Expert: Jessica - 1/17/2011

Question
My young Oriental Tabby Queen, whose had turned 1 year old, will be having her first litter. I wrote down the day that she was mated, but since Ovulation usually occurs on third or fourth day after mating then this is now on her 70th day..and I am very worried. She shows no signs of delivery.She is relaxed, eats, purrs  but nothing.... No water,blood,or mucus plug, nothing.  I have been having a lot of misfortune about other previous litters with other Queens, so I have bought a new Stud.  She is small in size,  C section are hopefully avoided.. And can you tell me about giving the queens Calcium...Help Please

Answer
Hi Linda,

The due date is generally calculated from the breeding date, and as I'm sure you know, 63 days is the magic number in most cases.  But Orientals and Siamese carry long as a general rule.  You can expect them to carry for 68 days, and some queens carry for 72 as the norm.  However, it does become worrisome after this point, and I think you should talk to your vet about having labor induced.  Most likely, an x-ray will be taken to ensure that all the kittens are in an appropriate position and of an appropriate size to be naturally delivered.  Then, your vet will administer an injection of oxytocin to induce contractions.  Often, the first birth takes place within 45 minutes.  If a c-section will be required, it’s better to find out before she attempts to deliver any of the kittens.

Regarding calcium supplementation in queens, I don't necessarily encourage this beyond offering her some kitten milk replacement such as KMR or Just Born kitten formula.  Your cat's diet is already balanced with her ideal amount of calcium, and supplementing it too much without adjusting other vitamins and minerals in her diet can create an array of problems.  A better idea is to switch her onto kitten food, if you have not done so already, and allow her to have kitten milk if she desires, which both contain more calcium than adult cat foods.  They also contain extra protein and fat, on average, which will help her maintain her muscle mass even as the kittens approach weaning age.  It’s normal for queens to become quite thin toward the end of nursing their litter, but with the extra calories from kitten food and formula, some weight loss can be avoided.  

If you still desire to give her a vitamin and mineral supplement, I recommend that you use Nutri-Cal.  This is a vitamin, mineral and calorie supplement gel which contains not only calcium but also Vitamin D.  These vitamins and minerals affect one another in the body.  The body requires Vitamin D to absorb calcium.  If you add extra calcium but not Vitamin D, the body may not be able to absorb the extra calcium you are introducing.  So I don’t recommend supplementing one without also supplementing another.  The gel is available at most large pet store chains and through online pet pharmacies.  I recommend following the dosage instructions for supplementation of cats who are eating properly.

Good luck with your litter!

Jessica