Just Had Kittens... What Happens When She's Done?

[msCJ82]

Bell just had her first litter! It actually went by pretty fast. She showed no new or odd signs that labor was happening other than done noticeable discharge earlier today. I got home this afternoon from picking up my kids from school, and she meowed a couple times and figured she wanted some more wet food. I then walked with her to her bowl and she ate. About 15 min later I noticed she was in one of her nest/boxes and was having contractions. This lasted about 45 minutes until the first kitten was born! 5 minutes later the second was born. She had 5 kittens in about 3 hours.
Afterwards, I kinda felt another lump, and figured she might have another one but I wasnt 100% sure. She did have a few contractions and was breathing kinda fast still. But after an hour, she seemed fine.
I chalked it up to five being the total number of kittens.
She never left her box and was nursing them and was in there for a few hours.
Just a little bit ago, she came and jumped on my bed. I was a little shocked because I didn't think she would leave her kittens so soon, or if she did it would be to eat or use the litter box. So I got up and she meowed and I figured she probably wanted more wet food, so I went in the kitchen and gave her some. While she was eating, I figured this would be a good time to change the bedding in the Box. But while doing so, naturally the kittens made some noise and she came in. She immediately went into the box and lay down and let the kittens continue nursing. I figured she was still hungry so I brought the food to her, and fed her with my hands as she was laying down and she ended up finishing all of her food. But then about 20 minutes after that she came back on my bed and laid down by me. I am not sure if this is normal, maybe she needed a quick break, some reassurance, or perhaps it's something else. I do still feel a lump in her but I am not sure if it is her insides. Don't things kinda get jumbled up for a bit? She is now laying by me cleaning herself. Do I let her do what she wants, is it dangerous for her to be away from the kittens, is this normal?

I just didn't think she would leave so soon, but she definitely seems to go back and nurse them but they are only hours old. They are warm enough so I am not worried about that, I just honestly thought she would only leave if she needed to go to the bathroom or eat.

As for this other lump that I feel in her, if it is another kitten wouldn't she show more signs that she has another one? Or can it honestly go hours perhaps another day before she delivers this one? Will she start all over again with the laboring signs?

she laid buy me for about 20 minutes and then went back to her box but now she is back by me again meow mean not that she's in pain but she definitely wants something

 

[StefanZ]

The lump is probably swollen uterus. It will shrink in a day or two.
Otherwise, pauses arent uncomon. If she is OK, no problems, you can usually wait and see.

She want you company. Perhaps you can move your matterasse to her nest and be near?? Or move her nest near your bed. M msCJ82

 

[talkingpeanut]

I agree that you should give her as much encouragement and attention as you can.

Do you plan to spay her after this litter?

 

[msCJ82]

she already has an appointment in July to get spayed
The lump I felt was small and kinda hard, like a head of a kitten, the other time it felt about the size of a kitten. But the part that felt like a head, was about a quarter shape and kind of hard.

So last night she kept coming over by my bed, and would meow so I would get up and go lay by her box and she jumped right in and would nurse them and she would fall asleep. It was around 1 a.m. so I eventually went back to my bed on the couch. She then came back over again, so I thought she probably wanted me by her but seeing how I didn't want to sleep on the floor, I brought her box next to me. When I did that, she followed me and meowed and as soon as I set the Box down, she jumped in. But then after about five minutes, she grabbed one of the kittens and carried it over to where her box was, looking at me with a look that said WTF lol. So I moved the box back over to where it was and she seem to be content. Every time the kittens cried she would go over there and lay with them and nurse them so this is a great sign. But as soon as they would go to sleep or quiet down she would leave and do her own thing, but awaits returns when they cry, like RIGHT away. Right now the kittens are all together sleeping and she is laying on me purring. She seems to be doing just fine she's eating and drinking and the kittens are content, sleeping and warm but she does meow every time I get up and she kind of follows me, she was never a very vocal cat, so this is somewhat new or at least she would only do this when she was really hungry. But I just gave her food and wet food and there's still some left over. So I'm just wondering if this is her showing affection because she happy or? To me it just seems like she's very content and happy and probably grateful that everything went smooth. I was with her the entire time she gave birth and so me leaving her to go to bed I'm sure stressed her a little bit. But here we are the next morning and she still kind of clingy, which is totally fine, I just also know that being clingy and purring can be a sign of something wrong. I am going to get a scale today, the one that I had, I thought just needed batteries..turns out the things busted! so I was not able to weigh the kittens last night but they are only about 14 hours old so I still should be okay to record their weights. I A do have a syringe, bottle and kmr on hand in case.

