Ahhhhh, I'm having kittens

[rodheadlee]

Our two feral female kittens are having kittens. Anyways we didn't think they were that far along. We have an old travel trailer in back and I just got to hinges put on the plywood cover in the old door and the old cat poop scooped out. Then one of the expectant mothers dropped a kitten right on the back porch. It happened so fast, I scared her coming out the back door with more catfood. Neither one of us had a clue what was going on. Luckily I had a box and a blankie ready for her to go into and we finally got her into the trailer and in her Nursery box. But so far she's only had one kitten and it's been several hours. My question is can she have a preemie kitten and the rest will come later? How soon should I take her to the vet for a C-section if no more kittens arrive? It's her first litter and I don't think she knew what to do but eventually she started cleaning it and nursing it and they look healthy. We haven't had kittens for 30 years so we are way out of touch.

[Calm]

I know nothing about kittens, but apparently the resting stage of interrupted birth can be up to 24 to 36 hours.

https://icatcare.org/advice/difficult-cat-birth/

Quote

Interrupted labour

So-called interrupted labour is common enough in the cat to be considered a normal occurrence. In this case, when one or more kittens have been born, the mother will cease straining and rest quite happily, suckling those kittens already born. She will accept food and drink and is in every way completely normal except that it is obvious from her size and shape, and the presence of foetal movement, that there are still kittens waiting to be born. Some rather dependent cats will deliberately delay or interrupt labour if the owner has to go out. This resting stage may last up to 24 or even 36 hours, after which straining recommences and the remainder of the litter is born quite normally and easily.

 

[rodheadlee]

8 hours ago, Calm said:

I know nothing about kittens, but apparently the resting stage of interrupted birth can be up to 24 to 36 hours.

https://icatcare.org/advice/difficult-cat-birth/

 

Thanks, she had 2 more last nite. I wonder how you tell when she's done?

[Rain]

With it being 8 hours later I don't know what has gone on since and I don't know a lot about cats so take this for what it is worth.  Saying one was born on the porch reminds me of my own experience. 

We had a stray cat come around and it wasn't too long after that when we discovered it was pregnant.  My kids started calling it Big Mama. 

One day we came home and on our back deck she was racing around desperately and trying to get in the house. She had never wanted in the house before (I thought). After just a few minutes she had a kitten and settled. 

Well, we soon learned why she was trying to get in the house. She had had another kitten in my daughter's bed and we had been gone several hours.  Apparently, my daughter had been letting her in through her bedroom window and somehow in the process the window had been closed between her having it and her going back out the window and us leaving.  We had been gone several hours.

We watched her quite a while and figured she was only having two. We put out a box with soft things and moved the kittens to it, not knowing we were not supposed to move them.  Several hours later she had moved them to our window well and had a third. 

So I know, personally, they can be born several hours apart, but I don't know how common that is or not. 

 

[Rain]

6 minutes ago, rodheadlee said:

Thanks, she had 2 more last nite. I wonder how you tell when she's done?

Posting at the same time.  We only knew Big Mama was done when overnight and didn't have more. I wondered about feeling her to see if there were more in there, but I didn't want to make her anxious and move her kittens to a new places. 

We ended up opening that window there a little and putting a space heater there as it was starting to get cold.  We kept her there for several weeks till a no kill shelter was able to take all 4 of them.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, rodheadlee said:

Thanks, she had 2 more last nite. I wonder how you tell when she's done?

https://www.catster.com/guides/how-to-tell-if-cat-still-has-kittens-inside/#:~:text=After each kitten is born,are probably more kittens inside.

https://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-a-Cat-Still-Has-Kittens-Inside

Edited April 20, 2024 by Calm

[Rain]

How goes it with mamas and kittens?

[rodheadlee]

3 hours ago, Rain said:

How goes it with mamas and kittens?

She had 3 and they're doing fine but we think they're all three preemies. The other cat is getting ready to burst like a balloon and she's much bigger and they're the same age and probably got pregnant around the same time. She won't let us catch her so we can put her in the same Nursery trailer but she knows that open boxes there with the blanket in it so I don't know what's going to happen probably be following her around until she has them and scoop them up and put them in there. Next to her sister. These three feral cats were dumped off at the county landfill and someone brought him to our place and we got stuck with them. They're great cats though their brother is all worried and he won't go in the nursery trailer anymore he sleeps out front and jumps in our lap and purrs.

[manol]

57 minutes ago, rodheadlee said:

She had 3 and they're doing fine but we think they're all three preemies. The other cat is getting ready to burst like a balloon and she's much bigger and they're the same age and probably got pregnant around the same time. She won't let us catch her so we can put her in the same Nursery trailer but she knows that open boxes there with the blanket in it so I don't know what's going to happen probably be following her around until she has them and scoop them up and put them in there. Next to her sister. These three feral cats were dumped off at the county landfill and someone brought him to our place and we got stuck with them. They're great cats though their brother is all worried and he won't go in the nursery trailer anymore he sleeps out front and jumps in our lap and purrs.

When the day comes that you're looking for homes for a whole bunch of kittens, here's what worked for us:  We had a family with primary-aged kids come over and meet the kittens, even though the mom is not about to allow them to have one.  The kids then, on their own, proceeded to find homes for the kittens among their friends at home and at school, and the mom found a home for one of the kittens with an older sister whose cat had passed away recently.  In other words, if at all possible, enlist the Mormons, they get stuff done!  

[Stargazer]

We acquired a pregnant tabby from a sister in our ward, who had gotten her from another couple in the ward that had to give her up in a move. We took on the tabby queen, and were looking forward to new kittens. Unfortunately, she birthed two, both stillborn, with one having no fur. She still had another one in her, but it wouldn't come. We took her to the vet and she had a caesarian. This kitten was also stillborn. It was very sad. She was somehow damaged internally, and wouldn't be able to carry any more kittens. 

A few weeks later, our daughter located a litter of kittens in need of homes, and brought us two boys. It didn't take long for our tabby to accept them, and since she still had milk, despite being weaned, our new kittens start suckling from her for a time. So she got herself a little family, after all.