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I recently took in a 2 year old Maine Coon and realized about 3 weeks ago that she was pregnant. I have no idea what type of cat shes breed with or the health of the stray. The previous owners said that she had gotten out several times.
I have made the queen a box with pillows and placed it in a quiet part of the house. She shows no signs of distress. My question is, What on earth should I do when she delivers the kittens? I have only had fixed Tom cats and never females, so I am really new at this.
I also have a fixed male Tabby and a dog, all which stay in the house. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Cats generally take care of things themselves, including giving birth.
If she appears healthy, I would just make her a quiet place and let her know where its at. don't let her outside until the kittens come, its their instinct to seek out a safe place to deliver, she could wander off.
Create a safe, dark place, like inside a closet for her.
I've had three cats present me with litters, they usually don't need any help. My last mama cat had 5 kittens, all born fat little furballs and squaking up a storm, it frightened the mama, she was barely a kitten herself, I took mama and cuddled her and petted the kittens, when she smelled my scent on the kittens she felt comfortable with them.
You might try googling for clips of kittens being born to get more familiar with the "process".
One thing you need to do is give mama plenty of food and water, my last mama ate up a storm right before the kittens came. Also, she will need plenty of food and water while nursing.
Gestation is about 63 days...give or take a few days. I would get a book and start reading up...most times the animal does all the work, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. You'll want to have a heating pad ready for the little ones, lots of towels and paper towels. It can get messy, but not any where near as bad as a dog gets. Some scissors in case you need to cut cords and some white thread to tie the cord off (if it is needed) Also some alcohol to sterilize the scissors.
Week or so before she is ready, she will start to "nest" ripping apart her box..(You may want to re-think those pillows if they are something you want to keep). She may or may not decide to use the box...She's going to have them where she wants to have them!
It is not uncommon for kittens to be born breach...so don't freak. But you do need to know when a cat is in distress and a vet should be called. One never knows when a C-section must be done! Have the vets # handy.
Each kitten will be born in it's own little sac. Usually the mama cat will tear into the sac and start to clean...she needs to do this in order to get the kitten to start breathing. If she doesn't , you will have to break the sac, cut the cord and clear the nostrils so the kitten can breathe. Many times, the Mama cat is too busy with the previous kitten and neglects to do this.
After kittens are born, it is very important they are kept warm. Kittens do not have the ability to "shiver" in order to keep themselves warm.
Last edited by ShelbyGirl1; 06-18-2009 at 09:22 PM..
Reason: added text
Just curious...how far along do you think she is? You wouldn't feel any movement until close to the end. You may also want to put her on some high quality kitten chow.
Just curious...how far along do you think she is? You wouldn't feel any movement until close to the end. You may also want to put her on some high quality kitten chow.
When my cats were ready to deliver you could tell. They acted miserable! Pnated, drug their poor bellies on the ground, didn't want to jump or be picked up, you could tell they were more than ready to get those kittens out!
I have had two litters from different cats. They both went into my closet. They go where they are safe. so leave doors to closets and safe cupboards open when she gets near. When they get near, they will walk from place to place and I think that is more humane and secure for the momma than confining them in one place. My first kitty went into the corner of the closet, but cried for me before the births began. I brought a bolster into the closet to put between us and block off her private place and laid down with her so she wasn't alone. I talked gently to her and petted her paws. When the first kitten came, she didn't need me anymore so I went back to bed. My other cat had her kittens just before I came home. In both cases, when the cats came out of their birthing place, I rubbed them down with a warm cloth, gave them their favorite food and let them out.
The most unusual thing I experienced was with the first cat. The Tom cat cried at the door for two days. Finally I decided to let him in and see if the female wanted him to see the kittens. I figured, if she didn't she would tell him to get lost and I would back her up and get him out. She met him at the door and led him to the bedroom and to the birthplace. He looked at the kittens and laid down near them and slept. Later on, when there was only one kitten left and the female was fixed, he came by almost every day and played with the boy kitten and laid down and slept with the female and the baby. That was truly unusual behavior based on what limited knowledge of cats I had. My other female was born a ferrel cat. After 3 days, she moved her babies under the covered table next to the couch where I usually sat and went outside. I assumed that meant I was Grandma. It was a lot to raise them, because she wasn't exactly as attentive as she should be, but her 7 kitties were really beautiful and found homes immediately. I don't think I would let any more female cats have litters, but those were priceless experiences I wouldn't miss for anything.
One thing you have to pay special attention to is to feed you cat as much food and water as she will take. Be sure to provide a small cat box for the kittens after a couple of weeks. When they are ready they will use it. Also have plenty of water. When the kittens reach about 3 weeks, start feeding them canned kitten food by putting little bits around the edge of a saucer so they can easily lick it off. Also buy a piece of steak or beef and partially freeze it and scrape it with a spoon to pull out the meat without the connecting tissue and bring it to room temp and feed it to the kitties the same way. Next will come a good quality kitten chow with water.
You need to start handling the kittens as soon as the mother will allow it. That will socialize them and get them ready to have their new homes.
Be sure to praise your new momma on a job well done and let her know how proud of her you are. By all means, please post some pics of the new babies.
Because the first kitten is born without problems, does not mean the rest will. We have had numerous litters in the cattery and believe me...things can go from everything is normal to vet time! The last litter went without a hitch...but before that...one, the last kitten refused to be born...she went 10 hrs without producing a kitten! No stress...just slight contractions...we had been in constant contact with the vet and we finally decided to bring her in...She needed a C-section after delivering 4 successfully. Had we not been there, the kitten would have died and possibly Mom too.
Next litter, different Queen...mind you...these were both expeirenced Moms....same scenerio....delivered 3 kittens..this time contractions stopped all together, but we knew there were at least 2 more waiting to be born. This time, she needed to be induced....kittens were in stress...one ended up dying.
My point is don't take it for granted that every thing is fine! We've had kittens just about suffocate because Mom didn't rip the bag open soon enough, we've had kittens near mutalated, because Mom gets too aggressive in tearing open the bag. I don't mean to scare you by any means, but be prepared for the worse, and you'll do fine.
Letting any other animal near them is asking for trouble with the Queen. Most likely, she'll be very protective. Plus she doesn't need the stress of protecting her brood with all that she has just gone through. Toms will almost always instinctively kill. Remember, they look like litte rats at this point!
We have never had a Queen NOT let us handle her babies from the start...but remember to wash your hands if you have other animals. And don't let others handle or even visit for the first few weeks.
(Sorry if I'm rambling, but I'm typing as things pop into my head!)
If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or PM me...I take alot of this for granted, so I may have missed something!
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