Pregnant cat overdue? Updated

[SiameseLuverr]

Hi everyone,
Our female Bengal is pregnant. I am not exactly sure how far along she is but she is very large and hasn't been in heat for atleast 2 months. We have a male Bengal as well (we got him at 5 months old and he was unfortunately able to impregnate her before he had his appointment to be neutered. Our Bengal is just over 1.5 years old and looks to have about 3-4 kittens in there. My question is, without knowing her exact mating date, is there something specific I should be looking for? She has been showing signs of early labor for about a week now, including losing her mucus plug, digging in her nesting box and meowing/pacing. The kittens movement has seemed to slow down as well since yesterday. She is going into her nesting box daily but isn't really spending any time in there. Instead, she has a blanket that she prefers to lay on (wherever it is, she just likes this specific blanket). Her nipples are very long and pink and she is constantly kneading on her preferred blanket. Kittens look like they have dropped about 24 hours ago. I've called our family vet and was told to wait as she isn't showing any signs of distress and she seems to be happy/normal still. Here is a picture of her and the dad of kittens from last week! Her belly has kept growing this entire time.
Looking forward to your replies to hopefully calm my nerves. Thanks everyone!!!

 

[Sarthur2]

Beautiful cats!

Your vet is correct in that you just need to be patient and wait as she is not in distress. This is a frequent question when cats are at the end of pregnancy! She will have them in the next few days if not sooner.

Is your male Bengal neutered now? Is he her sibling? Depending on his and her behavior, you may need to keep him separated from the new kitten family the first 3-4 weeks. If she growls at him, keep him away. New moms can be very protective and want their privacy.

Check out these links:

Pregnant Cat? What To Prepare For The Birth

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Help! My Cat Is Having Kittens!

Keep us posted!

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Yes our male Bengal is neutered now. He had an appointment for just after we found out she was pregnant...lol. With him being so young at the time and because the Bengal breed doesn't fully mature until 2 years, we thought we had a bit of time before we had to get him into the vet. Our girl will be going in to get spayed after her kittens are weaned and its deemed safe for her to have the surgery. They are not siblings thankfully. We got our girl from a city approximately 6-7 hours away from us and we rehomed the male at 4-5 months old from a breeder in a complete different city (only about an hour from us) so no chances of them being related.
Thank you so much for the articles! I think I've read everything there is to read on Google and I've been scrolling through this site (I'm an old member but haven't been on for over a year). I'm always up for reading more though to make sure I'm fully prepared when labor does start!

I will post updates and pictures as soon as possible too!! I'm very anxious to see if they make any colors other than brown. I was reading online and although they're both purebred brown rosetted Bengals, there's a chance for them to have colors other than brown depending on their genes.

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Here's a picture of mama right now! She's so large that she can't even lay down properly anymore, poor girl! She seems very content though and is still such a happy, loving cat.

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Noticed our girl has had very loose stools for around 24-36 hrs now. Hoping we're getting closer!!! She has been laying down almost all day wanting her belly rubbed so I think we are getting really close. It is now Thursday and if she doesn't have them by Monday I will be calling our vet again to see what they think we should do! Fingers crossed she delivers before then!!

 

[StefanZ]

So she HAS dropped. Its soon now, a day or so.
Everything is normal so far, no need for any emergency cesarean if that is what you think on.

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Thank you! Was thinking it wouldn't get that far (her needing an emergency cesarean) but it's so hard not to worry when it comes to our fur babies. Will keep you updated

 

[StefanZ]

Thank you! Was thinking it wouldn't get that far (her needing an emergency cesarean) but it's so hard not to worry when it comes to our fur babies. Will keep you updated

Good!

They usually do drop shortly before the delivery, so its really THIS point we are looking for. Because we know its almost end of the looong waiting game.

 

[Sarthur2]

All signs point to go! Diarrhea is normal in the days before labor and delivery. Her hormones are in high gear and she may be in early labor today. Hang in there!