 

[msCJ82]

Hard to see them lol this was moments after the 5th one was born.

 

[Sarthur2]

Your cat sounds very content! She also sounds like a good mother!

Weighing the kittens is excellent, and good you have supplies.

Give mom a dish a day of the kitten formula to drink. She needs the extra calcium.

 

[msCJ82]

thanks for the reply and reassurance! I can't believe how good she is.. she just turned one so her being young and this being her first litter she seems like a pro. Just to clarify, she was an indoor cat and i had moved in the middle of the time i was going to spray her, then i had to wait a bit for extra funds as i had a back injury and not working. she got out a couple times.. obviously lol. i already pre paid for her spay, so it's happening lol!

I just got back from the store and bought a digital scale. The one thing I realized, how in the world am I going to tell them apart considering they are all black LOL. I can't really tell the sex yet unless I'm not looking hard enough. Any suggestions on how to tell them apart? What I did for the first way is take some non toxic water color paint and put a small dab on each of their backs with my finger. I know Mom will probably clean them and it will come off so I'm trying to think of another solution. I thought about putting little tiny collars but I'm afraid mom will try to bite it off or lick it off? Little string? floss? What are some good weights in grams for kittens? At what point should I pull the runt aside and feed him/her KMR? This is what I have so far:
Pink-109 grams
white-114
yellow-117
orange -109
purple-104 (the runt)

I don't know what they weighed at birth, but it can't be to far off considering they are not even one day old yet.

 

[Sarthur2]

They should each gain a minimum of 6-10 grams per day. You need to supplement any who are not gaining well.

You have a baseline now, so weigh them again tomorrow at about the same time.

Do not use any kind of collar, floss or string on them right now. It’s not safe.

I usually recommend paint on the tail tip for identification. Eventually you will be able to tell them apart.

Don’t stress about gender yet. It’s easier to tell once they are 3-4 weeks old.

 

[msCJ82]

Awesome thank you Sarthur2 !

I’m glad I did the paint then I will be weighing them around the same time each day then.

I watched the runt or “purple” close and was never getting a chance to suck. Eventually it just curled up in a ball and would try occasionally only to get shoved away from the others.

I went ahead and gave it a tiny bit of KMR since I haven’t seen it eat at all today. It latched on the second try and ate. It fell asleep in my hand, so I put em next to Bell, Mom. I did weigh em right after to see if it got some and it went from 104 to 110. I’ll leave it be and weigh again tomorrow and see if it’s went up at all. Which it should, this will give me a good idea exactly how much it’s getting from Mom verses the bottle.

Bell is still very clingy, I couldn’t even take a bath earlier without her coming in 4 times meowing and standing by the tub lol. I praise her tremendously and give her loads of love. We have an amazing relationship; when she was about 3 months old, she fell down the laundry chute and broke her leg. After taking her to the vet and getting used to a cast, she and I developed a very tight bond. So I think she knows I’m safe and even let me feed purple right in front of her while she nursed the others. She just closed her eyes and purred. I’m just not used to her being so vocal.

I got her more wet kitten food to eat and has dry food also. I gave her some kmr as well, which she loved. I guess she’s just needing reassurance. If I lay by her while she nurses, she’ll stay put and sleep. But once I walk away, about 10 min later she’ll come to me. But she runs over at the slightest cry they make, so it’s awesome!

 

[msCJ82]

Off the subject but...
I have two male brothers that I resuced along with her, and they’ve grown up together. They are both fixed and have been outside since her last 3 weeks of pregnancy. I’m nervous to let them in and see the babies. I don’t want her to stress out or put the kittens in danger. Although Bell went out on the screened in porch this morning to play with them. They’ve always gotten along and there’s no real threat other than the fact that they are male. How long should I keep them Separated? I’m ok with keeping them apart. But how would I know if they are all ok and want to be around one another? They are so close, I kinda feel like I’m taking away their friend ya know.

 

[Sarthur2]

They should not need to live outside, though Mom and kittens do need privacy right now. I would wait a full 3 weeks before introducing them to the kittens, and then under supervision.

Make sure the runt gets adequate time on mom when the bigger ones are sleeping. You may need to supplement the runt more often.

 

[msCJ82]

ok, thank you for responding! I really appreciate it!