cats pregnancy

Question
My cat seems to have been pregnant longer than what I have read the average 65 days.  This is her first pregnancy and I am worried that she has stillborn kittens inside.  I haven't felt any defining movement in her stomach. Her appetite indicates she is o.k. and she is drinking as well.  I am just worried because she is crying a lot and has been pregnant for so long and I still don't feel the kittens moving in her stomach.  She walks around sometimes for half an hour just crying.  It just seems to me that she has been pregnant longer than the 65 days and there should be some type of movement for her to be this pregnant.  If they are dead and still in her stomach what should I do?  Can she die from this?  Help, I don't know how to tell if her pregnancy is o.k and what to do if she is carrying stillborn kittens.

Answer
She may just now be getting ready to go into labor. Crying and pacing can be signs of impending labor. She may still have stillborn kittens or she could have so many small ones that they cannot move much.
You should take her temperature rectally. It will fall into the 99 degree range from the normal of 101.5 just before she will deliver. If it's higher than 101.5 then she is in trouble and needs to see a vet right away.

Yes she can die from not delivering kittens but not from having stillborns, unless her uterus doesn't clean out all the way. Then she is at risk for infection that can get serious really fast.
Usually spaying them will fix that if they are strong enough to get through the surgery. Of course spaying would have prevented all of this in the first place!

You need to make sure she has a place in a quiet corner to have the kittens. Show her the box you set up with non-shredding materials, like tee shirts. Shredded strings from towels can catch around new born's feet and legs and necks and cut them off.

If she hasn't had her babies in the next 24-48 hours she needs to see a vet for an evaluation right away. This is not something to sit and wait and see. Give her that time limit or less if she seems ill. Since she is eating I wouldn't think she is in serious trouble right now.

I hope it all goes well with her. When the kittens are 6 weeks old and weaned get her spayed before she gets pregnant again.

Let me know how she does and how many she has.