Pregnant cat about to pop, anybody have any advice for the big day?

[Rusty Shackleford]

I've been living with a pregnant cat for about three weeks now.

My friend's mother is a crazy cat lady, and takes in stray cats. She doesn't fix/spay them or anything, just feeds them and spends time with them whenever they aren't out prowling. Some stay briefly, some stay for years, some never come home... you get the idea.

For whatever reason, she has to move out of her current apartment and in the interim is staying at her mother's house. Her mothers is okay with the four (FOUR) cats piggybacking along, but the fifth (and pregnant) one was denied entry. Go figure.

I offered to watch the cat up until it gives birth (and then stay with the kittens until they were old enough to be handled) for a tidy sum, hence my situation.


We get along splendidly, but she's about to pop. From what I've read, there isn't much I can do save offering her a warm, comfortable spot where she'll feel safe enough to give birth.

Has anyone here ever had experience with midwifing (haha) a cat? I think I've only a few days to go.

I can post pics, too, if anybody would like to see them.

 

[kis123]

Give her a closet, basement, and a box and she'll do all the rest. They prefer privacy because their natural tendency is to hide, give birth, and protect her young. She even cleans up afterwards and keeps the kittens clean. She may want to sneak off from time to time for some alone time but she will go back to tend and feed her brood.

Add a towel or old blanket to keep the kittens warm and you have all that she needs.

If you have a place where you keep a lot of boxes of stuff, get it up high or she may confuse that with a really nice birthing spot. The first time we had to deal with a pregnant cat, she used the box where I kept my kids' school supplies. Needless to say, I'm glad I lived near a discount store where we could replace our stuff.

Good luck.

 

[TropicThunder]

^Good advice.

I've lived with cats who had kittens, and they always found a warm spot that was out of sight to do it, so we never actually got to witness any of it.

 

[kis123]

Oh another idea would be for you to prepare a private spot and move her litterbox, food, or water to it. Add in a small amount of catnip to the box so she'll go to it and see it's a good place for her and her babies.

All will be okay, just move the important boxes out of the way if you don't want them turning into a birthing room.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I imagine it's going to be messy...

 

[kis123]

That's why you give her an old towel or blanket; everything else she'll clean herself.

Just get the good stuff out of her way; she can't tell the difference and when she starts labor she's not gonna' care too much about it.

 

[milagros317]

Give the new mother plenty of room. Even friendly cats will scratch you up if you get too close to their nnewborn kittens. 😱

 

[Snail Shell]

Worked on a maternity ward and volunteered at humane society for six years. Trust me on this.

Steps to birthing a cat:

1) Put up tarps, plastic lining or cheap blankets over all furniture and walls. This WILL be messy.

2) Buy denim clothes. Shirt, vest, pants are a start. There will be many cats about with large, bony talons that will sink deep into your soft, pink, human flesh. Armour will be needed.

3) Buy earplugs. You're right. There WILL be a large popping sound. Protect yourself. When my cat gave birth, half the block went deaf.

4) Contact your local zoo. Ask if they have a zebra, or wildebeast on hand that is old or sickly that you can have for cheap. Those kittens will come out hungry.

5) Watch as many old episodes of Ninja Turtles as you can, especially episodes that focus on Leonardo. The mother will be incredibly bitchy and crabby afterwards and you'll need to bone up on your swordplay.

That should get you through the first month or so. By then, get rid of the offending furballs and life should return to normalcy.

SS

How do YOU like being trolled, Trollface!!! 😛

 

[BlackestLily]

And when all is said and done? In about 6 weeks, bring them to me.

 

[Bothersome]

Well... I was around when our dog gave birth. I can't really add anything that hasn't been said... however I do know that our dog didn't let us so much as see the puppies for the better part of a week. I almost lost a hand in the first couple of days. I don't know if cats are quite the same in terms of maternal protectiveness... but I'd be careful, all the same.

 

[Dussicar]

I have no advice but can I come over and play with them?

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Worked on a maternity ward and volunteered at humane society for six years. Trust me on this.

Steps to birthing a cat:

1) Put up tarps, plastic lining or cheap blankets over all furniture and walls. This WILL be messy.

2) Buy denim clothes. Shirt, vest, pants are a start. There will be many cats about with large, bony talons that will sink deep into your soft, pink, human flesh. Armour will be needed.

3) Buy earplugs. You're right. There WILL be a large popping sound. Protect yourself. When my cat gave birth, half the block went deaf.

4) Contact your local zoo. Ask if they have a zebra, or wildebeast on hand that is old or sickly that you can have for cheap. Those kittens will come out hungry.

