Hi all. Our cat Vicky is about to give birth for the first time and after reading and hearing conflicting information I decided to find an on-line community.

Vicky is 1y5m old and is due to give birth this coming Wednesday the 19th. Some of the answers I'm looking for are:

1. Is it true that its not uncommon for a kitten to become stuck whilst being born?
2. If we don't see 1 placenta per kitten should we give time for a possible late delivery of it, or should I be thinking vets?
3. How often would you wash the birth/nursery blanket or would it become obvious, if washed at all?
4. Are there any recommended food supplements or meals that we could provide her post natal?

Any information, tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Regards.

Gavin & Helen.

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Try not to worry too much. Most cats do just fine. Yes you need one placenta per kitten, but if you get there late, or you miss any of it, she might well have eaten the placenta. Again, don't worry, the placentas are good for her. I've had goodness knows how many litters in my time (well, the cats have!) and the total number of problems giving birth can be counted on the fingers of one hand. You'll know if there is something wrong.

Lots of kittens come out tail first and those take a frighteningly long time to come out, especially if they happen to be the first in the litter. I've never known one to get stuck. I have had three cats that had to have caesareans because progress stopped half way through and it was obvious there was a problem, but that is a small percentage of the number of litters I've had.

Yes you will certtainly need to change the bedding when they are born, it will be disgusting. Then change it every couple of days. If possible, do this while Mum is out of the next, it's much easier!

As long as the bedding is not too damp, I leave it with mum for 24 hours, and then change it for some clean bedding. I breed Bengals and they can be temperamental mums. C-sections haven't been that uncommon with us. We've had approximately ten litters with three c-sections.

I think this is down to the breed and just bad luck though.

Take your birthing experience as it comes - try not to panic, but act quickly if you need to.

And I'm sure one of us will be online if you get into trouble!

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Beautiful Bengal Kittens from Dollycats
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well, i have not that much to tell than the guys said before me..
just give her safe place and quit one..and she will be just fine..

regards

lizward, SavannahKitten & Madness, thank you for the speedy reply

The information on 'blanky' changing was superb. She has so many blankets she uses and are scattered around the house in her favourite spots.
As well as the blankets scattered around we've also prepared 3 boxes in each of her favourite places and each with some more of her blankets in. What I imagine is to see which one she chooses to use (if were lucky!) and then retrieve all other blankets and wash them ready for change overs. Without your help we wouldn't have known to prepare this so again, thank you.

Personally I shouldn't be panicking. I should have been off to Spain Sunday evening but on realising Helens concern I had the trip put back to which she's expressed her relief.
Perhaps its my farming youth and having reared rescued wild animals and birds that she has faith in me taking control in an emergency. I'm also the person who will stop the traffic to help relieve an injured rabbit or similar from its suffering whilst all in sundry drive around it. I have never enjoyed ending an animals life, it has only ever been to relieve its suffering.

This is probably more than you needed to know but with a little back ground you can probably understand why I was prepared to be away and let Vicky do her thing. As I 'am' now here I want to cross the i's and dot the t's and with your help it looks like we can get there.

I'll be sure to have more questions and will keep you updated.

To finish off I've attached a picture of one residence prepared for Vicky. This is the 'Park Lane' model with roof inspection hatch, to which she can hardly find enough interest to sniff let alone get in

Thank you each again.

Gavin & Helen.

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The box looks fantastic.

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Just a couple of my thoughts on this....... I normally leave the birth blanket down for two days to allow the babies to get used to mum's scent on it, and also not distressing the mother by moving the babies too early to change it.

I feed the birthing queen kitten biscuits as they have higher vitamin content than adult biscuits.

Hi Gavin and Helen!
Re: feeding mom cat - you can go to Newport industrial estate and find Jolies per shop - have a look for Royal Canin Baby Cat first age - its packed with everything necessary for mom-to be and for first couple of months of kittens life.
Her birthing box looks phantastic - but you might need to do something with the lid - just in case if you will need a quick access to mom in case of emergency.
Dont wont to frighten you, but sometimes kittens born wrapped in the sack and first time momcat might not brake it quickly enough; so baby might get cold and die or suffocate.
If you will see it happened - just rip that sack and gently wipe baby's face.

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"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer." --Bruce Graham
There are no rules, rules are only for people who fit inside a box, if you want to think out of the box there is no hope... Life has no Box. (Tony Howells)

Looks great and you may want to put an old blanket underneath and around the box for in between delivery's as it can be a bit messy and stain,also a heatpad for babies and mum would be good
Eggyolk with a little probiotic yogurt and raw redmeat(if she'll eat) is great for expectant and nursing queens,kittenbics,pretty much as much as she'll eat and anything within reason.Make sure you see each placenta after each kitten,sometimes mum will eat it this is okay but sometimes they don't.All being well she will do the work,just be on hand for verbal support for her and we'll all be here for you and our numbers should you need on the spot right now help can be found via public profile(they'll be links to any of our sites where you can get in touch fast)Good luck for a healthy,safe delivery and do try and keep us all posted on any news

Thank you English Rose. Helen says we'll be ok if ever homeless. We'd have the best box beneath the over-pass

I can understand that. What I imagine is seeing how messy the whole experience turns out to be and take it from there on blanket changes. The biscuits are a good idea and she already eats various soft centred vitamin treats. We'll continue with them unless this box of goodies Anele speaks about sets president.

Thank you Anele. Helen was disappointed to hear this as were avid supporters of Jollies and although the assistant she asked never mentioned this Helen did say her 'favourite' sales assistant wasn't available on the day. Funnyn that we have favourite people to speak to in shops

Ahh have a look at the inline pic Anele. I did mention a trap door or lid but with only 1 inline pic allowed I couldn't show both angles so others would understand, but as you see below.....



Kelly, our Vicky would never be as messy as to need an under blanket Point taken. In fact I have an off cut of pond liner in the garage seeing how it maybe worse than I'd imagined in the 'mess' department.

Kelly both Helen and I would relish cooking for Vicky, but she seems happy not to deviate from the vitamin treats, gravy based mainstream tins, Iams small tinned food and buscuits. When we have the box of after care food Anele mentioned we'll hopefully choose the right road from there. Obviously I'll be re-reading this thread to go back over all that we've said once kittens have arrived so all input is as equally important to us.

That's a very kind gesture Kelly. Thank you. I'll be sure to check out contact numbers as an emergency only and I'd be more than happy to share birth/kitten pictures. Maybe even a journal? In fact I notice that you don't have a forum for journals? Perhaps this is something admin could consider? Journal births, post op recovery etc so people can go through the process second hand with it dated making time scales easier to understand? Just a thought.....

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Thank you all for your input. In the many years I've been web active, I have never found a book that can be so well constructed to give the filtered answers to a particular subject that an on-line community can give.

Kudos to you all and thank you again and again.

Gavin & Helen.

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