My mother's cat is having kittens!!

[malakai711]

My mother called me a few weeks ago to tell me that her cat, Bella, is having kittens... At first she was freaking out because she didnt know what she was going to do with all the kittens and she didnt know how to take care of Bella while she was pregnant, etc.. but she figured all that out and I told her that I want first dibs on any girl kittens that Bella has because I want a little sister for Malakai... maybe I'll even take 2!!... Now that I'm gonna have my own place I can have as many as I want!!...

So here's my questions for everyone... How long will Bella be pregnant?? and my mother lives in Florida... what is the best way to get the kittens up to NY... should I just drive down and get them??? or could I have them flown up... or something? I dont know how to get them...

 

[gopher]

The best solution would be to spey the cat and abort the kittens.
That said the average pregnancy is 9 weeks. Kittens should be left with their mums until about 13 weeks old, by then they should have learnt all the things a young cat should. As for transport I don't know.
Is there any chance of your mum speying the cat? There are a stunning number of kittens already unwanted, adding to it seems wrong.

 

[maverick_kitten]

go to a search engine and type in cat pregnancy, you should get loads of useful websites.

how pregnant is she? are you certain she's pregnant?

gopher i think its a bit harsh to say that. whilst its true there are lots of unwanted kittens out there that was not what malakai was asking and she really doesnt have any say over what her mum does with the cat.And if the cat is visibly pregnant some vets have qualms about spaying.

how far is the drive? i would rather drive to get them then that way you can talk to and comfort them on the way home. if you have them flown they might get distressed.

driving up there would also give you the oppotunity to see them with their mother and to take home some of thier bedding or something with familiar smells on it to comfort the kitten (does that make sense?!). you'll also need to make sure your feeding them the same food as your mum did and use the same litter to make the transistion easier. maybe take some old dirty litter too?

Its very important that your mum feeds her cat good quality kitten food so the babies and mum get enough nutrients. good luck!

 

[valanhb]

I'll move this to Health & Nutrition for answers on the pregnancy questions.

 

[malakai711]

Originally Posted by gopher

The best solution would be to spey the cat and abort the kittens.
That said the average pregnancy is 9 weeks. Kittens should be left with their mums until about 13 weeks old, by then they should have learnt all the things a young cat should. As for transport I don't know.
Is there any chance of your mum speying the cat? There are a stunning number of kittens already unwanted, adding to it seems wrong.

Okay, before I say something that gets me in trouble.. I'm ignoring you because that was the most ridiculous answer ever!

Maverick... I think it would be best for me to go down and get them.. it's a 20 hour drive to Florida tho... She's definately pregnant... probably about 3 weeks by now...

 

[maverick_kitten]

maybe ask a vet to sedate them for the journey? i'm not sure if they would be old enough for that though?

i would also ask about what age you can take them. 13 weeks is the older end of the spectrum, my vet reccomend 10 weeks. depends how mum cat is coping with them too.

 

[catlover7731]

I personally agree with having her spayed now, but that is your choice. I would recommend it that after the kittens are born, please spay and neuter all these cats to help with the pet overpopulation problem. There are low cost programs out there

, and just go to a shelter to understand why one says have her spayed now. I would travel by car, but remember a kitten needs to be with it's mom at least 8 wks before you should take it away. Also you would need to stop along the way with this kitten because it will need to eat often(kittens eat every 3 hrs) and use a litter box. I hope all these cats find a loving home. Good luck with them. and please have them fixed to stop throw away cats.

 

[maverick_kitten]

Originally Posted by catlover7731

I personally agree with having her spayed now, but that is your choice. :

its not her choice, its her mums choice. all she has said is she's getting a kitten from her.

whilst we all agree in spay/neutering there is pleanty of information on it in this forum which i'm sure she'll pass on to her mum.

dont mean to cause offence but i think this thread is in danger of being hijacked. could we please try to stick to the question being asked?

 

[catlover7731]

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

its not her choice, its her mums choice. all she has said is she's getting a kitten from her.

whilst we all agree in spay/neutering there is pleanty of information on it in this forum which i'm sure she'll pass on to her mum.

dont mean to cause offence but i think this thread is in danger of being hijacked. could we please try to stick to the question being asked?