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Will keep everyone updated! I do have a question though, when I'm reading online and forums on this site even, it says you can usually only see the kittens moving for approximately 2 weeks before delivery. I've felt the kittens for just over 3 weeks now... I'm guessing sometimes it happens earlier, depending on the cat/size/how many kittens, etc? Just trying to reassure myself everything is okay she hasn't had any more diahrea today but she's been on her favorite blanket non stop (I think that's where she'll end up delivering, should I try moving it into her nesting box??) She's been very loving and wanting her belly rubbed. She's also been purring almost non stop which I've read can be to help soothe their pains?
I will keep everyone updated and I just wanted to say thank you for the replies! Definitely has made me feel alot better

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, kitten movement can be seen and felt earlier than 2 weeks. It depends on the size and number of the kittens, the mother cat’s physique, and one’s own ability to hone in on it.

Yep, my cat purred non-stop while in labor. It’s definitely comforting to the cat while in pain.

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Unfortunately still no signs of labor for our girl!

She must be so uncomfortable. I feel terrible!! Is there anything I can do to help her?

 

[StefanZ]

Unfortunately still no signs of labor for our girl!

She must be so uncomfortable. I feel terrible!! Is there anything I can do to help her?

Rub and massage her belly. Usually they allow this!

 

[SiameseLuverr]

I'm stressing out a little bit.. I'm hoping everything is totally fine but I tend to over worry!
Unfortunately, our girl Coco isn't showing any more signs of labor now (nesting and pacing has continued but no further discharge that I've seen or pre labor signs). We called our vet again yesterday and she is going to be seen on Monday (4 days from now) if she hasn't had them by then on her own. They are still active and Coco isn't in any distress/is acting normal but we are worried about them getting too big for her to be able to birth them on her own
Will still keep everyone posted as to how everything turns out! Fingers crossed she has them before Monday as she really doesn't like going in the carrier and with the virus going around right now, she would have to be put in one instead of me carrying her in with me.

 

[StefanZ]

I understand she is late, as we though several days ago its near now... As luck is, cats manage a little too long pregnancy better than humans. So what is alarming for humans, isnt alarming as much for cats. Even if there ARE risks with too long pregnancies... So its potentially touc

Be sure you give her calcium rich food; exactly what depends on what she she is willing to eat... Full fat youghurt is good, goats milk, some calcium preparate, boiled and crushed into powder egg shells....
This not mostly for the kittens, but low calcium levels cause weak delivery movements... So start NOW.

SiameseLuverr

 

[di and bob]

Everything sounds perfectly normal. As long as she is not crying and refusing food, water, etc. I would definitely not stress her out by taking her to the vet. After all, you don't know exactly when she got pregnant. If she is acting normal, eating, drinking and using the litterbox, she is fine. Kittens do not do well at all when delivered prematurely. You usually find that the kittens stop moving around right before delivery, a day or two anyway. She looks like three or four kittens. I had one poor girl that delivered 7, she couldn't even lay down towards the end, she had to just fold her legs up and lay straight down on her abdomen, she rolled when she laid on her side!

 

[Sarthur2]

It’s normal to worry! I took my cat for an x-ray and the vet said 4 kittens in 7-10 days. She delivered 4 healthy babies 12 days later. This is her the day before delivery:

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Turns out I was worrying for no reason at all!! Coco went into labor tonight around 4:45pm and delivered her first kitten at 5:08pm. It is now 7:40pm and she has delivered 5 kittens. We think there may be 1 more but aren't positive.
Will upload some pictures once the kittens all are cleaned up and when mama/babies are settled in.

Birth went wonderful, she did it all by herself except she needed help disposing of the last placenta but other than that, she did SUCH a good job. I am so so so proud of her! Thank you everyone for your help and reassuring/kind words. Will keep this post updated with pics/details! Will be weighing the kittens in the next hour then will post their weights as well.

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Kitten #6 was just born at 8:06pm. Looks like she is going to have one or two marbled kittens with the rest being spotted! I can't wait to show you all pictures

 

[SiameseLuverr]

Kittens #7 and #8 were born. Unfortunately kitten #7 came out unformed so he/she didn't make it. You could clearly see it was a kitten though as the head and tail were easy to make out. Kitten #8 was born completely normal and is doing well so far! Mom has birthed/disposed of all placentas (except for kitten #7 which she completely ignored). So 7 living kittens out of 8 born!

Definitely more than I was thinking. I will be rotating feedings and supplementing when needed. Also weighed kittens and all weigh between 93g and 106g. How much should they be gaining daily? Every website says a different amount, lol.