In over my head!!

[Lilpeanut]

I have 2 cats that i "inherited" from a client at work ... her mother was going to have them euthanized "because she didn't want them anymore" ... when i first brought them home, i took them to the vet for a check over and she gave them a clear bill of health but advised they were not desexed and recommended that i wait until May (shouldn't have listened) to bring them in as the council paid majority of the bill (down from $350 each to $65 each). So i made them indoor cats and my son built a 'cat play pen' in the back yard so they could still play outside and run around BUT couldn't hunt and male cats couldn't get in. I noticed about a week ago one of my furbabies looked like she was getting fat, have since determined she is most definitely pregnant .
So couple of questions because due to coronavirus the vets are closed.
Roughly how long after a cat starts showing will she give birth.
What do i do when she goes into labour?
Do i need to have anything specific for the delivery? I read somewhere to have petroleum jelly... why??
How long do they stay in labour, how will i know if something is wrong and to take her to the emergency veterinarian?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

[Sarthur2]

So both cats are female and I assume one was already pregnant when you got her? How old are they?

Cats begin to show around the 5th week, and cat pregnancy runs about 63-68 days on average. So, depending where in the pregnancy she is, she likely has at least 3 weeks to go.

Here are some helpful articles to get you going:

Cat Pregnancy

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Help! My Cat Is Having Kittens!

All questions are welcome, and thank you for taking these kitties into your home!

 

[Lilpeanut]

So both cats are female and I assume one was already pregnant when you got her? How old are they?

Cats begin to show around the 5th week, and cat pregnancy runs about 63-68 days on average. So, depending where in the pregnancy she is, she likely has at least 3 weeks to go.

Here are some helpful articles to get you going:

Cat Pregnancy

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Help! My Cat Is Having Kittens!

All questions are welcome, and thank you for taking these kitties into your home!

Thank you so much!! I'm feeling a bit panicked and lost at the moment, hoping I am doing the right thing but petrified I'll make a mistake... or she will, and something scary will happen during her delivery and i wont know what to do!
Yes both cats are female, about a year (or a little over) in age.
I assume she was pregnant when i took her, so now i keep watching her sister for "signs"... i keep thinking her belly is just going to pop the way her sisters suddenly did
Larissa my little pregnant popett, seems to be just lying around all day now and her tummy looks like its doubled in size in a couple of days!! She has taken on a weird thing of chewing, or trying to eat anything plastic ... plastic bags, bread wrappers... i dont know what thats about so have locked away anything and everything with a plastic wrap. I dont know what to do about that.
The past 24-48 hrs she refuses to allow me to leave her sight, if i go to check the mail, she cries at the screen door like someone is treading on her or hurting her, until i come back into her sight..... is this normal?? The first time she did it i ran back inside panicking thinking she got caught in something.... i have since worked out she does it whenever I am not in her line of vision, if i go into another room i cant shut the door because i get the same reaction. (I cant even imagine what my neighbours think I'm doing to her).
I read somewhere to make her up a new bedding area that was away from busy areas in the house, and introduce her to it so she knows its for her and the babies.... i did that, but she wont even sit in it, she keeps jumping into my clothes hamper at the end of my bed - which i have tried endlessly to keep her out of to no avail, i still cant work out how she is getting the lid off!!
Well im off to read all the links you gave me... thank you!!

 

[Sarthur2]

Cats don’t usually go to a nest until time to deliver. They are also notoriously affectionate and clingy when pregnant. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride!

 

[Lilpeanut]

My cat is in the process of delivering her kitrens.... 1st one was stillborn i took her to the vet who did an ultrasound and said the remaining have heartbeats and take her home to await the arrival of the remaining kittens. How long is it usually between each kitten birth?

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m sorry about the first kitten. How is mom now? It could be hours or even days before she has the others. There is no way to know.

 

[Lilpeanut]

When she went into labour, at about 11am.... after almost 3hrs of crying, contractions and pushing at about 145pm the first bub was breach and got stuck in the birth canal i tried all the suggestions but couldn't help baby out, i drove her to the vet and was taken in immediately.... they pulled baby out (I've never heard a cat scream the way she did from the pain), it was horrendous!!! It was still born. They did an ultrasound and said there were 3 heart beats, the vet checked her canal and said "its clear, take her home and wait". If theres no action by 630pm bring her back before we close. 600pm the crying started and you could see her contracting, called the vet and the veterinary assistant said shes going well, just relax (easier said than done), at almost 10pm, she had her 2nd kitten but it was so tiny and there was clearly a birth defect and passed away not long after being born . Within an hour she went to sleep (i stayed up pacing all night). If i wasnt told about the 3 heartbeats i would've been positive it was over!!! 430pm the next day i was midway through a work zoom meeting and she jumped onto my laptop purring, my colleagues were laughing then i notice what looked like a tail coming out, i had a look and she was clearly about to have another breach bub. We jumped in the car and flew to the vet in record speed, took her in and as she got onto the examination table i spotted legs and tail, she was clearly struggling and again they pulled bub out to the horrific screams of my furbaby..... another still birth (i was devastated for her). The vet came in and said we need to do a C-Section, if we dont she will die, within seconds she was whisked away and i was told theybwould call me when the surgery was over. I cried for the next 3hrs until the call came saying she was finished and so far doing well.... i asked about the remaining kitten knowing it wouldnt be good news... the woman said well "mumma is doing well and they are working on kitten but doesnt look good, mum should be ready to come home in 3hrs". Close to midnight i got the call to pick her up, i got to the vets and they said "she has was hissing at first but she let us snuggle baby next to her", i was shocked, this one was a fighter they explained baby was teeny and i would be on hourly feeds as she was only 84grams!!! So hourly feeds it has been ever since, and bubs is well worth the no sleep haha!! Bubs has goon from 84g to (last weight an hour ago) 141g. Bub is meant to drink 1ml an hour, drinks more like 2.5ml and hour mumma toilets her and she still suckles on her nipples.... no milk but it puts her to sleep
This has been the worst and best experience.... im just wanting to get to the point where im not wprrying about her survival.

