My foster mom-to-be is here!

She came in about an hour ago. I feel so bad for her. She's skinny, and scared. She's SO itty bitty. I mean she's smaller than my Tinker who's only 8 months old. but her belly is HUGE.

She isn't warming up yet, but she is already purring a little, and she's sniffing, so I left her in her new room to roam around and get familiar.

She wouldn't stay out in the open yet so these are the best pics i could get


You can actually see her big belly a little here:



Now, seeing how my brats have never seen another cat, they're INSANELY curious. Not to mention they just lost their play room for a couple days.

The crack under the door is OCCUPADO


In the end it's all good. I'll give her some time to get acclimated to the place and then I'll literally smother her with too much affection.

EDIT: So i went and sat in the room with her for awhile. she climbed up in my lap to lay down. I put my hand under her belly so she'd lay on it too. When she laid down I could definitely feel at least two kittens moving around in her belly. Doesn't that mean she's almost ready?

Poor scared skinny little sweet heart! She is so lucky she found you!!

Best of luck with her and the new darlings when they come!!

She is lovely, hard to say how far gone, as you might be able to feel them more due to how thin she is. Am sure she will do well with you.

Originally Posted by fastnoc

The crack under the door is OCCUPADO

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Awwww look at that! Nosey little things

Originally Posted by fastnoc

So i went and sat in the room with her for awhile. she climbed up in my lap to lay down.

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Bless her heart she's a little beauty, and she's taken to you so quickly

Wow what a night.

My two cats are a mess. They are not doing well with this at all so far. I'm sure they'll calm down, but poor tinker spent the entire night under my bed. She came out long enough to eat some food, throw it up then run back under the bed.

Wilbur just sits and stares at the door. Then when Madonna (i didnt name this cat) pokes her tiny feet under the door he hisses and walks away.

This might be a longer process than I thought to socialize them. But it'll happen

Madonna is by far the most affectionate cat I've EVER seen. I spent about 3 hours in the room with her last night. She purred the entire time. Kneading the floor wherever she went.

2.5 of those hours, yes I timed it, she spent on her back with me rubbing her tummy. She absolutely loves it! she is so cute. on her back with her huge belly and she's kneading the air

Her being this affectionate makes me feel that much worse about having to lock her up in the bedroom. She's got lots of room but I know she's bored and lonely. She doesn't seem very scared anymore.

All in all I think it was a successful day. We'll get our little temporary family going and be happy soon. This mom will be a snap to adopt out when this is all over. I am not kidding about how affectionate she is.

A lot of the time when she was on her back and I was tummy rubbing, I'd let my hand rest and I could feel the kittens moving around. Quite a bit actually. You could even see it! I don't think she's got long to go at all.

One thing I'm curious about though. Her nipples. obviously they've preparing to lactate, but when I rub her tummy I can feel that the ends of her nipples feel hard. Is that normal?

Originally Posted by fastnoc

One thing I'm curious about though. Her nipples. obviously they've preparing to lactate, but when I rub her tummy I can feel that the ends of her nipples feel hard. Is that normal?

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I'm no expert in pregnant cats or pregnancy for that matter, but it sounds like it might be, especially if she's nearly near her time?. The pregnant cats and kitten forum will be better to answer your question though.

Have you got a Feliway plugin and some drops of Rescue Remedy for your cats to help them destress?.

She sounds such an angel Whats her background have i missed it?

Yeah I'm going to start spending time in that forum to learn.

I've never heard of 'destress' meds before. Can you fill me in? I'll get some if it'll help.

As for a history, we don't have one. She simply wandered into an office one day

You can plug some feliway in that will help calm them down. Also Rescue Remedy on their paws will also help naturally calm them. Feliway can be purchased at the pet store and sometimes Rescue Remedy can also, but if not you can get at the health food store.

What a little angel she is. Heres sending calming vibes to them all

Originally Posted by fastnoc

I've never heard of 'destress' meds before. Can you fill me in? I'll get some if it'll help.

