Pregnant Kitty with some concerns

[celestia]

So I think my little Melanie in pregnant. Her belly is bulging, seems to be getting bigger, and her nipples are pink and very defined. That being said, she was the runt of the little and is quite small. She's a little over a year old and this is her first (and only) litter. I'm concerned because I don't think she is in the best health.She has never been to a vet or had any shots (My mother never thought it was worth the money). On top of that, I was away for 5 months nd my mom was taking care of her. I come home and she's lost a lot of her on her butt and back legs, has fleas, and scabs all over her from scratching the fleas. (Not to mention she was mad at me. She hissed at me when I walked through the door, but has since forgiven me xD). I want to give her a flea bath, but I can't find any shampoo safe for pregnant kitties. 

I have no idea when she is due and I want to be prepared, but we are in a hard spot with money atm and my mom doesn't even want to spend money on another litter box to keep Melanie away from the other cat we have, let alone kitten food or a trip to the vet. So what should I get/ be doing for her? How much does a trip to the vet normally cost and do they ever do payment plans? And how do I know if she is close to having her babies? She has always been a piggy and I can't tell if she is eating more. I feel so bad for her and am trying to get a job to pay for the things she needs.

Thank you for the help!

 

[laralove]

Some vets use what's called CareCredit. You can check it out online. It's basically a line of credit for health care (both for humans and animals). You may want to call around to local vets to see if this is an option. Hopefully it is, as she should really be seen by the vet (and get spayed ASAP after the litter). 

Is your other cat a male? And what's the plan for the kittens once she has her litter?

 

[segelkatt]

There are also free clinics and you may want to check on the internet for places that help folks like you. Depending on where you live a basic vet visit will be $40.00 to $140.00. Call around for prices. Also ask the vet if you can put Advantage or Revolution on your cat (before she has the kittens) which would get rid of the fleas almost over night and keep her from having more for at least a month. Also check for low-cost spay and neuter clinics, your kitty needs to be spayed asap after she has the kittens so she won't have any more. 

 Read the fine print of CareCredit very carefully, it's administered by GE. The fine print says there will be no interest charged for 1 year for the original amount, BUT, and here is the zinger: if the whole amount is not paid at the end of the 12 months then the interest charged will NOT be on what you still owe but on the original amount AND for the whole 12 months that have already passed. That can really run into money. Also, any additional credit will not have the "no interest".  So be careful. You also have to be an adult and I think they also require you to have some income so you can pay back the loan.

Regarding a job: you sound awfully young. If you are over 18 try the temp agencies, if you are under 18 try grocery stores as box boy/box girl.

Good luck to you all the way around and let us know how things work out.. 

 

[segelkatt]

Celestia, about what you can do for your kitty. Get a cardboard box from the grocery store, cut down the sides for a second litter box and discard it when it's too messy, then get a new cardboard box.

Get another cardboard box with higher sides and put an old blanket, sweater, t-shirt whatever in it for your cat to have her kittens. Put that box in an out of the way spot where the other cat is not going to bother her. Your mama cat will be looking for an undisturbed private place to have her kittens and when she finds this box she will be happy. Cats are pregnant for only two months so your cat is probably just about due and is already looking for a place, check to see if she is hiding in closets, in the garage, under beds or other quiet places, those would be good places to put her birthing box.. Your cat is old enough that she should have no problem having those babies.

Don't worry about kitten food, mama cat will have all the nutrition the babies will need. Once the kittens start wandering around outside the box and try to eat kibble then wet some of it down with water or tuna water or chicken broth and see if they will eat it. Do not use cows' milk, most cats cannot telerate it and will throw up or get the runs. Do not leave this food out for other cats to eat, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge as soon as the kittens have finished eating, then warm it in the microwave for a few seconds for the next meal.

Let me know if you need to know anything else.     

 

[celestia]

Thank you all, you have been quite helpful.

Melanie has been spending a lot of time in my brother's room (mainly under his bed) It's dark and he is never in there unless he's sleeping, but I don't want her in there. He's not very nice to the cats and he leaves his window open with no screen and I have to go get them off of the roof sometimes x.x... I was thinking about using my cat carrier lined with blanketsand the door taken off so that she has a darkplace that's easy to get into for her and the kittens later on. I want to keep her in my personal bathroom with her litter box and some food and water. Will the cat carrier/ room be too small for her? It's only a half bath and she hates being locked in there. She has to stay in my room. My other cat, the father Loki, will be in the rest of the house. The issue with letting her be in just my room alone is that my boyfriend just moved to the East Coast from Cali and is using an air mattress in my room. My mom doesn't want Melanie to pop it.

