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Old September 5th, 2013, 09:36 PM
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Koteburo Koteburo is offline
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Pregnant Dinosaur

Hi!
Thelma better known as "The Dinosaur" is a very tiny female cat, a russian blue/DSH cross that got super pregnant. Needless to say we are totally pro spay/neuter and against backyard breeding. She lives with my parents, a rescued beauty. Anyways my mom went out of town to help her sick sister and her dog for a month, my dad scheduled the surgery wrong, she escaped in between his feet when he opened the door a few times -_- and the result: A tiny, bonsai cat that looks like a perma kitten now very, very pregnant.
Since she is very small (she's about 10 or 11 months but she's just tiny) we are concerned that her petite size could present a challenge when the moment of giving birth comes. Last night she didn't leave my mom and dad's side. She slept with them and they slept with the light on since she was making tiny effort sounds and her pupils were dilated so they could keep an eye on her through out the night.
This mornkng everything seemed fine, she walked, ate, everything normal. Of course they're prepared to take her to the vet if necessary (I hope not )
Anyways has anyone here experienced having a very tiny cat in labor?
I had my fair share of assisting female kitty ladies but never this small
She looks like a 5 month old kitten hehehe
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Old September 7th, 2013, 09:53 PM
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Skinny cat pregnant

Hi,

My cat Stibule was very small and but a kitten herself when she was pregnant.
She gave birth to 4 healthy kittens 3 years ago who are still with me and thriving!

I would not worry that much for the delivery of the kittens, but I would be prepared in case anything goes wrong and she needs assistance...
A good supply of gloves, some seringes for feeding the kittens if she dosn't have enough milk, some clamps for the umbelical cords if she can't chew them, a good supply of kitten milk you can get at the pet store, perhaps a heating pad you can set on low and put towels on in case she turns away from her kittens...

I was overly prepared when Stibule gave birth to her kittens, and as small and young as she was, she did a terrific job on her own.

Oh and of course, keep your 24/7 vet number on hand... You can also call the vet and tell them about the situation, this way they will know who you are and what the situation is if you need to call them and ask for help!

hope this helps. Keep us posted on what happens!

sandyrivers
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Cookie July 1st 1999 f/ RIP July 31st 2008 -cat
Tonali June 3rd 2007 f -cat
Elphin April 21st 2008 m -cat
Stibule(Gino,Airell,Katla,Rasta)June 6th 2009 f- cat
Gino Ferrero April 8th 2010 m -cat
Airell Awenn Awnfenn Ep Berrth April 8th 2010 f- cat
Katla Chilam Balam April 8th 2010 f- cat
Rasta Farian Marley April 9th 2010 m- cat
Chipcat-Filou found June 12th 2011 (Ocicat 6months old) f-cat
Jane the Snow Cat rescued Dec27th 2012 f- cat

Last edited by sandyrivers; September 7th, 2013 at 09:55 PM. Reason: add info
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Old September 9th, 2013, 06:37 AM
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khager khager is offline
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When I was a kid my mom's cat got out and got pregnant, she was very very small. She ended up having 5, but the 5th one got stuck and wasn't breathing. My dad did kitty-cpr and got him breathing so they all ended up ok, but we had to help them learn to walk straight. They were so cramped inside her their legs weren't quite right. She did fine during the birthing, but me and my dad stayed with her the entire time to make sure she didn't have any problems.

My mom-in-law's cat got pregnant a few years ago, also very petite. She ended up with 6 completely healthy babies and the only issue we had was having to break the sack on the runt. Again, we stayed with her the entire time to watch for problems. Mom-in-law didn't get her fixed and her and her sister went and got pregnant again, at the same time, and they ended up with 11 babies between them. The second cat was only about the size of a 6month old or so, and we had to combine their kittens because she wasn't making enough milk for them. If all goes well during the birth you should still keep an eye on that since they don't have any reserves to hold them if you don't catch it.

Hope it goes as easy for you, we had so much fun even if they were unexpected
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Old September 9th, 2013, 09:28 AM
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I don't know about the birth itself, but afterwards, she will likely need high protein food (canned if you aren't already feeding her that.) as much as she wants. Also, try to switch the kittens to solid food as soon as possible to take the demand of being the sole food producer off Mom as soon as possible.
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Old September 10th, 2013, 10:21 PM
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Well, she has her kittens now 4
She had the 1st one a bit stuck but with some walking and gentle belly rubs from my mom came out. They all did.
They're at my parents so I get all the reports from my mom.
They seem to be getting properly nurtured and although Dino didn't want to stay with them much at the beginning and they had to capture her 3 times aftef escaping through an open window she's more accepting now and taking better care of her babies while my parents oversee everything is going well.
I will post pics soon. My mom is slacking
She says she doesn't want to disturb them with pics but a couple of pics with no flash with her cell phone of the little rats won't hurt.
I'll keep you updated.
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Old September 11th, 2013, 10:54 AM
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If Dino will allow it, try using a flashlight instead of flash. A steady source of light is less disturbing that sudden intense flashes of light and should prevent startling cats. Just be careful of the kittens' eyes. You can also use desklamps if you have one.
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MooBoots(Mooby) ~ DMH(Mom's cat)~July 21, 2008-
Sunshine~ Golden retriever X white german sheperd (Dad's dog)~October 24, 2008-
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Old September 11th, 2013, 04:48 PM
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sandyrivers sandyrivers is offline
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Congrats for the kittens!

