Hi

I've just taken in a stray kitty from Glasgow that was going to go to a rescue centre - her name is Tila. She has been really great, so well behaved and affectionate. We took her to the vets for a check up on Saturday, we found out that she's probably around 1, but she does look quite small - with a big fat belly, I thought that she was probably bloated with being fed more than usual (the people that found her in Glasgow had her for 3 weeks before taking her down to me in Manchester).

Low and behold she's pregnant! (5 weeks gone) I am so worried about it all, I know we can re-home the kittys when they are old enough, but what about the birth? I work full time (9-5) do you think I should try and get some time off or will she be OK on her own? She's not been wormed and I worry that she has them and will pass them on to the babies will they be OK or likely to be stillborn? I don't know how I will cope if they die. Does anyone have any advice or know of any services that can help me?

Hi Becky-did you voice your concerns to the vet and what did they say?

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese

Well, there's a few ways to deal with it - and I am sure others on here will suggest more.

1 - Contact your vet to let them know, and keep her until she has had the babies, take days off around the time when she is due to have the kittens and then decide if you wish to keep the girl, and find homes for the kittens when they are old enough.

2 - look after her for the time being, contact your vet and see if they will assist with the kitten deliveries - you may need to take her in near the time of kittening and this may cost a bit of money for boarding and kitten delivery....

3 - Contact your vet. Read as much as you can about feline pregnancy and births. Chat with us - there are breeders on here but there may be a time when even online chatting will not do the trick - that's why I started this with "Contact your vet". The queen is usually very good and will do pretty much all the work - all you need to watch for is that she is not straining for too long without producing a kitten and to count the afterbirths (each kitten will have an afterbirth).

In the meantime, you have around four long weeks in which to look after her and feed her well.

Hope things go well for you and the new queen.

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kind regards

Ra

http://www.bobergsiamese.co.uk/

well I was in a bit of shock really so only started to panic now! I am going back in another 10 days though so wil have a chance to ask more questions then - I just hope she has her timing right - shes meowing loads and is food mad - do you know if thats normal?

thanks so much - I will get reading - a lot!!!

I had a very young cat (younger than yours, so actually a kitten) accidently fall pregnant recently. I too work full time and did not need to take any time off to be with her.

Cats are very clever, they rarely need help in the birthing process, although they do tend to like you to be there when it happens. My vet basically told me I did not need to do anything apart from provide her with plenty of food (kitten food is best for pregnant queens) and a good size box for her to give birth in.

You may find during the pregnancy she goes on and off her food and her mood changes frequently, my cat would sulk at the top of the stairs.

Towards the end (although she gave birth about a week later than I thought) I would get my mum to pop in once a day when I was at work to check everything seemed normal. There are some tell tell signs that it is getting close. For example for the last few days she will very likely lick her genital area quite frequently and may keep going back and forth from the nesting box.

It is a good idea to put the nesting box down as early on in the pregnancy as possible so she gets used to it, but more often than not, they will go where they want to give birth, my cat very kindly had hers on my bed! After the birth was over I just moved them all to the nesting box.

Generally during the birth, the advise is to just comfort your cat, and watch out for any signs that there are problems. There are some key things to look out for, but I suggest you do some serious reading.

Oh and Congratulations!!! 

It's good to know that you've been through it recently and it went well - thanks so much x

When you get her home, introduce her to a nice cosy dark private space with a comfortable bed for her to have the babies in. When the time comes, she will go there and the babies will be ok so long as she has peace and quiet. Lets hope that the others who have recently had first time kittens will come on here and share their experiences.

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kind regards

Ra

http://www.bobergsiamese.co.uk/

Just take some time off anyways Becky as most pregnant cats will do most of the work themselves and this is the best thing but not all-a bit like humans,so feed her as much as she'll eat as and when and though none of us are vets,their are enough experienced peeps on here with great advice and will help in anyway we can-plz try not to panic

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese