Pregnant Stray

It's been quite a while since I've been on these forums.

Anyway, the woman I'm living with loves to feed the local strays. She puts out cat food for them twice a day, so we see all kinds of different cats every day. And, since kitten season is here, it's inevitable that we'd get more than one pregnant cat.

Backtracking a bit, when I first moved in here, my roommates' cat, Sweet Pea, was pregnant. The day after I moved in, the cat had her first two kittens. One was found under a small shelf and the other was under the bed. Only one of these kittens was alive, but weak. She had another kitten later that was also dead by the time it was found. None of these kittens received any kind of parental care from Sweet Pea...she just wanted nothing to do with them. The live kitten was kept alive by us for a couple days (i stayed up all night with it the first night), but it passed away suddenly. I found out later that not only had the cat in question had a full litter of stillborns once before, but she is also under a year old.

Don't tell me she needs to get spayed. I /know/. She isn't my cat, and I just moved into the situation. If they don't get her spayed (she's still going outside), I plan to pay for it once I start working.

Anyway. Yesterday, a pregnant calico came to eat at the porch. We have a fondness for calicos, and surprisingly, she didn't run away when we went out to give her attention. After noticing she was pregnant, we brought her inside. The temperature shifts are just too extreme this time of year to trust that she can keep her babies warm enough outside. Plus it's just safer for her to have her kittens inside than outside. Even with Sweet Pea being a territorial brat (growling and swatting at her) and a 150 pound plus black lab lumbering about (he's been known to eat kittens so we're going to be sure to keep him FAR away from the kittens).

I'm not sure how far along she is. Her stomach is massive for how tiny she is, and she's also really thin (she's been eating like crazy though, since Sweet Pea's food is always down). She hasn't shown any discomfort besides having to carry around that tummy. I'm not sure how to tell how far along she is.

Also, I made her a nest box out of an old laundry basket with newspaper lining the bottom and shredded newspaper on top of that. I've put her in it, but she doesn't seem interested in it. She just really wants to go back outside, but we are comfortable letting her out until she's had her babies. I don't think she's using the litter box either. Last night she peed on my floor, but she's been eating and drinking and we haven't found anymore surprises, she might be now, I don't know.

I think I am just being really paranoid here since Sweet Pea's pregnancy went so badly, and I want to know if I'm doing all the right things or if there are things I should be doing for her.

I didn't know how to edit my previous post >>

So she /isn't/ using the litterbox. I don't know if I'll have to buy a separate one for her and the kittens when they're born and put it in my room or something.

ANYWAY. I am feeling infinitely better about this pregnancy, because when she lays on her side, i can see little kitties moving and kicking like crazy inside her

I hope they come out soon.

Wolfsong442 said:

 
So she /isn't/ using the litterbox. I don't know if I'll have to buy a separate one for her and the kittens when they're born and put it in my room or something.

ANYWAY. I am feeling infinitely better about this pregnancy, because when she lays on her side, i can see little kitties moving and kicking like crazy inside her

I hope they come out soon.

Click to expand...

It is surely less then two weeks, as you see them moving.  The exact hour is impossible to tell.

Yes, you will have to get a separate litter for her and her kittens.   She is probably unused to litter of shredded papers.

Try also with someting else. You can make several different, and see which she uses.

Say, classical cat litter from baked clay.   Have some  dry leaves from outside, perhaps with some dirt (earth) from outside.

If you can get "kitten attract litter" - try with this.  Sprinkle some on the surface.

My guess she had a home once.  A high preg semiferal MAY seek out humans help, but willingly coming inside is rare.

The edit function is in the left down corner of your post.  It looks like a thick, fat pen.

You do have there also possibility to call on the mods (red flag)

Proceed with reporting and asking!

Welcome to TCS!

I think maybe she just doesn't like the litterbox because it smells like the existing cat...and said existing cat isn't exactly being very welcoming to her.

