Some advice needed please!

Hello, I am concerned about my cat Kitty, She is very heavily pregnant and has had a very traumatic few days and I am worried about how this may impact upon her labour and birth. She went missing for 4 days and it has come to light that one of my neighbours thought that she was a stray or was lost and took her to the local cat shelter. I am concerned that she seemed to be in very early labour when i collected her today as she was losing some yellow tinged fluid from her vulva, this now seems to have stopped. I am just wondering how long I should wait before I take her to the vets? I suppose the trauma has messed around with her hormones and she may just settle again and go into labour naturally? This is the first time she (or I!) have had kittens and I would appreciate some advice please

Some real experts should be along shortly, but that sounds like she has lost her "mucous plug." That happens usually around 24-48 hours before birth.

It sounds to me as though she was losing her mucous plug, and is starting to go into labor. Keep an eye on her, and I would place her into a quiet room with a box with some blankets where she could have her kittens in.
Place pictures when they come!!

It might be helpful to call the vet and let him know what happened. That way he can be prepared if she gets in trouble giving birth. He will appreciate knowing in advance.

Hope she has a smooth delivery.

Thank you for the advice. She is very happy to be at home and is just sleeping a lot now.
No sign of any kittens yet, I will be calling the vet for advice in the morning if there are no signs of true labour by then.
She doesn't seem to want to settle in a box anywhere, I have offered her many places but she has just wanted to follow me around all day sleeping next to me as I did my housework.
I'm so happy to have her home and so are my children, I really thought we had lost her.

I'm so glad you got her back. Most of us who have gone through pregnancy and delivery with a cat have had the same questions. It seems like every cat reacts differently. They just love to give us false signals and keep us awake at night worrying about them.

Safe delivery for Kitty, and calming for you.