant see it but i dont know for definate.

will you be having the cat fixed after birth as there is a cat over population you know ??

She should have been speyed well before now. However the owner didnt spey her and when he found out she was pregnant passed her to me. :rolleyes:

No kittens yet lol. Only trouble is when im at work she is in the houe with my other cats. Would it be safe for her to have them when my other cats are around? I would put her in a room on her own everyday however she would hate it and realistically It could be a week or so until she has them, and I cant seperate her everyday for that long cos she would be upset. I dont know what to do. I would just hate to thing that when she has them if im not here and one of our cats did something to them. I mean I cant see it but i dont know for definate.

If you work days then she's actually quite unlikely to have the kittens when you're out at work. Cats seem to specialise in having their babies in the wee small hours so you're likely to get advanced warning of her labour during the night even if you then have to shut her away for the day that she delivers.

She's not likely to let any of your cats too close anyway- most other animals know not to mess with mum!

If you work days then she's actually quite unlikely to have the kittens when you're out at work. Cats seem to specialise in having their babies in the wee small hours so you're likely to get advanced warning of her labour during the night even if you then have to shut her away for the day that she delivers.

She's not likely to let any of your cats too close anyway- most other animals know not to mess with mum!

Ive heard that before too and Ashia had hers whilst I was at home. She also became immediately VERY protective towards her young and still is- she stands no nonsense from the daft dobe or Alfie the barmy bengal and the kittens are now 11 weeks old (time flies!). Just after she gave birth (conveniently in the cat carrier I'd left out for her wit hthe sniggly blanket), it was me who decided she shold be seperated from the other cats because I didn't know how they would react or if they wuld try to harm the young, but thinking about it now, I don't think Ash would have let them get anywhere near, so don't worry.

I have a question Meds- a young cat I'm fostering had kittens which are now aged around 9wks and theyve been seperated from mum as they are semi feral and need socialising - they are being well care for elsewhere. Mum is beautiful and very friendly - but he teets are still swollen - she's been vet checked they dont think she has an infection and they cant feel any kittens - they can only guess she may have just given birth to another set which were not found - but do you think it's possible she COULD be expecting and that it is just early days which might explain why the vet couldnt feel them? We are told she was confined to one space so it seems odd if she has given birth again and no one has found them...

She could theoretically be expecting again but it's not likely that she's had another litter if the litter that she's come in with are only 9 weeks. The likelihood is that she's just taking a long time to dry up and return to normal after feeding the babies she has. Many mums still comfort feed at 9 weeks so that could explain things if she can hear or see other kittens which stimulate her milk flow.

She could theoretically be expecting again but it's not likely that she's had another litter if the litter that she's come in with are only 9 weeks. The likelihood is that she's just taking a long time to dry up and return to normal after feeding the babies she has. Many mums still comfort feed at 9 weeks so that could explain things if she can hear or see other kittens which stimulate her milk flow.

Thanks Meds, I thought it extremely unlikely that she would have already reproduced so quickly after the first lot (of course you can only go on what someone tells you about the age of the first litter). Our 3 still comfort feed from Ash but this new girl is really swollen sort of like Ash was when she first started feeding her babies. We're keeping an eye on her though and making sure she eats well and at least now she is warm, dry and safe - and as soon she stops lactating she can be spayed- the vets we have to use for her wouldnt do it yet. She's not being kept anywhere near Ash's 3 so there's no way she could sense other kittens are close by.

Hi Katkin. Did you have any signs before your cat went into labour? I dont know if she is due now or next week or the week after. He tummy is swollen at both sides and her nipples are swollen. She doesnt seem to sleep much, I guess its cos she cant get comfy. She still jumps about though and runs with my other cats. Im stumped as to guessing when she is due.

id give up on guessing lol just wait for it has she found her spot yet? get one of thoses igloos for when they come poppy didnt leave hers for both litters

Hi Tatty. Ash was still pretty active right up to when she gave birth. She got so big she couldnt get comfy laying down towards the end (I'dsay the last week) so that was a good hint of imminent birth - and I was fortunate that I knew exactly when Charlie arrived and when he was neutered, so I could calculate roughly when she might give birth from that. (I guessed around 30th Sept and she gave birth on 1st Oct). I deliberately left the collapseable soft cat carrier up just in case and put a warm fleecy blanket in it (with a waterproof one underneath because I'd read that there's a lot of yuck at birth) and showed it to Ash - fortunately, she was a good girl, obviously paid attention to what I'd told her and that's where she decided to give birth.