My roommate said that she probably had a home and was dumped when it became apparent that she was pregnant. That seems to fit with why we didn't see her until that day.

She still wants outside so badly, but she is making herself at home and is currently sleeping under my desk and is eating all the food in the house XD She's probably eating for several.

I just hope that she is a better mother than Sweet Pea was. I would hate to have to go through another kitty abandoning her kittens.

Wolfsong442 said:

 
I think maybe she just doesn't like the litterbox because it smells like the existing cat...and said existing cat isn't exactly being very welcoming to her.

My roommate said that she probably had a home and was dumped when it became apparent that she was pregnant. That seems to fit with why we didn't see her until that day.

Click to expand...

I agree with both of these quesses!

I see although your roomate is negligent about the spayings, she understands how cats have it.

So proceed on trying to talk her into the spayings, both of her Sweet Pie, and also these homeless she is feeding.

(I know spaying of homeless you dont own is easier said than done, but still, it should be her long term aim. If you begin with feeding, follow up with spaying.  If you say A, you should say B too)

Some links on birth to look into:

  from this site:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnancy-and-delivery-in-cats
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnant-cat-what-to-prepare-for-the-birth

http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens    ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )  

http://www.cat-world.com.au/parturition-birth-in-cats

Re spaying - where you do live?

cheap  spaying:
If you are in the U.S. ,  the ASPCA has an online database.  http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter

 Or here is a hotline number that will find you a low cost clinic in your area  1-800-248-7729   

www.spayusa.org

I woke up this morning...or yesterday morning depending on your time zone to mama cat giving birth. I was surprised because I thought she wasn't so far along. But she'd chosen a box in my room, so I woke up to kitten cries ;; It was a good way to wake. The whole process didn't take long, maybe three or four hours? But she's the proud mother of five beautiful kittens. I'll post pictures when I get around to taking them, but she's a /wonderful/ mother and her kittens are gorgeous. She's been doing everything right, and the kittens are right under my computer desk, so I can look at them whenever I want. I'm so happy ;;

Congrats!   We wait on pics and reports!    *beaming!*

It is wise if you weigh them every day.  Its a nice memory for you and their coming adoptions homes.  And, if anything is not developing as it shall, it will be your easiest way to notice someting is not so.

Good luck!

I'll look into getting a scale tomorrow.

But for nowww




Might take closeups of individual kittens tomorrow, but now mama is tired and i've messed with the babies enough tonight.

Can you sex a kitten this young? And are there actually chocolate brown cats? I think a couple might be really dark brown if they aren't black. Also I can't tell if one of them is tortie or calico.

I have a very important question.

The kittens are now just over a month old. My roommates forced me to put them outside in the shed. I wasn't happy about it because I wanted to make sure that they were okay, but as I was making plans to move and take the kittens and mother cat with me soon, I did as they asked. They assured me that the mother would stay around and that the kittens would be fine. They were for a couple days. Then the mother cat up and moved her kittens while I was at work.

Now I don't know what to do. I want the kittens back, but I don't know where she's hidden them. I didn't think she'd be able to go too far, but I didn't see her all that day. She's started to come back though. I'm not sure if I can follow her to where she's hidden the kittens or not, as she seems to mostly come back to the house at night when it's hard to see.

I want my kittens back. I want to get them fixed and get their shots and get them healthy so i can raise and then adopt the entire family out to loving homes. It this goal worth worrying over the mother cat and following her in the middle of the night hoping that she will lead me to her babies?

Her moving the kittens was unfortunately the natural thing for her to do. Not only was she uprooted from her original nest (which was likely unbelievably stressful) but then put outside where her instincts to protect them kicked into overdrive. From this point on she will likely be moving her nest every few days so as not to attract any predators. 

