Is this starving stray pregnant, or has she had her kittens?/ Thomas

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catwoman707

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Oh she is just so pretty :)

She def. looks to be actively nursing...............
 
You know I just happened to think, my stray Mom showed up on my back deck with her kittens when they were about 8 weeks, so I would think you'll have the whole brood eventually. 
Probably so!
 
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checkers

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Thank you @catwoman707  ! I sure hope what happened to @Reba   happens to me, and I come out one morning to find my little stray with her litter!

I am still concerned there may be something wrong with this little one though. The photos show her after a HUGE meal - she ate until her sides were bulging and she had the occasional hiccup. I'm surprised she didn't bring it all back up, but it stayed down (unlike two days ago when I found a little pile of the cat food I'd given her mixed with a chomped lizard). So she looks quite healthy in the photos, but despite her appetite, she is not gaining padding around her hips where she looks skeletal. I've treated her for worms and fleas. Maybe she has a parasite, or thyroid issues. I hope it's just the fact she is a young mum with a hungry litter.

She hasn't left the house now for 19 hours. I did shut her in last night (for 7 hours) so I'd have her this morning to attach the tracker to try to locate her kittens in daylight (rather than roam around neighbours' yards at 2am!).

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for your advice and interest.
 

Sarthur2

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I think she'll show up with the kittens eventually too, but if you can locate them sooner, all the better. I can see why she wouldn't like the tracker though. It looks a bit cumbersome. But she is lovely. And looks very sweet! Good luck and let us know the outcome!
 

Norachan

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I think the kittens will eventually follow here to your door too. The feral cats I cared for would usually show up with their babies when they were three ~ four months old. If she is still nursing everything she eats will get sucked right back out of her, so you won't see any significant weight gain for a while.

She is so pretty, can't wait to hear what her kittens look like.
 
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checkers

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Thank you @Norachan! Sounds like I could have quite a wait then. Trouble is I fear she'll fall pregnant again in that time.  I guess it's a risk I'll have to take, and a second litter something I'll have to deal with at the time, if it happens. 

This afternoon she disappeared and I jumped on the computer to track her.  The location was the property next door.  So I rang both home owners on that property (it's a double block) and asked permission to search their yards.  They came out to help me and we would have spent an hour or so searching in all their dense foliage.  Nothing. 

I went home despondent, and then found her lying on top of my car in the carport which is against the fence with those neighbours. GPS trackers aren't entirely accurate, but close!  Sigh.
 

reba

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"She hasn't left the house now for 19 hours. I did shut her in last night (for 7 hours) so I'd have her this morning to attach the tracker to try to locate her kittens in daylight (rather than roam around neighbours' yards at 2am!)."

I'm perplexed here, I would think 19 hours away from her kittens, even 7 hours, is way too long, both for feeding and for protection.  I'm no expert though.
 
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checkers

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Yes, @Reba, I'd have thought so too, but I'm a beginner when it comes to kittens and female cats  I just hope in my desperate efforts to do the right thing, I haven't deprived her kittens of their mother and caused them some harm.

However, she has been at my place for long periods before without leaving for her kittens when she's had the choice to do so  And then when she does go and return,  she looks like she's had kittens feeding from her.  On one of those occasions when she finally left my place her nipples felt full and were drooping. When she returned the next time they were back close to her body.

I'm wondering if the kittens are older and past the stage of needing her constantly. I also wonder if the discomfort of wearing a tracker around her neck made her choose not to leave today.  I removed it tonight, and she left not long afterwards. I wonder lots of things.

Anyway, she's been gone from my place now for I think about 3 hours. I hope she's with her kittens.

Many thanks for your thoughts.
 

catwoman707

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She had been hanging out for long periods of time before you ever put the tracker on her, so nothing you have done to cause her to stay.

If I had to guess I would say her kids don't need nursing anymore, but when she does see them they, of course drain her :)

Wonder how they're eating solid food though......(?)
 

catwoman707

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Also, she will adapt to the tracker much faster if left on her always.

That way she doesn't need to be kept inside and can come and go as she wants to.

I agree that she will bring her kids to you sooner or later, some moms will do this sooner, some will wait until 3 months or so.

Yes, she will be or is already prego again. 

It does take time for moms to get their figure back, after having kids they all have the look of saggy, hanging, skinny butt area/spine, especially young moms.

It's like all of their body weight drops down towards the ground. (hard to describe!)
 

reba

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Boy I got lucky there, it was 5 warm months before I trapped my stray Mom and she didn't get knocked up in between.  And I know the Tom was around because we trapped him first by mistake.  I used to have a lot less sympathy for him - so sexist!   Anyway, I don't know how she resisted him, he's so handsome. 

