So many questions!

Hi, all! 

I recently became mama to a kitty for the first time in my 36 years.  A little stray showed up at my place over a month ago, either abandoned or neglected, and visibly pregnant.  I immediately vetted her and checked for a microchip (none), and placed found ads locally.  After no one claimed her, I did.

She now has a collar and tags, but I have not brought her inside.  I feed her Iams kitten food (the vet said she is only about 9 mos old) and give her fresh water twice daily on my porch.  She has a favorite comfy chair with a cushion that she sleeps on, and she seems to be happiest out of doors.  She loves to cuddle and is so lovely.  My husband is not fond of cats and is highly allergic.  BUT I will be keeping her in our basement when she is ready to have her litter.  I have a nest made for her, as well as a litter box, etc. 

When I took her to the vet on Sept. 26, he confirmed her pregnancy and said she was 4-5 weeks.  Since then, she has put on a lot of weight!  She just looks absolutely healthy and glossy.  Other than rolling around a lot, a big belly, and enlarged nipples, she has no other signs. 

Now for questions! 

1.  I haven't felt *any* kittens move, even though she is now supposedly 8-9 weeks.  She has quite a lot of hair, though.  Is this normal?  The vet said that this is probably her first litter.

2.  Since I plan to bring her inside very soon, is it possible for me to litter train her rather quickly?  She will be in a heated basement, in a cozy, safe area.  I am using a circular exercise pen (for our bunny!) to contain her nest.  It has a door for her so she will be able to come and go to her food, water, and litter box into the room itself.  How should I go about training her? 

3.  If no kittens are here within the week, should I take her back to the vet?  She definitely has a fat tum, but I am guessing that her litter is small.  Could this also be why I have not felt movement?

4.  I am concerned that if I bring her in too early, she'll go mad being cooped up in the basement.  I would love for her to have free range of the house, but my puppy doesn't like her (and my hubby is allergic)...  How can I make her feel comfy and at home there before her "big day"?

Thank you all for reading.  I'm sorry if my questions are silly, but I have never owned a cat before!  I just love my Little Girl (that's her name) and want what is best for her.  Oh, and she and the kittens will be getting spayed/neutered 9 weeks after birth

Just a thought. Having kittens will be a huge event for Little Girl. As is moving from outdoors into your basement. Both together? A tsunami of changes.

So if you could bring her in and get her settled first and then she has her kittens after she's adjusted to the change - well, that seems like it would be less traumatic.

Most cats litter train right away. Since she's used to going outdoors maybe scatter a little soil on top of the litter in the pan so she gets the idea. Cats are very cleanly animals and you should not have any problems (fingers crossed that I didn't jinx things by saying that.)

The basement has windows? I do hope she'll have some natural light.

Do you have any pictures? Pictures are always nice.

Good luck and good wishes to you and for Little Girl.

You might want to try some cat attract cat litter mixed with dirt. Keep it away from the kittens of course if it's the clumping variety

What a shame she wasn't spayed in September when she was 4-5 weeks along, 9 months is very young to be having a litter.

1.  I haven't felt *any* kittens move, even though she is now supposedly 8-9 weeks.  She has quite a lot of hair, though.  Is this normal?  The vet said that this is probably her first litter.

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You can both feel and see kittens moving from about 6 weeks along. They loose the hair around their nipples in the last week or two.

2.  Since I plan to bring her inside very soon, is it possible for me to litter train her rather quickly?  She will be in a heated basement, in a cozy, safe area.  I am using a circular exercise pen (for our bunny!) to contain her nest.  It has a door for her so she will be able to come and go to her food, water, and litter box into the room itself.  How should I go about training her? 

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Bring her in now to get her settled, set up a smaller area with a litter tray to help her know where she should go. 

3.  If no kittens are here within the week, should I take her back to the vet?  She definitely has a fat tum, but I am guessing that her litter is small.  Could this also be why I have not felt movement?

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Don't stress her with another vet visit, the kittens will arrive when they're ready. I assume he wormed her on your last visit?

Even singleton litters movement can be seen and felt. 

4.  I am concerned that if I bring her in too early, she'll go mad being cooped up in the basement.  I would love for her to have free range of the house, but my puppy doesn't like her (and my hubby is allergic)...  How can I make her feel comfy and at home there before her "big day"?

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Set her up with all the care necessities, spend time down there with her, leave a tv or radio on to keep her company. Read all you can on labour and delivery, one good website is: http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html

Make sure you're present at the birth, being a young girl she may not know what to do - have bottles and formula on hand, or at least your nearest supplier of them. You need to be there in case there are issues and she needs assistance  count placentas - a retained placenta causes infection, ensure all kittens are quickly removed from their sack and are breathing, make sure she does the cords or you'll need to do it for her. 

Lots of very good advice above. I agree you should bring her in sooner rather than later and spend as much time down there with her as you can helping her get settled. Cat attract litter is great for attracting them to the box if she struggles with dirt/regular litter. But, I would start with a non-clumping litter that you can use for the babies as well. Only if she struggles would I add cat attract, because once they get used to that it's hard to switch them to something else and you don't want it around the babies as they will eat it and that can cause major health problems. 

You said she has a chair and comfy cushion that she loves? If possible put that downstairs with her. A radio is also a great idea, as is a scratching post to give her some exercise and stimulation. Anything that she loves outside try to bring it in for her so she feels as at home as possible. 

As MM said make sure you are present for the birth- younger mothers tend to have more complications so be as prepared as you can be. 

Thank you for taking such good care of her. Good luck with the birth and keep us posted! 

