60 Days Pregnant....i Think

[Lots of spots]

Hi all! First time posting so apologies if I end up doing something funky like posting twice. I have had Bengals for 14 years and love the breed but am a first time buyer with a TICA registered queen (Mia). I brought her to another registered breeder for stuff service and she told me the say she heard them breed. She kept them together for 4 days total.
I took Mia to the vet a few weeks ago (day 47) for x-rays for a kitten count and the vet told me he thought they were more like 43 days along because they did not show up very dark on the X-ray. Is it common for a cat to go threw 4 days of breeding but not get pregnant until the 4th day? I was expecting her to hit her 63 days this Wednesdays but now thinking I might need to take a few days off work next week if she is not as far along as I thought. Thanks for your comments!

 

[Lots of spots]

Here is a pic of the sweet mama.

 

[StefanZ]

I would say, its difficult to be that precise on the day, looking from an x-ray. The safest count is from their mating... Next from when her teats reddened, which is usually quite exact on day 21. When you feel the kittens move - 3 weeks if you are good at palpitating, 2 for most cat owners. And the dropping - a couple of days before delivery.
Nothing is as the waiting game!

 

[di and bob]

As with humans, there is no 'for certain! She most likely didn't get pregnant until the last day. Since this is her first breeding the kittens may be smaller and fewer.X-rays are not infallible, the film could be lighter, the exposure too short, etc. Just go sometime in that 4 day period and you will be all right. They often aren't exactly 63 days anyway, i carried both my children for 10 months and the Drs. just said taht was 'normal' for me! so a few days either ways is 'normal'!

 

[Lots of spots]

Thank you for the feedback guys! I have heard others on the board talk about "dropping" but I am not sure what this would look like. The only real difference I see is that she used to look like she has a little ball sticking out of her sides and now she just looks like a fatty catty. Would that be her dripping? If so, what would that indicate as to when she might give birth?
I was able to feel a little kick for the first time about 3 weeks ago but did see and feel them really moving around until 2 weeks ago.

 

[di and bob]

StefanZ is really good at helping, you might bring his attention to those facts!

 

[SpinkyDinkyDoo]

Just wanted to say Mia is absolutely gorgeous and good luck with everything.
I’m on “Kitten Watch” too.
There are lots of people here that are so lovely and can offer you reassurance, support and advice.
Our two cats were abandoned by neighbours, we then realised the little girl cat was heavily pregnant. I’ve never had cats before so this is all really new to me so I can’t offer you any advice but I can’t wait to see what your kits look like. x x x

 

[StefanZ]

Dropping you see when she suddenly seems "less obvious". Sometimes it even looks almost as if she already did gave birth... While on others its hardly noticeable. Most are somewhere inbetween. Yours seems to have dropped by the sound of it and the fact you began to feel them 3 weeks ago. Dropping occurs when the kittens goes down into the birthing channel. In this position they are more squeezed so they arent as movable, you dont feel them as much. And if you feel is from further down to the backlegs.
If so, its just a few days, perhaps even just hours... But We cant know the exact hour.

And thus I hope she conceived one of the first days, because we dont want prematures. Prematures are almost always a fight uphill, even if they are viable carried long enough - cats are much more fragile here than human bebies.

Have a scale, and some goats milk or a good kmr ready. Begin with taking weighs at once they are delivered and dry, so you get the count.

 

[Sarthur2]

I adopted a pregnant stray a few years ago and took her to the vet for an x-ray at what I thought was the end of her pregnancy as she was huge. The vet said from the x-rays that the kittens needed 7-10 days. Well, she delivered 4 healthy kittens 12 days later.

Look for signs of labor such as restlessness, mucousy discharge, and ripples in her sides. Some cats show few signs; other show many.

Also, do not breed your cat more than once per year for her health.

Good luck and keep us posted!

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

Help! My Cat Is Having Kittens!

 

[talkingpeanut]

She is beautiful! How old is she?

