pregnant stray cat disappeared!!

ok.. the story is three months ago a stray cat with three kittens showed up in my patio and i have never seen the mom cat before, the kittens looks like about 6 weeks old. two of the kittens missing but one is around momcat and i and one neighbor give them some food, water and some shelter in my patio and in my garage sometimes when it is too cold.
the last week or so i noticed that her sides are swellen like she is pregnant and she sleeps more often and eats more. i set up an appointment to take her to vet to see if she is pregnant and maybe if not late spayed her( belieive me i don't like to do that but better than kittens have no home and get killed or ran over by cars.)
mom cat was always in my patio and followed me every where but last nite when i came in from walking my cats outside i did not see her anymore, left some food out last nite and this morning and nothing was touched!! she just totally disappeard.. i think she is having her kittens and probably using her old place when she had the first ones. i am worried about her, temp. is in 30's now and suppose to get in 20's.. is she ok is she warm? i don't want to keep digging every where in case she has a good spot and distract her..
i am puzzled.
can anyone give me any feedback or suggestion base on what you read?
her kitten is not around either..
i am sure she is not ran over or attacked since i live the area with no wild animals and no traffic where she is. just tree, bushes, lake.

She probably is off giving birth. If she chose a good nesting place, the kittens shouldn't freeze, but even if they do, if you don't know where they are there's nothing you can do about it . If they survive, she'll start bringing them around to your house for food when they're about 5 weeks old. At that point, if she lets you handle them, do so as often as possible, and you can find good homes for them. If she doesn't let you handle them, you'll have to kitty-nap them so you can tame them. You can have her spayed when the kittens are 8-9 weeks old.

The kitten who stayed with her is probably a girl (in my experience, they chase off their sons around 4 months of age (or they wander off looking for a territory no other tom has claimed yet), but girls will stay with their mothers until they have their own litter, even helping with the next litter), so you'll need to have her spayed as well, as she'll be getting pregnant pretty soon. She'll probably come for food before her mother does, but she'll most likely be helping with the babies and you won't see her as much.

Good on you for taking care of these poor kitties! I hope everything works out for them.

Originally Posted by Willowy

She probably is off giving birth. If she chose a good nesting place, the kittens shouldn't freeze, but even if they do, if you don't know where they are there's nothing you can do about it

. If they survive, she'll start bringing them around to your house for food when they're about 5 weeks old. At that point, if she lets you handle them, do so as often as possible, and you can find good homes for them. If she doesn't let you handle them, you'll have to kitty-nap them so you can tame them. You can have her spayed when the kittens are 8-9 weeks old.

The kitten who stayed with her is probably a girl (in my experience, they chase off their sons around 4 months of age (or they wander off looking for a territory no other tom has claimed yet), but girls will stay with their mothers until they have their own litter, even helping with the next litter), so you'll need to have her spayed as well, as she'll be getting pregnant pretty soon. She'll probably come for food before her mother does, but she'll most likely be helping with the babies and you won't see her as much.

Good on you for taking care of these poor kitties! I hope everything works out for them.

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thanks for feedback! i can't even stand outside for 15 minutes it is so cold and i don't know how they do it.. i hope the older kitten snuggle with mom to keep her warm.. i feel kind of guilty not to take her and spayed earlier. she is such a sweet cat.

Oh dear! It is possible she is having the kittens or just is at one of her other hang outs. The mother will have to leave the nest to eat and that is when the kittens will be at serious risk of death from the cold. I sure hope you see her tonight and can snatch her up. Have you touched her before? Are you able to handle her? This would be great and much easier to get her to the vet.

I didn't know that the girls will stay with the mother longer. That explains why the three kittens I trapped along with their mother were all female and older kittens. The males are still out there and I plan on trying to trap them again.

Good luck and I hope the mother comes around tonight. Keep us posted

Originally Posted by Feralvr

Oh dear! It is possible she is having the kittens or just is at one of her other hang outs. The mother will have to leave the nest to eat and that is when the kittens will be at serious risk of death from the cold. I sure hope you see her tonight and can snatch her up. Have you touched her before? Are you able to handle her? This would be great and much easier to get her to the vet.

I didn't know that the girls will stay with the mother longer. That explains why the three kittens I trapped along with their mother were all female and older kittens. The males are still out there and I plan on trying to trap them again.

Good luck and I hope the mother comes around tonight. Keep us posted

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mommy is very sweet i can pick her up pet her and put her in the cage and she is ok with everything. i don't think there is another sweet spot because she was always in my patio or garage unless her spot is the place for birth, i have left food for her and kitten outside in my patio in her usual place but so far nothing.. if even she comes by i can't hold on to her if she gave birth to her kittens.. i am very suprised that she did not use my patio because it is quiet and big fluffy bed for her too. just hope they all survive this freaking cold weather here. i don't want to search for her in hidden spot because i am afraid i make things worse or should i?

I'm sorry to read that she's still missing. I hope she comes back to you soon.

If she's tame, I don't think it would hurt anything if you went looking for her. If you find her, don't try to drag her out or anything, but if she's done having the babies and you can reach them, you can bundle them all into a box and take them inside.