Also make sure you kinow how to get your vet in the unlikely event she has problems in the middle of the night, and read the following which has a very good description of the birthing process, and will help you know if you need to speak to the vet.  Please don't reply on posting here and finding someone to tell you if you should call the vet.

http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html

I should add it's very rare for cats to need vet help, but when they do it really is an emergency.  BTW I agree absolutely with the page's comments on if the mother doesn't break the cord herself - I tear it, with clean fingernails, as far away from the kitten as possible.  All cords (human, cat, dog, elephant, whatever) are designed so that if they are crushed the blood vessels will rapidly contract and stop any bleeding.  You don't need a sterile hand - remember a cat's mouth isn't sterile!  I was surprised how tough a cord is.

Thank you all so much for your replies!

The basement has windows all around, so she will have plenty of natural light.  I went ahead and put a radio in with her, so hopefully that makes her a bit less anxious.  I stayed up with her most of the night last night because she was contracting and wouldn't let me leave   She took to her litter box right away like the smart girl she is. 

Her contractions seem to have subsided somewhat, but she is purring so loudly that it is startling, and nibbling at my hand a lot.  There was a bit of yellowish mucus on her bum, too. 
 

Update:  I was concerned that I still hadn't seen or felt any movement, so I took her to the vet.  They did a pregnancy ultrasound, and it turns out it was a phantom pregnancy!  Crazy!  She was fat, had enlarged nipples, was acting like she was in labor, even nesting and having contractions!

Guess it just goes to show that you can never be really sure until a kitten pops out or you take her for an ultrasound!  Guess the other vet who diagnosed her pregnancy a month ago + was mistaken.

I have to admit that I am a little bummed, and my kids will be soooooo upset.  But Little Girl checked out good and healthy otherwise, and she goes back in two weeks for her spay

Thanks again, everyone!
 

She could have been pregnant and then later absorbed them, continuing with the phantom. Great that she's going back very soon to be spayed, be sure to keep her contained during that time as she can go into heat again right away.

Nope, she is an indoor kitty now   She does love to be outside, but I want her to have a long and happy life.  The life expectancy of an outdoor kitty is so appallingly poor...I was shocked when I read the statistics.  My husband is not thrilled, as he is quite allergic, but I am using a product that cuts down on dander/allergens on her coat. 


 

massotherapygal said:

 My husband is not thrilled, as he is quite allergic, but I am using a product that cuts down on dander/allergens on her coat. 


 

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Whats it is for product?

There are also other tips, as quite many cat owners are allergic, and learns to copy with it.  Not uncommon also they manage with time with their own cats, while perhaps still allergic to others.

Anyway, if you wish I can rewrite my tips. Or try to seek out them, as I had written the tips several times here and in the Ferale forum.

Good luck!

I have noticed that my own kitty allergies are barely noticeable anymore because I have smooched her so much!  The product is called Allerpet/c.  After thoroughly brushing Little Girl, it is applied with a damp cloth to her coat. 
 

massotherapygal said:

  After thoroughly brushing Little Girl, it is applied with a damp cloth to her coat. 
 

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Ah, this was one of my tips.  Works fine if you must get the cat ready for a visitor.

Ie, this works also without this  preparate.  Although I suppose it works even better with preparate.

Another tip is to bathe them / lern them swim now and then.  Plain water, you dont need schampoo.

So happy you made her an indoor kitty. The strays seem to know about our house as they all show up here!! Almost a year ago we had a beautiful long hair calico show up. Friendly although didnt like to be picked up. I was sure she was lost. She lived on my pourch with the other  strays. I took 2 cats in to be spayed an i also took her an a male who was very friendly. Neither of the 2 had microchips. The male wasnt fixed so he stayed to be fixed ( 3 cats came to $700!!). He wasnt sure on the calico. Welllllll  she got pregnant! Had 3 kittens on easter sunday an 1 had died shortly after.  I couldnt bring them in because i have my inside cats an she was VERY FIESTY. She chased off all the other cats, possums, racoons, etc. So they lived on my pourch in a heated tote. Then we had alot of 100 plus days an she was panting so bad so i brought her an the 2 babies in. She was still nursing her babies at 2 months. They just loved being with her. 

Well one day we noticed her tummy was bigger an i felt it an i said i think she is pregnant again. sure enough 2 weeks later I hear a little noise an i think one of my cats is having a furball an i look where all the cats are staring an Pretty girl   had a kitten she was cleaning up. right on one of the cat beds. It took about 3 hours but she had 3 total. You never would have known if you didnt hear them. She popped one out an started cleaning them up.  I was stuffing paper towels under them to soak up the blood as i didnt want to move them. That was the 1st ive ever seen them actually being born.  AFter they was cleaned up an no more babies coming i got a new bed an put them in a carrier to give a little privacy.    So this sweet little girl who showed up a year ago has had 2 litters of kittens because the vet wasnt sure if she  had been fixed an she was pregnant a 2nd time while still nursing her 1st litter. we didnt get her in the house fast enough.  They are still in right now but i need to find them homes an i have quite a few inside cats, an outside ones an would love to find homes for all them but no one wants cats, just kittens an by the time i tame them they are 5 months an no one wants them.

It's just so unfair that people have the attitude that older cats (and dogs, for that matter) aren't desirable!  It makes me so angry.  Little Girl came to me when she was 9 months old or thereabouts, and I can't imagine loving her any more or less than I already do  
 

massotherapygal said:

It's just so unfair that people have the attitude that older cats (and dogs, for that matter) aren't desirable!  It makes me so angry.  Little Girl came to me when she was 9 months old or thereabouts, and I can't imagine loving her any more or less than I already do  
 

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Yeah. It may be rest from the old belief they dont bind properly in not very young.  Which is not true, also the older ones, several year old, do bind nicely, if you are friendly and giving them their heart.

Old semiferales are more difficult, it is true, but that is it.

The old belief perhaps tells us quite some about how cats did had it say 100 years ago.  Most were semiferal barncats, few were loved homecats.