Pregnant Cat- When should we expect kittens?

Question

I posted a few days ago about our pregnant cat. And as I stated in the last post and will state in this on, she is getting fixed as soon as the kittens are weaned, all of our animals are fixed, in fact we've never had a pregnant animal before so please I don't need people telling me I "should" have gotten her fixed..we found out she was pregnant when we went to get her fixed. So anyway we are not completely sure how far along she is, my guess is 8 1/2 weeks. Her first milk, which was clear, is now a creamy white/clear color, I can still feel the babies moving, she has been spending time in her box almost everyday just laying there, today she went under my bed and I noticed she was pulling/scratching a pillow case or blanket under her, is that nesting? She has been eating like crazy, about 5 times a day, her nipples are a lot more swollen and if squeezed produce a clear creamy liquid as I stated above. A few nights ago she was panting but it only lasted a few minutes and the next night she did the same thing but hasn't since. She's defiantly been grooming herself more. She cries, and follows me around constantly and if she's hungry she'll keep crying until we feed her. Do some cats eats right up to their delivery? We have been taking her temp. it is normally around 101.4, tonight it was 100.4. She's a long haired maine coon, so will it be hard to tell when her stomach drops? Sorry for all the questions, we just want to be prepared. Thanks a bunch and any and all help is appreciated!

Answer 1

Yes, it sounds like she's nesting and yes, some cats eat right up until the kittens are born (mine did).  

I don't think there really is a clear way to know exactly when the kittens are coming.  I read up all I could when we found a pregnant cat and she didn't follow along with that - didn't nest (she picked her box hours before birth), kept eating...  

I gave up on guessing and shortly after that she showed up in front of us having very obvious contractions and she promptly led us to the closest box and had the first kitten within minutes.

It sounds like yours is very close, a few days at most - but I could easily be wrong. Good luck and congrats!

Answer 2

Only thing I can tell you is the gestational period is about 60 - 70 days.  She'll be looking for a safe, warm place to have them too.  So be sure to keep her contained where you want her to have them or else you might find yourself fishing them out of an unwanted area.