Pregnant Cats And Kitten Videos

Question: Questions about my (possibly) pregnant cat?

(Posted by: on 2012-01-30 21:55:49)

Alright so, my cat Piper might be pregnant. Her stomach has doubled in size over the past week, shes an indoor/ outdoor cat, and she isnt spayed yet so its for sure possible. She goes to the vet on Wednesday to confirm/ deny pregnancy, and she will be fixed either after the kittens are weaned, or sometime next week if she isnt pregnant. My questions are(and theyre based on if she IS pregnant): Since shes an indoor/ outdoor cat, should I limit her outdoor time? Meaning only allowed out with supervision, and not for extended periods of time?(shes like a dog, and comes when called so having her run off isnt really an issue) How often should she see the vet before the kittens are born? And how often should the kittens see the vet after theyre born?(Twice a week, once a week, what?) I understand I need to monitor her temperature as an indication of when the kittens might be born, so when should I start taking her temperature, and how many times a day should I do that? Ive heard that it benefits the mom and kittens if the mom is on a good quality kitten food during pregnancy, so if she is confirmed pregnant, should I switch her to that? Can I get the kittens spayed/ neutered before they go to new approved homes at 8- 10 weeks? If I cant get them fixed that soon, I should type up and make the owners sign a legal contract saying they'll have the kitten fixed by a certain time, correct? Should I monitor the kittens weight, or is that generally only required if hand feeding? Do first time mothers generally have quite a few kittens, or can we be safe expecting a maximum of 5? I guess this was a lot of questions, haha, I just wanna be sure that we're doing this right. We dont really want kittens, but if we have them then we want to ensure they have proper care very early on. Any other information that you think I should know would be greatly appreciated. @Café Mocha Valencia- While I admit it was my mistake to let her outside while she was unaltered, she did everything in her power to get out. It became frustrating to have to catch her 5+ times a day because she would run past you at the last second, almost getting the door slammed on her in our attempts to keep her in. She also started being insanely mean while indoors, she was an unhappy cat being inside. She was born outside and stayed there until she was 4 months old. She was kept inside until a year ago when I started realizing that "Hey, she hangs around the house, and comes in when she wants. She also doesnt try to attack family members/ the other animals anymore. " I have 3 other cats that are strictly inside, and if I could keep her in all the time, I would but all it was doing was stressing her and I out. As for aborting the kittens, Ive done that before with another cat, and I already mentioned it to the vet tech when I made the appointment. Her stomach has doubled( It cut off the rest of that edit, and I really dont care enough to type it again. Everyone else who answered and wasnt a dick about it, thank you. I'll consult my vet with these questions and more if I have them.

Posted by: Fizzle on 2012-01-30, 22:06:20

I adopted a stray and took her to be spayed. I asked if the vet could spay a pregnant cat (I wasn't sure but she sort of looked it) and they said yes. There are plenty of cats in shelters that can be adopted.

Posted by: Dallas on 2012-01-30, 22:09:16

I'm very glad to see you're taking this very responsibly! But your first 4 questions your vet can answer. And answer with facts behind it to back it up. I HIGHLY recommend spaying/ neutering before they go to homes. Because unfortunately there aren't as many caring owners as yourself out there. And we do not need anymore unwanted animals. If you can't get them fixed that soon, then I would see how long until you can, and try to wait till then. If not, a legal contract is a great idea as well. As for further information, if she happens to be pregnant, find a bathroom/ closet/ laundry room where the mother can deliver and raise her kittens comfortably, and where the temperature can maintain at a warmer degree. Once they are born, please do NOT touch them at first. If help with the delivery is necessary, then so be it. But if you disturb them to much. They mother will carry them around, trying to find a safe place.

Posted by: Café Mocha Valencia on 2012-01-30, 22:10:42

Why did you let your cat free roam KNOWING she wasn't unaltered? However many kittens she has will be that many more kittens PUT TO DEATH at your local shelter when people take your kittens instead of adopting. - she shouldn't be outside AT ALL. Keep her indoors where she belongs. - take her to the vet now and if she's early enough in the pregnancy she can be spayed and the litter aborted. - ask the vet - ask the vet - kittens can be spayed as young as eight weeks. A contract would be pointless as how are you going to know when they don't alter them???? - irrelevant because hopefully you'll be aborting the litter - if she's too far along in the litter to abort then hopefully it'll be less than that. Do you really want to kill five kittens at your local shelter? edit: excuses, excuses, EXCUSES! What's your excuse for not ALTERING her? It could have been done as young as EIGHT WEEKS. Please.

Posted by: Charity on 2012-01-30, 22:12:34

I would limit her outdoor time as the time approaches to birthing, just to be sure she doesnt have her litter outside. Your vet will be able to tell you more about how often she and kittens should be seen. YES!!! Kitten food should be fed to her as soon as you are sure she is expecting and the entire time she is nursing the litter. Kittens cannot be spayed/ neurtered that young, usually around 4-6 months old. I would have new owners sign contract for spaying/ neurtering. I would only monitor the weight if they dont seem to be growing or gaining weight, this will be pretty apparent early on if there is a problem. The number of previous litters has little to no bearing on the number in the litter. I have had first time moms have only one kitten and have had some have as many as 8. The litter size depends on a lot of things but the number of previous litters really wont matter. As far as monitoring the temp, you should start doing this first thing in the morning so you get the "at rest " temp bout 1-2 weeks before due date. Most mothers will begin a "nesting " pattern about a week before giving birth. She will be into every drawer or cabinet she finds open and you will find her searching the strangest spots in your home. This is just her looking for the place she feels is the safest for her new family. She may also move the litter a few times after they are born to be sure no one finds them. This is an instinct to keep her babies safe so dont worry too much about it if this happens.