Young Pregnant stray

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TingaTinga

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So still no kittens yet. She saw vet 2 weeks ago tomorrow and he said she was 7.5 weeks then so shes approx 9.5 weeks now. Is this ok?? When does overdue become a problem? She also still had fur all over nipples so its hard to see them. I see a lot of cats lose the fur round the nipples, is it normal to NOT lose fur? Thanks
 

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Not all cats lose fur, and your vet is just guessing, so as long as she is not in distress just keep waiting and watching. Mother Nature usually knows best.
 
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TingaTinga

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Ok so still no kittens. Is it possible for the vet to have been 1 to 1.5 weeks out in estimation? If he was right we're on day 73-74 now. If it was 1 to 1.5 weeks out its 63-67 days now. Keep waiting? She seems fine in herself. But def not showing ANY signs of impending labour. Eating basically as normal and has a bowl of royal canin replacement milk a day
 

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Yes, I would imagine the vet’s estimate was way off. Keep waiting!
 
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TingaTinga

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Do some cats really withdraw into themselves when labour in imminent?? Shes completely different this morning. Doesnt want to eat, doesnt want to interact. Just laying curled in a ball on sofa dribbling slightly. If she wasnt pregnant id be taking her straight in for this kind of lethargic behaviour so i rang vet and they said hold fire for now cos if its the start of labour the last thing she needs is the stress of a vet visit but if shes still like this tomorrow to bring her in
 

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She may be in early labor. But the process can last for a couple of days, so unless she’s in distress (pushing for an hour and no kitten comes out), hold off.

Do you see any contractions yet? What do you mean she’s “dribbling”?
 
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TingaTinga

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Nope no contractions. She seems more herself now. Came out from being curled in a ball and lounged stretched out how she normally does. By dribbling i mean from her mouth not down below. Like saliva hanging from her chin. Shes had a little wander about and purrs now when touched wheras before she didnt want to know. I put another box in with her so she has a choice of 2 carboard boxes, between the sofa and wall with a drape over the top to keep it dark, on the sofa, or just on the floor 🤷‍♀️ shes in one of the boxes now
 
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TingaTinga

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7 kittens and shes done 😴😴 im a bit concerned about the last one though. Very skinny and runty and i had to rub it and stimulate it quite a bit to get it going. It was born still in the sac which i had to tear as mum was just done by then and it wasnt moving or looking like it was breathing. I held it head facing down slightly and rubbed it back and wiped it mouth ans nose and it coughed a fair bit then seemed ok. Its moving and feeding well. (I assume its feeding well, its been on a teat nearest hind legs for 30mins) i think it weighs 79/80g off the top of my head. Theres 3 that weigh that much but this one needed more help to get going hence my concern. The biggest is 99g. All very active and crawl over each other for a teat
 

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Wow - 7 kittens. That’s a lot. Do weigh daily as you may need to supplement the runts with formula if they are not gaining 6-10 grams each per day.
 

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Not such an accurate estimate from your vet! Around here, some of us have tried to palpate neighborhood queens' bellies to figure out how large their litters were going to be. We didn't do any better. It's still fun to guess.

I'm certain you'll love them, no matter how many she had. Please do send a pic or two to let us see them as well!
 
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I actually weighed them purely out of curiosity this afternoon just to see if theyd gained any in the few hours theyve been here and as it wasnt a "real" weigh in, i didnt note each one specifically but none were 79/80 like birth weights. The lowest was 82. I didnt think mums milk would be in yet ( or are they not like humans?) Is there a chance that if we rotate them in "shifts" she could nurse them without supplementing? Im terrified if getting milk in the lungs 😬😬
 

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Thank you for the pictures. Lots of stripes, there!

Many do rotate kittens on shifts to see that they get adequate milk. If mom has enough, that's the way to approach feeding. Keep weighing them so you catch any laggards, though. If they nurse on mom, they won't get air in their lungs. If you have to supplement, always feed them fairly slowly. keep them upright while feeding and burp them afterward like a human baby. The Kitten Lady on YouTube is an excellent resource on raising kittens.

It's best if they have mother's milk, as the colostrum (the first milk) gives their immune systems a jump start. Their own immune systems won't kick in for a little while. Nonetheless, if necessary, they can be bottle babies and grow up fine. Just takes more work.

Mom could use some KMR for extra calcium too. She can eat kitten food while nursing. After all, she's got 7 little mouths to feed.
 
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They havent stopped nursing from the time they were born. All seem very active and 2 have pooped already. Over the other kittens of course 🤣 the mum has only had a few dry biscuits and water today. Ive left it in her box and theres food away from the box and ive tried holding the bowl right under her so she doesnt even have to move but she doesnt want to eat anything else yet.
 

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Did she eat all the placentas? If so, that’s why she’s not hungry.
 
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No she attempted but only ate the stringy bits not the actual placenta
 
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TingaTinga

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HELP!! She keeps moving one kitten away from the rest then going back to the other kittens. Sjes moved the whole litter a few times but now shes moving this one kitten. Its not the runt either. Its a nornal sized seemingly healthy one. Ive had fed it just now to make sure it'd had something but what can i do??? Its constantly screaming for its mum when its away from her
 
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