# Hi, my name is Maria and I have a pregnant kitty!



## Mariakitten (Jul 23, 2016)

First off Hi, nice to meet some fellow cat lovers! Secondly I don't agree with not spaying and neutering your animals. All of mine are and we actually had an appointment to get her spayed when we found out she was pregnant! She must have escaped at some point. They all will have awesome homes with family members of mine. Just a question as I have no idea when she escaped, can anyone give me a guesstimate of how far along she is? I'll post a picture! 
Thanks!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Welcome! Depending how many kittens she has in her, could be one month or six weeks. Are her teats leaking any milk? Then she may have them even sooner. Really hard to tell just from a photo, but that's my best guess.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

If she was in to see a vet they should have been able to give you a pretty good idea of how long until she has the kittens.

Her nipples have lost the hair around them, so it's possible she's due soon. Feel her teats so see if there's milk in them, they'll feel full and warm. If she's got milk you're likely within 24 hours of kittens. You may also notice some discharge from her vulva in the 24-12 hours before she gives birth.

No matter what, I'd set her up in a safe place to have the kits. Put her in a quiet bedroom or spare room, with 2-3 boxes of various sizes. Put a blanket or towel (one you won't mind throwing out...) in each box, or you can put a towel inside a pillowcase. It'll get messy no matter what, but give her several options.

She should NOT be loose in your home. She could get out again without your knowledge, or decide to have the kittens some where inconvenient like under a bed, or behind the washer. She also needs to be kept separately from your other pets as she'll likely become very protective once she's given birth.

If you've got a number of people in the house I follow a basic rule for kitten visitors. The person Mumma is closest with gets to do kitten care; weighing the kittens twice a day and recording their weights. For the first week they should only be held twice a day for weights, and only take out one or two kittens at a time. For the first week there should never be more than 2 people in her room, and those should be people who live in the house.

In the second week you can have one visitor at a time, along with the Mum's person. Again though, the kittens should only be coming out one or two at a time (always leave mum a kitten or two in the box, it'll help her stay calm), and only for very short periods of time.

Some mother cats become extremely protective, and (even if they're otherwise friendly) won't allow anyone near their kittens. This is another great reason to have her confined; it'll make it much easier to manage her compared to if she goes 'full momma mode' and is loose in the house.

Honestly, most of the time everything goes well. But know the route to the nearest e-vet well and be ready to go if you need to. Keep a close eye on the kitten's weights, feed mum as much as she wants - she needs to be put on kitten food now, both wet and dry - and spoil her.

Good luck!


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## Mariakitten (Jul 23, 2016)

Thanks for the advice! I'm hoping she has them soon. She's been peaking around and climbing in unusual places so I think she's looking for a nest. I set up some boxes in a few different places so I'm hoping she will choose one of those! I don't really feel any "milk," but I'm not sure what I'm feeling for really. she doesn't seem to have an appetite the last few days. She gets excited when she hears the can but once it's in front of her she will take a bite then just leave as if uninterested. I bought some dry kitten food because I hear it's good for pregnant cats and she will nibble but seems to become uninterested fairly quickly.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

If she's not eating much and looking for a nest she's likely pretty close.

You should really confine her to one room, if it's her first litter she may try to move the kittens around which can be a problem. She'll feel safer, the kittens will be protected, and you'll be able to better supervise what's going on.


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