 
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Thank you @catwoman707  .  Great advice. I thought the tracker may have been the reason she was just moping around and not going off to feed her kittens, which is why I removed it. But I will put it back on again today.  We've just had breakfast (her and me :) ) and she's lying at my feet under the kitchen table.

You gave me a morning laugh @Reba.  He is indeed an irrestistably handsome boy.
 

Norachan

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@Checkers  can't you take her in to be spayed now? It sounds as if her kittens are fine without her for long periods of time so even an overnight stay at the vet's wouldn't trouble them too much. You could ask the vet to do a flank spay so that she can continue nursing her kittens if they still need it.
 
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checkers

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Do you think @Norachan  and @catwoman707  that getting her spayed now might upset her so much that she doesn't return to her kittens? Now she has the detector on all the time (yes, I put it back on for keeps this morning) do you think I should give it a few more days in the hope of finding them?

The detector has a facility that allows me not only to find out where she is (roughly) but can also give me the path she's taken over a period (I'm not across it completely but the supplier did it for me yesterday and showed me a track, although it wasn't helpful yesterday.)

Two or three more days, do you think?
 

Norachan

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If it's just a case of waiting two or three more days then I don't see any problem with that. She might already be pregnant, but it's possible to spay-abort. (It's not something anyone wants to do, I know, but it is possible and in the early days of a pregnancy it's a simple enough procedure.)



I have TNR'd mother cats 2 ~ 3 months after giving birth and they've all gone straight back to their kittens. I guess it's harder for you to do as you don't know exactly when she had her kittens, but if she's leaving them alone for long periods of time it sounds as if they're already fairly independent.

Let's hope you get some good results with the tracker this week.

 

catwoman707

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I agree, I had thought to suggest spaying her soon as well, just so unsure of the baby situation, but the longer this goes on the more convinced I am that they are old enough to make it without her milk, and only nurse when she does come around them again as a habit and nurturing.

I don't think waiting up to another week will be a problem either, which gives plenty of tracking time :)
 
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GOOD NEWS - with some complications....

This morning's GPS tracking information indicated an address 3 streets away as part of the cat's adventures last night.  The tracker has picked her up in that area before but it has been just one spot on a widely travelled trail.

I went to that address this morning enroute to work. I couldn't raise anyone so went around the back of the home and out walks mother cat to meet me!  A couple of girls emerged from the house (it's school holidays here) after hearing me talk to the cat.  They told me it wasn't their cat, but she had been visiting them for TWO YEARS!  (I thought she was not much more than a kitten herself.) I said I was looking for some kittens. "Oh yes, they're here," they said.  I couldn't believe my ears.  They said she had 5 kittens. @Norachan, there are 2 tabbies, one completely black, one completely grey, and one black with white paws.  I asked if I could take them and they were happy to hand them over, but could only find 3 of them. The grey and the white-pawed black one were hiding behind or under the hot water system. I caught a brief glimpse of one of them. So I took the 3, and the mother, and left my phone number so they could call me if they could locate them.

The girls' mother rang me during the day and said she would find the other two and I could call in on my way home from work to collect them.  I called in.  She said she'd been looking all day, with no luck.  So tonight I drove the mother cat back to that address so she could locate and feed her kittens and the family told me they would search again tomorrow. 

So, I have three GORGEOUS, FAT fur balls, and I can't wait to see the other two.  I took a few photos tonight of mother cat feeding the 3 babies and will post them as soon as I download them.  I hope my next instalment has photos of the missing two.

The RSPCA said they would send someone to collect them this Sunday (day after tomorrow) but I'll have to stall them if the missing babies haven't been found. 

Mother cat was rather cranky tonight. I guess I have upset her routine! She snarled and lashed out at me, and also at one of her kittens, making it cry. It's about 2 hours since I returned her to the house where her kittens were. As she hasn't come back to my place I hope that indicates she is feeding her other two missing babies. 

So, the mystery is solved.  Thank you all again for your wonderful advice and input.  I will keep you updated. In the meantime, I hope I've done the right thing in buying some kitten food to feed them. I put it in a saucer and they are lapping at it.  I can't tell ages, but I'm guessing they are about six weeks' old. You might be able to give your opinion when I post the photos.
 
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Sarthur2

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Wonderful news! I sure hope that the other 2 kittens are located quickly. I can see why mama cat is upset though. She knows her babies have been moved & are not all together. It's too soon to split the family up. The kittens still need their mama. Were you planning to send mom to the shelter with the kittens? Can you not keep them all together for a few weeks inside your home until they are older & fully weaned? Please let us know about the other 2, and post pictures soon! Can't wait to see her babies. Did you remove the tracker from her neck then? This has truly been an adventure and interesting to follow.
 

Sarthur2

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And is that wet kitten food? That is good to do. If they are lapping at it they are probably around 5 or 6 weeks - still quite young.
 
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