Pregnant cat

Apparel

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Hello!
Let us start off with a backstory, I live in a duplex with another duplex house right across from us, our neighbor had a horde of cats that were constantly getting pregnant I would say 60 but there probably was more, enough that when I entered her house to help her move something inside I said you really do have a lot of cats! she then opened one of the doors and let out a flood gate of kittens and cats, I was shocked. all of these cats came from one litter and have been breeding ever since. she was a renter and the person who bought the house from the last owner wanted her out. so she moved but not without stranding 16 of the cats behind! keep in mind most of these cats are still kittens, in addition to those 16 kittens/cats being left behind outside mind you there was still a mom and her newborn kittens under the bed that the new owner found when cleaning the place. all but 1 kitten survived from that litter and was blind. they found a home. now, these 16 kittens/cats were left behind, and over time most vanished and even a momma who had kittens under her deck also vanished, I assume after she lost her kittens to something that ate them she also got killed I never saw her again. at this point the lady would come back every now and again to leave a bowl of food out, I'm not talking every day for 16 cats no these cats were starved. I ended up feeding them every day, but most were scared of me and just started to disappear. when she noticed I was feeding them she stopped and never come back. I convinced my family to take in a grey kitty named Astro and his sister squirt who always sat on our deck. before we could do so Astro vanished, I assumed he was killed by something as he was still just a kitten himself and he always stayed near the house. after that, I was so heartbroken and there were only 4 cats left that I could see. at this point 3 of the cats always came to me every day for feeding time and only 1 let me pet him. 1 cat was really really scared of me and humans in general and over time I stopped noticing him. so I set up a place for the last 3 cats in a big room with all they needed and let them come inside. I have had them for a while now and before we could get Tigger the only male neutered, Salem our female got pregnant, he is neutered now and is doing great. it took a lot of time for squirt to even let me pet her but now they all love pets and affection. we don't know when exactly she got pregnant as all 3 of them have been in a pack together even outside for the longest time. she is still a kitten herself and is so small and we don't have money like that for vet stuff like ultrasounds and X-rays but it's her first pregnancy and she is still young so I am hoping for no more than 3 kittens. I had done a lot of research but I still can't figure out how far along she is. I will attach these pictures that aren't that old maybe one of you has had a younger cat with a small first litter before and might notice how far along she might be. Thanks in advance! 218.jpg 242.jpg 267.jpg 284.jpg
 

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Thank you for doing your best by these cats, bringing them in and getting the male neutered.

How long have they been together? A photo of the cat from above would help so I can see her sides, but off the bat I’m guessing around 6 weeks, so at least another 3 weeks to go.
 
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Apparel

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Here are some updated pictures I just took of her belly and nipples. These are the best I could do right now, if anyone thinks they know how far along she might be that would be great!
 

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Apparel

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Thank you for doing your best by these cats, bringing them in and getting the male neutered.

How long have they been together? A photo of the cat from above would help so I can see her sides, but off the bat I’m guessing around 6 weeks, so at least another 3 weeks to go.
She always moves a lot so I can never get good pictures but there is a bit of her side sticking out but she isn't as round as most pregnant cats I have seen while doing research.
 

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The photo I would like to see would be taken from above while she is standing, perhaps at her food bowl. Nipple photos tell me nothing more than that she is pregnant. Regardless, she is probably 5-6 weeks, or further along MAYBE with a small litter.

How long have these cats been indoors together?
 
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Apparel

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I don't know exactly a little more than a month I would say, they have lived together outside for much longer if that means anything. I just fed them some wet food and took some pictures from the angle you wanted but she was mostly sitting while eating and every time I tried to get her to walk a bit to take a picture she would just move some feet and sit back down before I could. I tried my best and I will try to get some better pictures of her walking around from above later on. I'm sorry that they are all of her sitting down, I don't know if you can tell while she is sitting down but she sits while she is eating, and all she wants to do after is clean herself so she just kept sitting and doing that.
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It’s okay, you tried. Thank you!

I am going to stick with my 5-6 weeks guess for now, especially since it’s possible she mated before you brought her in. She’s got 3-4 weeks left - time for you to prepare for kittens! 😊
 
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Apparel

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I heard if it's their first litter it's 1-3 so I really hope no more than three, she is a smaller kitty so do you think that first-time queens such as herself with hopefully 1-3 kittens might not show as much? If no when should I expect her to show more? I will get more pictures of her tomorrow hopefully walking next time and thank you for replying I just can't wait for the kittens! 🥰
 

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First litters can be small or large. Regardless, she’ll get bigger each week. Wait a week to post more pictures.

The only way to really know how many she is carrying is to have a vet perform an x-ray. This is best done around 6-8 weeks.The vet can also then give an approximate gestational age of the kittens. 😊
 
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Update!

