Question
Olive
Hello,
My name is Jessie, I am a thirteen year old girl with four cats. One of my cats are male, and spends a lot of time with my cat Olive. I suspect that he has gotten Olive pregnant. At the moment, my father is held off, and he doesn't like vets unless its an emergency.My cat Olive has been getting really round in her stomach around the back side and underneith.She used to be a very growly cat, and lately she has been licking me and letting me pet her.I have lightly rubbed her underside, her nipples are enlargened and very pink.She is also starting to create a large appetite, I can feed her and two minutes later there is nothing else and she trys to break into her food box.Yesterday, I was taking pictures of her, while laying on my coat-on the ground.I looked away and started taking pictures of my other cats, after I was done I turned my head to see Olive biting at my coat,pulling it to weird positions and snuggling into it.It took me a while until she finally gave me my coat back, so instead I gave her a blanket.She pulls it into different positions,she licks it,she rubs her head against it and she just sits on it.I have never had a pregnant cat, and I really do not know what to do.My father says that he thinks she is pregnant as well, he also thinks that it will happen soon.Is my cat Olive, really pregnant? If so, what do I do?
Sincerely, Jessie
AnswerJessie,
Caring for a pet means accepting some important responsibilities. When you adopt a pet it means that you are making a commitment to provide medical care, proper food, clean water, shelter, a cozy place to sleep, entertainment and love for the lifetime of that pet. Many people believe that providing veterinary care is expensive and unnecessary. Neglecting a pet's need for routine preventative care and regularly monitoring your pet's health isn't as expensive as dealing with emergencies that are preventable. Cats require regular medical care to ensure that they stay healthy, just like people do. This kitty really should be seen by a qualified veterinarian as soon as possible to avoid some of the preventable medical emergencies that can come up during Olive's pregnancy, labor or delivery of her babies. A young first time mother cat could have serious complications during her labor and delivery. It's also possible that Olive may have a difficult time caring for her kittens or producing enough milk for them. In cases where there isn't enough milk to feed all of the kittens it isn't uncommon for mother cats to sometimes reject the smaller kittens in a litter just because they can't keep up with the demands of the whole litter. In this case these babies can be hand raised, but it takes a lot of time and effort to ensure their survival because you have to be able to do everything that the mother cat would be doing for this kitten. I think that it would be a good idea for you to try and buy some kitten milk replacer (cow's milk doesn't provide the proper nutrition for cats or kittens, in fact many cats become lactose intolerant as adults) and a few oral syringes so that you are ready and able to feed any babies that need some extra help to stay healthy. While I understand your father's concern about taking pets to the vet I also think that it's very important to provide good quality medical care for your pets. Finding a good vet that you and your dad feel comfortable with is very important for the health of the pets in your home. Vaccines are a very important preventative measure, however recent studies have shown that when they are over used they can contribute to serious health problems. The solution to this is to vaccinate each cat properly as a kitten and then either discontinue vaccines or cycle them depending on what you and your family vet are comfortable with. If you would like more information on cycling vaccines I would recommend that you consider reading up on these studies online or asking a veterinarian to explain what they mean and how it affects your cats. If Olive hasn't had any vaccines it's quite possible that she may become sick during her pregnancy or after her kittens are born. If Olive catches one of several common upper respiratory viral infections such as distemper during her pregnancy or afterwards she can pass these infections along to her kittens and there's a good possibility that they may not survive.
