Mother Cat Kept Purring

CactusWithWings

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My cat gave birth almost exactly 8 weeks ago and I was simply curious about her behavior before the kittens started walking and running all over the place.
I will say this now, her birthing process was an interesting one. She popped out a kitten before my sister and I woke up, and even though we left her alone and merely looked in occasionally to check both the kitten and mom's health (we named the kitten Pancake) she was clearly uncomfortable so she disrupted her labor for 14-16 hours until we went to bed, (don't worry we had called a vet to make sure everything was ok after about four hours of no more kittens, they told us what she was doing) and then she passed the rest of them with no problem.
After that, anytime she went near the entrance of the kitten box, she would start purring really loud and would continue until she fell asleep. She did this until the kittens left the box and started exploring. I have my own theory as to why she did this, but I was curious to see what others thought. I found it extremely adorable whenever she did it though.
(Momma and the kittens after they were born are attached below)
PXL_20210621_191143926.jpg
 

Sarthur2

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Mama kitty was purring her contentment! :lovecat2:

Do you have her scheduled for a spay soon? Now that the kittens are 8 weeks she can be spayed anytime now, yet continue to nurse if she wishes.

What are your plans for the kittens?
 
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CactusWithWings

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Mama kitty was purring her contentment! :lovecat2:

Do you have her scheduled for a spay soon? Now that the kittens are 8 weeks she can be spayed anytime now, yet continue to nurse if she wishes.

What are your plans for the kittens?
All of the kittens have had homes for about twoish weeks, were just waiting for them to turn 8 weeks before they're rehomed.
Unfortunately we do not have appointments for any of the cats because we can't afford it, but seeing as it was my sister's cat who impregnated both of my cats, when we can he will be neutered since is the only male cat in the apartment and none of them have ever made it passed the top three steps (we live on the second story) and we haven't had an escapee since they were six months, we're not worried about any of our girls getting out.
But getting them fixed before the time of her conception was against our moral beliefs. We are very adamant about not neutering our pets until they're one year olds (she was roughly 10-11ish months old at the time) as it can cause health complications down the line if you do it before then. Not to mention my sister's last cat passed away due to neutering. We are aware that it's more on the rare side for cats to get infects and die from neutering, but it's causing an extra anxiety.
My other cat is also pregnant and due anyway now, and as I said, once we can, we are at least getting the male neutered.
 
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CactusWithWings

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All of the kittens have had homes for about twoish weeks, were just waiting for them to turn 8 weeks before they're rehomed.
Unfortunately we do not have appointments for any of the cats because we can't afford it, but seeing as it was my sister's cat who impregnated both of my cats, when we can he will be neutered since is the only male cat in the apartment and none of them have ever made it passed the top three steps (we live on the second story) and we haven't had an escapee since they were six months, we're not worried about any of our girls getting out.
But getting them fixed before the time of her conception was against our moral beliefs. We are very adamant about not neutering our pets until they're one year olds (she was roughly 10-11ish months old at the time) as it can cause health complications down the line if you do it before then. Not to mention my sister's last cat passed away due to neutering. We are aware that it's more on the rare side for cats to get infects and die from neutering, but it's causing an extra anxiety.
My other cat is also pregnant and due anyway now, and as I said, once we can, we are at least getting the male neutered.
I wanted to add something to what I said earlier. My sister is worried that Venus (mama with kittens) may be pregnant again and there is a program only a few cities away that's called the Last Litter. It's meant for low income homes/homes that cannot care for kittens and they offer free spays if you bring in the litter and mom, they take the kittens and care for them and also spay mom for free. So just in case we need to, we have that plan set up for Venus. We're not doing this for Jupiter (pregnant mama) because we have people who want her kittens already and in order to do this program, you need to bring in the WHOLE litter, so that not an option for her, but again if she manages to get pregnant again before we get him neutered we will use the program for her as well.
 

Sarthur2

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The program sounds excellent! Please ask if they can neuter your male cat. That seems to be key here. The pregnancies will continue as long as all cats remain intact.

Females live longer, healthier lives once spayed. Endless heat cycles can cause pyometra, which is a disease of the uterus which can be fatal.

How much is a neuter in your area? Are there neuter programs for low income?

Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats – TheCatSite Articles
 
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CactusWithWings

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The program sounds excellent! Please ask if they can neuter your male cat. That seems to be key here. The pregnancies will continue as long as all cats remain intact.

Females live longer, healthier lives once spayed. Endless heat cycles can cause pyometra, which is a disease of the uterus which can be fatal.

How much is a neuter in your area? Are there neuter programs for low income?

Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Unfortunately the program is meant only for female cats, or we would've taken him in as soon as we found out that Jupiter was pregnant. My sister was set on her two cats mating before she fixed either of them, but seeing as both of my cats got pregnant and the fact that for some reason he isn't really that interested in her female when she's in heat (he tries to mount her all the time when she isn't in heat, weirdly enough) she has agreed to at least get him fixed, because he's taken an interest in both of my cats. Which isn't too out of character for him with Venus, but him and Jupiter got into cat fights all the time, whether she was in heat or not. The first few times she went into heat, he largely ignored her, but for some reason this last heat of hers we were having to separate them all the time because he kept trying to mount her. Obviously we were not successful in our attempts to separate them.
 
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CactusWithWings

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The program sounds excellent! Please ask if they can neuter your male cat. That seems to be key here. The pregnancies will continue as long as all cats remain intact.

Females live longer, healthier lives once spayed. Endless heat cycles can cause pyometra, which is a disease of the uterus which can be fatal.

How much is a neuter in your area? Are there neuter programs for low income?

Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats – TheCatSite Articles
I do have a question about his behavior though. While Venus was pregnant, he mounted her whenever he got the chance, and the other day he tried do the same to Jupiter. She isn't the nicest to other cats so, to no one's surprise, she fought him. As far as I know, this was the only instance he did this with Jupiter, but I was wondering why he does it. It's not like either of my cats were in heat, in fact the had/have very big bellies, so I can't think of a reason he does it.
 

Joelle and the kittens

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It is much healthier for cats to be spayed at 8 or 12 weeks than it is for them to go through multiple heat cycles and pregnancies. The chances of a cat dying from labor or pyometra are astronomically higher than those of dying from a spay. If you cannot afford a spay surgery you definitely cannot afford kittens, especially if any of them get ill! Have you at least gotten the adults all their vaccines? I hope these recent threads detailing the expense, time, and heartbreak of panleuk/FKS/mastitis/even standard kitten health issues will persuade you and your sister to fix and vaccinate ASAP:
Need Advice: Momma with Mastitis and 5 Sick Kittens
Whole litter sickness concern.
Sick kitten. Advice please
Bella had three babies!
4 wk old kittens w URI
 
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