Pregnant barn cat *update* We have kittens!

[Squawkbox]

Haha I so am!
I've got chicks coming and have 2, 6 month old kittens, but that's the extent of my baby animals. I wish many animals would stay babies! SO CUTE!!

 

[LaynaDon95]

I know it! Except my puppy... She can stay cute, but she better get out of this teething stage quick. She chewed up my favorite earbuds!!! >:\ But she's still adorable.

 

[ChickenPrnces]

That's great! Only suggestion would be to take out that sheet until after the birth! It will get covered in all the birthing goo during! That's what the paper is for! Put it back after all the babies are out and mom has cleaned up the mess! The laundry room is great! It will be nice and warm in there for them!

Ok, I just made her a birthing box. We have decided to bring her into the laundry room when it comes time for the birth. As of now I have sprinkled food in the box to help encourage ger to go into it and I will feed her meals to her in it also.
Here it is. Good? Any suggestions?

 

[Squawkbox]

That sucks! I hate teething stages! My one female German Shepherd practically ate the dog kennel, and about 5 dog beds when she was little. Glad not my headphones though

.
Just wondering, have you felt the kittens kick in the momma's stomach yet??

I know it! Except my puppy... She can stay cute, but she better get out of this teething stage quick. She chewed up my favorite earbuds!!! >:\ But she's still adorable.

 

[LaynaDon95]

That's great! Only suggestion would be to take out that sheet until after the birth! It will get covered in all the birthing goo during! That's what the paper is for! Put it back after all the babies are out and mom has cleaned up the mess! The laundry room is great! It will be nice and warm in there for them!

Ok, will do. Thank you. I put it in so she could find the food for now, but I probably would have left it in for the birth. Will I have to take out the paper?

 

[LaynaDon95]

That sucks! I hate teething stages! My one female German Shepherd practically ate the dog kennel, and about 5 dog beds when she was little. Glad not my headphones though

.
Just wondering, have you felt the kittens kick in the momma's stomach yet??

Maggie prefers shoes for the most part. -_- And anything wood. She took a small log when I wasn't looking and dragged it into her kennel. That was funny to find later. She has approximately 4,598.5 sticks strewn about the yard. My mother was a little unhappy to say the least when she found the door frame chewed up... yeah.

I haven't felt any movement in her stomach yet, but she doesn't exactly hold still for me to check. I'm going to use a stethoscope on her soon and see if I can hear anything. I hope I do!

 

[PitterPaws]

Quote:Originally Posted by LaynaDon95

Ok, will do. Thank you. I put it in so she could find the food for now, but I probably would have left it in for the birth. Will I have to take out the paper?





After the kittens are born and cleaned up by the mother cat you will have to remove the old used paper and replace with new clean paper.

You should have food down at all times for Mother cat, when pregnant she will eat alot of food, also have water down at all times as well.

It probably would be best to have the food in a bowl outside of the birthing box.

Your Cat Is Beautiful!! Can't wait to see the Kittens! Good Luck!

 

[LaynaDon95]

After the kittens are born and cleaned up by the mother cat you will have to remove the old used paper and replace with new clean paper.

You should have food down at all times for Mother cat, when pregnant she will eat alot of food, also have water down at all times as well.

It probably would be best to have the food in a bowl outside of the birthing box.

Your Cat Is Beautiful!! Can't wait to see the Kittens! Good Luck!

Thank you. We have plenty of paper around here so that won't be a problem.
I'm going to put the food outside the box when it's time for her to deliver. I'm only feeding her inside it to get her used to being inside the box and feeling safe inside it. That way she will be more likely to go in it to give birth.

The hard part will be keeping her in the laundry room for so long. She doesn't bear confinement well, but hopefully she will want to stay with her kittens.
She's not litter box trained so how am I going to deal with her messes while she's inside? She will have to be in there for a few days before she gives birth as well as afterwards.

 

[ailurophile23]

The birthing box looks nice - and feeding her in it now will really help get her used to it. It is SO awesome that you can even pick her up and have her on your lap for a short while - she will likely have fewer problems with you looking in on her during the birth since she accepts this much already - keep up the good work!! Most of the pregnant cats I have known delivered when no one was around, had no problems, and were very attentive mothers. Definitely give the mom-to-be extra food and even switch her to kitten food now - she needs the calories and if she is really that small/young, she needs them even more. A suggestions for the birthing box - go to the thrift store and get some old towels (preferably light in color) and use those with some sheets of newspaper under them - these are much easier to slip out when they become soiled and can be thrown away/composted or washed. I have lots of "critter towels" at my house for just such purposes. I conceptually like the idea of shredded newspaper for the "nest" as it is soft and supportive, but I would be afraid a kitten might get lost in it or tangled or possibly even cut. And make sure you have a litter box in the laundry room if you are going to keep the mama inside towards the end of her pregnancy.

As for shots and neutering/spaying, definitely start calling around to your local vet/humane society/animal rescue group now to see if anyone has low cost options available - and if you want to place the kittens, many groups have waiting lists but are able to provide some other resources (like advertising) while you wait. I fostered a momma kitty with three beautiful day-old babies one year - with the help fo the local humane society, the mom was adopted first (when the kittens were 8 weeks old) and then all three kittens were adopted shortly thereafter. And that shredded paper that you don't use in the birthing box makes a great starter litter for kittens - they tend to play in it but eventually figure out what they should use it for.

She is a gorgeous tortiose shell kitty - good luck to you both!

 

[LaynaDon95]

The birthing box looks nice - and feeding her in it now will really help get her used to it. It is SO awesome that you can even pick her up and have her on your lap for a short while - she will likely have fewer problems with you looking in on her during the birth since she accepts this much already - keep up the good work!! Most of the pregnant cats I have known delivered when no one was around, had no problems, and were very attentive mothers. Definitely give the mom-to-be extra food and even switch her to kitten food now - she needs the calories and if she is really that small/young, she needs them even more. A suggestions for the birthing box - go to the thrift store and get some old towels (preferably light in color) and use those with some sheets of newspaper under them - these are much easier to slip out when they become soiled and can be thrown away/composted or washed. I have lots of "critter towels" at my house for just such purposes. I conceptually like the idea of shredded newspaper for the "nest" as it is soft and supportive, but I would be afraid a kitten might get lost in it or tangled or possibly even cut. And make sure you have a litter box in the laundry room if you are going to keep the mama inside towards the end of her pregnancy.

As for shots and neutering/spaying, definitely start calling around to your local vet/humane society/animal rescue group now to see if anyone has low cost options available - and if you want to place the kittens, many groups have waiting lists but are able to provide some other resources (like advertising) while you wait. I fostered a momma kitty with three beautiful day-old babies one year - with the help fo the local humane society, the mom was adopted first (when the kittens were 8 weeks old) and then all three kittens were adopted shortly thereafter. And that shredded paper that you don't use in the birthing box makes a great starter litter for kittens - they tend to play in it but eventually figure out what they should use it for.

She is a gorgeous tortiose shell kitty - good luck to you both!

Thank you for your advice! We have tones of old towels around here I could use. I like that idea. Do you think she would use a litter box without being trained? If it's her only option then I guess, but I don't know she'll be inside long enough for me to really train her to use it. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll be getting kitten food either today or tomorrow.