Animal shelters and rescue organizations are overwhelmed by the numbers of unwanted cats and kittens and many healthy cats are put to sleep worldwide every day just because there aren't enough homes for all of the homeless cats and kittens who haven't been spayed or neutered. Spaying and neutering cats and pets in general is a responsible choice that has numerous health and behavioral benefits. Sadly too many cats and kittens are surrendered to animal shelters worldwide simply because they aren't wanted. I strongly advise you to speak with your vet about the importance of spaying/neutering all of the cats in your home, including Olive. Unsterilized cats can serious medical problems as well as behavioral issues that range from irritating to unacceptable. Cats that haven't been spayed or neutered early in life can end up being euthanized because they develop bad habits like urinating or defecating around the house, fighting or even aggression towards people. Spaying and neutering pets early helps to avoid serious health and behavioral issues. This routine surgery is extremely important to help reduce the pet overpopulation problem faced by animal shelters and rescue groups every day. Spaying and neutering saves countless lives every year and I believe that it's the most ethical and responsible choice for pet parents to make for their pets.
An average cat pregnancy lasts for between 60-68 days. It isn't possible to know for sure whether or not Olive is pregnant just by looking at her. If Olive has had a chance to mate with an unneutered male cat then there is a good chance that she is expecting babies. It does sound like there's a good chance that Olive may be pregnant, however there is also a slim chance that she has a medical condition called false pregnancy where an animal's body acts as though they are pregnant when they aren't. Olive should be given free access to a high quality, holistic cat food made with human grade ingredients so that she can meet her own nutritional needs as well as those of her kittens. I generally recommend foods like Wellness or Spot's Stew for cats because these foods have human grade ingredients in them and since they are higher quality the cat needs to eat less to meet her needs, less food going in means less mess in the litter box, less junk in their system also means that the litter box offerings won't be quite as smelly. Although the initial price tag on the foods that I have recommended may seem expensive at first you will have a happier and healthier cat in the long run.
When a cat is getting close to giving birth she will need some special care and you will have to separate her from the other cats in the household. It's very important that you respect Olive's need for privacy and quiet time when she is ready to have her kittens. Often times mother cats give birth at night so keeping things a bit dark and very quiet is important. The kittens will need to be born in a clean environment where Olive feels safe delivering her litter if at all possible to prevent them from catching viral or bacterial infections that they are too young to fight. A kitten gets some antibodies from their mother especially if mom's been properly vaccinated. If the mother cat isn't vaccinated serious viral infections like distemper are very real possibilities. Now is a good time to make up a bed for Olive's upcoming labor. A cardboard box lined with old towels or blankets will work well, especially if placed in a dimly lit, private location that's as quiet as possible. Disposable incontinence pads are a good idea if you have carpet in your home. These pads are fairly inexpensive, they are usually made from blue plastic with white absorbent material and are often used to protect furniture or wheelchairs of the elderly or disabled. These pads can be purchased in bulk at places like Walmart. Generally I suggest that placing them underneath the bedding in the birthing box is best - just make sure that nobody can eat any part of these pads. It's important to change the new family's bedding with clean, dry towels after the kittens are born and after that whenever it becomes wet or soiled in order to prevent infection and keep the new family as warm as possible. I don't recommend using a heating pad in the nesting box as kittens can't control their body temperature very well and if there is a heating pad they can become overheated quite quickly, it's far better to make sure that the room they are in is kept warm enough.
Some signs to look for that might mean that Olive's getting ready to have her kittens start as early as 24 hours before the actual birth of the kittens. You can expect to see Olive pacing, shivering or panting, she may even walk around nervously looking for a place to make a nest. Although she might seem quite anxious things should be okay provided that everything is progressing normally. In terms of labor and delivery most cats accomplish this without any assistance at all, however sometimes there are problems. If mom seems to be pushing hard for more than an hour without producing the kitten she should be assessed by a vet because she may have a large kitten stuck in her birth canal. This is an emergency and it can cause serious problems for mom and the rest of her unborn babies. If mom seems anxious or shaky in the days after birth she should be seen by a vet because this can mean that she has a life threatening calcium/magnesium deficiency. If Olive seems nervous, weak or restless for more than a half hour after giving birth to her kittens it can mean that there's a kitten that's been left behind and she may need a caesarian to save her life. It's perfectly normal for Olive to make noise and yowl during her delivery. It's not a good idea to try and help Olive with having her babies unless she clearly needs it due to one or more complications.
