Expert: Jessica - 8/18/2009

Question
So my cat is very pregnant. I know that around the first week of July i noticed her nipples were all pink. I am thinkin she is due any day now, but this is my first time having a pregnaunt cat. And sadly i won't be home Saturday which is the day i am guessing she is due the 22nd. Is there any for sure signs to know if shes close? She is sleeping a lot, and she will have a burst of energy but then lay down for a few hours. I have another cat she is just a baby though their very close. Any ways she can't clean her bottom that well for her and i believe her nipple hair is being removed for the kittens to come. As you can tell I'm very nervous. Does it sound like she's close??

Answer
Hi Jessica.  It can be really hard to tell from behavior when a kitty will deliver.  Some of them start nesting a couple of weeks ahead of time - searching for a secluded area to have the kittens - and then they will spend almost all of their time there the couple days before delivery.  Honestly, only one of my cats was ever interested in this.  Most chose to have the kittens right on my bed or in the middle of the living room somewhere.

Some cats will have a noticeable drop in appetite a couple of days before delivery, and most will be disinterested in food within about 12 hours.  There are always a few who will keep eating, even taking breaks between kittens to fuel up!

If you're brave enough, you could take her temperature rectally.  Some cats have a drop of body temperature 24-48 hours before delivering their kittens, to 99 degrees F or so.  But this is not consistent, either.

Probably the most consistent indicator in my own experience has been clingy behavior.  Some cats go in the opposite direction and become reclusive, but 9 times out of 10, my cats have become extremely needy and have not wanted to leave my side about 12-24 hours before labor begins.  Some people find their cats start this behavior more like 48 hours ahead of time.  They become your shadow and sometimes become very vocal as well.  Some cats will beg for you to accompany them to the litter box!

It does sound like your cat is due any day if her fur is receding around her teats, and if you noticed her nipples were pink the first week of July, I would imagine she was about three weeks along by then.  Three weeks is usually the earliest that cats “pink up”.  That would make her due date right about today.  So maybe you will be lucky, and she’ll have the kittens before you have to be gone on Saturday.

I hope you get to be there when the kittens are born.  It is about the most amazing thing one can experience!

I recommend to place the kittens in homes over the course of a couple weeks, after they reach 10-12 weeks, so mom doesn’t stop nursing all at once.  This will leave her painfully engorged.  She can be spayed once the last kitten has not nursed for 10 days.  

Best wishes for you and all the little ones.

Jessica