New To Thread....need Advice For Pregnate Mamma...

Mamacita3919

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Hello Everyone! Im brand new to this thread. This will be my first post. Roughly 4 weeks ago my hisband and daughter were outside in our yard doing some spring cleaning when they heard a cry. They went to investigate and found a poor litty trapped in a trap that our neighbors had set to trap a possom apparently. They freed her and she ran. Maybe 10 mins later I was on the front porch while my husband was telling me the story, then low and behold she came back, came onto the porch, and was the sweetist cat ever! I decided to bring her in the house because it was more than apparent she was very scared outside. I brought her in, and gave her a good look over. She was healthy, and I could tell that she was indeed someones hous cat. Her nails were trimmed, her fur was nice and soft and also smelled like she had been bathed very recent because you could still smell the coconut shampoo. You could also see that she had been wearing a collar because you could see the outline of where it had been but she no longer had it on. My idea was to call a local place here that only deals with cats, and is a no kill place. Unfortunatly they were full so I then decided to try to find her human family while taking care of her. We took her to the vet to make sure she was ok, and to see of the vet could give us a estimate as to how old she was. She asumed she was 8-11 months old. Everything was fine. She was given a clean bill of health, and all was good. I noticed about a week later her tummy had gotten bigger, but I chalked it up to her being hungry and stuff, but as the weeks went by, her tummy kept getting bigger and bigger. Then one day she was laying on my lap as I was petting her and I felt the movement....yep the vet missed something VERY important....shes pregnate! Im not sure if she got pregnate while she was living with whomever she was living with before, or if it happened while she was outside....but for her to be as big as she is now, Im pretty sure shes towards the end of her pregnancy. Weve had her now for over 4 weeks. Ive done as much research as possible to prepair for the birth, and to see if there is any way I can find oit how far along she is because being on edge everyday worrying if shes going to have the babies has been quite exhausting! Is there any way for me to figure oit when shes going to have them, besides taking her to the vet? I found out if I were to do that here where I live, its expensive tonot only take her to the vet, but its even more expensive to have the sonogram done on her just to find out how far along she is. Were talking a couple hundred bucks. Id rather save that money just in case complications arise when shes delivering if there is an emergency or what have you not. So I decided to come on here to see if anyone has any idea on when I can expect these babies to come? She is quite large. There is hardly any room in there for the babies. I can tell by feeling her belly that the babies are quite big already. Roughly close to the size they should be when born. Her nipples are very large, and you can feel that there is milk in them. As far as her nipples leaking theyve felt like they leaked already a week ago. There has been dried milk on her nips and she has also had some discharge on her bottom. I will also provide some pictures of her sp ypu can kind of see how big her belly is. Any info or advice anyone can give me would be awesome! Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post. I just wanted to make sure I got everything in here and not miss a detail that could be major. Thanks again everyone!
20190421_050803.jpg
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi! There is no way to know for sure, but I would think she is pretty close to delivering them. For a 'estimation' you could work with 60 -70 days in total (from inception to delivery), but that really varies by so many other factors.

She looks to be good sized (in general, I mean), whether that is because she is full grown, or has a background genetically from being of bigger cats - be prepared for some good sized kittens.

See if anything in this article might help to you.

https://www.cuteness.com/article/signs-give-birth-her-kittens

Have you gotten everything ready for her?
 

golondrina

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Welcome to TCS Mamacita3919. Thank you for taking care of this lovely cat. Since she looks so well taken care of didn't the vet think of checking her for an identifying microchip? She is certainly not a feral or abandoned kitten.

It is difficult to know when delivery will take place without knowing the mating date. Have you seen the kittens move? Usually you can see the kittens move two weeks before delivery. Hopefully the link provided by FeebysOwner will help you.
 
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Mamacita3919

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Hi! There is no way to know for sure, but I would think she is pretty close to delivering them. For a 'estimation' you could work with 60 -70 days in total (from inception to delivery), but that really varies by so many other factors.

She looks to be good sized (in general, I mean), whether that is because she is full grown, or has a background genetically from being of bigger cats - be prepared for some good sized kittens.

See if anything in this article might help to you.

https://www.cuteness.com/article/signs-give-birth-her-kittens

Have you gotten everything ready for her?
Thankyou so very much! Yes we have everything ready. We have 4 birthing boxes in her favorite spots. Ive got syringe bottles, bottles, formula, dental floss, lots of towels, blankets. Have a very nice kitten play pen all ready and set up for mamma and her babies. We named Mamma Shiva. Shivas been loving the kitten playpen. Were thinking she might give birth there our in one of the 4 birthing boxes because she seems most interested in them both equally. Yea its been pretty stressful worrying when shes gonna have them. This will be a first for me having a cat that has kittens. I have some experience with newborn kittens. I did it thru the humaine society. They had a mamma who so sadly and unfortunatly passed away a few hours after having her babies. I was next on the list to foster. I got all 5 of the litter so I do know how to take care of newborn kittens, kittens in general, and adult cats. Thakyou again for the feedback!
 
