Pregnant foster cat stopped eating.. normal or not?

kreinhardt

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Hi everyone, I'm fostering my first pregnant mama and she was taken in as a stray.

We don't know how far along she is but the rescue thought she was very close to her due date and I think so as well. She has a bit of dried milk on her nipples, I can feel the kittens move inside and the first 3 days I had her she was eating a ton! 2 cans of mother + kitten wet food and a bowl of dry food that I would refill roughly every day.

Yesterday she only ate 1/4 of her wet food and no dry food. Today she barely took 3 bites of the wet food and ate a couple treats. I have never seen her drink since I got her but the water levels in the dish went down so I'm hoping she is still drinking normally.

Is this simply a sign that her labor is about to begin or should I be worried? How many more days of little to no eating is considered normal?

Her mood/behavior hasn't really changed and she is using her litter box as normal. It's my first time having a pregnant cat so any advice would be helpful :) Thank you!
 

lucicat

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It is commo for them to strop eating much a couple days before delivery! Good luck.
my mama ate little, purred constantly and used the litterbox a lot in the 36 hours before her contractions started
 

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Hi everyone, I'm fostering my first pregnant mama and she was taken in as a stray.

We don't know how far along she is but the rescue thought she was very close to her due date and I think so as well. She has a bit of dried milk on her nipples, I can feel the kittens move inside and the first 3 days I had her she was eating a ton! 2 cans of mother + kitten wet food and a bowl of dry food that I would refill roughly every day.

Yesterday she only ate 1/4 of her wet food and no dry food. Today she barely took 3 bites of the wet food and ate a couple treats. I have never seen her drink since I got her but the water levels in the dish went down so I'm hoping she is still drinking normally.

Is this simply a sign that her labor is about to begin or should I be worried? How many more days of little to no eating is considered normal?

Her mood/behavior hasn't really changed and she is using her litter box as normal. It's my first time having a pregnant cat so any advice would be helpful :) Thank you!
As said above, its common they eat very little a day or two before the delivery. So hopefully its coming now very soon.
Has she dropped? Ie suddenly seems a little less pregnant? The dropping happens when the kittens come into birthing positions. Itsn not always visibible, but its a fairly sure sign to see...

If she is OK otherwise, lets hope for the best. But DO have your eyes open. They CAN be sick although pregnant...
 
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kreinhardt

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As said above, its common they eat very little a day or two before the delivery. So hopefully its coming now very soon.
Has she dropped? Ie suddenly seems a little less pregnant? The dropping happens when the kittens come into birthing positions. Itsn not always visibible, but its a fairly sure sign to see...

If she is OK otherwise, lets hope for the best. But DO have your eyes open. They CAN be sick although pregnant...
Hmmm.. I'm not really sure I've noticed any difference in her belly. It's hard to tell though because she has very long fur, she's super fluffy and I think she's got at least 4 in there. She ate a bit of tuna this morning and is drinking now so I think all is well. I'll be on the lookout for bump changes.

Would I notice a difference in babies moving when it drops? Do they stop moving or maybe move more?
 

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Once you first see movement there are usually about 2 weeks left. Once the kittens drop, there is less movement because the kittens are squished in the birth canal. If you’re seeing dried milk on her nipples, it usually means she’s within a week of delivery.
 
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kreinhardt

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Well.. I've got a gross update. She has tapeworms... I saw a small white one come out of her butt. Very likely means the kittens will have them as well. I contacted the rescue and we will be de-worming. Poor mama.. Has anyone dealt with this? I'm trying to find more info online. I hope it doesn't affect the pregnancy or the health of the kittens..
 

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Well.. I've got a gross update. She has tapeworms... I saw a small white one come out of her butt. Very likely means the kittens will have them as well. I contacted the rescue and we will be de-worming. Poor mama.. Has anyone dealt with this? I'm trying to find more info online. I hope it doesn't affect the pregnancy or the health of the kittens..
My rescue vet said it wasn’t safe to treat tapeworms while they were pregnant. 🤷🏻‍♀️ (I thought I saw one too when my foster mama was pregnant.)
 