 

[Lilpeanut]

Little bubba

 

[Sarthur2]

Wow! What a story! Mama cat must be exhausted. I’m sorry about the kittens that did not make it, but at least you’ve got one little feisty kitten.

Mom’s milk should come in soon. If this kitten is drinking lots, you can move to feeding every two hours soon. If the kitten continues eating well, it won’t be too long before it hits 100 grams and moves into the safe zone.

Did they go ahead and spay mom? Did they send you home with pain meds for her?

 

[catapault]

What a roller coaster journey for you, mom cat and little bub! At least now the ride is going up, up, up for all three of you. You are a guardian angel. You saved the lives of the two adult cats in the beginning. (I cannot fathom don't want them any more so just kill.) The pregnant one would have died in the delivery so you saved her life a second time. And little bub's life too.

 

[Lilpeanut]

Bub went to 3 hourly feeds, she jumped to 194grams!!!!! Little fatty lmao! They said they wouldnt spay her because if she was desexed her milk wouldnt come in and whatbwas there would dry up within 3 days, she ended up with mastitis, unsure if she even has milk, so could've been a waste not having it all done at once
Im wondering if bub is growing so quickly because she has milk AND im feeding baby too.... they gave me antibiotics for the mastitis but no pain meds for her . Her mastitis is now gone with help from cabbage leaves and antibiotics .... its been such a rough trot for her!!
How can i tell if she has milk, her bottom teats are saggy but don't look full, top ones look the same as they did before pregnancy.....
Im worried ill overfeed the baby if she is producing milk.
Bub looks content for all of 40secs when suckling from mum, then gets fussy, but if Ive given her a bottle, she/he will suckle on mums nipple to sleep.

 

[Mileka]

Bub went to 3 hourly feeds, she jumped to 194grams!!!!! Little fatty lmao! They said they wouldnt spay her because if she was desexed her milk wouldnt come in and whatbwas there would dry up within 3 days, she ended up with mastitis, unsure if she even has milk, so could've been a waste not having it all done at once
Im wondering if bub is growing so quickly because she has milk AND im feeding baby too.... they gave me antibiotics for the mastitis but no pain meds for her . Her mastitis is now gone with help from cabbage leaves and antibiotics .... its been such a rough trot for her!!
How can i tell if she has milk, her bottom teats are saggy but don't look full, top ones look the same as they did before pregnancy.....
Im worried ill overfeed the baby if she is producing milk.
Bub looks content for all of 40secs when suckling from mum, then gets fussy, but if Ive given her a bottle, she/he will suckle on mums nipple to sleep.

Sounds very dramatic! You done amazing helping her. Hope baby and mum continue to thrive.

I’m still waiting, we have 3 kittens so far but still more in there. First was breech and got stuck but I got her on her feet and she managed to get it out safely. Other 2 popped out easy after that. I set birthing boxes up everywhere and she chose the middle of my living room

 

[Lilpeanut]

I wanna see pics
Did everything go ok?
This little one is coming along in leaps and bounds, 3 hourly feeds still (he wakes me up for them ) ... his little eyes are starting to open and he followed me walking across the room today . He's still suckle mum to sleep, but he looks more like a cat now haha!!

 

[Lilpeanut]

Gawd I love them

 

[Lilpeanut]

 

[Mileka]

The kitten is beautiful! Are you feeding it yourself? I tried to feed mine just to top them up but they wouldn’t feed for me although mum seems to be keeping them happy. The sounds from her nest are full of love and purring. It takes me back to that honeymoon period just after childbirth when your so in love and so proud of your baby lol

 

[Lilpeanut]

Omg they are beautiful!!!
Yes I was feeding, first every hour, then 2 hourly 3 hourly and now every 5 hours lol, but now onto weaning and toilet training
I swear kittens are harder than newborn babies lol
This one is 5 weeks today he was so teeny, I never thought we would get here!!
To top it off, has attached at the hip.... I can't go anywhere without him crying LOL
I'm sitting on my bed typing this and he attacked my toes and fell asleep bahahaha