But wait till you have daylight. She might come to you if she is very hungry. If you can find the kittens and the nest and she trusts you, you can gather them up and bring them all inside. I pray you find her, or better yet I pray she hasn't had the kittens.

I will tell you about the mother of my feral kittens. I, too, thought she was VERY pregnant. I was able to trap her and the kittens. I brought her to the vet. She had very large nipples and had milk. But she was NOT pregnant. She just looked it because the kittens were still nursing even at six months because they were so hungry. So, it is possible that she in not pregnant, but that the kitten who is with her is still nursing and then she will keep producing milk.

Originally Posted by Willowy

If she's tame, I don't think it would hurt anything if you went looking for her. If you find her, don't try to drag her out or anything, but if she's done having the babies and you can reach them, you can bundle them all into a box and take them inside.

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i went out and looking at the area that she mostly hangs around and made some noises but nothing( she knows that and when is really cold i do that and she runs from my patio and follows me to the garage to stay there.) it is 8pm and the food still out in patio. i am afraid it is too cold and they are snuggling to keep warm. it was not cold last nite so i did not keep her in the garage and i had no clue she is going to have kittens if she is or not.. but this the first time in almost 3 months that she is not in my patio area in her bed. she is very smart cat.
and we have got this nasty arctic front this morning, perfect timimg..rain wind, freezing temp.
i am very upset even she is not my own cat.

Originally Posted by Feralvr

But wait till you have daylight. She might come to you if she is very hungry. If you can find the kittens and the nest and she trusts you, you can gather them up and bring them all inside. I pray you find her, or better yet I pray she hasn't had the kittens.

I will tell you about the mother of my feral kittens. I, too, thought she was VERY pregnant. I was able to trap her and the kittens. I brought her to the vet. She had very large nipples and had milk. But she was NOT pregnant. She just looked it because the kittens were still nursing even at six months because they were so hungry. So, it is possible that she in not pregnant, but that the kitten who is with her is still nursing and then she will keep producing milk.

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i am very sure she is pregnant, she slept alot the last week or so and ate alot of food and sweet as she can be.

Isn't it just amazing how they find their way right into our hearts - and we feel such a sense of responsibility for them?

My husband HATED cats - and after that first cat adopted us (!!!!!), it just changed everything. Like you, we had a mom cat bring her kittens here. We adopted two of that litter as our first indoor-only pets. And Gary called everyone we knew with cats to apologize for not liking them.

for mommy!

ok...i just look outside the patio and saw the kitten eating the food and stretching out and lay on the pad on top of the patio chair.. so what is that mean? she did no go back..was she with momcat all day? who knows.. no sign of her yet!!
did something happened to her? daytime i am going to look for her regardless!!

should i leave my garage alittle open like always did for them in case?

I would.

Yes, leave everything the same as you normally do. Leave the garage open a bit if you do that normally. I bet she might have given birth then if you saw the older kitten come and eat tonight without the mother. I bet that older kitten knows where her mother is too. Wouldn't it be cool if that kitten would let you follow her to the nest? Unfortunately that is just my wishful thinking. I hope you can find her tomorrow. I am sure she is not too far away because she knows you are there to feed her and she knows she needs to be near her food resource. They are very smart and instinctive.
for the mother and kittens.

Originally Posted by Feralvr

Yes, leave everything the same as you normally do. Leave the garage open a bit if you do that normally. I bet she might have given birth then if you saw the older kitten come and eat tonight without the mother. I bet that older kitten knows where her mother is too. Wouldn't it be cool if that kitten would let you follow her to the nest? Unfortunately that is just my wishful thinking.

I hope you can find her tomorrow. I am sure she is not too far away because she knows you are there to feed her and she knows she needs to be near her food resource. They are very smart and instinctive.
for the mother and kittens.

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i hope so too.i just hope she did not have any birth complication.

nothing this morning.. left garage open some and no sign of mom or the older kitten..food still left untouched.
the food in patio was left untouched too after the kitten ate some last nite. i am headed to look for her now!

Good Luck . I am glad you are not having our freezing temps. It is five BELOW zero right now. I doubt any kittens being born near me wouldn't make it. Hope you find mother

temp 25 here.. i just came back from 1/2 hr walk and no luck, i saw the kitten hanging around the pool by herself and she followed me to my patio and ate some food. i am trying to be positive but this is not looking good, i wouldn't be worried as much if it was not this cold but no food for 36 hrs and this cold weather, how long can she last?

What we need to hope is that someone else was also putting out food.

Try not to worry, although I know that is hard. But, she had kittens before and knows what to do and how to care for herself as well. Yes, the cold weather is bad, but she could be receiving food from someone else along with you too. Sometimes, the ferals/strays have a few different "feeding stations" set out for them from other kind-hearted people like yourself. So, let's just hope for that. Please keep posting, because a few of us here want to know how things are going for you and the mother cat. I am glad the kitten followed you back to your patio from the pool. Could you trap that kitten and get him/her fixed? You can borrow a trap from most rescue organizations in your area. You just have to get on the internet to find some in your area and give them a call. I couldn't believe how helpful these rescues were to me.