Do you have her on meals of wet kitten food throughout the day, and unlimited access to dry kitten food? You’ll want to keep her on this through nursing as well.

In the future, I would not use a stud service where they recommend leaving the cats alone to mate for 4 days. That’s far too long, and also I would want more supervision.

 

[Lots of spots]

Spinky: thank you and congrats on your coming kittens as well!

Stefan: thanks for the explanation on dropping. I did still see them moving this weekend a lot. Much more moving around rather than kicking. I have powdered kmr along with a little dropper with a nipple on it just in case as well as the kitchen scale ready for daily weigh ins.

Sarthur: Mia seems to be full of energy lately. She runs around like a spaz and tries to sneak attack and leap over my poor 14 year old Bengal when he is walking around. I think she likes startling him. LOL i am surprised she has wanted to play so much the last few days. I will definitely not breed her more than once a year. She a family member first so I don't want to jeopardize her health.

Talkingpeanut: thank you! She is just under a year and a half. I have been leaving out royal canine mother and baby cat as well as feeding her mother and baby cat wet food twice a day. My older Bengal loves it as well and has been extra playful since she has been able to get into it. LOL. As for the stud service, it was difficult to fund a reputable breeder who would give references within a 5 hour drive that was willing to offer stud service with a tested cat that had the traits I wanted to breed with mia. I attached a picture of her when she was only about 4 weekend along as well as her baby daddy below. She kept Mia in a small room off of their living room that had cat trees and beds and brought the make in when she was in full blown heat. She would text me to confirm when they were breeding. I was a bit nervous about it but I spoke with 3 other breeders who had used stud service with her and they all had great things to say. :-)

 

[Lots of spots]

Is it common for a young cat to be high energy and playful towards the end of pregnancy?

 

[Lots of spots]

Bump with a picture of Mom and Dad.

 

[golondrina]

Looking forward to see the offsprings of those two good lookers, Lots of spots!

 

[Lots of spots]

Looking forward to see the offsprings of those two good lookers, Lots of spots!

LOL yes lots of spots! Hence the name. :-). Thank you and I am really looking forward to seeing how they turn out as well. I will share a lot of pics when ever she doesn't finally pop.

 

[Lots of spots]

As of this afternoon Mia went from sleep arms length away from me and never stepping foot in any of the nesting boxes to now all over me purring up a storm and hopping in and out of the nesting tent with the heating pad and meowing like crazy. She had a fit for about an hour and half and is now sleeping in her nesting tent after pawing at the blankets for a while. I hope all of this crazy behavior means we will have kittens soon!! She was also super affectionate to my 14 year old male Bengal (neutered) and kept giving me and him a lot of licks. Very cute! I am getting excited!!

 

[Lots of spots]

Adding going to the litter box over and over again and and not trying to steal the piece of salami I was eating to hear weird behavior. I couldn't believe it. She was right in my face purring and cuddles and didn't even try lick the piece of salami. She usually comes running from anywhere in the house the second I take some salami out. Amazing...

 

[Lots of spots]

I think her mucus plug came out!! All of the sudden there was a cloudy colored snot looking thing coming out of her kit bits. It was mostly cloudy with a little streak or red in a part of it. I tried to separate her from my other Bengal so she can rest in her nesting boxes but the two of them just meowed for each other through the door until I let him in. Once I did she went back to her nesting box and made some VERY funny sounding meows and is breathing harder. Poor thing! She looks so uncomfortable. I hope this means the kittens will come soon! With the mucuse plug gone is it usually hours or days away from kittens?

 

[Lots of spots]

Big time contractions! Something is starting to come out!

 

[Lots of spots]

We have 2 so far! The X-ray showed 3, maybe 4 but it looks like Mia is taking a break after the first 2. The first 2 came with less than 10 mins of each other but not we are waiting an hour for number 3. I am so tired but so excited... trying not to fall asleep. Lol