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Mamacita3919

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Welcome to TCS Mamacita3919. Thank you for taking care of this lovely cat. Since she looks so well taken care of didn't the vet think of checking her for an identifying microchip? She is certainly not a feral or abandoned kitten.

It is difficult to know when delivery will take place without knowing the mating date. Have you seen the kittens move? Usually you can see the kittens move two weeks before delivery. Hopefully the link provided by FeebysOwner will help you.
Yes the vet did check throughly for a microchip and there was none. Weve been posting online in local forums, facebook, etc. We havent had a single response. We were origionally hoping that she may of accidentally got outside and thats how they lost her, BUT.........Now after having her for over a month, we know how she is. She goes NOWHERE near the doors, and is extremly scared of outside. So now were thinking that whoever was her owners that they just got rid of her by putting her outside which really angers me! We were SOOOOO fortunate to have found her right away! She is the SWEETIST cat! We love her so very much! Shes taken to us so well, and shes already a part of the family. She loves everyone. Its me, my husband, and our 3 children who are 14, 18, and 20. Shes attached to me the most tho. Its super cute cuz She follows me EVERYWHERE! So yeah....weve been through quite the adventure with her already, and now cant wait for her little ones to come. We are very excited! Weve got most of the supplies we need for when she has them like rags, dental floss, bottles, and formula, but I hears that I ahould get these nipple syringe things because when they are newborns the nursing bottles we have might not work. I just want to be fully prepaired for everything just in case. Trying to see of I can get help with those nursing syringes from somebody because money is kind of tight right now because were saving money for Shiva just in case she might have complications with the birth and may need a csection, or complications with anything else. Like I said were trying to have all the bases covered.
 

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You can feel the kittens move 2-3 weeks before delivery.

Did you feel them move a full month back?

Or did you fell the kittens being there?
 

golondrina

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Thanks for your reply Mamacita, it was because of your description of her excellent condition when you found her (bathed, etc) that it didn't seem she had been abandoned. You have taken a lot of trouble to find her owners. She is very fortunate to have "found" you instead.
Very much looking forward to your new posts.
 
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Mamacita3919

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You can feel the kittens move 2-3 weeks before delivery.

Did you feel them move a full month back

Or did you fell the kittens being there?
We felt the kittens moving inside her belly roughly 2 ish weeks ago. Update tho....I believe she is in labor! He stomach gets real hard, like a contraction, and she starts licking herself. Her tail is twitching weirdly, like shes in pain, she hasnt eaten anything since yesterday, and shes restless. She keeps bouncing from her favorite chair, to under the table, to right next to one of her birthing boxes. Shes not panting but breathing heavily. Sp I thiml this might be the start of it you guys! Oh my so excited!
 
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Mamacita3919

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The babies are here! Total of 3!
Black Biggest kitten born at 6:16am Sunday April 28th 2019. His name is Squirt.

Black smallest kitten- the runt of the litter born at 6:29am Sunday April 29th 2019. Her name is Josie.

Calaco (Orange, Black, and White) kitten biggest of the litter born last at 7:40am sunday April 29th 2019. His name is Indica.
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Mama Shiva is doing great health wise but......shes not staying by the kittens. Shes more worried about going elsewhere. She not to interested in them. They did suckle on mama for a while got some nutrients but thats about it. She gets up when I leave her and dont go back till I do. Then ill put her back by them and shell lay for a bit then go away. Any advice. Kind of an emergency.......so yeah good news bit somewhat not good news. I was afraid of this because mama shivas so young herself.
 

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Yes it is possible that Shiva's behaviour is due to her being so young and inexperienced. I would persevere putting her back by the kittens and encouraging the kittens to latch on to the nipples. Hopefully she will end up doing the necessary. Even if she does and the kittens are nursed it is important to weigh them daily at the same hour to ensure they are growing adequately, i.e. gaining some 10 grs daily.
 

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Yes you must co assist her with gently correcting her. Be with her if necessary...
 

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She gets up when I leave her and dont go back till I do. Then ill put her back by them and shell lay for a bit then go away. Any advice.
Agree with all of the above. She wants consolation from you - stay with her and the kittens as much as you can. But, be quiet and don't make much sound or movement. Just let her know you are there with her. Once she gets the hang of it, it won't matter so much, but right now she is insecure and doesn't want to do this alone - so to speak.

If they are not in a confined area, they probably should be. Such as a crate, then you can love on Shiva, give her treats, and put her back in the crate to enable her kittens to nurse. If she is confined to a specific area with her kittens, she will be more inclined to nurse/take care of them when you leave.
 
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Mamacita3919

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So far theyve latched on. They are eatomg but shiva keepsollowing me eveen if i gotta go to the bathroom.
 
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Mamacita3919

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Sorry but yes the babies arebeating but i have to keep putting Shiva back by the babies. Im in for a long night but itll be worth it. Babies are doing great tho....just mamas too young and doesnt understand fully I dont think but Im trying to get her to realize what shes gotta do.
 
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