That said, I think it's absolutely worth trying to track her in an effort to find the kittens. You might also just want to head out on foot and start looking on your own. You are right that she probably didn't move them very far given how many there are and that they aren't great on their feet yet (so she likely had to carry them to the new location). What she's going to be looking for is somewhere that is quiet, dark, and covered so keep that in mind as you hunt for potential hiding spots. Good places to look would be under bushes, in tall grass, near tall trees, under the porch, ect. You could also try to tempt her back during the day by leaving some food out, though this may attract more strays and scare her even more. 

The bigger problem at hand is, once you do find her, where will you keep her? If she remains outdoors she will continue to move them. And, with so many strays around, I can assure you that she WILL get pregnant again. Even worse, intact males in the area pose a great risk to the kittens as they can be so territorial and aggressive that they won't think twice about killing them, especially to mate with the Mother. Therefore it's absolutely critical that you come up with a way to confine her and the babies indoors. I really admire all the work you have done to help her and her little family and I know it's important to you to see it through to the end and have them all altered and placed in good forever homes. But, you also have to ask yourself what is truly in their best interest. And, if your roommate won't let you bring them back inside then you may need to look into alternatives. Perhaps you could contact a local no kill shelter and see if they have any fosters who could take them in? Or, start asking friends and family if they would be willing to spare a bedroom (or even a closed off garage) for another month or two? I can tell you are committed and I think with a little brainstorming and creativity you will be able to come up with a good solution! 

The only other thing I wanted to comment on is, that while I greatly admire the woman you are living with's compassion and desire to help the local strays by feeding them, it is absolutely imperative that if she continues to do so she also works to have them all altered as well. I would look and see if there are any Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) organizations in your area and get in touch with them. There are also many low cost spay and neuter clinics out there who would likely be willing to help out however they can. The common phrase is, "If you feed don't let them breed." This is because the regular source of food will attract even more strays and it can quickly turn into an out of control colony. And, once a few litters are born then inbreeding begins and you start getting kittens with deformities and other issues. It can also become a public health issue as cats can carry many diseases. Unfortunately, if others in the neighborhood start to complain there is a good chance that animal control will get involved, and that usually means trapping as many as they can and euthanizing them (not only because of the potential illnesses that they may have but because most feral cats are deemed "un-adoptable"). On an even more personal level, in some States there are laws that consider whoever is feeding a colony to be legally responsible for them and therefore liable if it gets out of control. I by no means want to discourage her (or your) desire to help, I'm just saying that after a certain point it can do more harm than good, and it's far better to focus on a few and really help them by having them vaccinated and fixed than to just feed the many and allow it to spiral out of control. Now is the time to work to limit the size of the colony while it is still manageable! 

The only other question I had is that I am a little confused as to the living situation. Do you live with this woman and another roommate? Or is she the one who has SweetPea and evicted this girl? I'm just thinking if they are the same person you may be able to reason with her strong sense of compassion and get the Calico and her kittens back into the house. 

Again, thank you for doing so much to try and help all the cats in need in your area. Vibes that you can find the Calico and her brood and find them a safe place to stay. Please let us know what happens and don't hesitate to ask any other questions that you may have. We are happy to brainstorm ideas or help however else we can! 

She came back this morning. I followed her down the street. I don't think she's led me to her babies yet, but she kept going through people's yards and  there are so many yappy dogs on this road that I couldn't keep following her. I'll try again later if she comes back.

I hadn't thought that far ahead, honestly. If I found the kittens, I guess I just would stick them back in the shed, but if she keeps moving them, then there's very little I can do about it. I've tried and tried, but my roommate will not let me let them into the house, mostly because she's afraid of losing her child and also a little bit because her boyfriend doesn't want them inside. So I suppose that once I found them, I would contact a friend who knows about a cat sanctuary he'd been pushing me to take pictures for. He was pretty sure that he could get them to fund the fostering of the kittens, but I was resistant because I love the babies and I didn't want to lose them. I had no idea this would happen.

