# New here! Need information for pregnant kitty



## candyshroomz (Mar 25, 2006)

ok ive been posting on many different message boards/forums and looking at every cat pregnancy book and website i can find. but i would like some more information from others who have been through birth. you can never have too much information i think! so here are some questions:
What should i look for to know when shes going in to labor?
How can you tell if she starts lactating? do they always lactate before birth?
what should her temperature be? i heard that it drops, but around what temp should it actually be and how long will it be until she goes into labor after it drops?
how do you know when the belly "drops"? ive heard this term many times but i dont know what it actually is supposed to look like.

anything else helpful anyone would like to add is also appreciated! she should be due to give birth anytime now so i just want to be as prepared as i can be and have as much information as i can get! thanks!


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## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

*What should i look for to know when shes going in to labor?* The mucus plug is usually a sign that labour is coming, but the mucus plug might "drop" one week or an hour before labour so it's not a sure sign on its own. The belly should drop about 24 hours before labour. When the female has dropped her belly it hangs more than stands out.:wink: I've never taken the temperature on my females, but you can do that but make sure you start to take her temperature on day 50-55 so you know her normal temperature.
*How can you tell if she starts lactating? do they always lactate before birth?* Weigh the kittens daily and you'll know if the mother produces milk. It's only natural for the kittens to lose weight (or stand still) the first 24-48 hours. The milk isn't there from the beginning, only the colostrum and the colostrum is a very small amount of milk. The milk production in stimulated by the kittens suckling the nipples so that's why the babies might lose weight in the beginning.

Make sure you have the telephone number to a good vet available. You'll probably never have to gp to the vet, but if you do you don't wanna have to look for the number. Make sure it's the number to a vet that's open at nights and weekends.

If you know someone that's got experience on cat births, have the telephone number to that person availabe to. You feel so much more safe when you have experienced people available.


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## mykittytoodles (Feb 2, 2006)

My kitty, Jasmine, has her kittens last Sat. I noticed that she had dropped Thurs. evening. Also, during the day and evening that Fri. she was very whiney and wouldnt let me out of her site. She must have gone into labor sometime early Sat. morning, when we got up at 7am, she had already given birth to two kittens.


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