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Question
I found a stray in my garage and she seems to be pregnant. I took her into the house and she is doing great. Eating and sleeping a lot. 2 days ago, a kitten kicked my hand while I was rubbing her belly and today I noticed that Bella, the name I gave her, has plucked out the hair around her nipples. Is this hair pulling normal for long haired cats?? Is this a sign I should be prepared for labor?? I set up a box with dishs, litterbox and a small space heater in my closet (with the doors partially open). She doesnt seem big but then even without the belly she seems to be a tiny cat. I can feel some bones so I already put her on a food mix of my own (whiskas meaty selections, whiskas kitten and Friskies adult) in hopes of her gaining weight b4 kittens come. Anything else I should do?? I have dewormer but is it safe during pregnancy or should I wait to give it to her??
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Hi Carol,
You should deworm her now, but I'm not sure which kind of dewormer you have. I don't recommend using piperazine-based dewormers because of safety concerns. Instead, I like pyrantel pamoate. These are usually sold as dog and puppy dewormers over the counter in the U.S. - I'm not sure which animals they're labeled for in Canada. Pyrantel is used in prescriptions for cats and is labeled for over-the-counter use in cats in many countries. If your dewormer does not contain pyrantel pamoate, I recommend you buy one of these and use this instead. Nemex is the most common brand name. You will use the same dosage per body weight as you would for a dog, and repeat the dosage in 2-3 weeks. The second dose is likely to be required after the kittens are born, and this is just fine.
The fur around the nipples normally falls out a week or two before the kittens are born. The birth is certainly getting close, although this doesn't indicate imminent labor. I think you should see the kittens arrive in the next 10 days or so. I would recommend that you slowly phase out the adult food in her diet and leave her with only the kitten food and the meaty selections. You can also offer her some kitten milk replacement, which is available at pet stores and mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart. Keep her on this diet until she has weaned all the kittens and has gained a healthy amount of weight. Once she has put on some healthy muscle tone, you can slowly switch her on to an adult food.
You will also want to provide her with a cardboard box lined with some old towels or rags, where she will hopefully deliver her litter. The box and towels will need to be thrown out right after she has fed her kittens their first meal. They will be saturated with blood and amniotic fluid. For the first few days, she will continue to have a considerable amount of bloody discharge, and you should have extra towels available for her to sleep on that you can either wash or throw away and replace. Mom and babies should have a box or basket to sleep in, to prevent the babies from wandering too far from the nest. Little ones have accidentally become lost or stepped on when not confined to a box. Around 2-3 weeks old, the babies will be old enough to escape from the nest, so be sure to keep a cautious eye out for them.
Best of luck!
Jessica
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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 9 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Thanks for the help! I'll run out tomorrow and buy the safe dewormer and a larger supply of kitten food. she seems to prefer wet food so she has plenty of that with a bit of added water. Apparently both the closet and the bos are not satisfactory, she has taken up residence in my bathtub (I plugged the drain in case lol) It is nice to get a simple, easy to understand, direct answer after so many different opinions and advise from the multiple sources I've contacted. Still don't know what Im doing but I feel a bit more confident than I did b4! | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Jessica
Expertise
The areas in which I have gained the most experience are cat health and feral cat management/rescue. I provide supportive care to chronically ill cats, hospice care to terminally ill cats and also am involved in trap-neuter-return efforts. My specialities lie in taming feral cats and in the allopathic treatment of cats with illnesses or special needs. I also have owned Siamese, Himalayans, Abyssinians, Russian Blues, Savannahs, Bengals, Peterbalds, Don Sphynx and Oriental Shorthairs and am well-versed in cat breeds as well as cat behavior and nutrition.
Experience
I have 15 years of extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to medical care. My daily routine consists of caring for cats with diabetes, thyroid disease, kidney failure, feline leukemia, feline AIDS as well as feral cats. I have experience with liver patients, heart patients, feline infectious peritonitis, cancer, recovery from amputation and trauma, congenital deformities and most every disease in between. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning.
Education/Credentials
15 years' hands-on experience
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