I’ve been trapping and neutering my way through a local feral colony and I just trapped one of the pregnant girls. My experience with pregnant cats is nil so I have a couple of questions. I’m trying to get a hold of the local feral lady but no luck yet.
Kitty is pretty round and plump. Is it safe to assume that she hasn’t had the litter yet? Would it be obvious to me (flaccid/saggy belly) that the kittens have already been born? I sure wouldn’t want them to be out there without her.
Any idea how long a cat is pregnant before she really starts to show? I realize it would depend on the inidividual. She’s a tiny girl and I first noticed her condition around April 20th.
Thanks in advance. This is a nickel and dime operation so I can’t just run her down to the local vet and pop her under an ultrasound. [sub](They aren’t very thrilled with us doing this anyway).[/sub]
[QUOTE=Gulo gulo]
I’ve been trapping and neutering my way through a local feral colony QUOTE]
Sorry to hijack. Why? Not that I think it’s a bad or good idea, I just don’t know why anyone would want to do that.
I live in an area where cats are completely disposable and not worth fixing. The local population is exploding and I just want to do my part in keeping this in check.
I’m just starting out at this myself but there’s a few people in the area giving me advice. They adopt out suitable cats and re-release the ones that are too wild.
It’s thankless, frustrating and sad but I’ve been working/volunteering for rescues for years and I can’t seem to get myself out of it, heh.
(I quit rescue for years, not able to handle the stress anymore. Recently, a family friend died and when I found out that he had taken it upon himself to rescue his local ferals, I felt inspired to give rescue another chance and do the same.)
I’m no expert, but I did have a pregnant cat once.
I found:
Cats are pregnant for roughly two months. I could see a difference in her size after one month. I would say that your kitty may have as little as two weeks or less to go, especially as I was fully aware that my cat was probably pregnant and was watching for changes.
Once my cat had her litter, she immediately looked smaller. I was shocked at how skinny she appeared to be when she got out of the birthing box several hours after her three kittens were born.
This is hearsay, but I’ve heard that she can get pregnant again right away. So, if population control is your goal, keep her sequestered for a while afterward, at least untill you can get her safely fixed.
I bred pedigreed cats for many years and have presided over probably 25 litters. Cats are pregnant about 63 days. If she is plump and round, I’d say she’s within a week of delivery. I no longer breed cats, in part, because I realize the terrible overpopulation problem, and though I made sure all my babies went to good homes, I feel badly that I contributed.
She could theoretically be spayed at this point, this would mean that the kittens would be sacrificed, which may or may not be considered humane. I would not want to do that - the kittens are virtually full term, and it would be almost the same as drowning them at birth, but I could see that if you feel they couldn’t find good homes, you may feel that’s preferable.
Cats give birth very easily and almost all have fantastic mothering instincts. If you are willing to allow her kittens to be born, and she is not TOO wild, the experience of giving birth and raising her litter in the company and care of a loving human might very well settle the mama down and make her more adoptable. The kittens would certainly NOT be wild if raised with humans. Little domestic kitty brains are hard-wired to bond with humans, and kittens take to it naturally. There are few things more delightful than watching litter of kittens grow and thrive. They are endlessly amusing.
The mama will probably appear restless just before giving birth, and she will look for a dark hidden corner to nest in. I always got a large cardboard box and put a towel and a thin flannel blanket in the bottom, about a week before I expected the babies. You don’t want to put too much padding in because the mama will get hot and uncomfortable. I would put mama into the box from time to time pet her there. If she jumps right out - that was fine. But it will be familiar to her when the time comes.
My mama cats were all pets of mine, and so they would usually come to me to let me know when they were in labor. I would then put mama in the box and pet her and talk to her to keep her there. I put the box in a room where I could close the door and keep her confined, because sometimes the mama will decide the box just WILL NOT DO and she’ll go on a frantic search for a more suitable place. Under my chest of drawers or bed would sometimes be more preferable which was OK with me, because they were still accessible.
I would be happy to supply you with a full rundown on kitty obstetrics if you like - just let me know. It suddenly occured to me that I may be giving you more information than you want. It’s not as scary as you might think, and since this is probably the mama’s first litter (at least I got the impression that she’s quite young) she will probably only have between 1-3 kitties. If she will let you rest your hand on her belly for a while - you will probably be able to feel them move. I fed my mamas Purina Kitten Chow while they were pregnant and they all produced healthy vigorous litters - only lost 3 kittens out of all of them!
I just want to add that she won’t go into heat until the kittens are weaned - you can wean them as early as 6 weeks (a little too young in my opinion) 8 weeks is common, but they will naturally wean at between 4 and 5 months. The mama might go into heat soon after, or she might not - especially if this is her first litter. My mamas typically did not go into heat for almost a year after their first litter.
I finally tracked down my feral cat mentor and she assured me that the kitty is still “load-bearing” so I can finally relax.