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It is safe to treat pregnant cats for tapeworms with praziquantel. Tapeworms come from a cat ingesting a flea, so treat mom for fleas as well with a dose of Advantage II on the back of her neck.
 
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kreinhardt

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It is safe to treat pregnant cats for tapeworms with praziquantel. Tapeworms come from a cat ingesting a flea, so treat mom for fleas as well with a dose of Advantage II on the back of her neck.
I'm just chatting with my foster coordinator now and she says there is one form of deworming medication that is safe for pregnant mothers but it can cause nausea and appetite loss. So now we are discussing options because she's already on day 5 of barely eating any food! This is due to worms but now the dewormer could make this worse. I am very worried for mama and kittens... Yesterday she ate 4-5 bites of food and same thing this morning. That's the most I've been able to get her to do.

I've tried warming up her food, we've tried the emergency a/d vet food, kitten gravy food, tuna, treats... She is just not interested. Poor girl. I'll keep you guys posted I'm waiting on more directions.
 

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Is she eating dry food? Some cats will simply not eat wet cat food. I have a cat like that, but she will eat lots of dry food, and she loves boiled chicken, cooked ground beef, and lactose free milk. She will not eat ANY wet cat food at all.
 
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kreinhardt

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I'm waiting for the vet to call me back with next steps. We're in a tough spot because the tapeworms are causing her to lose her appetite but the deworming meds also cause nausea and appetite loss... We might have to wait until babies are here to deworm because at least now she's eating a few bites a day. The dewormer could make her go to no food at all and if it stresses her out could also delay her labour.
Right now she's eating the emergency a/d wet food. Only a few bites but thankfully that type of food is best for her right now. I just hope the babies come soon :(
 

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I’m wondering which de-wormer your vet uses that causes nausea and loss of appetite. I’ve not had that experience with praziquantel for tapeworms. It’s safe, effective, and I’ve never seen such side effects.

Is she being offered dry food at all?
 
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kreinhardt

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Yes she has dry food but isn't interested in it at all. When I first got her she was eating it just fine along with her prenatal wet food but now I can only (and barely) entice her with wet the emergency a/d wet food. The de-wormer is fenbendazole/panacure. The one you mentioned also has appetite loss as a side effect.
 
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kreinhardt

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They're here!!!! Mama gave birth to 4 beautiful babies and they all look exactly like her haha. She has long grey fur and they are all the same shade of grey as her. Everyone seems to be doing well, but I do have a few quick questions..

1 - What's the best method for marking them since they all look identical?

2 - Kittens are all suckling at mom but her nipples look flat to me. I even squeezed one after baby #2 to check and there was nothing, Would they suckle even if nothing is coming out? They've been latched for a solid hour. Is it normal for milk to be slow to come in?

It's 12:30am so if I don't notice any milk tomorrow morning I'm going to the store for formula asap. Is syringe or bottle easier/better?

She had each kitten in a different spot.. she used all 3 birth boxes I prepared as well as my carpet lol. Now she has wedged herself between the birthing box and the wall >.<

I'll post photos tomorrow :)
 
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kreinhardt

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oh and I forgot to mention, mama actually had major appetite today which was a big relief! She ate a full can of prenatal wet food and some prenatal kibble. Labor started just 30 minutes later. She ate one of the four placentas.
 

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Congrats! Make sure the kittens are on clean bedding. It’s wonderful that mama is eating again. She needs lots of food now for nursing. As the kittens suckle it brings in colostrum first, then plenty of milk normally. Her mammaries will fill, but it is best to have powdered formula on hand and both bottles and syringes in case you need to supplement.
 
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kreinhardt

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Just came back from the pet store with both on hand. The babies are all very calm so I think they are being fed, otherwise I think they'd be crying out a lot by now. I'm going to weigh them this afternoon and again tomorrow so hopefully I will see a gain. Mama has been eating well, small frequent watered down meals have been working out best. Thanks so much :)
 

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Fantastic! Give mom a dish a day of the kitten formula. She needs the extra calcium while nursing. 😊
 
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