Cats can become pregnant again while they are nursing and even shortly after giving birth so I would strongly advise that you not allow your cat to come into contact with any unneutered male cats until you've had a chance to have her spayed, after all pet overpopulation is a very serious problem for animal shelters and rescue groups worldwide. You can have Olive spayed around 2 weeks after she has stopped nursing her babies...Cats wean their babies on their own without help from humans around 8-10 weeks of age, some earlier, some later, it depends on the mom's personality. I suggest that kittens stay with their mother for a minimum of 10-12 weeks as this allows mom to teach them important life lessons as well as providing quality play time that will teach them about their place when it comes to the litter.
It's best to avoid allowing Olive outdoors so that she doesn't risk delivering her babies outdoors. Intact male cats have been known to kill kittens so that their mother will cycle back into mating season again and be ready to mate sooner. It's very important to be sure to wash your hands well and sanitize them prior to handling a mom in labor or her newborn kittens. Since the kittens don't have much of an immune system built up it's wise to ensure that they are kept away from other animals. Cleaning food and water bowls daily and disinfecting them with a weak bleach solution (5 parts water to 1 part bleach) every couple of days will help to keep mom healthy. Be sure to keep the litter box extra clean, scoop it daily and empty it once or twice a week to wash it thoroughly with dish soap, rinse it well, then sanitize it with a weak bleach solution, this will ensure that mom doesn't bring bacteria back into the nesting box that may cause illness in the kittens.
Kittens are born with a very immature system; they aren't able to fight off disease or regulate their own body temperature. Newborn kittens are completely helpless. Your cat might be pregnant, but she might not. I would suggest that if you want to know for sure if she's expecting that you have your vet examine her. Pregnancy can sometimes be confirmed in cats via an abdominal exam, but your kitty may need an ultrasound or x-ray to confirm whether or not she's expecting. Just because your kitty is cuddly doesn't mean she's pregnant, some cats prefer to be left alone when they are expecting, it all depends on their individual personalities. If the kittens seem to be sucking well and they spend most of their time sleeping or nursing quietly they are probably getting enough to eat. If you notice that the kittens are quite noisy, squirmy and crabby it's possible that they aren't getting enough to eat which could mean that you will have to supplement their diet with a kitten milk replacer such as KMR or Just Born. If you do need to syringe feed kittens be sure that the formula is body temperature and that the kittens are fed with all four paws facing the floor. If you feed the kittens on their backs like human babies they will be more likely to inhale the formula and die from pneumonia. Just so that you know, Olive can't be spayed until she has completely weaned her kittens and her milk has dried up which happens roughly 2 weeks or so after she has completely weaned her babies, usually when the kittens are 10-12 weeks old at the latest. Mother cats don't need human help to wean their kittens, they will generally start doing so around 6-8 weeks of age. I recommend that kittens stay with their mother for a minimum of 10-12 weeks as this allows them to learn how to be cats as well as learn important things like how to follow rules set by their family members. Bite inhibition is also learned at this time, the kittens essentially learn how far they can push their mother and that if they are bitten it hurts. This small but important lesson means that they may think twice before chomping down on your fingers or toes. The kittens should be handled regularly from birth to get them comfortable with being pet, played with and cuddled, it will help them to be easier to place in permanent homes. Just remember to wash and sanitize your hands before you touch or play with the kittens and don't forget to include Olive in a game as well...That will give her opportunities to teach her kittens how to be happy cats.
My cat, Spots
QuestionQUESTION: Hi. My cat Spots is a wonderful cat.
wonderin??
Question
CIara
Hi Karen,
This is my first time dealing
One month old Kitten
Question
The one month old, aka
I have tried bef
Injured tip of ear / Follow up
QuestionBagBoy
QUESTION: My 7-month-old cat, Har
Worried that my cat has a UTI??
Question
Oscar
Hello,
My name is Danielle and I have t
