Rescue cat possibly pregnant?

[bella.cat]

Hi!
Phew, I'm glad the placenta was found.
Normally cats have a couple more kittens, but since she (looks like) is a small cat, maybe she is finished. My cat is also a small cat but she normally has around 5 or 6 kittens.
1.5 hours is a long time, so yes, I assume she is done.
Oh! They are so adorable! And their colouring is so beautiful!
Have you though about how you are going to sell/home them?

 

[Kittycatcat]

I do hope she is done, I've never been so scared especially when the little white one was struggling to breathe, I don't believe it would be here if I hadn't stepped in and ripped its sack from its face and rubbed it warm.
Mama is so inexperienced with it being her first (and last) litter it really did show, she was so frightened, I stayed awake with her all night.
Its nice to see her settled down now, she has eaten some wet food but still to have a drink and go toilet etc.
In regards to rehoming, I do have some family and friends interested, we may keep one ourselves depending on what mama feels about that haha.
How long do you think I need to keep my neutured male away? He's a big softy but obviously I have no intention of introducing them for a while yet. What is your experience? I know with an intact male you wouldn't even consider it but a fixed male? Whats your thoughts?

 

[Sarthur2]

Nice job all around!

Have you disposed of the placentas and put in clean bedding?

Are all kittens nursing well?

Mom and kittens need privacy for the first 3 weeks. You need to wait to bring in your male cat until the kittens begin to leave the nest to explore. Do not give them whole house access that young though. Mom needs to rest now and settle in.

 

[Kittycatcat]

Nice job all around!

Have you disposed of the placentas and put in clean bedding?

Are all kittens nursing well?

Mom and kittens need privacy for the first 3 weeks. You need to wait to bring in your male cat until the kittens begin to leave the nest to explore. Do not give them whole house access that young though. Mom needs to rest now and settle in.

Yes she in a new box with new bedding.
I did dispose of the placenta's.
All look so much better than this morning, all lovely dry and warm. I believe they are all nursing well. Mama is taking good care of them, she hasn't left their side.
I'm occasionally offering her food and water incase she doesn't want to leave them unattended.
Do I need to worry about the long cords?
I'm going to keep my male well away. I'll get some advice on introduction when the time comes.
How many nipples does a cat have? Is it 6? Will kittens only feed from a certain one? Or will they go to any available?
I'm so thankful for this site, its fantastic

 

[Talien]

Do I need to worry about the long cords?

If they still have cords attached then it won't hurt them if you cut the cords back. You shouldn't really need to worry as they will quickly dry up and break off but if it was me I'd cut them just to be safe. Make sure you sterilize the scissors first though, either by rubbing it with disinfectant like alcohol or peroxide, or by holding it in an open flame for a few seconds if for some reason you are out of disinfectant. If you opt for the latter then make sure you let it cool first.

 

[bella.cat]

I do hope she is done, I've never been so scared especially when the little white one was struggling to breathe, I don't believe it would be here if I hadn't stepped in and ripped its sack from its face and rubbed it warm.
Mama is so inexperienced with it being her first (and last) litter it really did show, she was so frightened, I stayed awake with her all night.
Its nice to see her settled down now, she has eaten some wet food but still to have a drink and go toilet etc.
In regards to rehoming, I do have some family and friends interested, we may keep one ourselves depending on what mama feels about that haha.
How long do you think I need to keep my neutured male away? He's a big softy but obviously I have no intention of introducing them for a while yet. What is your experience? I know with an intact male you wouldn't even consider it but a fixed male? Whats your thoughts?

I don't have any experience with fixed male cats and introducing them to a nursing mum and kittens, but I would say to definitely keep them apart for a month or so. If you introduce them earlier, the mother may feel threatened as the kittens are very young, and the kittens will be scared too. I don't think he will cause any physical damage to them, just a lot of stress.

 

[bella.cat]

How many nipples does a cat have? Is it 6? Will kittens only feed from a certain one? Or will they go to any available?
I'm so thankful for this site, its fantastic

Generally, cats have 8 nipples. However, I have never seen kittens drink from the top two nipples, they generally go for the bottom ones. If there are 4 kittens, I assume they would be using the bottom 4.
Keep an eye out on how many are "working" nipples there are, here's what I write about that in another thread:

"Sometimes the mother cat only has a few "working" nipples (where the milk comes to best).
Eg - currently my cat Bella has 5 kittens, but only 4 working nipples.
My kittens do fine and are all well and healthy, but sometimes if the mother has even less "working" nipples and more kittens this can be a problem. Basically, make sure that each kitten has a space to drink and not being pushed away by others. "

This isn't always visible at the start, but in a few days you might notice that one kitten is being left out. All nipples (mostly the bottom ones) start out as "working" nipples, but if one isn't being drunk from in a long time, it will not have much milk in it anymore. However, since your cat only has 4 kittens I doubt there would be a problem.

I don't think this will be a big problem but you mentioned nipples so I remembered about this.
I'm glad you find this site helpful!

 

[Sarthur2]

How long are the cords? They usually dry up and fall off in about 5 days.

 

[Kittycatcat]

Generally, cats have 8 nipples. However, I have never seen kittens drink from the top two nipples, they generally go for the bottom ones. If there are 4 kittens, I assume they would be using the bottom 4.
Keep an eye out on how many are "working" nipples there are, here's what I write about that in another thread:

"Sometimes the mother cat only has a few "working" nipples (where the milk comes to best).
Eg - currently my cat Bella has 5 kittens, but only 4 working nipples.
My kittens do fine and are all well and healthy, but sometimes if the mother has even less "working" nipples and more kittens this can be a problem. Basically, make sure that each kitten has a space to drink and not being pushed away by others. "

This isn't always visible at the start, but in a few days you might notice that one kitten is being left out. All nipples (mostly the bottom ones) start out as "working" nipples, but if one isn't being drunk from in a long time, it will not have much milk in it anymore. However, since your cat only has 4 kittens I doubt there would be a problem.

