i need some advice

[mandi]

hi all,
we have recently had a stray cat dumped on our doorstep, she had been quite badly beaten so we took her to the vet, she has no serious injuries, just a few cuts and bruises, but she is however, quite heavily pregnant and i don't want to abort the babies.
after the babies are born, we will have her desexed and keep her, and if we can't find suitable homes for the kittens, we will do the same with them.
in the meantime however, i would really appreciate any advice that i can get on what to do during the labour, i've never seen a cat give birth before and i don't know what to do if anything goes wrong, also, could anyone give me a rough estimation of when they should be born? she is a medium sized cat, her tummy is round, hard and about the size of a small melon, and i can feel the babies if i touch her stomach (no movement though, just kitten shaped lumps)
her nipples are enlarged, but i don't know if they are getting pinker or not as i don't know what they looked like before she was pregnant, at the moment they are a light pink color.
she has been very affectionate in the last few days, but i don't know if that has anything to do with the pregnancy or not, also, she is always hungry and the vet has ruled out worms.
please help, i have absolutely no idea about pregnant cats,
hope to get some replies soon,
mandi.

 

[angelzoo]

First off, if she was abused have you had the vet check to see that the kittens are in fact still ALIVE?

I'm glad that you have taken her in and cared for her.
If you can, dedicate a room with hardwood/tile floor just for her, its the easist way to disenfect the area her and her kittens will be in, we dont need a momma cat getting sick.

Food, you should be feeding her a constant supply of dry kitten food. And you can offer her canned kitten food 2x a day.

Give her a little cubby whole, or a covered well placed box where she can make her 'nest'.

Cats are typically pregnant for about 48 days.

Familurize yourself with the kitten milk recipies, or you can just buy cans from the store if the mom cat doesn't take care of her kittens.

Because I don't feel like typing everything I can refer you to one site. www.peteductation.com click on cats and you'll see things about queens and their kittens and how to care for them

 

[dtolle]

Hey SusieQ, you and me were on the same wavelegnth. I was just going to say 63 days also for the gestation, not 48.

Also, most of the time the delivery goes smoothly without any human intervention. I think that there are instances if a kitten gets stuck that a vet would have to intervine. I know one of our other "experts" around here will jump in now.

 

[angelzoo]

Arg! Are you suuuure?

I've asked so many people what it was up until a month ago, cause before that it never concerned me.

Someone told me it was 48, sometimes 49 but that was streching it, then someone said 56, and now you say 63? I've seen all of these listed on different sites. ARe you positive?? Cause I would really like to know the final answer lol!

 

[dtolle]

Yes, it is 63. We have several respectable breeders here who can confirm that as well if you wish.

I'm sure they'll jump in here, hopefully.

 

[lotsocats]

Hello!

I moved your thread becuase you are more likely to get answers from the health experts. When it comes to pregnant cats, I don't have a clue!

Bravo to you for rescuing this poor mistreated kitty. I tip my hat to you!

 

[alicat613]

No advice here, sorry, but I just wanted to say that's so great you are taking her in, and taking care of her, and taking responsibility for her kittens. Good for you!

 

[hissy]

And the final answer is..........58-65 days.

 

[mandi]

i just thought i would add that the vet said he thinks she is pregnant and she does have a very large tummy, but i'm still not sure if she's pregnant or not, i've looked for all the signs eg. pink, swollen nipples, nesting, eating less etc, but there seem to be no sign of these symptoms, her nipples have swollen up, but they're not very pink and i can't see any of the other symptoms apart from the swollen belly, as for the food, she never stops eating, i give her 3 meals a day at the moment and she is always still hungry, but the vet said not to overfeed her, she is also having de-lactated milk for cat's so i was hoping that would help to fill her up.
is there any way i can tell for sure if she's pregnant?
also, is there an average to the amount of kittens they have?
thanks, mandi.

 

[jeanie g.]

The easy way to remember the gestation period for cats is: we take 9 months; they take 9 weeks-63-65 days, give or take as Hissy suggested. I breed an occasional litter of Siamese cats. If Mother is giving birth quickly and doesn't have time to get a kitten going, I rub it to stimulate it. This simulates what mother would do with her tongue, and gets the kitten squeaking. I would keep some soft, clean towels handy, if nothing else. There is much more you can do, but it takes a bit of courage. Mother can usually take care of everything. Let her eat the afterbirth; it provides nourishment.

 

[hissy]

and your vet's phone number, have that on hand as well.

 

[elisabeth provo]

Hi Mandy,
Everybody who told you 65 to 66 days is absolutely correct.usually the cats do the birthing without any help.See that you get The cat ownewrs home veterinary handbook there you´ll find all the answers and adcviceSince I Ccan only type with one hand I didn´t want to copy the chapter.It sounds as if your cat is pretty close to present you with kittens. During the last days they usually run around looking for a ´convenient dark place.If you feel it might be her time lift her tailand look for some lightly bloody liquid that´s a sure sign that it won´t take long normally within the following hours.Perhaps you know a breeder who lives close to your place and who wouldn´t mind to help you if you feel its necessary. And don´t think delivering kittens is a matter ofhalf an hour . It can take a few hours. Well ,that´s it from northern Germany.Good luck and all the best to both mothers Elisabeth