Can Stress Delay Birth? Updated

StarEH

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We took in a couple of kittens at the request of our landlord that had been left by previous tenants. We hadn't gotten them fixed yet as we though they were too young. Less than 6 months. The female is very tiny.
When I heard her screaming downstairs I thought he was playing too rough with her, nope. That was march 4th.

I have kept them separated for the last month and a half since she started showing.
She is now 66 days pregnant and no sign of going into labor. She is a very nervous and skittish cat, but has become more affectionate since becoming pregnant. She always acts like she is starving, even before she got pregnant and will steal any food if you are not paying attention, so it is hard to judge her appetite.

Her milk came in about 3 weeks ago so I was sure she would have delivered by now. So I am wondering if she is too stressed out to deliver.

The male cat was playing way too rough with her so we had to separate them, but the are very close and are upset by it. He is extremely vocal for an orange tabby. He sits outside the door of the room we have her in and howls all day long. It literally sounds like he is saying hellooo. The scratch at the door trying to get to each other but we are worried about her getting hurt. At the same time this is clearly distressing her. Could this be delaying her labor? As I said she is already a very nervous cat.
 

StefanZ

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Yes, stress may cause delay. They can somewhat decide to when its safe to deliver. It doesnt always work out, I know examples of rather crash delivery in unsuitable circumstances.
Still, its supposed they do in some degree can choose when.

66 days is not unusually long, so it may easily proceed by itself.

But if they both wants to be near, its important. The usual advice is to let them be near if she wants. Because she may be stressed by a too eager pal, but she will be even more stressed if her friend isnt with her...

So may advice is you let them be together - and look and see what happens.
Here, as he tends to play rough, you must supervise of course...

I hope he stands up to the occasion, and behaves in these big moments...

Is he neutered by now? A friendly male is very seldom a real threat to the kittens, and he will often coparent. But if he is fertile (or freshly neutered) he may easily make her pregnant again. Cat females arent protected by nursing.
 
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StarEH

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I brought her into my room last night and she seems much more content now. Previously she avoided us but that has changed over the last few weeks but she's was still surprised that she seems to prefer this arrangement.

He is freshly netured and we were hoping it would mellow him out some but it hasn't. He is still very young. We estimated them to be around 4 months when we got them. We were shocked buy this pregnancy as we were under the impression females couldn't get pregnant that young. Reading on this site, I see I was mistaken. They are 6 or 7 months at best now. If he was older I would be less concerned about him around the kittens but he truly has no clue how rough he is and completely oblivious to when my older cat doesn't want to play even when she swats and hisses at him. I don't think he would hurt the kittens on purpose, but he would want to play with them and not gently. I am covered in scratches from him because he still hasn't figured out claw control or that we only use toys to play with him and hands are for petting.
Do you think I am too worried about it? I would be devastated if I let one of the kittens get hurt because he tried to play with them.
 
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StarEH

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Sorry for the spelling and grammar. I didn't catch them until after I posted.
 

FeebysOwner

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I personally think that they should not be together unless they are supervised and he is removed at the first hint of being too rough. And, once she delivers I would not allow him to be near her for at least a couple of weeks - and then only supervised once again.

There is a good possibility that once she has the babies, she will more interested in them than she will be him - at least initially. Although, she will need enough space in her room to be able to walk away from the babies to another spot in the room now and again. Maybe her food and water/litterbox in spots across the room, even an area where she can from time to time just be by herself for a few minutes?

Pregnant cats eat like pigs - so feed her all she wants now - and after delivery while she is nursing.

Have you considered a double tiered baby gate, or some similar type screening that neither could jump over, so they could see each other through that? Something you could test to see if it makes it worse or better. But, if she seems more content now in her new room, you might just want to let things be, and not worry about having them separated for now.

P.S. No worries about typos! I didn't even catch them - and, am sure when I post this, I too will have made a few myself (seems to never fail). Btw, once you've been a member for 5 days and have 20 posts, you will become a 'Young Cat' (vs. your Kitten status now) and then you can edit your posts!!
 

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It takes a few weeks for the male hormones to settle down after they are neutered. You may want to keep an eye on them when they are together until that happens. I'm not certain how many weeks 4-6 I think for the hormones to process out.

But yes, you need to let them be together right now because he is her world and her stablity. His presense will comfort her. She will be telling him what she wants, which is a good thing.

As FeebysOwner FeebysOwner suggested, The baby gates are a great idea, they can be together and apart. If you can't do baby gates (Chewy.com has nice wooden ones for $50, which will see you through this and you can loan to friends later. They ones that work with pressure aren't nearly as stable as the ones with the screw into the door frame hooks and eyes. consider the size of your boy and his strength which choosing.)

If you don't get baby gates you could get a dog crate to keep the boy in while you are gone and while you are asleep. That way they could be together and apart. It will prevent him from protecting her, but there you are.

If you decide to put her and the kittens in the dog crate you will need to make a border of sturdy cardboard for at least 10 inches around the bottom of the crate as the kittens can get stuck in the openwork wire and get hurt.
 

StefanZ

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I brought her into my room last night and she seems much more content now. Previously she avoided us but that has changed over the last few weeks but she's was still surprised that she seems to prefer this arrangement.