I don't think this will be a big problem but you mentioned nipples so I remembered about this.
I'm glad you find this site helpful!

Thankyou, I never realised that. I'm sure after a few days I will start to see more what is going on, hopefully no problems.

 

[Kittycatcat]

How long are the cords? They usually dry up and fall off in about 5 days.

They are about 2 inches on all kittens, she literally just chewed the cord next to the placenta.

 

[Kittycatcat]

What do you think about the cords?
Mama has had a a decent amount of wet food and plenty of water now

 

[Talien]

What do you think about the cords?
Mama has had a a decent amount of wet food and plenty of water now

2 inches isn't much, but if it bothers you then it's safe to cut them. Just leave a little bit to be sure you aren't cutting too close.

Is that blood on the blanket in that picture? If it is then it's important to change the bedding whenever that happens just to keep things clean, if the nest gets dirty then she may decide to move the Kittens somewhere else.

 

[Kittycatcat]

2 inches isn't much, but if it bothers you then it's safe to cut them. Just leave a little bit to be sure you aren't cutting too close.

Is that blood on the blanket in that picture? If it is then it's important to change the bedding whenever that happens just to keep things clean, if the nest gets dirty then she may decide to move the Kittens somewhere else.

Okay I might try to trim just alittle bit off tomorrow if I'm able to weigh them. Yes I've changed the bedding since this picture was taken.

 

[Kittycatcat]

Mama cat still not going toilet, well she could of possibly had alittle wee yesterday but that's it. No further wees or poos.
She is drinking fine and eating and seems happy in herself. When should I be concerned? Is this normal?

 

[Bambiii]

How many days has it been since she gave birth ? I was also worried with my cat but she came around 2 days after giving birth with a big amount , had asked my vet then if it were okay he said if she was eating , drinking and nursing , she would come around. Its been almost five days and she’s been still not going as frequently but rather in larger amounts when she does .

 

[Kittycatcat]

How many days has it been since she gave birth ? I was also worried with my cat but she came around 2 days after giving birth with a big amount , had asked my vet then if it were okay he said if she was eating , drinking and nursing , she would come around. Its been almost five days and she’s been still not going as frequently but rather in larger amounts when she does .

She gave birth yesterday morning so roughly 36hrs ago. I've got her litter box not far from her as I understand she won't want to travel far.
I'm reluctant to take her vets unless absolute nessasary as I know its going to be far too stressful for her.
Did your cat start going for wees first before poos?

 

[Bambiii]

Yes she did , also not as frequently but i could tell she was hurting down there as well as bleeding a little in her litter box which i immediatly cleaned up so she doesnt make a fuss. 2 days later she goes in tears her litter box apart and has a mixed stool between watery and normal(really sorry ) but a large amount.Thought she would go back to her normal routine after that but she’s still holding it in till everyother day

 

[Kittycatcat]

Yes she did , also not as frequently but i could tell she was hurting down there as well as bleeding a little in her litter box which i immediatly cleaned up so she doesnt make a fuss. 2 days later she goes in tears her litter box apart and has a mixed stool between watery and normal(really sorry ) but a large amount.Thought she would go back to her normal routine after that but she’s still holding it in till everyother day

Oh bless her, it is worrying isn't it when there not going toilet as they were before.
Hopefully my girl will go soon, I'm expecting lose stools as she is only eating wet food and no longer dry.
I will a close eye on her, Im sleeping in the same room as her and the kittens so I will hear if she goes. Fingers crossed soon.
Thankyou for your reply, its helpful to know from someone with a new mama cat.

 

[Bambiii]

Oh bless her, it is worrying isn't it when there not going toilet as they were before.
Hopefully my girl will go soon, I'm expecting lose stools as she is only eating wet food and no longer dry.
I will a close eye on her, Im sleeping in the same room as her and the kittens so I will hear if she goes. Fingers crossed soon.
Thankyou for your reply, its helpful to know from someone with a new mama cat.

Glad to hear we’ve been doing so much stuff alike even the worrying part , my cat has also only been on wet food since birth and i also sleep in the same room as them because my princess does like to wake me up along the night for cuddles and id rather she be close to the kittens. God bless our furbabies Its been such a stress with everything between the mommy and hoping all the kittens make it and are feeding all the same and well so i def know what you’re going through. Hope she goes soon and relieves you from the stress. Sending love to you , her and the kittens

 

[Kittycatcat]

Glad to hear we’ve been doing so much stuff alike even the worrying part , my cat has also only been on wet food since birth and i also sleep in the same room as them because my princess does like to wake me up along the night for cuddles and id rather she be close to the kittens. God bless our furbabies Its been such a stress with everything between the mommy and hoping all the kittens make it and are feeding all the same and well so i def know what you’re going through. Hope she goes soon and relieves you from the stress. Sending love to you , her and the kittens

I never realised just how stressful and worrying it could be. The first thing I did when I woke was check mama and babies and was so so happy to see them all happily feeding
I do pray that all our little babies make it. Are you weighing yours? I managed to weigh two today but mama looked stressed so I didn't want to upset her anymore. I'm sure I read its best to do it with mama right near by which is what I did but I think it would be far less worrying for her if I did it when she is out the room (which isn't very often)
She gets so worried when they make the slightest sound, she gobbles her food as quick as she can even though it is right next to the box and they are clearly in her view. She is such a fantastic mama, I'm so proud of her.
Love to your mama cat too and babies