Signs Of Labour

[Tillycat17]

Update-
Babies are all doing well. Now they have fluffed up a bit it looks like a silvery tabby, 2 normal tabbies and maybe 1 black and white (although this one also has some tabby stripes).

Mum is doing really well, she's back to eating 3 pouches per day plus dry food.
We are only disturbing her 3x a day so she gets to concentrate on the babies.
A few questions?
When should we start letting her have free rein of the house again? Currently she has her own room but 3 times a day when I do her food/litter I let her into the kitchen for a cuddle etc.

When should I phone the vet to talk about spaying?

When should I start handling the babies? Is it 2weeks?

Finally....they are getting more and more active by the day. I have a pen ready to use. When should I set that up and move them?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sarthur2]

She can have access to more of the house anytime now, but not for more than an hour. She would need to return to feed the babies when they are hungry. Most cats won't leave their babies for long at this age anyway!

Mom can be spayed when the kittens are 8 weeks old. The kittens can be spayed and neutered at 8 weeks as long as they weigh 2 pounds.

I recommend a hands-off approach the first 3 weeks, except for weighing, supplementing, or vet trips.

You can put the babies in the pen at 3-4 weeks old.

 

[Tillycat17]

My parents managed to weigh the kittens today: they were born on Tuesday.
I think they weighed them in kg! ( I bought new digi scales)

Kitten 1 (dark one) 0.24
Kitten 2 (tabby) 0.21
Kitten 3 (tabby with stripe) 0.21
Kitten 4 (silver tabby) 0.19

So one is smaller. They check that all kittens are nursing and all are getting very active now. I'm home tomorrow and I will re weigh them. Mum cat still spends 95% of time in the nest.

They have noticed thought that sometimes when she is grooming them she playfully bits them around the neck?! Any ideas what this is about?

 

[Tillycat17]

Would it be okay to move them earlier into a bigger box? They look like the may soon be able to crawl out of the hole I made, I should've put it higher up.

 

[Sarthur2]

The weights are odd. They need to be weighed in grams.

Yes, they can be moved, but mama kitty may not like it.

Why not wait until you are home and can see what's going on. Newborns rarely crawl out of the nest.

 

[Tillycat17]

Ok weights yesterday;
Tabby 204g
Tabby with stripe 204g
Palest 205g
Darkest 210g

Stared weighing again this morning but then they all wanted feeding. So I only got
Darkest 226g

Mum Tilly is doing amazing and any sqweak she runs back in there. She looks thin to me (although when we left she was heavily pregnant!). She has unlimited dry food, 3 pouches, unlimited water. Poo is normal. She's also got free run of the house again but I'm going to keep her in her room still for some periods during the day.

 

[Tillycat17]

Ok I got the other weights
Tabby 210g +6
Tabby with stripe 221g +17
Palest 225g +20 (not sure if that is right? Surely 20 is too much?)
Darkest 226g +6

Do I need to keep weighing daily?

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, continue weighing daily for now.

A 6 gram gain is the minimum. 20 grams is awesome!

 

[Tillycat17]

Advice needed please!!
So today is our first proper day back, we've given her free run of the house today for periods, which she seems to have enjoyed and loves having us around again.
However this evening I heard a yelp so went to check and one kitten had gone!! We found her in my boys room feeding that one in the middle of the room.
We carried her and the baby back to the box. Is this the right thing to do? She's always preferred sleeping upstairs and more so with the boys/on their beds. However I'm not keen to move her upstairs as she wouldn't have her own room and it would be hard to shut her in for periods. Also I'm assuming she would be equally unhappy being alone upstairs as being alone downstairs?
What approach should I take now?

 

[Sarthur2]

Let her out for periods of time, but close the door so she can't move the babies. Let her back in within an hour each time.

She would have moved them all upstairs eventually, but it's too soon. They can be moved after they pass the 3-week mark or so if she's still interested.

 

[Tillycat17]

We are having an awful evening. She still hasn't settled down and kept trying to move the kittens. We shut her in her room and she was frantic taking them out and they were crying so she was pushing them over to stop them crawling and biting them on the neck so I've brought her in the living room and shut the door on the kittens to try calm her down. She's meowing constantly and obviously distressed

 

[Sarthur2]

Move the kittens upstairs where she wants them, but put them in a safe area of your son's room, such as in a closet or under the bed.

It's not unusual for a cat to want to be with her kittens in a familiar place.

How old is your son? We don't want him stepping on a kitten accidentally, or handling/disturbing them in any way right now.

Or move your son out of his room temorarily if it's an issue.

 

[Tillycat17]

So last night I slept on the floor in the study as I couldn't move them upstairs with everyone asleep. I was secretly hoping she would forget about moving them too.
This morning she was at it again, she's awful at carrying them and drops them constantly. So I picked them all up in a towel and followed her. She's currently in a small space in between the bunk bed and wall, I can't fit a box in there so I'm unsure how to contain the kittens there? Also I haven't moved the heat mat yet. She really likes to go under that bunk bed but it's so small under there. My husband is just clearing any toys from there in case she does try to.
My boys in that room are 7 & 4 so I'm going to move my 4 year old to my daughters room.

 

[Sarthur2]

Sounds good if mom is happier. Moving the 4-year-old is good too.

Move the heat mat and put it under a blanket. Don't worry about a box right now.

I hope mom will be content now.

 

[Tillycat17]

It's been awful. She dragged one under the bunk bed then couldn't reach it again. Then tried to take one up to the top bunk and it nearly fell off! I managed to grab it. So we moved her and everything to my daughters room which is a small box room and she still kept moving them, trying to put them on the bed etc.
I don't know what she's trying to do but the kittens all seem distressed as well now.
Any advice?

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh boy. If she won't settle down then she'll need to get put into a room alone with her kittens again, such as where she was, or a bathroom.

She does not need to keep moving the kittens. As you said, it's stressful.

Make a decision and then put her food, water, and litter with her, and let her cry if need be. She needs to settle down.

 

[Tillycat17]

Thanks for the advice I think she's settled now! She's still in my daughters room under the bed, litter and food all in there and heat mat.
We are going to keep her in there and just go and visit her, we think letting her have free run is just too dangerous in our large house. Maybe when they are bigger she will feel more secure?
Here's her set up now. At least if she is unsettled at night I can sleep on the bed instead of the floor

 

[Sarthur2]

Good choice to leave her in your daughter's room.

How old is your daughter? Will she be staying in the room too?

Keeping the door closed is a good idea. Mom needs provacy and to feel safe.

You're right about free-roaming the house being too much right now.

She looks settled!

 

[Tillycat17]

She's only 2 but still sleeps in our room really.
Today's weights
Tabby 230g
Tabby with stripe 258
Palest 244
Darkest 256

they are putting on loads per day!
She's okay in her new room, she's not trying to move them but does meow to come out so I go in and cuddle her.
I noticed today she is waking them up individually or 2 at a time to feed them and clean them.

 

[Sarthur2]

All sounds well!