She's just celebrated her 1st birthday (17th July), and about 5 weeks ago (13th June) I gave her away to a friend. I already had 3 cats, 2 very mature, 1 mature and the "little one" seemed to be a bit boistrous for one of my older cats in particular.

After about 4 days I missed her too much so bought her back home. What a softee.

Now, I'm not exactly sure, but I've noticed the last couple of weeks her belly is getting rounder, her nipples are starting to get more noticeable, and she is lying down differently. More stretched than curled. She is also not so boistrous toward the other cats now.

She has also not come in season in the last 5 weeks at all, she had previously a few times.

So, apparently she's may have had a "good time" with Felix, my friends cat in that 4 day holiday! What is this Club 8 months to 30???

So, do I take it that she's been flaunting it about a bit and I'm gonna be a Cat Daddy in around 4 weeks or what?

(Other 3 cats are all spayed and never got caught.)

Edit: Added picture taken 5 minutes ago HERE (2mb)

Why was she not spayed OP?

I know it cannot change things now but you've had your other 3 done so know the importance of neutering

I would give you vet a quick call to get some general advice (you can probably get some advice online too - IE how long the gestation is, what is best to do for queen and kittens when they arrive etc...)

Make sure you book her in to be spayed as soon as .... She is a very pretty little thing!

(and maybe I am being sensitive but all this talk of "giving away" cat and then taking her back is a little bit )

She wasn't spayed cus she was an indoor cat. But yeah my mistake giving her away.

As for the giving her away and taking her back, it was because she was picking on one of the other cats, however since she has been back that has stopped.

I missed her. She was only gone for 4 days.

She does sound pregnant to me. Though call the vet for general advice etc. THIS thread has lots of advice from other forum members. It may be of some help.


Indoor cats should still be spayed as it isn't really natural to keep them indoors. They may try to escape through an open window etc, particularly when they are in season.

if it turns out that she is pregnant, keep her indoors throughout her pregnancy. Also keep her indoors once she has had the kittens (cats can be pregnant again within 2 weeks of giving birth). Get her spayed as soon as possible.

I hope that helps.

If kitty was gone for 4 days from about 13th June, then due date would be around the 17. August, give or take a few days.

If you are at all unsure about anything, take her to the vets and have her checked over.

Have a nesting box ready for her when it gets closer to the date, possibly 2 or 3, and show them to her. Keep her in a separate room with her food, water and litter tray for the last few days before her due date, keep the other kitties out of there, to not unsettle mum, especially after the kittens are born.

Have at least ready: most importantly your vets phone number in case of emergency, Kitty Stim (colostrum), nutri drops, Cimicat or KMR or Royal Canin replacement milk, mothering kit, gloves, sanitising rub for your hands, paper towels, digital kitchen scales to weigh the babies, do this every 12 hours for the first few days, then every 24. Be off to the vet like a flash if they stagnate or start to lose weight.

And read up on how to be a good kitty midwife. MOST cats will not have any problems, but you never know, anything can and does happen.

Under no circumstances let her out after birth, firstly you don't want to lose mum, secondly, a queen can come back into call immediately after kittening, meaning she could fall pregnant again within a few days of having the babies. As soon as the babies are weaned, get her spayed, she's not only running the risk of pregnancy, but also of illnesses that can be caused by empty calls, such as pyometra.

I can probably think about a few more things you may well need, if I do, I'll let you know

Oh dear

All i can say is poor cat! Being pulled from pillow to post.... maybe the few quid you get off the kittens you can have her spayed with

Yes she is pregnant (photo comfirms IMHO), and no, being an indoor cat isn't a good reason not to get them neutered. Lots of advice here previously about cats having kittens, what a shame we have to revisit the subject.

Still, hope it all goes well - and PLEASE get her neutered once the kittens are 6-8 weeks old - and don't let her out until then. Cats can get pregnant again quite soon after having kittens.

I can do those too.

