Pregnant 1 year old cat

Question
QUESTION: Hi,I have a pregnant 1 year old cat. She was about 10 months when she got pregnant. I brought her to the vet and he said within 2 weeks shed have her babies, so her due date would be 10/4/12. Now 2 days past that, she still hasnt given birth. I havent seen her mucus plug come out, i dont see her milk but she has dry white stuff on her nipples, and she still has a lot of hair around her nipples. I was wonering if this is normal. The hair on her belly is very long. Also shes been spotting a little. Shes eating still acting mostly lazy. Shes very small compared to other pregnant cats so im thinking its a small litter. Her belly has been very round but the last 2 days her belly looks more flat, like its dropped, and her kittens are very active. I called the vet, but they didnt seem concearned so i just want a second opinion. Also she had her rabies shot while she was 7 weeks pregnant. That wouldnt affect her going late will it?

ANSWER: She isn't late. The kittens dropping is a sign of impending labor. Take her temperature rectally- it should be 101.5 if it's normal. It will drop to 99 degrees one or two days before she starts labor.It will be 99 degrees and stay that way until she starts.

So check her temp. daily and when it starts to drop, you can be sure that she is close.

She may be smaller than some cats, but that doesn't mean she will have a small litter. Could be that she has smaller kittens.

The average first litter is between 2 and 7 kittens. The only time I had a pregnant cat (came to me that way) she had 5 and it was her first and last litter. She was an average sized cat, around 8 lbs.

What you really need to look out for is her going into labor then not pushing or giving up. I am glad that you are in close contact with your vet. That way, if any kitten gets stuck or she stops laboring, then you can contact them right away.

So take her temperature, and write it down. Use a little k-y jelly or vaseline on the thermometer so it is easy to push into her rectum gently.

Mucous plugs are rarely seen in cats. They have them, but the cat usually licks it up before it's seen by anyone. And some new mothers don't know to lick away the hair around their nipples, but the kittens manage anyway.

You say that she is spotting, but with blood? a discharge? what color? Smell? This is probably just another impending sign of labor unless it is dark, green, frothy, smelly or slimey looking. Light colored bloody discharge is okay as long as she starts labor in the next 2 days. That is probably her "plug" melting away right now.

Good luck with this. I hope she was vaccinated for FELV, FIV, FIP
and the other viruses that they get. That is way more important than a rabies shot as far as the kittens are concerned.

Take her temperature!  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I've taken her temp twice a day for a week and it's always 98-99 degrees. Her spotting is a light color blood but not a lot. Thank you for the advice. I hope she is going soon. I'm just very worried about her. She doesn't have any other shots yet but we have an appointment to get all her shots and to get fixed after she has the babies, as well as getting the kittens fixed before we give them away. Her getting pregnant was not planned as she escaped under our sink and got out for 2 days. Is it possible the vet was wrong about her due date? I don't want them to take the kittens too early if they aren't ready.

Answer
Sure, he could be off by a week or so. It's easy to do. The best way to "guess" is by taking an xray around the time you think she is about a month or so into the pregnancy.
Then you can guess by the development of the bones of the kittens.

That seems to be a common way for cats to get pregnant!! No fault of yours. I have some land so I kept all of my 5 kittens until the last one died at the age of 19 yrs. They were all fixed by the time they were 7 months old. They were great cats, all of them.

It seems odd that her temp would be that low for a whole week, but it still sounds like she is going to have them very soon. Sometimes, with new mothers, they don't nest or do much of anything until the last minute!

Just give her a few more days then call your vet and ask about an xray that might give a more definite date. Other wise it's just wait and see!!