Do you have the $ to take her to the vet to check & see? And then, schedule an appt. for her to be spayed? If she is PG, then you can do it a bit after(not sure on time frame) she has the kittens, but if she's not but in heat, it'll cost more I think to have it done.
I think it takes around 65 days if I remember correctly. When my mama cat had her kittens, it didn't matter if I set her a box up or not, where ever she felt the safest or most comfortable, that's where she had them. Most the time, she'd have them under my recliner or back behind & I was afraid they'd get squashed, so I'd move them. After a couple of times, she'd STOP moving them back LOL.
When was the, uhh, messing around, or umm, escape done? (o;
If early enough, we spay while pg....yes, yes, it is a kitty abortion. I know, I know....but when it's early, I personally would rather see that over kittens given to iffy homes, or whatnot. Kwim? I am NOT telling you to spay her now...sounds like she is further along and I do NOT recommend a spay that far along...though some doctors will spay the day a cat is due. THAT is sad as the fetuses feel it and they euth them.....doing it early enough prevents this.
__________________ "Custom will reconcile people to any atrocity."
George Bernard Shaw
One of our cats did have kittens. We checked around with friends/family to see if we could find homes for them. We figured we would need 4 homes. Well the cat had 7 kittens her first litter. One did die though. We kept one & found homes for the others. We had to wean the one kitten we were keeping before our vet would do the spay. We did get that kitten spayed just a little while ago. The kitten experience was cool. They were born 1 week before ds was born. It was neat for the kids to see before their baby brother was born. I was able to clearly explain & show the placenta, sac, cords...etc. Can't remember which twin but one of them said something along the lines that she hoped I wouldn't eat the placenta!!
I am already a great aunt so didn't have the grand-mother feeling. My great nephew is older than my youngest DS !!
Oh & the cat gave birth to the kittens late in the evening & into the next morning on my oldest DDs bed. We had a lovely box all set up in the bottom of the closet. We did move her into the box between contractions & she birthed the kittens in it. Then we moved them all back into the closet. DH was fine. Then the cat started to eat the placenta & he "freaked"...Shouting to DD to stop the cat from doing that. DD calmly responded, "She is supposed to do that dad, eating the placenta builds up her iron stores.", "Sheesh, calm down." I verified she was correct & DH said it was disgusting & that he had to leave the room! I think it was the crunching/grinding sound she made when chewing the umbilical cord that got him!
Nic, don't forget, nursing is not at all birth control for cats...they can and will get pg the day after birth! I have seen it happen.
I am hoping she only has, oh, say 1 or 2 kittens. LOL. (o; And remember, she needs a high quality kitten food while pg...not adult cat food. Same with during nursing. (o:
A vet can spay while a Mama is nursing, but it is true, it's harder on them, and the surgeon too. Lots of swelling to cut through. I don't recommend it, and we only spay a nursing Mama if we, say, are already in there doing a c-section for the babies...then we do a spay at the same time.
You may end up having to spay her while she is in heat though.....cats are induced ovulators and she may enter into heat soon after birth and go in and out for, well, til she is spayed or bred again. It may cost a bit more to spay her if she is in heat, but it's worth it!
If she is young, keep an eye on her if you can while she is birthing.....some end up needing c-sections due to size and depending on the size of the male. And some first-time Mamas will eat their young, or chew off the umbilical cord too close to the abdomen and end up chewing INTO the abdomen.....)o: It's not a pretty thing at all. You will want to watch her, *if* you can, during birth to make sure she does ok. Just keep it quiet, calm, etc. Liek how we'd want to birth.
We weren't going too far for too long as I was over-due. I am glad we were there for the birth. Two of the kittens were breech and after the first was born the mama really didn't know what to do. It was born in the sac & even with encouragement momma was not licking the kitten. I carefully tore open the sac and gently rubbbed the kitten while it was close to the momma's face. Once the kitten started to mew she figured out to lick it. If we weren't there I am pretty sure a couple of the kittens would have died. Once her intincts kicked in & she was chewing on the cords, she wouldn't stop till she was through it & was tugging on the poor wee things. So instead we tied off each end of the cord & tied it off, then she didn't bother with it. Only chewed on the already cut off cord attached to the placenta. It is neat having the wee little kittens about, but is still a LOT of work & responcibility. There is SO much trouble they can get themselves into since they are so incredibly curious.
(this was many years ago and we had her spayed after the second litter!)
She was really just fine, managing her pregnancies on her own. It was interesting when you could see the tummy doing rolls and flips the last couple weeks.
She would find a nice dark, comfy place in a closet and I would pet her while she was in labor (it gave her comfort)
She took care of her babies on her own and we found good homes for them when they were old enough to leave there mommy. That cat Sunshine lived to be 19 years old. Sigh........I adored her.........
If your cat IS pregnant, hopefully you will find some good homes for the babes. You can ask the vet when the best time to spay after the litter is.
I hope it all goes well Nicole.
__________________
~ Mari
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
Mahatma Gandhi
.....little blue cabin I still visit after forty years......
what do i do for her? as many cats as i have had...i have never had a preggo one.
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