Lol, you should get over yourself. The cat moved somewhere ONCE, and was brought back to a place she already knew a few days later.

sometimes a pregnant cat may get a bit anxious/aggitated when you pick them up.

cats if not spayed will most certainly fall pregnant at the first opportunity, so it is highly likely that yours has been a little floosey. i think the gestation period for kittens is 9 weeks.

near her due date you should seperate her from the other cats you have, and keep the area quiet as she will become distressed during delivery if not. be aware that the other cats may not tolerate new kittens and may even harm them.

its just like a visit to the cattery when we go on holidays.

Yes i have had litters but there all still here. They are all being spey/neutered apart form garfield. A cat can get pregant straight away. I am trying where i live too get all the ferals neutered/speyed. It took me two weeks too catch one kitten who is around 13 wks he is already getting tamer. On saturday i was brought 2 kittens that a dog found and was realy trying too hurt them. I have no choice too hand rear these little ones. I had too use whiskas milk until a rescue brought me around proper kitten milk replacement they brought it too me at around 11pm as well. They seem too be doing fine and realy tubby for there ages. Not quiet sure if mum came back straight away but they was in danger. I only told you this because the 13wk old is these kittens brother. You must neuter you cats otherwise the cat will get pregnant time and time again. Its also less stress and will make her feel a lot more contented. A female cat will go into season and will carry going into season until she is mated or speyed. I am a cat lover but even i couldnt stand the crying it drove me up the blooming wall.

Wanted to PM but that doesn't seem to be available here.

Oh well... Suggest you do some reading about it all. The FAB is good:

http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/info...rturition.html

And whilst needing help is very unusual with cats, do make sure you have all the information about your vets out-of-hours service - it may be somewhere you have never been before, and an emergency dash with a cat having problems isn't the time to start finding out exactly where it is.

Switch your girl to kitten food now, and keep her on it while she is feeding the kittens.

You've already had the advice to keep her on her own for the last few days until she gives birth, and let her have plenty of bedding. However not anything that kittens could get tangled in - cut-up old towels can be very dangerous. Fleece is great as it's safe and very easy to clean.

Also keep an eye on her as she gives birth and in the few days afterwards - there should be a placenta for each kitten, if she doesn't break the cord you will have to do it (break it, don't cut it) as leaving the kitten attached to the placenta can lead to all sorts of problems.

If you have accurate kitchen scales (the electronic ones that read to a gram are great) give each kitten a quick weigh each day but don't handle them otherwise in the first week or so. It's common to lose some weight in the first couple of days but then they should be putting a measurable amount on each day. The kitten my friend's Siamese had double his birth-weight in his first week, which is typical, and had tripled it at the end of three weeks. Stopping gaining weight is often the first sign of a problem.

In the first week especially they do very little but eat and sleep - if there is a lot of crying they may not be getting enough milk. Again this is very unlikely, but if it does happen bottle-feeding tiny kittens is a real skill as they don't have a cough reflex so it's horribly easy to let milk go down the wrong way.

If you haven't dealt with fleas and worms do so PDQ - the vet can supply products that are safe and effective for pregnant females, and advise on suitable pest control for the kittens. Hopefully her vaccinations are up-to-date - if not discuss that as well with the vets.

Make sure you have a low-entry litter tray for once the kittens arrive - once they start toddling (about 3 weeks) they will start to investigate it, and soon after to use it.

There should be no need for you to wean them so long as suitable food is often available - my friend's kittens used to start by swimming in the wet food and cleaning themselves up afterwards! (they often missed a bit - yuck) We noticed that the biggest litter (8 kittens) started on the food sooner than the small one (6 kittens). BTW these were pedigree British Shorthair kittens.

Once they are 3-4 weeks old visitors are good for them, so long as the visitors are calm and careful where they tread. it's good for the kittens to meet plenty of different people, other animals (if possible) and common household things like vacumn cleaners, brooms, washing machines and so on.

Finally I would never give a kitten away unless to someone I knew very, very well. My view is that firstly rearing kittens costs money - extra cat litter and food for mother and kittens at the very least - and takes time and effort. (OK I confess that once the kittens are playing with each other it's really hard to not watch!)