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This is the Feliway link, and used by a lot of the members here I used a plugin and a spray when i moved house with Rosie and Sophie because the journey itself would have been stressful enough for them. So i gave short bursts of the spray in all the rooms of the new house and switched on the plugin as soon as we got there, and i swear it calmed them down.

http://www.feliway.uk.com/feliway_uk.nsf/Page?OpenForm

Rescue Remedy can be purchased from supermarkets or pharmacies. Again used a lot by the members here. I bought it for the girls when i brought Jack home. I added a few drops to their drinking water, and a couple of drops on their paws Humans can have it as well to relax them

http://www.rescueremedy.co.uk/

Wow I'm going to look into that. Thanks!

I managed to get a couple pics of her belly, but man they just don't do it justice. It's much bigger than it looks but she won't sit still long enough to get a pic. I also got a short video I'll upload later for fun.

Awww she is nicely rounded as well isn't she Her little nipples aren't so little anymore either, bless her heart.

yeah. she's coming around. little by little. I bet by the end of the weekend she's in good shape and relaxed.

She can't be far off. I can feel LOTS of movement. and can see quite a bit of it too. I can tell when a head or elbow moves around really easily. I can also count 4 separate bodies, but i'm thinking there are more. I don't know how it works, but she's carrying the kittens on her sides, not directly below her in her tummy (well yes I know it's not really her tummy). I assumed cats carried the babies in the center like people do. Guess not.

Wow! That is sooo cool! Good luck to you and to Maddy ( Can't call her the real name, cuz I don't like it!)

Your going to be an expert after this experience

I believe you're right Rosiemac, I think I will Like it or not! Actually it'll come in handy because once this group is grown and gone I'll likely get another.

SO, since I've got a couple different places following my little endeavor I went ahead and built a site. I don't want to keep pointing them to a thread somewhere and obviouslyl I've got more freedom of use here. Since I own the servers etc.

I registered fosterkitty.com but it's not pointed to the site just yet. So for the time being you can view it (and a brand new post!) by going to www.mindzipper.com

Scroll to the bottom to start. I copied my posts here to get it started.

i personally wouldnt be attempting to integrate her into your household, it is better for her to be separated for when she gives birth, partly so she has them somewhere relatively easy to check, and partly so she doesn't get stressed by your other cats, and partly cos you haven't had her that long and she was a stray, it is advisable to isolate strays for a minimum of 2 weeks, as that is how long things like cat flu can take to come out, and you wouldnt want her to make your current cats poorly. IT isn't nice having them isolated, but it is better than being on the streets.

You know, I really appreciate that post booktigger. I had somehow lost track of my goal with socializing.

On the one hand it's not a problem about the sickness thing. The agency keeps the cats for 3 weeks before fostering them out to ensure there's no lingering sickness like the flu. She was also tested for luekemia and a couple other things so i'm prettys ure we're ok there. But she couldn't be vaccinated because she's pregnant.

I fully intend on full separation after she gives birth, but solitude will be her goal then too so I wouldn't feel so bad. I guess it's really pointless to try matching eveyrone up since I'll be adopting her out after the kittens are all gone too. it's not permanent.

Thanks for pointing me back in the right direction!

I didn't realise she had already been isolated and tested, we aren't fortunate to have that, we literally do just pick them up and bring them in our homes. I do integrate fosters after two weeks, unless it is mum and kittens, they are always kept completely separate, (partly if I am honest so I only have to kitten proof one room in the house, and partly cos my stairs would be dangerous to tiny kittens, although they are fun for adults). There is nothing wrong with giving her some time out of the room, but it is different to adopting. As she will have to be separated after they are born, you will have to watch how much time out she has before, or she might fret in a room of her own. What happens with adoptions wtih the rescue you are volunteering for - do they all go to the shelter at a certain age, or are they adopted out from your house?