Question about seeing kittens moving

fostersrule

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I have read varying answers to the question about how soon you can see kittens moving in mom so I am wondering if anyone with experience can tell me how soon they saw kittens moving. I can't for the life of me remember how soon I saw them moving in my last foster cat. I've looked over as many threads as I could find on this forum and looked at many sites but a ton of them just say "it will be soon" and the answers about when you can see them seem to be just copy pasted answers like "between 6-7 weeks". I'm looking for what you have personally seen. Also, I keep noticing that people will ask when you can see them move and others answer that you can feel them move around 6 weeks. I would assume that feeling them would come before seeing them, right?

Going to cover all the bases here: This kitty is my foster. I got her 5 days ago. Her milk is in and her babies have been VERY easy to see the whole 5 days I've had her. She hasn't had any discharge whatsoever. There are little white caps on her nipples and her mammary glands are nice and big. She's in the bathroom with a nesting box full of warm blankets. She free feeds hard kitten food all day and wet kitten food as much as she wants. She will be moved into our official foster room once the fosters in there go to their forever homes but until then she will stay in the bathroom. She will be spayed once she is able to be as will all the kittens. Everyone will be dewormed, micro chipped, tested for FIV/FeLV, and vaccinated as well. Think I got it all.
 

handsome kitty

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I'm not sure why you're asking.  The answer is going to vary because there are many factors.  How many kittens, size of the kittens, Is the cat long haired, short haired, thin or a healthy weight.  That's why it's a vague two - three weeks after feeling/seeing the kittens first move.  I'm sure others will be along with better answers.

If your foster cat's milk is in she will deliver within a week at the most.  Post pictures when they arrived.  Keep using this thread for any questions.
 
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fostersrule

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I'm not sure why you're asking.  The answer is going to vary because there are many factors.  How many kittens, size of the kittens, Is the cat long haired, short haired, thin or a healthy weight.  That's why it's a vague two - three weeks after feeling/seeing the kittens first move.  I'm sure others will be along with better answers.

If your foster cat's milk is in she will deliver within a week at the most.  Post pictures when they arrived.  Keep using this thread for any questions.
I understand the answers will vary. I'm asking because I would like to hear first-hand experiences. Those people will be able to give descriptions of their cats and the litter as well. That is why I am not too fond of the vague answer; they don't mention any of what you have pointed out will make a difference. Those with first hand experience will be able to tell me whether their cat was a good weight, longhaired/shorthaired, how many kittens they were carrying, how large they were when they were born, etc. I understand it is not an exact science and no one can be sure when their queen will deliver. I am simply looking to hear personal experiences out of curiosity and also to help pass the time.
 

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The pregnant stray I took in became huge. I was clueless as to the time-frame of her pregnancy, as she was already showing when I took her in last spring.

I took her for an x-ray, which showed 4 kittens. The vet said they were about 7-10 days from full development, and they came 12 days later.

I do recall feeling and seeing kitten movement the last nearly 3 weeks. The cat is actually petite, and is short-haired, so it was easy to see and feel movement.

Here is her picture the day before she gave birth:

 
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fostersrule

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The pregnant stray I took in became huge. I was clueless as to the time-frame of her pregnancy, as she was already showing when I took her in last spring.

I took her for an x-ray, which showed 4 kittens. The vet said they were about 7-10 days from full development, and they came 12 days later.

I do recall feeling and seeing kitten movement the last nearly 3 weeks. The cat is actually petite, and is short-haired, so it was easy to see and feel movement.

Here is her picture the day before she gave birth:

Thank you for sharing! I remember being told my last queen would give birth in 7-10 days because she was lactating and they came 15 days later! Her belly looks so big in that pic! If size was a definite indicator to how many are in them I'd begin to think my queen only has 2 if yours had 4 in there! She's beautiful. Did you keep her?
 

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I did keep her, AND all 4 of her kittens! Call me crazy, but my daughter took her cat with her to college, and my geriatric cat had just crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

The house felt lonely, and I had slowly lost all my cats as they aged. My high was 7 cats. So now I have an entire cat family, and I cannot imagine life without them!

Everyone is spayed and neutered, and all are as sweet as can be.

Can you post a picture of your foster kitty? [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 
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fostersrule

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I did keep her, AND all 4 of her kittens! Call me crazy, but my daughter took her cat with her to college, and my geriatric cat had just crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

The house felt lonely, and I had slowly lost all my cats as they aged. My high was 7 cats. So now I have an entire cat family, and I cannot imagine life without them!

Everyone is spayed and neutered, and all are as sweet as can be.

