Hot Pepper Is Due Any Day Now And...

[Sleepyhead]

Hey y’all!

We took in a stray a week ago. Our friends found her six weeks before that, looked high and low for her family, and were told by their landlord that they could no longer keep an unspayed cat in their apartment. At her vet visit on Wednesday, she got a clean bill of health (yay!) and we learned that she was at least 42 days along and carrying 5 kittens (ahhh!). We estimate that she is minimum 51 days pregnant, based on how long ago our friends took her in, and that’s if she mated on the very day she showed up on their porch.

She is super-lovey, as big as a house, bald around her nipples, and looking around for hiding places (last night she tried to climb up our blocked-off fireplace!), so I think she might even be further along.

We have provided several nest boxes for her but she doesn’t seem interested in them. She is still eating and drinking plenty, but has become less active just in the last few days. She does have loose poo but our vet said it is probably the stress of moving x changing over to kitten food x late pregnancy and gave us a probiotic supplement for her. We are keeping her inside but if we confine her to one room to try to encourage nesting, she meows plaintively until we open the door.

We are excited and nervous, having never had a pet give birth before. We already have an appointment to spay her for roughly the time the kittens will wean, and we have a list of friends and family who are interested in adopting mama cat - now known as Hot Pepper - or one of her kittens.

This is just an introductory post because I’m sure we will have questions as her estimated due date draws nearer, and when she goes in to labor, and as the kittens are born, and as they grow, ha.

The only question I have right now is whether anyone can guess what color(s) her kittens could be. She’s a tortoiseshell with white on her paws and belly, so I’m guessing torties and calicos are possible, as well as red/orange tabbies and black or tuxedo coats. We’ve been joking that we should have a $1 fur color betting pool to offset the costs of the kittens’ first three months with us!

I’ll try to upload a picture of Hot Pepper, and add pics of the kittens when they arrive...

 

[maggiedemi]

She's really pretty. I love her name, since I love hot peppers. When I was a kid, our Tortie/Calico gave birth to a black boy, a gray/white tiger boy, a gray/white girl, and a black/white tuxedo girl. Sadly, she didn't have any Tortie colored kittens.

 

[Sleepyhead]

Thanks, Maggie! We named her that because she’s a petite cat (well, not right now) and she has a firey personality - bringing to mind a small pepper with big spice! We’re thinking of giving the kittens “garden” names too.

Tbh I am hoping for a tortie kitten or even a dilute (blue and cream). Or a calico. Or an all-black. Or - oh, I know I’ll think they’re all the cutest.

She tried to force open the door to the utility room today - again, I think she’s nesting something fierce! I just hope she doesn’t go into labor while I’m out of the house tomorrow. The vet estimated that she’s only about a year old, herself, so while I hope this is the only litter she’s ever had, I’m also nervous that both she and I will not know what to do! I’m trying to trust her and the basics of biology, though!

 

[Irunwithscissors]

No tortie here, but just as an example as to how random colors can be... Our grey tabby mated with an orange tabby and now we have one grey tabby, two orange tabbies, one white kitten and a cream/colorpoint kitten.

 

[Sleepyhead]

Irunwithscissors, I’m surprised by the all-white and colorpoint kittens. I didn’t know those were randomly-occurring possibilities (i.e. not from a planned breeding of two white cats or a colorpoint breed like Siamese). Well, we’ll see what we get!

 

[lutece]

Irunwithscissors, I’m surprised by the all-white and colorpoint kittens. I didn’t know those were randomly-occurring possibilities (i.e. not from a planned breeding of two white cats or a colorpoint breed like Siamese). Well, we’ll see what we get!

Colorpoint is recessive. If each parent has one copy of the gene, each kitten has a 25% chance of inheriting both genes and being a colorpoint.

Solid white is normally the result of the "Dominant White" gene. At least one parent must be solid white to produce a solid white kitten. There is also a recessive albino gene in cats, but it is very, very rare.

Usually, if neither parent is white, and a "white" kitten is born in a litter, it is really a colorpoint. Colorpoint kittens are born white, and as they develop, the points (face, ears, paws and tail) will gradually darken.

 

[lutece]

The only question I have right now is whether anyone can guess what color(s) her kittens could be. She’s a tortoiseshell with white on her paws and belly, so I’m guessing torties and calicos are possible, as well as red/orange tabbies and black or tuxedo coats. We’ve been joking that we should have a $1 fur color betting pool to offset the costs of the kittens’ first three months with us!

Do you have any idea what color the father is?

With a tortoiseshell mom, the boy kittens can be either red (orange), or non-red (black, brown tabby, etc.) depending on which X chromosome they get from mom.

The color of the girl kittens depends on both mom and dad. If dad is red, you could get tortie/calico or red girls. If the father is NOT red, you could get tortie/calico, or non-red girls (black, brown tabby etc).

Dilute (blue) and colorpoint are both recessive. If both parents carry dilute, you could get dilute colors (blue, cream, dilute tortoiseshell, etc.) If both parents carry colorpoint, you could get colorpoint kittens.

White spotting is dominant. If mom just has a little white on her, she probably has just one copy of the gene for white spotting, so each kitten would have a 50% chance of inheriting white spotting from mom.

 

[maggiedemi]

Are you keeping Hot Pepper after the kittens are born? I forgot, I had a second Calico when I was a kid and she got pregnant also. She only gave birth to two kittens- a black/white tuxedo boy and a white/orange boy. Neither of my cats needed help when they gave birth, I just woke up to cute kittens. I hope it goes as smoothly for you.