Salem's belly is showing more! She still is hard to take pictures of while she is walking as that is when you can really see her sides sticking out but I tried my best to get some semi-decent pictures of her belly from above mostly. I did find out she has worms a while back, if anyone knows how I should tackle that once the kittens are born that would be great! My other two cats do not have worms from what I have seen from their stool. I also noticed she has been peeing on blankets sometimes even though one of the two litter boxes was right next to her so I don't know what that is about. I also wanted to ask if I should separate my other two cats from her when she starts showing signs that labor is approaching or can they be left together? I was watching videos of cats giving birth as one does and in some videos, they have other cats watching right next to them. they currently reside in a master bedroom with a big closet and bathroom and if I do have to separate them my only option would be putting her in the bathroom when she starts to show signs of going into labor. What do you think I should do?

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If the worms you see are tapeworms (they look like grains of white rice), she can be treated now. The treatment is a praziquantel tablet given now and again 7-10 days later to cover the worm life cycle.

Bayer makes an over-the-counter version available at pet stores and online.

Tapeworms come from a flea being swallowed, so you’ll need to treat all of your cats with Advantage II or Frontline. Neither the topical flea treatment nor the praziquantel tablets will harm the kittens in utero.

However, you may want to get her seen and treated by a vet so that you have a relationship established in case there are any issues further down the line with labor and delivery or with the kittens.

If the cats are all friends there is no need to separate, but if you do, the bathroom is fine initially.
 
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Apparel

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The last part makes my life so much easier, thank you! we have a low-cost vet we took our dog bailey to when it was her time and that is where Tigger got neutered, if anything happens we will take her there. they do look like white rice and we did order the exact tablet you talked about a while back when I saw them first and I tried to give it to them all, Tigger ate his and I have seen his stool the most and have never seen white rice before and after the tablet, I have only seen it from Salem's stool, I tried to give it to all of them when I saw them first but Salem wouldn't eat it even with some really good wet food on top and everything, she licked it a couple of times but I was scared it might hurt the babies and stopped giving it to her after I did some research and read somewhere that you shouldn't treat it till after she gives birth so I stopped trying to give it to her, I will try to give it to her again, any suggestions on how I should feed it to her as I don't think it will be easy from the last attempt. I know the house she came from had fleas but she spent a long long time outside when all of those cats were abandoned. I have skimmed through their fur and haven't seen any fleas that I know of and the vet never mentioned Tigger having fleas when he went to get his shots and to get neutered and tested for fiv. Do you think she caught the worms way back when she lived over there and she might not have fleas anymore? I just haven't noticed any but I will look harder later today. Another question I have is would the kittens already have worms inside momma or do they get them when they feed on her nipples after being born. Also, I will be buying a miracle nipple syringe and need a suggestion on what to use as a replacement for momma's milk if one is rejected or needs more attention. I will be getting a scale tomorrow so when they are born I can track their growth! I have a heat lamp currently but would a heating pad or blanket be better? That is all my questions for now & thanks for replying!
 

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The kittens will not be born with tapeworms and will not get tapeworms from her milk, but they can get other types of worms from her milk. The reason to get rid of tapeworms is because they leech nutrition from mom and multiply.

I break up the tablet into small pieces and “pill” my cats by putting the pieces into the back of their mouths and then rub the throat to get them to swallow. If you cannot do that I would crush the tablet, mix it into a small amount of water, and give it by syringe.

Good you have a vet clinic!

I recommend powdered PetAg kitten formula. It’s available at Walmart for about $10/can. Mom will need to drink a dish a day for the extra calcium while nursing.

The heat lamp will be fine set on low.
 
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Apparel

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The kittens will not be born with tapeworms and will not get tapeworms from her milk, but they can get other types of worms from her milk. The reason to get rid of tapeworms is because they leech nutrition from mom and multiply.

I break up the tablet into small pieces and “pill” my cats by putting the pieces into the back of their mouths and then rub the throat to get them to swallow. If you cannot do that I would crush the tablet, mix it into a small amount of water, and give it by syringe.

Good you have a vet clinic!

I recommend powdered PetAg kitten formula. It’s available at Walmart for about $10/can. Mom will need to drink a dish a day for the extra calcium while nursing.

The heat lamp will be fine set on low.
I will try a pate with the pill crushed up tomorrow and hopefully, she takes it, if not I will go with your syringe idea, I don't wanna hold her down and force something in her mouth I fear she won't trust me anymore. as for the kitten formula you suggested I will for sure be purchasing that! Thanks for answering my questions!
 
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Ok, curiosity has been getting the best of me, So I have been looking up cat genetics and things. what do you think their kittens will look like? 🤔 From what I was reading the males will be black with a white spot on their chest and the females will be torties, is that correct?

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So I was petting Salem for a bit and pet her sides and near her belly a bit and left my hand there while she was laying down and something like pushed up and went back down and did this like 3-4 times like a rhythm it was weird but then it stopped. Did I just feel some kitten kick me or something? 🤨
 
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Update & Questions -

Still no kittens, her nipples have grown in size & we are still dealing with fleas, Does anyone have any clue how I should tackle the flea problem in the fastest way possible hopefully before she gives birth & the kittens are here! I comb them once every day in a full two-hour session and dunk the fleas in the soap bowl. They all three have frontline plus still and we have removed most rugs and things and bleached everything down, I get fleas crawling on my socks when I go in their room. I will continue to comb them out but I really need advice and the fastest methods to getting rid of these fleas before my babies arrive that is safe to use around a pregnant cat.

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