What to do?

Ok so we've been taking care of this stray. She's not your typical stray. She's super friendly and loves us a bunch. We'd let her sleep and eat in our basement. Today she came in and had a bubble on her butt. I figured it was her time. I couldn't find her at first and til i went down a 3rd time. I'm alone right now dealing with this. My husbands 800 miles away. Its been along time since i dealt with a prego cat and even then i was a kid. So she his under some furniture i had a blanket over. I saw some fluid and heard some little meowing. I lifted up the blanket and there was a baby. We had spot setup in my husbands front room but i locked that up because my neighbors aren't to be trusted. I heard ms. kitty growling(mom) and didn't wanna mess with her. Its the basement so its not very clean but she is on the blanket. I know touching them so soon is a no no. I'm hopin all is ok and i can move them all once its done to a better spot. I don't want her neglecting them cause she loves being outside. I'm not sure what to do. Normally she's a loving cat. Please help. Thanks

Lol, I wasn't sure what you were talking about when you said she had a bubble on her butt, then I saw the pregnant sentence.

I'm sure you can take care of this without your husband, yes?

How can your neighbours get into your husband's front room?  confused...

The mom picked that spot in your basement because she felt that was the safest, she doesn't mind that it is not that clean.

It is safe, I'm sure you have food, water and litter for her so it's okay.

It would be ideal if the kittens were in a box of some sort and it would also be ideal to have the basement heat up to about 70-75 degrees.

My experience is most basements are cold.

You are right that you shouldn't touch them in the first week or two.  Mother cats have been known to kill their babies from stress or neglect them altogether. 

Are you planning on keeping the mother?  Please try to have her spayed when the kittens are about 10 weeks old.  The kittens can also be spayed/neutered when they are about 10-12 weeks old.

At about 2 weeks you should start handling the kittens frequently so that they will get used to humans and can be adopted as sociable pets.

The mother is going to want to move them and hide them better at some point.  This may be a spot where you can't get to them and that is not good. You need to be able to socialize the kittens and mom will teach them to distrust humans.  I assume by the growling that she is currently not so friendly?  Maybe more semiferal?

Can you somehow get them into a large veri kennel or confine the area they are in now?

Please keep us posted!

She's never growled at us but i think she's still having the babies. I'm not real sure why she's growling since i can't see her. At what point do i do the box thing? Ms. kitty is very social. She's like a house cat that loves it outside. Theres a make shift room in the basement that is sometimes locked. I don't really have a box and i also don't know how many babies it is. She's a small sized cat so i thought maybe 3-4. I have a couple bottoms of cages from guinea pigs i could use. I can put down a clean a towel in it. Since she usually stayed in that front room i can set it up there. Right now i'm givin her space and let her come out on her own. I don't want her to think i'm a threat. 

Yes i do have a cat carrier too. The weather here is warming up so the basement isn't too cold. I hope she takes care of them like she should. If not then i'd bring them up to the kitchen and feed them and what not. I went down a few minutes ago and she didn't growl as much and the babies were quiet for the most part. I heard what i thought was 3 little meows earlier. She could be growling for protection. She'll be scratching at the door if she wants to go out. We'll see..Thanks for the help.

gd luck maryjane keep us posted how she is 

Ok..i setup the cat carrier right outside the blanket. The cage bottom is setup in the front room too. 

SadiecAt said:

You are right that you shouldn't touch them in the first week or two.  Mother cats have been known to kill their babies from stress or neglect them altogether. 

Click to expand...

Ah, lets not overdo this warning.  It may be true for freshly catches, very shy, semiferal moms.

Here, with a friendly mom, essentially an outside home cat, it is to overdo.

Wait till the  delivery is over and mom contend, if you want to be on the safe side.

But at very last after this, it is recommended you do weigh them every day.  If everything goes well, it will be a nice memory.  If anything isnt going so well, you will be warned by looking at their weigh gaining or absence thereof.

Edit.  Of course, if you see the mom is protesting and dont want you to held her kittens, although you do it very carefully and kindly -  dont do. Respect mom and avoid stressing, as Sadie hinted.   But probably she will accept if you do it nicely. Even many semiferales accepts.

And MaryJane.   DONT let her out from the house!   You dont want to risk something happens her  and leaves you with 3 adorable, but completely helpless kittens...

Many fresh moms go get into heat very soon after delivery... A very dangerous period for them...

Good luck!

What should the weights be? I don't have a cat scale. My scale and a very small scale 1 oz's and such. 

1 oz it not fine enough, should be at least 1/10 oz.

Difficult to say exact recommendations, the changes are more important.

As a rule of thumb, if they are 2oz (about 55 grams) they CAN survive, but it is very small. You must watch out and ensure she doesnt get overruled by the bigger siblings.

4 Oz  - say 120 grams, they are big but not enormous 

Most will prob be about 3 oz or a little thereover. Say betwenn 3 and 4 oz. - or if you want, between 70-120 grams.

Try to find a suitbable kitchens weigh, they can be quite cheap.

Thanks for clarifying Stefan.  It is different with friendly cats.

Maryjane is being such an attentive mum!!  You are doing great.

Going shopping tomorrow so i'll look. The 1 i saw looked normal size. I'm still letting her be. Its hard to behave..lol. I want to see them so bad. Hopefully she uses 1 of the spots i setup. How long should i wait then to touch them or pick them up? She seems to be growling less at least last time it seemed so. I'd like to move them soon without her possibly freaking out on me. 

I'd also like to see them and her. Want to make sure they're all able to eat.

I just received a foster semiferal mom yesterday and her 2 day old, 4 baby kittens.

I am in the same spot as you!!

The mom is deep some very deep growls at me and I am keeping my distance from her now to let her settle in, but I want SO bad to cuddle up those adorable kittens!!

The shelter they came from have asked me to wait 1 week or so before starting to hold/touch the kittens.  But after that, I was asked to give them a lot of attention, regularly.

I can't hardly wait

Update.. I went to look at the babies and found 1 not alive. Since i don't do well with that type of thing my wonderful neighbor helped me scoop him or her up and bury him/her. We saw 5 alive and cleaned up. They're so fuzzy. I saw him/her laying away from the group and still in the sac. I checked 2x before calling my neighbor. Its a sad thing but apart of life. Ms. kitty let us take him/her without any problem. She let my neighbor scratch her cheek so thats a good sign. She seems ok now, no more growling. I'll wait a week before handling them at all just to be safe. I'll be away for easter so she'll have her time without being bothered. 

Ok so i've been away for easter. This gave mom some time without being bothered. If she's done growling i plan moving them to a tote. They'll be locked in the front room. This will help her keep them confined. I was playing it safe not handling them. I hope not to find anything like i did saturday or worse. I already checked on milk and a bottle at petsmart.com. I really want to get a picture of them to post. I have a scale i can use til i get a kitchen one. My husband gave me the idea to use a bowl on the little he has and then zero it back to get an accurate weight. Thats what the vet did for my hamster i had. I checked prices online for a kitchen scale, they're 20-30.00 for digital. I'm doing my best but i'm nervous since its my first time..They'll be more posts to come. Thanks for the help.