5) Watch as many old episodes of Ninja Turtles as you can, especially episodes that focus on Leonardo. The mother will be incredibly bitchy and crabby afterwards and you'll need to bone up on your swordplay.

That should get you through the first month or so. By then, get rid of the offending furballs and life should return to normalcy.

SS

How do YOU like being trolled, Trollface!!! 😛

HAHAHA took me till #4 to realize you were fucking around.

Good show.

 

[kopfhorer]

A girlfriend's kitty gave birth on her bed. The sheets were easy enough to wash afterward but the blood stains on the mattress never came out completely.

 

[desdemona]

Cats mostly take care of this themselves, as others have said. They like privacy. They like dark places. In summer, you need to make sure you have a warm, happy spot that the mother will use.

Here are important things to watch for if things go wrong:

Excessive crying/straining from the mother. Cats can delay labor up to a certain extent. If you see movement in the abdomen and no kittens after she starts straining, don't be alarmed unless:

You see discharge (like her water breaks). This means the placenta has ruptured and that kitten no longer has any way to get oxygen or other vital nutrients. It WILL die if you don't get it out - and the cat may die. It's called dystocia. All that money you made - you'll be handing over to a vet for a C-section.

Don't allow the cat to eat the afterbirths/placentas...if you can avoid it. Yes it means you pick up the damn slimy nasty things. Otherwise, they often vomit they up anyway (and that is so not fun to clean up). Or they can choke on them. Your choice. It does NOT give them "extra protein" - that's a bunch of crap. It's disgusting dead tissue that starts harboring bacteria as soon as it hits room air. Discard it.

If mom gets really tired and stops pushing, even though you see movement still - I'd give her no more than 12-24 hours between kitten births. Like I said, some cats can delay labor. But it comes down to low blood sugar and low calcium in some cats and they don't have the strength to push so to speak. BTW, this can also lead to eclampsia which equals C-section - see above.

By now you should have transitioned the cat over to a quality kitten food for extra protein and calcium. She should remain on this while nursing the kittens. That's just my little tidbit and my dog breeders recommend it highly. Do NOT give a calcium supplement. It is not the same and can do more harm than good. Why the calcium? All that milk that she will be producing and all the skeletons of the little kittens drain the mom's supply. All babies are like parasites - they leech off the host for all they are worth.

Speaking of milk - make sure mom has some! If you hear excessive crying from the kittens, this is not a good sign. If mom is pushing them away or not allowing them time to nurse, you will have to intervene and bottle feed kittens, every 2-3 hours, round the clock for the first 2-3 weeks of life. And you'll have to stimulate them to go (that "cleaning" that you see mom doing - she's licking them to stimulate them to urinate and defecate). Take a warm, wet cotton ball and gently rub the butt and genitals after each feeding. Yep, it's tedious. Hope she paid you well. Get some milk replacer like KMR (which stands for... Kitten Milk Replacer). Watch mom to make sure she is eating and drinking well, too. She needs the nutrition to replace her losses. If she stops eating the day before giving birth, I don't get too worried (their uterus is normally so huge it's pressing on their stomach anyway). Any longer than that is a problem.

Most births happen quite naturally and without event. Several key factors are the size and age of the queen (pregnant cat) and her nutritional status. Hopefully, you won't need any extra intervention. But if anything looks wrong - you should call a vet.

Good luck.

 

[Snail Shell]

HAHAHA took me till #4 to realize you were fucking around.

Good show.

😀 Figured you'd appreciate.

SS

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Well, they're out... eight of them. First one emerged around 12:30 am, the last around 6:30 am.

She went into contractions, started yowling at me, and then proceeded to do her business under my bed. Kinda frustrating.

Anyway, she ate the placenta, cleaned the afterbirth off of her and her kittens, and carried them by the scruff, one by one, into the box I had set-up as her intended birthing spot. There are eight: three black, three grey, and two stunning calico that look like lions.

Their cries sound like raindrops.

 

[desdemona]

Congrats. Welcome to parenthood. Now help her be a responsible pet owner and get her spayed so it doesn't happen again.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

It's not my cat, it's a friend's (my cat is spayed).

Wouldn't mind having another go at cat-sitting.... some of the easiest money I've ever made, and I have 24/7 access to kittens for at least two months.

They're good for the soul.

 

[Bohemianne]

Just watch out for "cat-far-tum" depression. For the next few weeks, expect her to be obsessive-compulsive too -- I mean she licks them all clean. You might begin to doubt your "calling," but don't. 😉