Mucus plug? Pregnant mama kitty

[Paisleysmom]

Hello. I have a pregnant kitty and I have never done this before. She will be getting spayed once her kits are weaned and will never have to do this again. I am unsure when she conceived so the waiting game is something else! I have been spending lots and lots of time with her and I am looking out for any signs!

Last Thursday, 4/19 - she had a bit of discharge from her vulva. It quickly dried up and I didn’t see anything else. The pic with the flash made it appear quite yellow but it wasn’t this yellow color in person.

Today, when inspecting her bottom, I noticed another bit of dried discharge. Could this be a part of her mucus plug? Does it look normal? I have no idea what to look for.

I have been keeping her in a room as previously she was outside so she does try to dart out when the front door opens. I have created 4 comfortable, whelping boxes for her to choose when labor hits.

A little over a week ago, I could see and feel her kittens moving and they were wild. It was so cool. But at this point I don’t feel them moving as much. I do feel the occasional movement but it’s nothing like before. I hope they’ve just run out of room and everything is well.

I am able to express bits of colostrum from her teats but do not worry.. I’m not poking and prodding her and pulling at her nipples. I just did it to get an idea of where we were. Also, for the last 3 or 4 days I have noticed her belly randomly hardens.. seems like it’s the size of a kitten and it will get really firm for about 30 seconds and then soften again. Are these Braxton Hicks? She’s a very small cat - you can definitely tell she has a belly but she’s still small and I’m thinking there may only be a few babies in there.

Overall, she’s acting like her normal self. She’s so calm and almost never meows! I’ve never known a cat like that. In the past 2 days, she has discovered a love for laying on top of my shoes. So I put one of my flats in one of her boxes. I think it’s an adorable thing.

I am trying to upload pictures of her and the discharge but it’s saying they’re too large. I’ll keep trying.

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome

I used to breed Siamese and to me she sounds to be very near labour. Possibly she'd have washed these bits of discharge away and you'd have been none the wiser - but at that stage it's difficult for them to reach their backends. If there starts to be a real flow of discharge though, and no apparent action for say 12 hours, then I would contact the vet. They can be little devils - one of mine went into full-throttle labour in bed with me in the early morning, got on with her contractions until lunchtime, yelled for lunch - and then got down to it in the afternoon. She had a healthy litter.

I remember noticing that some litters seemed quieter just before birth - however, my experiences are a long time ago so I can't set myself up to be an expert and I'd say that if you have any doubts or worries, a phone call to the vet is a good idea. Vets and their nurses don't object to being asked for advice.

Hope this helps for now and hope other people are along soon with more advice - and all the very very best for the birth - please let us know how she goes on