Preggo kitty

I recently (today!) brought in a stray who is very pregnant. She looks how I felt at 38 weeks with my twins! I've emailed a local cat rescue to ask their advice on things, and read quite a few threads and articles on here. She's the sweetest little thing, but I'm not sure exactly HOW pregnant she is. She's currently sleeping behind my TV cabinet (it's at an angle in the corner). How soon can she be spayed after birth? And I've read 12 weeks is how long to keep the babies before rehoming, right? Anyway, my fingers are crossed for an uneventful birth!

Welcome to The Cat Site. I can't answer your questions as I have never raised kittens. But somebody else will be along who can help you. You might want to add a picture of your pregnant kitty.. This is a link that shows you how to do it.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-add-an-image-to-your-forum-post

Good luck with the mama and babies.

Kittens can be weaned at 5 to 6 weeks of age. They definitely should be able to rehomed by 8 or 9 weeks. It us advisable to get their first check up at the vets by 8 weeks for their first vaccine +/- their feline leukemia test. Good luck.

Usually most vets like to wait anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks after the kittens are weaned to spay the queen. ( It depends on which one of us you talk to -lol.)
The fact that she is very visibly pregnant means that she could have the kitties at any time now. Average gestation is approximately 63 days.

I didn't have to wait long . . . I heard mewing behind my TV and she has two kittens back there lol.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  I guess you will just have to leave her there for a day or so.  If you haven't learned all you need to know from reading in our Articles section, we're international here so I'm sure someone will be on line to answer any questions you have.  Keep us posted!

Thank you! One of the babies looks just like her (mostly white with red on the head and back) and the other is a calico (I think, its multicolored black and orange patches). I'm waiting for more now I guess lol. She can hang out back there for now, keeps the kids away!

Congratulations!

Yes, kittens can be given away / homed at 8/9 weeks but those last 4 weeks (leading up to 12) is when the learn the most of "how to be a cat." That is when they learn boundaries - how hard to bite when playing and when they are playing too much... basically the mom teaches her kittens "manners." If she doesn't, the task falls on the adopted family and it is a LOT easier when it doesn't. Without these manners, all kinds of undesirable behaviors can form (feet chasing/biting - bunny kicking/biting their new guardian in their untamed playful kitten enthusiasm). 

It is still up to the guardian to teach them that hands are not toys - but there are less behavior problems going into an adoption (statistically speaking) at 12 weeks vs 8. I experienced this personally when I adopted my guy at 8 weeks. I did not have the time or energy to take on the task of teaching him manners - so I adopted another kitten a few months later and together they taught each other.

So, just saying - unless there is a time constraint, 12 weeks is better.

There's no time constraint as long as we can keep them away from the 1 year olds and 4 year old!

There are now five kittens behind my TV cabinet lol! I did move it out to give her a laundry basket with a blanket in it and everyone is settled in. The kittens are nursing, and the mom (I'm dubbing her Lucy) ate a can of cat food.

Awesome! No time like the present!
Congrats.

WOW, five babies, she ate all those placentas and she's still hungry enough to eat a can of cat food!  Way to go, mama cat.  What do the others look like?

Fab!  Pics please...when you can! 

Four of them are red/ orange and white, and the other is a tortoise shell (I looked up the difference last night). All are doing good, and mama Lucy isn't leaving their side.
After reading around, I'm surprised she picked my living room to have them. This is where we spend almost all of our time, and its definitely not quiet!
I'm trying to get a pic, but it is horribly dark back there, and I'm afraid to use the flash after reading on here it can hurt their eyes.

It won't hurt their eyes at this point when they are still shut.  It's later when they are starting to open that they need the dark.

Thank you! I will definitely take some pictures when the kid lets go down for naps!

Not a very good picture, I will get some more! I'm going to start crocheting a cat cave, and after that some kitty toys! I'm super excited as my SO said we can keep Lucy and one of the babies!

Awwww lovely!

Here's another

It's really hard to get a good picture on my cell because I can't reach them lol. Here is a baby picture.
Momma was out eating and getting love.
I've read on here that boys get colors from mom while girls get coloring from mom and dad so is it probable that all of the orange/white ones are boys? I have no idea who dad is.