Hello all!
I just took in a lovely pregnant cat
from the SPCA. I have been a foster home before and even took care once of 3 orphan kittens from the time they were 2 weeks old to 14 weeks old. However, this is my first time with a pregnant cat. I did a lot of research and talked a few times with my vet and I think I have everything ready.
I was just wondering if any of you guys had a piece of advice, something I should know that would not be mentionned in the readings I made? I know there is supposed to be a placenta for each kittens, how to stimulate breathing and cut the cord if the mother doesn't, how to keep the kittens warm during the rest of the labor...
There are two little things that still bugs me: the first one is that the mother cat (I still haven't found a name for her) seems to have a lot of "morning sickness" and therefore she won't eat much. I don't know how far along she is (she has a nice round belly, but still no milk coming out of her nipples, so I am guessing somewhere between 7 and 9 weeks), but I know she should be eating more than that. I tempt her with different food (chicken and tuna) and it seems to be working, but since I have never given my cats anything else than cat food and I don't want to give her anything a cat wouldn't digest, any suggestions? I wish she would eat the kitten food I am giving her (royal canin), should I force feed her?
The other thing I am not sure of is when the kittens are born, I want to weight them everyday, of course. But I was also told not to touch too much the kittens because the mother might not want to take care of them if I put my smell on them. So, how can I monitor them without risking that? Is this a stupid question? I was thinking using a hand soap with no perfume in it and pet the mother before taking the kittens to have her smell on my hands.
Thanks for any advice and I will keep you all posted (with hopefully pictures of healthy kittens and the mommy).
Marilou
I just took in a lovely pregnant cat
I was just wondering if any of you guys had a piece of advice, something I should know that would not be mentionned in the readings I made? I know there is supposed to be a placenta for each kittens, how to stimulate breathing and cut the cord if the mother doesn't, how to keep the kittens warm during the rest of the labor...
There are two little things that still bugs me: the first one is that the mother cat (I still haven't found a name for her) seems to have a lot of "morning sickness" and therefore she won't eat much. I don't know how far along she is (she has a nice round belly, but still no milk coming out of her nipples, so I am guessing somewhere between 7 and 9 weeks), but I know she should be eating more than that. I tempt her with different food (chicken and tuna) and it seems to be working, but since I have never given my cats anything else than cat food and I don't want to give her anything a cat wouldn't digest, any suggestions? I wish she would eat the kitten food I am giving her (royal canin), should I force feed her?
The other thing I am not sure of is when the kittens are born, I want to weight them everyday, of course. But I was also told not to touch too much the kittens because the mother might not want to take care of them if I put my smell on them. So, how can I monitor them without risking that? Is this a stupid question? I was thinking using a hand soap with no perfume in it and pet the mother before taking the kittens to have her smell on my hands.
Thanks for any advice and I will keep you all posted (with hopefully pictures of healthy kittens and the mommy).
Marilou