I do agree that food is very important!
During gestation, I fed Stibule 'Oven Baked' brand kitten food kibbles I kept her on that food the whole time she was nursing the kittens...she nursed them until they were 3 1/2 months old!
I simply left the food out for her to eat at will.

I also gave her about 2 cans per day of canned food that was for kittens, but I don't remember the exact brand, except that it costed something like 2$ a can...
The kittens started eating this canned food with her at around 3 weeks of age.

I would be extra extra carefull that the mommy Dino-cat doesn't go outside, and this for many reasons...
If anything happens to her (hit by car, taken by people, etc) your parents will be left feeding the kittens themselves! And helping them 'go to the bathroom...'
I had to be surrogate mommy cat to one kitten once, she was 2 days old, and it was feedings every two hours... I did not sleep for 2 months!!!
Also, by going outside, she can get in fights with other cats and contract a number of illnesses, one of which FIV, are non curable.
The aspect of cleanliness is also important, if she goes outside, she can bring back all sorts of filth and 'cooties'... and pass this on to her kittens.
Best she stays inside until the kittens are weaned.
Better safe than sorry!

As for pictures, I used a desk lamp that my son would hold over the nest while I took pictures, and it never seemed to bother mom or kittens!

best of luck with the little ones, can't wait to see pictures!

sandyrivers
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Helper to:
Cookie July 1st 1999 f/ RIP July 31st 2008 -cat
Tonali June 3rd 2007 f -cat
Elphin April 21st 2008 m -cat
Stibule(Gino,Airell,Katla,Rasta)June 6th 2009 f- cat
Gino Ferrero April 8th 2010 m -cat
Airell Awenn Awnfenn Ep Berrth April 8th 2010 f- cat
Katla Chilam Balam April 8th 2010 f- cat
Rasta Farian Marley April 9th 2010 m- cat
Chipcat-Filou found June 12th 2011 (Ocicat 6months old) f-cat
Jane the Snow Cat rescued Dec27th 2012 f- cat

Last edited by sandyrivers; September 11th, 2013 at 04:51 PM. Reason: add info/ corrections
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Old September 11th, 2013, 05:00 PM
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sandyrivers sandyrivers is offline
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Early socialising the kittens

Hi again,

I forgot to mention in my previous post that another important thing is to socialise the kittens at an early age!
It important is to touch the kittens very early in their life, I would say at one week old, if the mommy-Dino allows them, your parents could sit by the nest and gently stroke the kittens.
Clean hands are a must, but I would forgo using any kind of hand sanitizer since it contains alcool and smells of it very much...it may be VERY displeasing to mommy cat and the kittens!
A few days after, they can gently pick up a kitten, sitting by the nest and hold it in their arms for a short period of time, starting with about 1 minute and increasing daily, slowly the time each kitten is held.
Of course, this can only be done if mommy Dino-cat agrees!
If she shows any stress about this, they should simply keep to stroking the kittens in the nest.
Note that the kittens may/will meow loudly when they are picked up!

This is very important, as it will help socialise the kittens and get them use to humans. That way when comes adoption time, they will be use to be handled and will not be afraid of humans.

sandyrivers
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Helper to:
Cookie July 1st 1999 f/ RIP July 31st 2008 -cat
Tonali June 3rd 2007 f -cat
Elphin April 21st 2008 m -cat
Stibule(Gino,Airell,Katla,Rasta)June 6th 2009 f- cat
Gino Ferrero April 8th 2010 m -cat
Airell Awenn Awnfenn Ep Berrth April 8th 2010 f- cat
Katla Chilam Balam April 8th 2010 f- cat
Rasta Farian Marley April 9th 2010 m- cat
Chipcat-Filou found June 12th 2011 (Ocicat 6months old) f-cat
Jane the Snow Cat rescued Dec27th 2012 f- cat

Last edited by sandyrivers; September 11th, 2013 at 05:02 PM. Reason: ad info
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  #9  
Old September 16th, 2013, 12:59 PM
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Koteburo Koteburo is offline
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Hi guys!
I appreciate all your concerns and advice big time. Although my mom is a well seasoned cat midwife and many kittens have passed through her there are always new inputs to this.
My parents went on a short trip and my brother took over. The're doing fine.
The idea is to get the pic exactly like you mentioned guys, with a desk lamp or a flash light, no camera flash.
I think Dino will be OK with it. By now they're a bit stronger those beautiful rats. Can't wait for them to send me piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiics. I'm so impatient. They should be back today so I'll start bugging my mom since I want to see the babies so badly.
As soon as I get the pic or pics I'll post them here.
I'll also let my mom know to stroke the kittens often (with clean hands of course ) We want them really well socialized to be able to rehome them when the right time comes.
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