This made it much easier to then seperate her from the rest of the house. We've only got 2 bedrooms and the 2nd one is in the attic (and technically it's the other cats' room but htey let the other half use it to listen to music and twiddle with his computer too), so we had to put Ash in the bathroom for the first 3 weeks the kittens were with us.

Then we bought a large dog crate (after seeing the one you used with the last set of kittens you fostered) and had that in the living room for a further 4 weeks til they were big enough to cope with the rest of our menagerie.

I'm tempted to put the little devils back in it again though - every night we come home to yet more destruction and mayhem- it's 3 times worse than anything the barmy bengal gets up to now!

Just to wish you luck with your imminent arrivals.... please let us have some picis and an update when you can. :D

Won't one of those small igloo beds be too small to have kittens in? I might buy her a bigish cat carrier :) i hope she will be ok. I have never looked after a cat have who has had kittens before. Im really nervous.

my cat had hers in my wardrobe!even though we made her a nice bed to have them in!!she also miowed(sp) loads when she was about to have them...she started showing signs at 7pm but at 12.30 am no kittens.....so i went to bed and when i woke,she'd had them.

my cat had hers in my wardrobe!even though we made her a nice bed to have them in!!she also miowed(sp) loads when she was about to have them...she started showing signs at 7pm but at 12.30 am no kittens.....so i went to bed and when i woke,she'd had them.


How big was she? This cat has a bump at each of her sides.

my cat was massive with two lumps either side...sounds like she's very near....she will meow when she is starting in labour.she had 3 kittens...

Won't one of those small igloo beds be too small to have kittens in? I might buy her a bigish cat carrier :) i hope she will be ok. I have never looked after a cat have who has had kittens before. Im really nervous.

We bought a big soft hooded bed after ours were born - cost £20 though. The cat carrier was actually a small dog carrier a canvas folding one from Jollyes -reduced in the sale- bargain at £17

Don't be nervous TattyBear- apart from anything else your nerves won't help her. Think calm, reassuring grandmother type thoughts and I'm sure she'll pick up on your feelgood vibes.

my cat also went off her food......i bet she'd love some tuna or chicken though!!

Ash went for Gourmet shredded chicken in white sauce, Alno nature and applaws (any flavour) oh and tuna fish - her kittens have developed a taste for it too. OK, i spoiled her but hey, she's such a little beauty I couldn't help myself...

Well she still hasn't had them.
In the last couple of days she has started laying in the same spot under the dinning table in the kitchen, dont know if that is significant, its quiet under there and none of our other animals go under it so maybe thats why.
I have put a fleece blanket under the table and a plastic cat carrier and put another fleece blanket in that.
I thought she would have had them by now.

I was convinced my Fudge was about to give birth for about 3 weeks and nothing happened. Then i went away for a long weekend and she gave birth exactly 1 hour after i left. My mum called to check on her and there she was with 4 perfect kittens. I was over the moon and gutted all at the same time. Couldn't wait to come home !!!

Any word yet Tatty? Might we hear the pitter patter on Christmas Day, you reckon?

Nothing yet, :(

No kittens yet. However I can feel them moving and when she was laid down earlier I could see her stomach moving in places :love:!!!!! very weird!!!
I wonder how long..........

I think the only answer to that is 'when she's good and ready and there's not a thing you can do about it!'.

I think the only answer to that is 'when she's good and ready and there's not a thing you can do about it!'.


I know lol.
I was just wondering cos on the internet somewhere it said from week 6-8 you can feel the kittens moving. Which means she would have at least a week left. But she looks ready to burst to me :)

No kittens yet. However I can feel them moving and when she was laid down earlier I could see her stomach moving in places :love:!!!!! very weird!!!
I wonder how long..........


This is the best bit good job our poppy is horizontally chilled she loved being a mum sadly no more :( its ace when u feel them moving I say in new yr she wil have them