The feeding of the stray cats isn't really something that happens anymore. My roommate has become somewhat...disillusioned about the cats. Most of the cats aren't feral, either. They are either friendly strays or strays that are wary of people. I doubt that feral cats would come into such a densely populated area. And yes. I live with a woman, her boyfriend and her three year old son. They are the same people who own sweet pea, who is probably pregnant again. They tell me they're going to make her stay outside, but they keep letting her inside. I'm trying to move soon though, because I'm not being treated right in my current situation. I just want to get my kittens somewhere where they can be inside and safe. Preferably somewhere I can still have contact and adopt the two I wanted to keep when I'm able to afford an apartment in a couple weeks.

Also, while I was following her, it almost looked like she were 'looking' for her kittens. She kept going in an out of old buildings, but coming right back out. Also her nipples were kind of full, which makes me worry that nothing's been suckling. I don't know if this means the kittens are dead or someone took them (they are very, very cute), or if I'm just overreacting because I know very little about nursing cats.

You really are in a difficult situation and I definitely feel for you. And believe me when I say that i know your intentions here were nothing but good. But, unfortunately, I just don't think you are quite in a place to fully handle this situation. PLEASE don't think I'm judging you- I'm not- and I've been there myself. Many years ago (before I adopted a cat and got involved with rescue) a friend of mine had a cat who had kittens. After they were born he continued to let her outside and she would be gone for hours on end. I felt she was neglecting the kittens, and so I took them from him and decided to hand raise them myself. Knowing what I know now this was probably the worst thing I could have done. I was also in a situation at the time where I couldn't see it through to the end and so the kittens ended up back with him and, unfortunately, all died within the year. My point is that we all have good hearts here and the best of intentions, it's just sometimes we get in over our heads and yes, make mistakes. You have made them and I have made them too. It doesn't make you a bad person (any more than it does me) as it's all a learning experience for the future. In the end you have a clear love of animals and are willing to go above and beyond for them. Don't ever let that part change and continue to learn as you go! 

What I should have done in my situation (and what I am hoping you will do) is find a foster/shelter/rescue for them. No, it's not great if they end up in cages but if you found a no kill place I think that would be preferable to being reared on the streets and likely going feral. At a month old they are just going into the most critical phase of their development, and this is the time where they will either get used to and trust humans or they never will. I know you said that the majority in your area are just strays, but anytime you have intact cats roaming about you are on the verge of starting the first feral generation. Who knows, this litter could be the one that takes it from a tolerable situation to an out of control one. If they can't be found then they can't be altered, and if they can't be altered they WILL breed- with each other. You get the picture.... 

So, please, don't give up yet! Keep looking and follow her as much as you can. You are right that it's possible that they may already be dead (it's very unlikely that she lost or misplaced them but someone could have picked them up) but I think it's still worth looking. We have had stories like this on TCS before and in all but one (that I have been around for) the kittens were located safe and sound. In one case it was over a month later so don't get too discouraged yet. She isn't going to go in a yard that has dogs so you can pretty much rule those out. She also may have known you were following her and was scared and trying to lose you. Yes, the instinct to protect is that strong! 

I'm sorry that this situation happened but I'm still optimistic that it can have a happy ending, even if it's not the one you were hoping for. Even if they won't stay with you you still have a great service to do as you are the only person who even stands a chance of finding them. Don't give up yet- keep looking and in the meantime be contacting local shelters/rescues to try and find a place for them all in case you do manage to find them. Be optimistic and I will too!!   

EDIT: I forgot I wanted to make a personal comment that I am sorry to hear how crummy your living situation is. I am really just so shocked that someone who would stop and feed strays doesn't have their own cat spayed and refused to let you keep a vulnerable Queening cat in the house. Talk about mixed messages! I do hope you can get out of that situation soon as it sounds like a very toxic environment and cannot be healthy. I of course morally want to still encourage you to find a way to get Sweet Pea spayed but I know you already have your hands full. Just keep doing what you can!