Pregnant Cat on Day 64

PearlandBeau

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Hi there!

We brought 2 kittens home at the beginning of Covid, have had a very hard time getting them in for a spay/neuter, and the vets are still booked out for months. Our appt we waited months for was cancelled. I did find a vet that can get him in sooner than the rest, but that isn’t until March. They will call if they have a cancellation, but in the meantime we have already started keeping them separated. She will also have a spay but not until she’s 8-12 weeks post partum.

Anyways, Pearl is 64 days pregnant, she’s had dried milk on her nipples, her mammary glands seem to be filling up, but I haven’t noticed any other signs. Babies are moving like crazy. We have a nesting spot set up for her and we have been giving her more wet food. My best friend has been stocking us up with fresh goat’s milk for Pearl and also just in case I need to supplement with any of the kittens. I have no idea how many she will have. Guessing 2-3. I have homes for that many (we will be keeping one), and can easily find a home for a 4th or more if needed. I guess I’m just here for support, and to have a quick place to turn to for advice if needed during her delivery!

One question I do have is what the color might be for the kittns? Pearl is white, born with a black spot on her head, which I’ve read means she is technically black? Beau is orange. I’m no good at the exact color patterns, but here is a photo of the proud parents:
 

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Maurey

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Heya! Lovely kitties you have ;w; Here's hoping everything goes smoothly for the expectant momma! Just make sure you take care in keeping them apart after she gives birth -- cats can get pregnant surprisingly soon after, which wouldn't be easy on her, for obvious reasons. Hopefully you're able to get her sorted sooner rather than later. Sounds like you're super prepared though!

Re: possible colours for babies, it's hard to say -- a dominant white cat can be born with a few black spots on their head, but that doesn't guarantee the cat is genetically solid black -- she could be black, or a tortie, or even a particularly dark tabby! Out of the options, black and tortie are most likely, though :>
If she's solid black, all boys will be genetically black, and all girls will be genetically tortie, with about half of them being white! If she's a tortie, boys could be black or red, while girls will be red or calico (with half of those being white).
With your boy being red (and being unable to see his sides), I couldn't tell you if he's a red solid, or a red tabby, since some red solids have a lot of ghosting! If he's a tabby, the genetically black kittens will be brown mackerel tabby, the reds would be red tabbies, and the calicos would be torbies! :>
There's a small chance they're both carriers of recessive genes like the dilution or point series, but that type of thing is impossible to predict ^^
 
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PearlandBeau

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Heya! Lovely kitties you have ;w; Here's hoping everything goes smoothly for the expectant momma! Just make sure you take care in keeping them apart after she gives birth -- cats can get pregnant surprisingly soon after, which wouldn't be easy on her, for obvious reasons. Hopefully you're able to get her sorted sooner rather than later. Sounds like you're super prepared though!

Re: possible colours for babies, it's hard to say -- a dominant white cat can be born with a few black spots on their head, but that doesn't guarantee the cat is genetically solid black -- she could be black, or a tortie, or even a particularly dark tabby! Out of the options, black and tortie are most likely, though :>
If she's solid black, all boys will be genetically black, and all girls will be genetically tortie, with about half of them being white! If she's a tortie, boys could be black or red, while girls will be red or calico (with half of those being white).
With your boy being red (and being unable to see his sides), I couldn't tell you if he's a red solid, or a red tabby, since some red solids have a lot of ghosting! If he's a tabby, the genetically black kittens will be brown mackerel tabby, the reds would be red tabbies, and the calicos would be torbies! :>
There's a small chance they're both carriers of recessive genes like the dilution or point series, but that type of thing is impossible to predict ^^
I lost you on the genetics 😅 Here is a photo of Pearl’s mom with Pearl and her siblings as kittens and a photo of each of Beau’s parents. These photos were given to me by their owners. I’m sure they will all be beautiful!
 

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PearlandBeau

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I lost you on the genetics 😅 Here is a photo of Pearl’s mom with Pearl and her siblings as kittens and a photo of each of Beau’s parents. These photos were given to me by their owners. I’m sure they will all be beautiful!
Here is Beau’s dad. The picture didn’t go through.
 

Maurey

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Okay! Unless both black kittens in Pearl’s litter were boys, she’s most likely a black solid kitty under her white. Beau’s parents both look like solids (I.e. non-tabby) to me, so Beau himself would have to be a solid red by omission, as a cat being solid is recessive (I.e. two solid parents can’t have a tabby kitten :> ) Beau looks like he takes more after his mother, what with his short fur and more prominent tabby ghosting ^^

What this means for their kittens is that I’d expect half of the kittens to be solid white, and the rest would be either black (the boys) or tortie (the girls). If you see anything else, it’d mean that mom isn’t black under her white ^^
 
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PearlandBeau

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I understood all of that 🙌🏻 I agree he takes after his mother more. I was kind of hoping for that long hair to come out, but he is so beautiful either way! Thank you so much for explaining. Genetics are quite fascinating to me. I will keep you posted! I’m so excited and praying for a smooth delivery and healthy babies.
 

