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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

She's in labour!

156 replies

WingsAloft · 09/03/2017 09:12

First stage labour, lots of skin twitching and discomfort and thinking she needs to mate. Shall we try for a live birth thread?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 17/03/2017 09:46

I didn't actually have a go at Wing

Actually, you did. At least that is how it read when you expressed your shock at what you perceived to be her poor care and that you thought she shouldn't have been given the kittens after that.

SoupDragon · 17/03/2017 09:47

Surely confirming the pregnancy was the job of the rescue when she came in.

BillyButtfuck · 17/03/2017 10:27

OP please link kitten thread here when you make it Grin

WingsAloft · 17/03/2017 11:31

As I said, vet care is not my responsibility. The responsibilities of a foster carer are not the same as those of an owner. I can't take the fosters for surgery or other treatment without permission even if I want to pay for it, nor can I sell or give them away, nor send them to another carer without permission, nor euthanase them for any reason even if it's the best thing for the animal. They do not belong to me.

My own cats go to the vet as and when I think they need to. I do that for them even if it means the human family have to eat toast and beans for a week.

When she came into care the rescue was told that she was thought to be pregnant. We proceeded on that basis. It could have been a vet who examined her before she was sent here, I don't know; I'm not privy to the internal workings of the pound. She got a bigger tummy as expected, and developed very respectable breasts and pregnancy-appropriate behaviours. It was all quite consistent until right at the end, when instead of having what we thought would be one kitten, she went into heat. It's uncommon in cats but it does happen.

Surely it's a much better scenario than the more usual one of a pregnancy in a pound cat not being recognised and kittens unexpectedly appearing in an unprepared foster home.

There's a narrow window in which a pregnancy can be palpated, between the foetuses getting big enough to feel and the various structures and fluids inside the cat obscuring them. After that point you're limited to ultrasound and, later in the pregnancy, xrays. Vets are notoriously bad at estimating due dates and kitten numbers by palpation. I don't know any rescue groups who have money to splash around getting scans or xrays done in the absence of an actual problem.

I will indeed link the new thread when I start it Smile

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 17/03/2017 12:37

Have you had any sleep? Grin

Anonymous1112 · 17/03/2017 19:33

I've never known anyone go to a vet for a suspected cat pregnancy unless there are obvious complications so ignore those types of comments. Cats don't need scans and interventions in the same way that humans do and they don't need to register with a midwife. Look and see is all you can really do, which you did. Cat is obviously fine and you made the right call.

I was sad as you were obviously excited but as kitty is fine, no extra kittens needed homes and you now have a little brood to take care of I see it as a happy outcome.

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