Pregnant Mama

[samanthalogan]

hello all. i am currently fostering a pregnant mama cat from my local animal shelter. she came in from a woman who has had her all her life. she has had 3 litters in the past. they didn’t tell me how old she was or anything. all we know is she’s due any day now! (or so we think. i wanna post some pictures and see what you guys think. she is huge, grooms EXCESSIVELY, has lost all the hair around her nipples, eats lots, has been getting her milk in too. i hate this waiting game, it’s the worst lol she is really fond of the cold floor too.

 

[Furballsmom]

Wow, she IS huge LOL...no idea on how many

 

[samanthalogan]

Hi all. I have a mom that is due any day now. She just went to the bathroom with diarrhea all of a sudden. She has been completely fine poop wise until now. She still eats like a pig, and acts normal otherwise. Why the sudden diarrhea??

 

[StefanZ]

Hi all. I have a mom that is due any day now. She just went to the bathroom with diarrhea all of a sudden. She has been completely fine poop wise until now. She still eats like a pig, and acts normal otherwise. Why the sudden diarrhea??

Its common! Natures way to empty the bowels before delivery.

Let her have some extra salt to compensate for salt losses. Or pedialyte.

 

[ans5181]

WOW! She's huge! What a doll...I'm going to guess 6+!

 

[GlitterKittie]

That cold floor must be nice for her big full belly.

 

[samanthalogan]

Update! The babies have moved a little further down today. Looks like today won’t be the day no contraction or signs of pain. just lots of sitting in the window, with the cold New York air on her.

 

[di and bob]

I'm going to say 5-6 in the next couple of days. When mine had 7 she was a lot bigger than that even.All the luck!

 

[StefanZ]

Update! The babies have moved a little further down today. Looks like today won’t be the day no contraction or signs of pain. just lots of sitting in the window, with the cold New York air on her.

Aha so she has dropped? Good it will be soon but not today.

How is the diarrhea?

 

[samanthalogan]

Aha so she has dropped? Good it will be soon but not today.

How is the diarrhea?

it’s no better, no worse. i replaced her water with pedialyte, and gave her a little goats milk for hydration. i haven’t had a chance to really see her poop, but she still stinks up the room when she goes, so i’m assuming she still has it. i’ll be with her all day today so i’ll see! she is actually rolling around on the floor as I type this, which she never does! excited for what’s coming

 

[samanthalogan]

Aha so she has dropped? Good it will be soon but not today.

How is the diarrhea?

She actually just went pee, came out, and started rubbing her butt on the floor!! what is that??

 

[ans5181]

She actually just went pee, came out, and started rubbing her butt on the floor!! what is that??

Poor baby, she might be too big to clean her lady bits properly lol. If you have mild wipes you can help her. Or the alternative could be that something is making her feel itchy down there, like worms.

 

[samanthalogan]

Poor baby, she might be too big to clean her lady bits properly lol. If you have mild wipes you can help her. Or the alternative could be that something is making her feel itchy down there, like worms.

ahh maybe! she came from my animal shelter, so i assume they would’ve dewormed her. (idk if they like to do that while she’s pregnant) i’ll check her butt out, she’s been very licky down in that area today aha

 

[ans5181]

ahh maybe! she came from my animal shelter, so i assume they would’ve dewormed her. (idk if they like to do that while she’s pregnant) i’ll check her butt out, she’s been very licky down in that area today aha

Not all dewormers are safe for pregnant mama and kittens, so they may not have. Idk what shelter protocol is in that situation...lots of times they'll wait till after the kittens are born and deworm everyone...

 

[Kimberly07]

Oh, I'm going to guess 5 or 6. My mama had 7 and was bigger than that. In the end, mine couldn't clean her butt either, so I had to help her with it with a warm wash cloth. Good luck, I can't wait to see the nuggets!

 

[samanthalogan]

Hi guys. I have one more question! I have noticed today that her belly is a lot firmer, and it’s harder to feel the babies move. Yesterday, when you touched her belly, it was soft, and you could easily feel babies kicking in there. Now it’s feel like a balloon filled with air. Is that just another stage of pregnancy?

 

[ans5181]

Hi guys. I have one more question! I have noticed today that her belly is a lot firmer, and it’s harder to feel the babies move. Yesterday, when you touched her belly, it was soft, and you could easily feel babies kicking in there. Now it’s feel like a balloon filled with air. Is that just another stage of pregnancy?

Once she gets closer and her babies drop and get in position to exit, you can't typically feel/ see them move as much. Idk about the balloon part, but unless she is acting like something is wrong, it sounds like things are progressing!

 

[samanthalogan]

i think we have contractions! she is laying here, tensing her whole body every couple seconds. don’t know 100% if they’re contractions, but i don’t know what else they could be. is it weird she doesn’t like her nesting box? she prefers to lay on the floor.

 

[samanthalogan]

also! how long can she be contracting? like do cats sometimes contract for 12 hours? i just wanna make sure everything is alright.

 

[ans5181]

These threads mentions some articles that might be helpful to you! Some light bathroom reading

Abandoned Cats Taken In One Appears Imminently About To Have Kittens - All Advice Greatly Appreciate

Questions About Labor Signs!

I find that kitty labors are actually kinda similar to human labors so yes, she can labor for 12 hours, there are different stages of labor (which I think the articles address). Kitties can also have Braxton Hicks contractions like people. She will likely do one of two things when she is ready, either seclude herself and/or hide because she wants a private birth, or she may come let you know that she is ready and wants you to be there. Usually she will not go into her chosen nest until her birth is imminent, so you may see her acting restless like she is looking around for something, trying different spots out, etc. Just like people, some cats labor fast and will have babies within a few minutes with only say 15-20 minutes between babies, but it is also not uncommon for there to be an hour or more between babies. When my cat had kittens, she had two in about two hours, I could very visibly see her body contract, and then in between babies it was like she was totally out of labor, no contractions until the next one was close. After her first two, it was six hours before baby #3! She was totally normal, not stressed, cared for her kittens, and suddenly I walked into the bathroom to check on her (because I was stressed!!! Lol), and there was another kitten coming! In all likelihood, she will do everything herself and you will be the stressed out one! She is an old pro.

What you want to watch for are signs of labor or straining to push with no results, this is a sign that a kitten could be stuck or something is amiss. It's so much fun, try not to stress, there are people here that are so helpful, and your queen will let you know what is going on, if she is very friendly she will probably let you know when it is time! You aren't too far off. Keep us posted! Oh, and it's sort of a requirement that you must overload us with 456763356896677 pictures of the family once they arrive! Just kidding of course, but not kidding when I say we love pictures here!!