 

[Sleepyhead]

letuce, thanks for your informative reply. We don’t know who dad cat (or cats) was (or were), unfortunately. Hot Pepper arrived on on our friends’ porch and was kept inside their house for six weeks while they looked for her original family. We are 99% sure she was pregnant when they took her in, as the only other cat in their house is a two-year-old neutered male. I suppose if her pregnancy carries on past nine weeks after she first showed up, we’ll have some questions for our friends, “Are your suuure your cat is neutered?” being first among them! Unless Hot Pepper is “overdue” and then gives birth to a cream tabby, I have no reason to think their cat is fertile.

Still no signs of labor yet. I’m driving myself a little crazy trying to decide if she needs to be confined to our spare bedroom until she gives birth. She meows quite a bit when she’s separated from us, but I don’t want her roaming the house and giving birth in some hard-to-reach area (see previous posts re: utility room, chimney).

 

[Sleepyhead]

Maggie, we don’t know yet if we will be keeping Hot Pepper or one of her kittens. Our neighbor friends are interested in taking her back as long as they can get their landlord’s written permission to have another cat in their apartment. They grew attached in the six weeks they had her, and we don’t blame them! She’s so sweet.

We did begin the process of purchasing a Maine Coon kitten from a very reputable breeder near us - and that kitten will be old enough to come home before Hot Pepper and her kittens are ready for their new homes - so we have to consider that if we go ahead with the Maine Coon, we could have seven kittens in our house for a couple weeks (eight if you count the very young mama). We do like the though of keeping either Hot Pepper or one of her kittens and having two cats when all is said and done. Buddies are a good things.

 

[Willowy]

Torties/calicos can have almost any color of kittens, so it's hard to predict anything, especially not knowing who the daddy is. Be sure to post lots of pics!

I think keeping one of the kittens to be friends with the MC is an excellent idea! Two kittens are much easier than trying to keep one entertained by yourself.

 

[Sleepyhead]

Willowy, that’s what we’re thinking. When we began talking with the breeder, we had an elderly cat, and our plan was to wait until she passed away before getting any new cats. We lost her in April, just shy of her 17th birthday. Having Hot Pepper in our house has really opened our hearts up in a good way. The breeder has also been supportive of this foster adventure, offering guidance for Hot Pepper’s care and the kittens’.

We can see the kittens moving around in Hot Pepper’s belly. Oof, it reminds me of when I was pregnat with my son. “Let me just stretch to my full length in here, ok, Mama?”

 

[Sleepyhead]

11pm Thursday night - still no signs of labor. She's minimum 55 days along now, so it can't be too much longer.

We don't want to confine her to one room for ten+ more days, not knowing exactly when she's due, and knowing that she tends to meow quite a bit when she is alone. We've been letting her roam the house as long as we're awake and home, thinking that if we're here, we'll know where she is when she goes into labor. Would anyone recommend changing this plan? Should she really be confined?

 

[Sleepyhead]

6pm Sunday night, and Hot Pepper can't have more than a week left in her pregnancy. We're playing the waiting game. She's snoozing at my feet with her back paws in a kind of frog-legged position. She looks pretty uncomfortable!

 

[Sleepyhead]

11:45pm, Monday night. Same, same, but different. No kittens yet, but I did discover a bunch of very loose poo outside of the litter box when I let Hot Pepper out of our guest room this morning. She's had loose poos since we took her in, but the vets said it was likely just her digestive system adjusting to new food and the general stress of being a pregnant stray in a new place. However, they had prescribed a probiotic and a different brand of kitten food at her first check-up, and after this morning, I knew we were not seeing improvement! I rang up the vets and they said she likely has worms - so she's on Anthelban once a week for a month, and the kittens will need treatment too. Now I wonder how much of her big belly is kittens and how much is distention from works! Poor girl. Counting down and hoping she has these kittens before I have to go to work all weekend!

 

[Sleepyhead]

10:35pm, Tuesday night. No kittens yet. I'm feeling awfully anxious about Hot Pepper's worms/diarrhea trouble. What if she is not well enough to give the kittens everything they need while in utero? Or what if she is too weak for the birth, or to nurse after the kittens are born? Ugh. I'm worrying myself sick. I think if she hasn't given birth by the end of the weekend, I'll call up my vet and ask for a check-up, since she'll be "overdue" on Sunday. Am I worrying over nothing? Other than the diarrhea indicating the worms, she's fine: active, playful, affectionate, eating and drinking plenty. Being the worrier that I am, I'm worried for Hot Pepper, for her kittens, and even somewhat concerned that whatever parasite she has could be passed to me, my partner, my toddler, or my dog. Eeek! Feeling like we took on more than we realized.

 

[ArchyCat]

You might want to get some Kitten Milk Replacement, the powdered form, for mom cat. It will provide the extra fat, calcium, and protein she will need while nursing her kittens.

Hope you have the kittens soon!

 

[ileen]

Any updates?

 

[Sleepyhead]

Hey all. Still no kittens, but they’re moving around in there and when I rubbed Hot Pepper’s belly just now it felt to me like her milk is coming in. She’s ~63 days along now. Her vet had me schedule an appt. for Friday just in case she hasn’t given birth by then. If that’s the case, they’ll check on her and the kittens. If the kittens are born this weekend, the vet said we can keep the appointment and bring the kittens in for their first check-ups.

She is perched on my belly purring so loudly. She has one of the loudest purrs I’ve heard!

Everyone who’s on our list to adopt, and Hot Pepper’s previous fosterers, are waiting with bated breath to hear good news! Hopefully I’ll have something for them in the morning!

 

[talkingpeanut]

There is really no need to bring the kittens in until they are ready for first vaccines, unless you have reason for concern. You are exposing them to risks for no reason if they are well.

Give her time and try to be patient. No need to involve the vet yet.