Confining Pregnant Stray

A little over a month ago a pregnant stray cat arrived in our neighborhood. We spent a couple of weeks trying to find out if she had an owner and just became lost, then we went away for a week, upon returning it was obvious that she was pregnant (and probably had been when she first showed up). I know you've all heard this story a million times! "Pregnant Cat Adopts Family" - That's our story, too.

I have been lurking on this forum for a while now and have learned SOOO much. I cannot invite this cat into the living areas of my house since I am extremely allergic to cats. She appears to be about 7 or 8 weeks pregnant. (I have just begun to feel to kittens moving.) I have introduced her to a large dog crate in our basement. I have put a litter box and some rugs and towels in it. I bring her into the basement a couple times a day and let her stand in the cage while eating some canned food. I shut her in there for a few minutes yesterday. She began meowing and seemed stressed out. I think the whole basement stresses her out - she looks freaked out and even occasionally passes gas! We have brought her in the basement to explore every day since Sunday and I think she feels slightly more comfortable each time. I am hoping to begin confining her at night soon. Do you think I could be doing anything else to help her feel more comfortable? Am I doing the right thing by expecting her to give birth in the crate? I don't feel comfortable with her having the babies outside.

We hope to place to babies in good homes, but she will be spayed and remain here living mostly outside. Our kids have named her Smoky.

Thank you all for any advice you may have for me!

I'm really surprised no one has come along to answer this yet.
I'm not an expert so I can't offer much advice but I wish you the best of luck and hope someone comes along soon to provide you with some advice.

because she is a stray and seems very timied SP? maybe you could post this in the strays/ferals section they might be able to give you a few good tips. i only know how to do it over a time period which you dont really have where she is pregnant. but they may be able to help a little more. thank you for looking after her and her soon to be kittens, and welcome to TCS. we would like it if you could keep us updated on how things go. good luck.

Oddly enough this cat has been very friendly and loveable when she's outside. Until this past week (when she has either been hormonal or ticked at us for trying to put her in a cage!) she would jump on our laps if we were sitting on the porch. I'm going to keep trying to get her acclimated to this cage. I can't just allow her to run free in the basement since there are lots of tiny cracks between boxes where she could unsafely have her kittens. I see cats at pet stores happily sitting in cages. Would a typical house cat not object to being locked in a cage? I've only ever allowed her to be locked in there for a few minutes at a time. Maybe I just need to leave her in there for 30 minutes or so and see if she becomes OK with it.

Hi Frogg, I have just joined this forum to glean as much help as I can as I am in exactly the same situation as you as of this morning. Maybe we can give each other some moral support. I think it is great you are caring for her and I imagine she will eventually be grateful. I am known around her for caring for animals and I think maye be my little bundle was dumped near here as she is so friendly. As I write this she is curled up on my lap. I am tempted to shut her in like you have with Smokey but we are in the middle of a wilderness here and she was brave enough to come in the cat flap when we have 7 cats and two dogs. So I think she will have to fend for herslef, all the other cats and dogs accepted each other as they were all at one time abandonned. I have called her Minou, which is used in France to call cats you do not know. I have made up a basket for her but she will not sit in it, she always jumps out and sits on my lap. I am going to put the basket in a cupboard so she can have some privacy but I will let her roam. The main problem I need help with and will post separately about this, is that she is so tiny, not more than 5 or 6 months old herself. So I wish you luck and look forward to hearing about Smokey's progress. Washy

It is normal for a cat to freak when put in a cage. Esp. one who has likely been living outdoors her entire life.

My advice is to put her in the cage & leave her, so long as she is not inflicting physical harm upon herself. In a few days, she will have calmed down. The cage will be extremely beneficial when she does have the kittens. Just be sure to keep the edges lined so the kittens cannot get pushed out the bars or caught in them.

After about a week of slowly introducing her to the crate in our basement, she is now spending the nights and afternoons in it. Since it's been near 100 degrees outside this week, I gave her no choice and placed her in the cage one afternoon. I think she realized the A/C inside was much better than the stifling heat outside! She has yet to use the litter box, so I let her out some in the mornings and evenings. I hope she shows some signs of pending labor so I will not let her out that day. It would be a shame if I go through all this trouble and she gives birth in the dirt under my deck anyway. I think she has about a week left, but since she was probably pregnant when she came, I really have no idea.

Thanks again for all your advice!