# What's the best food to feed a pregnant cat?



## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I'm asking on behalf of my friend. He found a pregnant cat (possibly preg for about a month) under his porch. He was thinking of adopting a kitten, so thought it would be great if he can take care of the cat and then take one (or two) of the newborn. He is not sure what to feed her. I only knows that preg cat should eat kitten food, but what's the best option? The cat is currently getting half can of holistic select kitten each day and free feed of wellness core dry (all stage). 

Also he want to rabis vaccine the cat, but not sure if its ok for a pregnant cat?


----------



## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I wouldn’t vaccinate this cat while its pregnant. Wellness is a decent food. I would be feeding her kitten food dry and wet. She needs the calories. Another food is kitten Evo which is rich but good. Sometimes the good foods are too rich to start with if the cat is malnourished.


----------



## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

From what I heard, the cat was on skinny side but not look like malnourished. She is also well behaved so far (scared for sure but no biting/scraching yet). We suspect she is someones pet that got lost.

My friend has a 7 year old daughter who is desperate to pet the cat. But my friend won't let her near the cat unless the cat is rabis vaccined. (Of course, my friend also doesn't feel comfortable to himself.) If the cat cannot be vaccined now, what's the earlist time it can be done? Does that have to wait until kittens are weaned? I could imagine it will be a HUGE disappointment to the girl if she cannot pet the kittens until they are 8 weeks old (under parent supervision, of course).


----------



## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Tell your friend he is over reacting. If this cat has rabies it would be showing signs of it. I’m not a huge fan of vaccinating. It’s so hard on a cat’s immune system. I would vaccinate after the kittens are born and about 12 weeks stop the mother from nursing. Let its milk dry up and take it in to be spayed. I would let it recover from the spay and then do the rabies and vaccination. That way she will be in maximum condition to handle the vacs.


----------



## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

To my knowledge, animal can carry rabies for years before showing signs. But I agree with you that he is overreacting since such case is rare and one can only get infected up to 7 days before the carrier show signs. So if the cat looks normal for a week, it should be ok. But you know, ppl can be over protective when it comes to their kids. I will try to talk into him 

Any other suggestions on the food, or any "tips" on taking care of preg cat?


----------



## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

I fed my pregnant kitty Innova cat & kitten formula. It is pretty high in calories, good ingredients and a good deal since it comes in the big 13 oz cans(A pregnant momma eats a lot!) I don't normally feed dry food, but because of my schedule I could only feed her canned 3 times a day. I wanted to be sure she was getting enough calories so I left out wellness dry kitten formula for her as well. 

Definately no vaccines while pregnant! I know that the distemper vaccine can cause a birth defect cause cerebellar hypoplasia. I am not sure of the risks of rabies vaccine but not worth the risk. And if the cat already has rabies the vaccine is not going to do anything.

I took my girl in to be dewormed while she was still nursing and my vet wanted to do vaccines then, but I told him I wanted to wait. Some say it is safe while nursing, some say not. But why risk it?

I agree that the risk of this cat having rabies is low...I was bit by my cat right after I brought her inside, and she had not been vaccinated. The county policy here is that I had to keep her quarantined for 10 days, and if she has no symptoms then I am in the clear. Here it is from the website:

"The risk of rabies from bites inflicted by apparently healthy dogs, cats, ferrets can be dismissed if the animal is confined (usually by the owner) and observed as healthy for the prescribed 10 days following the bite. No person in the United States has ever contracted rabies from a dog, cat or ferret which has been held in quarantine for 10 days."

I would , however be careful with a pregnant cat around children. They can be hormonal and unpredictable.... My momma was extremely loving, she would jump on my lap and rub all over me...and with NO warning she would snap and hiss and bite. She has not done this since she had her kitten, so I chalk it up to hormones.


----------



## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

As a generalisation, I'm not keen on vaccines wile cats are pregnant or nursing but I am so glad tat rabies isn't a factor to worry about for me.


----------



## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

A high quality (grain free) wet food is a good choice. If the cat is fed dry food, it should be a kitten formula.

About vaccination, your friend should talk to a vet. She shouldn't be vaccinated while pregnant but when she's had her kittens she should be vaccinated against panleukopenia and rabies, at the least. The kittens don't have to be weaned and when it comes to panleukopenia it's very important that the mother is vaccinated as soon as possible since panleukopenia is a major kitten killer. 

I'd take her to the vet for a general check up and vaccinations when she's had her kittens and she's nursing them well. Maybe 3-4 weeks after they've been born?


----------