The whole reason this happened in the first place is that my mother has been waiting for a traveling clinic to come back to town to have them fixed. The cats are fixed, cleaned, given all their shots and dewormed ext. for only $90. The issue is that they haven't been around awhile and we waited too long. Loki will be fixed very soon and Melania as soon as it's possible. 

 

[StefanZ]

 
Don't worry about kitten food, mama cat will have all the nutrition the babies will need.

This is no good advice, in contrary to your other advices.   Im may perhaps work with a healthy mom who do have good food.  But it wont work well with a neglected mom with a so so cheap cat food...

Think kitten food, or food for active cats, if you use dry food.   Wet food is usually of better quality, so almost all wet canned food is  OK for moms.

Also, plain, unsweetened yoghurt is good. Preferably full fat.  

Cheese,

raw egg yolk  (unless you do have problms with salomonella in eggs at your place - if so, give boiled egg yolk).   Boiled egg shells crushed into fine powder are a good calcium source.

I understand you dont want to abort them, but strictly speaking, spaying now would cut down your costs, as a spaying IS waiting for you, sooner or later...

Vets cooperating with shelters are usually experienced in such spayings.   IF the though is possible for you, you  can perhaps want to consider it.?

Good luck!

 

[laralove]

Since neither cat is fixed, keep them apart until at least one of them is fixed and for the necessary amount of time after (as I believe it takes a few days before males are unable to spread their seed post-procedure) and mama could get pregnant again very soon after the litter. Perhaps call the local rescues to see if they would be able to fix your male at a reasonable rate while you're waiting on mama to give birth.

 

[segelkatt]

 
This is no good advice, in contrary to your other advices.   Im may perhaps work with a healthy mom who do have good food.  But it wont work well with a neglected mom with a so so cheap cat food...

Think kitten food, or food for active cats, if you use dry food.   Wet food is usually of better quality, so almost all wet canned food is  OK for moms.

Also, plain, unsweetened yoghurt is good. Preferably full fat.  

Cheese,

raw egg yolk  (unless you do have problms with salomonella in eggs at your place - if so, give boiled egg yolk).   Boiled egg shells crushed into fine powder are a good calcium source.

I understand you dont want to abort them, but strictly speaking, spaying now would cut down your costs, as a spaying IS waiting for you, sooner or later...

Vets cooperating with shelters are usually experienced in such spayings.   IF the though is possible for you, you  can perhaps want to consider it.?

Good luck!

I was talking about food for the kittens! Mama will feed them quite nicely but she herself will need good food so that she can produce good milk.

 

[segelkatt]

 
Thank you all, you have been quite helpful.

Melanie has been spending a lot of time in my brother's room (mainly under his bed) It's dark and he is never in there unless he's sleeping, but I don't want her in there. He's not very nice to the cats and he leaves his window open with no screen and I have to go get them off of the roof sometimes x.x... I was thinking about using my cat carrier lined with blanketsand the door taken off so that she has a darkplace that's easy to get into for her and the kittens later on. I want to keep her in my personal bathroom with her litter box and some food and water. Will the cat carrier/ room be too small for her? It's only a half bath and she hates being locked in there. She has to stay in my room. My other cat, the father Loki, will be in the rest of the house. The issue with letting her be in just my room alone is that my boyfriend just moved to the East Coast from Cali and is using an air mattress in my room. My mom doesn't want Melanie to pop it.

The whole reason this happened in the first place is that my mother has been waiting for a traveling clinic to come back to town to have them fixed. The cats are fixed, cleaned, given all their shots and dewormed ext. for only $90. The issue is that they haven't been around awhile and we waited too long. Loki will be fixed very soon and Melania as soon as it's possible. 

Any room that you can keep your cat in where she cannot escape to the outside will be fine. She may hate the bathroom now but it seems a good place to me. Just keep going in there and pet her so she knows she has not been abadoned and locked up. Once she has the kittens she won't want to move very far from them anyway for a while.The carrier with the door off and some blankets sounds good too for a birthing bed. 