I suggest you re-read my post. I was not being mean, and I did give advice about traveling from NYC to the south, which I have done. If she thought I was mean, than I will gladly apologize, but if you read my post, I think you will see what I meant.

 

[valanhb]

Everyone here, please take note:

1. Spaying a pregnant cat and aborting the kittens is not ridiculous, it is a viable option and in the minds of many people who work with rescues and ferals it is the most responsible option for an unplanned pregnancy by someone who is not running a responsible breeding program of purebred cats. However, that being said, it is up to the individual owner of the cat to make that decision. In addition, being a cat welfare site, it is certainly NOT inappropriate to put forth the information that it is possible to spay a pregnant cat, and in doing so preventing yet another litter in an already very overpopulated world, pet wise.

2. Please remember our rule about personally attacking, flaming, etc. being unacceptable here.

 

[golden_moon_luv]

Spay her after she has the kittens, and help out on finding a home. Just hope she has a small litter so it wont be so hard to find a home for the one's you dont pick. Who knows maybe she will have only 3-5 kittens. Just check with the Airlines if you can carry the kitens abord with you. I heard something about that for pets, I think.

Just find good homes for those kittens.

Ashley

 

[malakai711]

Okay, first of all... I agree that Bella should be spayed and my mother has already said that once she has the kittens, she will have her spayed as soon as possible... As far as aborting the kittens.. that is out of the question... I have already agreed to take a kitten, possibly 2.. my best friend's mother will be taking another one and my mother said that she will probably keep one... assuming that she has more kittens, my mothers been approached by a lot of current cat owners who already want one but like I said, at least 4 of them are accounted for, so far...

As Maverick has said... my original question was what is the best way of transporting them from Florida to New York?? and it seems that the only viable option would be to drive down and get them... I want to leave them with Bella for a while before I bring them up... I actually got Malakai when he was 2 weeks old and I know that is too young to take them away from their mother so I will leave them with her for a longer period of time... Trust me... the best interest of the kittens is the only thing on my mind at this point...

 

[golden_moon_luv]

Call the air line and see if you can purchase anouther seat and have the pet carrier in that seat.?

 

[kathryn41]

Hi Liza,

I think it would be great if you get two of the kittens. You may wish to get both a boy and a girl. Two siblings would provide each other with continuity when you take them into your home, and they aren't that much younger than Malakai so they should be able to adapt to each other quite easily. I would agree that it would be a good idea to wait until they are at least 12 weeks old at least before you bring them home, and yes, definitely drive down and drive home with them.

You will have a chance to visit with your Mom - usually a nice thing (I hope!) - and you will have a chance to see the kittens with their mother and perhaps decide which of the kittens are the right ones for you and your current cat to adopt.

The two kittens will be able to travel in one carrier and that will also help to ease their journey. One of my orphans ended up going to a new home 16 hours drive from where I lived (Ontario to Minnesota) when she was 18 weeks old. I drove her the first half way and rendezvoused at a mutual friend's place with her new owner half way who then drove her ther rest of the way home the next day. I stopped at virtually every rest stop along the way to let her relax, use the litter box, eat and have something to drink. She was on her own and would have been a better traveller if she had a companion. You will need to stop overnight and there are a number of hotels that will accept pets. Check on line for pet friendly hotels and look at the various names along your route. You can find certain chains that will accept pets so know that you just need to find one of these when you stop for the night. Usually they will request a deposit that is returned to you after they inspect the room and ensure there is no damage, or have an additional pet fee. We did that travelling to Atlanta from Ontario with 6 adult cats and had no problems.

You must be excited about your new family members, and this is certainly a good way to find homes for your Mom's cat's kittens.

Good luck
Kathryn

 

[ash_bct]

I have been looking at some different things on the web to try to help you out.
It seems best that you go and pick the kitten (s) up. Flying is an option but would be a lot more expensive and more stressful on the kittens.
This site gives a lot of info, take a look (though it mainly about the whole family moving, it is still about pets and should help you out).
Another option is a pet transport service, I would think that if you speak to your vet they could give you some references about good companies to use.

Just remember either way that the kittens need to stay with their mom at least 8 weeks

Good luck!