Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First of all, a hello to everyone. I'm new.

Secondly, I have a few questions...

We brought our latest foster home last Monday and were told that she is about two weeks away from giving birth.

She's a petite torti-point balinese (x?) and she never looked particularily 'large' or preggo, but when she would sit, she had definite bulge.

Yesterday, she wasn't acting herself. She was listless and spent most of the day in her nesting box. I also noticed that the 'bulge' was gone for the most part. I assume it had moved underneath her (perhaps the kittens moving down into the birth canal).

Today, she seems a bit better. She's moving about more and such, but looks even less pregnant than yesterday.

She's been pretty much off of her food for about two days (with the occasional nibble here and there). Her nipples aren't very pronounced. No noticable discharge.

My question is, is this normal? Should I not be able to see the kittens? Is it possible she re-absorbed them at this stage or that she's had a false pregnancy?
(I'd hope that the vet at the shelter gave her an ultrasound of some sort to determine for certain that she was gravid...)

Also, is this behaviour typical for a pre-labour kitty, and how long before I should expect her to go into full labour?

Any help would be appreciated. I've done my reading, but it really doesn't mention much about what I'm concerned about.

Thanks guys.

hi, and welcome to the boards!!!!!

well without really seeing the cat it might be possible that she had kittens somewhere. hopefully she is an indoor only cat (atleast for the pregnancy duration). is she using her box? if she is check it for blood. if you are in doubt you can ask a vet for an x-ray. we did that when my sassy was pregnant (found that out about 2 weeks before her scheduled spay appointment). they saw 5 skulls and 5 spines, so announced to me '5 kittens'.....6 weeks later.....6 kittens!!!!! (i have no idea where #6 was hiding). plus its always good to have a vet check just to make sure that everything is okay. several people on the boards have had cats that they were 'adopted' by that had kittens stillborn inside them. this could cause a toxic build up and kill the cat. also if she has had kittens you can make a determination on if they are all healthy and in a safe place (check an area out of the way thats warm, dark, and dry if she does not have a birthing box. hope this helps

My cat Samantha had two litters of cats about 5 years ago but that's my only experience with pregnant cats and newborn kittens. However it sounds like your cat has already had the kittens somewhere. Or maybe it was only one kitten like my daughter's cat had, a few years ago.

I wish you the best of luck discovering what is happening with your kitty.
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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!

How wonderful to do nothing and then rest afterwards. Meow!

Thank you very much Your story made me smile.

There is a small update in response to pita&sassy's post.

Thank you so much.

Yes, we keep all of our pets and fosters inside.

It did occur to me that she had already given birth, so I combed her nestbox and searched the basement to no avail. I contacted the shelter and they told me to give it a day and see if there was any improvement.

Amazingly, you can see her belly again. Maybe the kittens were playing musical chairs... It's also highly possible that the ETA for those kittens was inaccurate, or maybe she's having a small litter. She's awfully young.

She's also acting herself once more, eating, drinking, following us around. My mind is at ease for the time being.

I'll keep you all updated.