To keep Melanie from popping the air bed with her claws, just put a blanket UNDER the bottom sheet besides the top sheet and whatever covers you use, it will also keep the boyfriend warmer, and that should keep the air bed safe from Melanie's claws. You can also get claw covers from the pet shop, they last about a month and will keep Melanie from damaging anything.

 

[StefanZ]

 
I was talking about food for the kittens! Mama will feed them quite nicely but she herself will need good food so that she can produce good milk.

OK, good then it become cleared out!   

 

[StefanZ]

StefanZ did wrote: "I will later give some adresses for how get hold of cheap spaying places.  The same places are probably also giving cheaper vet help than the average fashionable vet clinic."

cheap  spaying::
If you are in the U.S. ,  the ASPCA has an online database.  http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter

 Or here is a hotline number that will find you a low cost clinic in your area  1-800-248-7729.  

Alsp, there is  www.spayusa.org

 

[celestia]

Ok,great. Thanks for the help and good advice ^^ I feel a lil less worried now and am working with my mom on getting Melanie to the vet.

 

[celestia]

my cat is a first time mom and im a lil worried. I have never had a ca that took this long to have a second kitten. I know that she will have at least 3, i think more like 4/5, but she has only had 1..

11:20 pm labor started

12:30 am first kitten was born

12:36 am placenta was delivered

it's now 3:40 am and nothing has happened

first one was fine and normal. she gave birth fine, icked kitten clean and bit the cord. she licks him while he eats... but no more contractions or sign that the next birth is coming... at first she as constantly trying to get comfy... she even tried leaving that box to sit on my bed or by in my lap, but then went back to kitten after a few min... now she is looking at me meowing, but nothing else...

i can't see any signs that i kitten is stuck or in birth canal and she doesn't seem like she's in pain...

what do i do? it's very late and the only vet office open this late is an hour away

 

[StefanZ]

You can take it easy for now...   Pauses, shorter or longer, arent uncommon.

If she is OK,  relaxed, etc, like here - you observe, but can wait and see.

What we dont want to see, is long fruitless labor.  The first labor may take awhile, but the following ones, when the birth channel is already opened, should go easier.

Thus, if you wrote she was the whole time in labor for the second time, several hours now, THEN I would be seriously worried...  As it would be clearly an emergency vet errard.

Here, ist  quite OK, I think.

Continue to report and questions!

Good luck!

 

[celestia]

ty for your fast reply... i tend to worry too much when things go a lil off from the "normal" she really didn't seem to be having any issues, but she is a trooper... i didn't even know she was actually have a kitten until she did 1 very loud cry and pushed out her baby... her mama had alot of issues with her first kitten... 

i've been trying to watch her. but i fell asleep on the floor since it is so late and panicked when i saw what time it was... trying hard to stay awake  to keep an eye on her now....

also, a few contractions before she had he first kitten she pushed and pooped in her blanket... i picked it all up but i was wondering 1, if that isnormal and 2. if it's dangeous for the kittens health to stay on that blanket even if there are no traces of it still there, or if i should change...

again, ty for your help

 

[celestia]

after paying closer attention to her, she is having frequent, very small almost unnoticeable contractions... if this something to be worried about?

 

[StefanZ]

Ah, this is common pooing and urinating during the delivery.   "Both mices and men", as  the writer Steinbeck said it.

Although it seldom mentioned, the dirty parts.

So I suppose the kittens will also put up with it, like hundreds of generations before them did...  especielly as you dId take the poo away.

 

[StefanZ]

 
after paying closer attention to her, she is having frequent, very small almost unnoticeable contractions... if this something to be worried about?

Im not sure.  I hope its OK.   Perhaps as part of her being tired of the first delivery.   Still, it drains on her energy if nothing else.   I hope she eats and drinks?  (although eating the placenta gives much of high energy proteins)

You saw these links?

One from this site:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnancy-and-delivery-in-cats

http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens    ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )  

http://www.cat-world.com.au/parturition-birth-in-cats

http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-care/normal-cat-birth

 

[celestia]

tyvm

 

[lilgraykitty]

I read this has she had anymore kittens yet? Also unlike stefanZ said i think you should change the sheets if she allows you just for more comfort. But its optional. And also if you can could you post a picture of the kitten/s??