I'm also of the view that someone who can't afford £50 for a kitten with some planning will be totally unable to afford emergency vet care, should that become necessary. There's no NHS for pets. The RSPCA will give some help to people on benefits, but I'm not sure how much that can be counted on. If the pet became seriously ill it might be necessary to sign it over to a rescue to get it treated - and how upsetting is that? Some people insure, some put the insurance money into a savings account for the cat, some self-insure as they have plenty of savings. But there needs to be some sort of plan about how unexpected vet bills will be dealt with.

Update:
She had 4 kittens on Aug 19th, on my bed!!!...one we couldn't revive sadly despite trying for several minutes, 3 survived birth. I personally saved one by removing the sack from it's face then rubbing her with a towel. She took her first breath shortly after. a fact of which I'm very proud. I even shed a tear of joy.

Mum seemed a bit confused as what to do with the 3rd one while she was concentrating so much on cleaning the others, hence me stepping in to remove the sack.

All 3 remaining kittens were big and strong, maybe due to feeding Mum on kitten food from 3 weeks before birth date, as advised by kind people here?

Mum has been very very good with them, feeding them regularly, cleaning them regularly and sleeping with them regularly. It's amazing how natural it all is to her.

Today, Friday, they ventured outside of the nest. I videoed it and will provide a link.

Mum seems very excited, and although she is not actually hurting the kittens, she "appears" to be biting them, and appears to be a bit rough. But I hasten to add there is no squealing in pain while she does this to them.

I assume this is "normal". Maybe Mum is telling babies, "I'm still the boss and I'm here for you"???

Anyway, all seems very well so far. Now the adventure begins.

They are in my bedroom still (the birthing room), and I have just put a litter tray down with wood based litter for the inevitable investigation stages. lol

Temporary names are Poo, Stink and Smell Pics/Vids to follow.

Thank you to you guys for advice previously. I took it all on board and while I had a friend with m throughout the birth, I still remembered some advice from here.

Link to pics here
http://db.tt/3dNS8WR

There lovely. there big. I would personaly use catsan in the littler tray i always have done. Wait until they realy start too walk about thats the fun part. Your cat looks like a realy good mum too she is doing everything right. I wouldnt let her out until she is speyed though. ITs usual after the kittens have gone too there new homes. Make sure if you do rehome and dont know them please vet them out. Cant wait for more pics.

Great! More kittens brought into the world when there are already so many unwanted in the world.

You didn;t neuter your cat (The indoor excuse doesn't hold) A cat going into season can cause health issues.

Plus your friend hasn;t had her cat castrated

Licences need to be brought in for pet owners. The situation is now beyong a joke.

As much as I like cats (I have 3) I just can't moon over the pictures as these situations make me so angry!

Whoa! What is your problem? I am sure the OP will make sure they go to good homes. If no-one let their cats have kittens then none of us would be lucky enough to have cats, including you!

Amazing pics OP, thanks for sharing.

Feed it a sack, make it crap out the sack and then throw the sack into the nearest river

Finding good homes are pretty hard these days actually. Ask most rescue centres.They have many kittens who have been in rescue for over a year!

My VET was turned down by a cattery because she works. And I have heard many more people tell similar tales. People who absolutely adore cats and would willingly have them.

It's a shame this thread got soured by some of the comments, I think they are lovely little things. Do you know yet if they are boys or girls?

Got to agree with you here. Rescue places are getting way to fussy and would rather keep a cat than let it go to a loving home that might not meet all its criteria.

My local rspca is threatened with been shut down. They have over 120 animals in with only 30 been reserved. There criteria is too restricted i thnk.

That is so true. Whilst looking for paid work a few months ago tried to volunteer at my local RSPCA. All I got was a lecture for allowing my cat to have kittens.

I wouldn't have minded so much but when looking for a kitten, we contacted them numerous times but they never answered the phone or got back to us when we left messages. I felt so angry when I put the phone down.