Can you post a picture of your foster kitty? [emoji]128522[/emoji]
Awe that's so great they got to stay together! Two of my current kitten fosters are going home together:). The third is going to a home with a very sweet child who will give him all the attention and playtime a kitten could hope for. One of my mentors has 5 cats of her own and I was cat-sitting for her when she also had a momma and her 8 kittens!
I started another thread about coat color and posted her pic there. Feel free to delete it. I need to remember to mame the titles more open so the thread can contain other questions. I'll post her pic again. This was taken 6 days ago.

And this was taken yesterday she is carrying very high. My last pregnant foster was very round but her sides were less "pointy" and more smoothed out almost like she had swallowed a football but this kitty looks like she swallowed a football sideways:p
 
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Sarthur2

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She looks plenty pregnant though! I'm going to guess 4 kittens!

She does not look like she's dropped though, so it could be awhile yet. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 
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fostersrule

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She looks plenty pregnant though! I'm going to guess 4 kittens!

She does not look like she's dropped though, so it could be awhile yet. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
Yeah that's what I was thinking. She's really playful today. Not eating very much. When I got her the lady said she thought she was 2-6 days out because of how large her mammary glands are but it's been 6 days and I think she has at least another few to go judging by her behavior and lack of any signs other than a slight loss of appetite. But who knows!
 
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Still no babies. I moved her into my room today. Her belly seems less pointy and looks to be underneath her a bit more. No discharge, no excessive licking, not too much nesting behavior. I have a feeling she is going to be one of those cats who doesn't show any signs and just pops 'em out. She did get in the litter box and dig furiously then climb out then get back in a few times but I might attribute that to the new litter.

As I type this she is in one of the nesting boxes that's faced away from me and I can hear her purring and moving the blankets around. This is the longest I've ever seen her in the box. Will update if anything progresses.
 

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Wonderful! She was closer than I thought.

How many kittens so far?
 
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fostersrule

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Wow! I had guessed four. Do you think she's done?
I think so but I'm not 100% convinced. She may have another and just be resting. She ate a lot a little bit ago and all the babies are nursing. Please excuse the fact that she gave birth on cardboard instead of comfy blankets. I tried to persuade her blankets are a good thing but she kept shoving them out. I'm getting them situations on blankets for the night and changing the box tomorrow. Everyone is good as far as weight goes:). Didn't get to weigh 2 of the (the larger ones) because mommy was getting upset but the smaller ones are 3.6, 3.7, and 3.3 ounces. They're all active and nursing. I won't be surprised if I wake up to a 6th but I'm hoping she's done
 

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The birth weights are excellent! I am so pleased that she's had no problems, and the kittens are nursing well. Hopefully, the 2 smallest are holding their own. Your wait was not too long after all. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 
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The birth weights are excellent! I am so pleased that she's had no problems, and the kittens are nursing well. Hopefully, the 2 smallest are holding their own. Your wait was not too long after all. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
The birth weights are excellent! I am so pleased that she's had no problems, and the kittens are nursing well. Hopefully, the 2 smallest are holding their own. Your wait was not too long after all. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
I'm beginning to wonder if there is another baby in there. I thought there was last night and that I'd wake up to it. She's been very lovey towards me this afternoon and leaves the kittens to come sit on my lap (something she did before going into labor the first time) but she does respond to the babies when they cry. I think she may be delaying things because she already has these 5 to care for. When they begin to nurse she seems to flinch and sometimes gets up. Sometimes everything is fine and she is very relaxed while they eat. They're all doing well:). But she still has somewhat pronounced lumps on the sides when you look down when she is standing. I gently felt around and there was a hard bump. Too high up to be a gland. She will come out of the nest and meow at me the way she did before giving birth but there isn't too much room in there. she would get really agitated when giving birth and at one point I quickly pulled her 3 kittens out because she was thrashing around and I was afraid she'd hurt one. Keeping an eye on her. She's content at the moment and if I suspect something is a wrong she will go straight to the shelter vet or the emergency vet if the shelter is closed. I know that their uterus can be swollen but is it normal for it to stick out so much to the sides? I am going to transfer them into a larger box she they'll have more room. She is very friendly and is fine with me sticking my hands in there (actually she loves it because she wants pets) to touch the babies and move them to her belly when she lays down and one ends up on the other side
 

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I was going to suggest a bigger nest, so that's good. It sounds like they need more room for sure.

I think you'll know in a couple of days if she has another kitten inside. My cat still looked pregnant after giving birth too. If she's not in distress you can wait it out. If it doesn't resolve by next week, an x-ray will settle it.

Are all 5 babies nursing well?
 
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fostersrule

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Yes, all 5 are nursing and gaining at a healthy rate:). She runs out after them when I weigh them but I am able to hold her back long enough. She doesn't seem to associate my hands with being the reason the kitten is out of the nest because she keeps letting me stick them in there which is nice
 
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