He is freshly netured and we were hoping it would mellow him out some but it hasn't. He is still very young. We estimated them to be around 4 months when we got them. We were shocked buy this pregnancy as we were under the impression females couldn't get pregnant that young. Reading on this site, I see I was mistaken. They are 6 or 7 months at best now. If he was older I would be less concerned about him around the kittens but he truly has no clue how rough he is and completely oblivious to when my older cat doesn't want to play even when she swats and hisses at him. I don't think he would hurt the kittens on purpose, but he would want to play with them and not gently. I am covered in scratches from him because he still hasn't figured out claw control or that we only use toys to play with him and hands are for petting.
Do you think I am too worried about it? I would be devastated if I let one of the kittens get hurt because he tried to play with them.
I understand your worries, and yes, that are certainly sound thinking. He not really recognizing what happens, may play rough instead...
With a little luck he will coparent, but playing rough IS a risk...

Btw, there is some risk the young momma will not understand at once what to do... So you must be prepared to help her out. But most probably the instincts will kick in after a while. Most young cats become good moms when settled down.

So IF you let them be toghether, you must superwise.

The suggested cage, to have him in it, or momma + kittens, is a nice compromise worth to try.
I second this idea.
 

StefanZ

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I brought her into my room last night and she seems much more content now. Previously she avoided us but that has changed over the last few weeks but she's was still surprised that she seems to prefer this arrangement.

He is freshly netured and we were hoping it would mellow him out some but it hasn't. He is still very young. We estimated them to be around 4 months when we got them. We were shocked buy this pregnancy as we were under the impression females couldn't get pregnant that young. Reading on this site, I see I was mistaken. They are 6 or 7 months at best now. If he was older I would be less concerned about him around the kittens but he truly has no clue how rough he is and completely oblivious to when my older cat doesn't want to play even when she swats and hisses at him. I don't think he would hurt the kittens on purpose, but he would want to play with them and not gently. I am covered in scratches from him because he still hasn't figured out claw control or that we only use toys to play with him and hands are for petting.
Do you think I am too worried about it? I would be devastated if I let one of the kittens get hurt because he tried to play with them.
I understand your worries, and yes, that are certainly sound thinking. He not really recognizing what happens, may play rough instead...
With a little luck he will coparent, but playing rough IS a risk...

Btw, there is some risk the young momma will not understand at once what to do... So you must be prepared to help her out. But most probably the instincts will kick in after a while. Most young cats become good moms when settled down.

So IF you let them be toghether, you must superwise.

The suggested cage, to have him in it, or momma + kittens, is a nice compromise worth to try.
I second this idea.
 
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StarEH

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Thank you all. I really appreciate the advice. I think the cage is a wonderful idea.

Something is happening. She woke me up this morningacting quite panicked. She is purring louder and harder than I have ever heard her before. She wants me to sit in my closet with her, and heaven forbid I leave her side for even a moment. I have done all the research I can, so here is hoping everything goes smoothly.

I can send my husband out to get the cage.

Ok. Just as I was about to hit post, my older cat started scratching on my bedroom door and she growled. I have never heard her do that ever.

I will keep you guys updated, thank you again.
 
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StarEH

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We have 3 beautiful kittens. I was sure there would be one more but it has been a few hours now. Mama is doing an amazing job. I was worried about how young she is, but she was a pro.
We are giving mom time to rest before we let dad meet them.
20190511_172001_001.jpg
 

FeebysOwner

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Congratulations! Just wait - she still could have another. Just recently, I was dealing with a cat that went 24 hours between births. But, that was only two cats (not counting one that was, alas, stillborn) in total, so your girl is likely done!

Be very, very careful about introducing the dad. That could go well, or not. And, certainly dad cannot be left alone with mama and babies for now. Mama might not even want him around at this point. Caution, caution!!!
 

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Congratulations, I am so glad that mom's youth does not stop her from being a good mom. And yes StarEm, don't forget that Dad is still fertile. Also that mom growled when he scratched the door, so he may not be welcome at this point.
 
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StarEH

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Thank you and yes, we will be very careful. She wanted out while the babies were sleeping. I put him in another room so she could stretch her legs for a bit. She ate and used the litter box and was anxious to get back to them.
 
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StarEH

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Everything seems to be going smoothly except I am worried that Star isn't getting enough water. She gets very anxious leaving them. She will eat use the litter box but barely touches her water if at all before racing back.
I am only feeding her wet food now and tried to mix water into it, but she didn't like that. How can I coax her to drink more?
 
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StarEH

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OK, thank you! I was starting to panic about her being dehydrated. I just want to do everything I can to keep her and the kittens happy and healthy.
 
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StarEH

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So mama moved just one kitten. I am confused by this. She is going back and forth between the one she moved and the other two. If she was going to move one? Why not all 3? I am also worried about the one by its self getting cold.
 

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I would put the little one back with the others and see what happens. He would definitely get cold on his own. Mom cats reject kittens who are sick but the fact that she keeps going to him after separating him from the others would be unusual. If she persists separating him you will have to feed him yourself and keep him warm. Have you been weighing the little ones to ensure that they are growing satisfactorily, i.e. 10grs per day. Very important with the one she is separating from the others.
 
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StarEH

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I don't have a scale but his belly hasn't felt full like the others for two days. Mama was insistent on moving him so I moved the others to him and she seemed to accept that. Things seemed OK, but today he seems lethargic. His mouth just hangs open and he doesn't squirm like he did, and the others still do.

I am having a lot of anxiety about what to do. I tried bottle feeding him but he won't touch it. Any tips?

We are contemplating a vet visit if he doesn't seem better later today. Should I take mom and siblings too or just him?
 
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