I realize that we could spay her now but, like you, I’m not comfortable with doing that at this point. What I will be doing is working with her and socializing her kittens when they come. I am fortunate that there’s a woman close by who will help me out as I’ve never had to deal with newborns before. (Eek!)
Once they’re old enough to leave mom, they’ll go to the kitten lady in the group for early fixing and adopting. The mother will then be fixed and evaluated.
So thanks again. I truly appreciate the advice. I will now be able to sleep tonight.
Well, a feral cat can generally not be put into a home and be a friendly pet. In areas with feral colonies, unless the animals are sterilised and re-released, they will continue to breed - and a cat population can explode if permitted - with commeasurate damage to local bird populations. And of course such cats will live short, miserable lives.
One might of course trap and destroy these animals, but many people do not want to kill when they can sterilise and prevent future litters of kittens.
I think this is a marvelously humane and kind thing for you to be doing. Kudos to everyone involved. I’m glad there are people out there who care so much.
(BTW, I can’t imagine why a vet would object to your doing this. I can see why some might see it as hopeless or otherwise not worth doing, but I can’t think of any reason at all why anyone would be less than thrilled that you’re doing it. Except maybe annoyance at the guilt they feel for not doing it themselves.)
I just want to applaud your work. When I first got started in Danes, I did rescue work for a bit, and at times it’s really heartbreaking.
I brought up the thread prepared to offer advice, because my mother wouldn’t allow dogs, but didn’t object to cats, so I was a “cat person” as a child by default. However, I see that someone with much more cat experience had already filled the gap.
I do agree with violet9 that she sounds like a very young queen. In an area with a large feral population, there is practically zero probability that any queen in that area will escape being bred upon each and every heat. <hey, why don’t we have a “sad” smilie?>
Unless she’s the result of several generations of feral cats, there is a good possibility that she will become tame enough to adopt, instead of having to be spayed and re-released.
Good luck, and please don’t forget that there are other animal lovers who applaud your dedication to the heartbreaking and frustrating struggle to keep up with all the animal owners (not pet lovers) who seem able to put more helpless animals out to kill or starve, with the survivors adding to the problem through reproduction.
Actually, you should try NOT to do anything much to “deal with newborns”.
Just do the basic checking to see that they are alright after birth – awake, moving, eating, etc. After that, leave them alone in their dark little hide-away place, and concentrate on taking care of mama cat. She will take good care of the babies on her own.
If you do too much “dealing” with them, mama cat will decide that this nest is too ‘public’ a location, and she will move them to someplace else that is more private (less accessible). You don’t want that, probably.
Don’t worry about the kittens being wild. As soon as they grow up a bit, they will start to explore, and will quickly grow accustomed to you, and will then ‘explore’ all over you, your chair, your bed, etc.
I feel obligated to touch on the reasons why I always advise spaying the pregnant cats that I see.
Pregnancies in cats do not all end with vaginal deliveries, just as is the case in humans. What will you do if at 2 a.m. it becomes apparent that a Cesarean section is needed? I charge $65 to spay a cat. I charge $800 to $1200 for an emergency C-section. The only humane alternative to surgery in many cases is euthanasia, and in my experience many people do not have the funds needed for an emergency section.
If there is a normal delivery, keep in mind that not all queens have good “mothering” instincts, especially with a first litter. Be prepared for a litter that needs bottle/tube fed. Neonatal mortality is common. Is the queen FeLv tested?
If all goes well and you end up with 6 healthy kittens that need homes, that is great. However, if you consider the pet population problem on the whole, then you need to realize the consequences of these six kittens entering the “pet market”. If you find homes for all six that means six homes that may have adopted from shelters are now full. Your six new kittens have an impact on the population as a whole. Saving your six may mean six others will die.
If the kittens end up in great homes and are spayed/neutered that is fine. Realistically however, keep in mind that if a single kitten is not spayed, the impact on the overall population can be huge. Cats are efficient in the reproduction department.
These are the reasons why I urge people to spay pregnant queens right up to the point of delivery.
You make some good points, Vet. I think it might have to be an agree to disagree point; I’d shell out the 2 grand for an emergency c-section if I had to, yes, even for a feral cat.
Yay for those of you who help track feral populations and keep them spayed and neutered.
My folks have been doing this a while and have a batch of partially feral cats ‘permanently’ living out of their garage … everytime they bring a friend home, we trap them and fix them. Last two cats they ‘brought home’, however, were already fixed … bizzare but true.
She had her kittens on Saturday morning. I watched for a little bit to see if she was ok (cleaning up the afterbirth/severing the cord etc) and felt she was doing well so let her be.
I have no idea how many kittens she’s had but it looks like five or six. She’s extremely protective and growls a bit when I’m taking too long cleaning her litter box or leaving her food. When she’s out the carrier, her tail goes up when I talk to her which is potentially a good sign.
<hey, why don’t we have a “sad” smilie?>