Maurey

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They’re all gorgeous cats! 🥰

There’s actually a small chance that they might have a longhair kitten ^^ If Pearl’s dad was a longhair tom (this is especially likely if any of her siblings ended up have long fur), she could be a carrier of the longhair gene(meaning she has a copy of the gene that makes a cat longhaired, but doesn’t phenotypically show it (I.e physically!)). Since your lovely boy has a longhair daddy, he carries the longhair gene. If Pearl is also a carrier, there’s a 1 in 4 chance they could have a longhair baby ^^
 
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PearlandBeau

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They’re all gorgeous cats! 🥰

There’s actually a small chance that they might have a longhair kitten ^^ If Pearl’s dad was a longhair tom (this is especially likely if any of her siblings ended up have long fur), she could be a carrier of the longhair gene(meaning she has a copy of the gene that makes a cat longhaired, but doesn’t phenotypically show it (I.e physically!)). Since your lovely boy has a longhair daddy, he carries the longhair gene. If Pearl is also a carrier, there’s a 1 in 4 chance they could have a longhair baby ^^
That’s so interesting! I can’t wait to see what happens ❤
 
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PearlandBeau

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They’re all gorgeous cats! 🥰

There’s actually a small chance that they might have a longhair kitten ^^ If Pearl’s dad was a longhair tom (this is especially likely if any of her siblings ended up have long fur), she could be a carrier of the longhair gene(meaning she has a copy of the gene that makes a cat longhaired, but doesn’t phenotypically show it (I.e physically!)). Since your lovely boy has a longhair daddy, he carries the longhair gene. If Pearl is also a carrier, there’s a 1 in 4 chance they could have a longhair baby ^^
Also owner of Pearl’s mom said this: “She had 4 kittens...2 white females, 1 black male, and 1 grey striped male”

So you were right - the darker ones were both male!
 
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PearlandBeau

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Day 65 is coming to a close. Still no signs of impending labor. Still eating like a pig 🐖 Hoping it’s soon!
 

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Pearl could be either solid or tabby under her white. From the litter picture, it looks like the two dark siblings are a black-based tabby on left and black with ghost markings on the right.

Beau's mom is a tortie, and his dad appears to be cream. So we can guess that Beau carries dilute (blue) because of his cream dad, and carries solid because of his tortie mom. But we don't have enough information to tell if Beau himself is solid or tabby, as his dad might be genetically a cream tabby.

So for the colors of the kittens:
  • Each has a 50% chance of being white like Pearl.
  • Of the non-white kittens, the boys are likely to be either black or tabby, and girls either tortie or torbie.
  • If Pearl carries dilute (blue), there may be some blue, blue tabby, dilute tortie, or dilute torbie kittens.
  • If Pearl is a tortie under her white, there may be some red or cream boys or girls.
  • If Pearl has white markings under her white, there may be some kittens with white markings.
Gestation in cats can go up to 70 days and still be perfectly normal, so don't worry.
 
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PearlandBeau

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Pearl could be either solid or tabby under her white. From the litter picture, it looks like the two dark siblings are a black-based tabby on left and black with ghost markings on the right.

Beau's mom is a tortie, and his dad appears to be cream. So we can guess that Beau carries dilute (blue) because of his cream dad, and carries solid because of his tortie mom. But we don't have enough information to tell if Beau himself is solid or tabby, as his dad might be genetically a cream tabby.

So for the colors of the kittens:
  • Each has a 50% chance of being white like Pearl.
  • Of the non-white kittens, the boys are likely to be either black or tabby, and girls either tortie or torbie.
  • If Pearl carries dilute (blue), there may be some blue, blue tabby, dilute tortie, or dilute torbie kittens.
  • If Pearl is a tortie under her white, there may be some red or cream boys or girls.
  • If Pearl has white markings under her white, there may be some kittens with white markings.
Gestation in cats can go up to 70 days and still be perfectly normal, so don't worry.
Thank you very much!
 
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PearlandBeau

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Pearl woke me up by licking my arm. It started to hurt because her tongue is so rough lol. She was in my bed licking me, licking her sides, and going back and forth between the two of us. She seemed to start breathing fast, so I took her to her nest in our master bathroom closet and rubbed her belly for about 30 minutes before coming back into my bed. She seems to be very calm and sleeping. I’m sure she’s no where close, but she seems to be starting to show some signs at least.
 
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PearlandBeau

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Pearl is doing well today, not sure what that was all about last night. She is still eating like a pig. Wouldn’t leave me alone when I was eating breakfast until I gave her some! Lol
 

Sarthur2

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It sounds like her body is starting to get ready for the big event! She may have been having Braxton-Hicks (pre-labor) contractions. It’s really any day now! :)
 
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