Two Queens with new liters.

So I have a question and have been having a hard time finding an answer. I have two cats who I irresponsibly let get pregnant at the same time. They are both from the same liter and less than a year old but we moved, I am a full time student, have a full time job, just got married, and am a mama who , needless to say, kept pushing getting my cats fixed. Now I am dealing with this. The first cat had her litter 7 days ago and I think the second cat is going to give birth any day now. The cat that is still pregnant will try taking the kittens from me when I am doing my daily check on them even though they are not hers and if the kittens a crying she tries to crawl into the box with the nursing cat and kittens. Do I need to separate the cats when she has her own liter? I guess I am worried because she is doing that and they are not her babies, they are her sisters. With 2 new liters less than 2 weeks apart will there be any issues I don't know about? I am not used to this. I am a dog person who always gets the dogs fixed. :-( These girls will definitely being making that trip to the vet as soon as possible. Thanks!

Someone else needs to answer your questions but I do know that in feral colonies sisters will often share kitten raising duties.  May I ask how the mother behaves when her sister enters the nesting box?  Is she okay with it?

She just sits there and let's her relax in there with her and the kittens. I am the one that takes her out if I see her because the box isn't big enough for both mama's and the kittens. I am afraid she will sit on the kittens with her fat preggo belly. The only time the mother cat did anything to the pregnant sister is when I was holding a kitten and the pregnant sister was coming to try and get her from me. She stepped between the pregnant one and me to block her from taking her. Never any thing aggressive from either of the mama's.

would it be possible to set up a (much) larger nesting box, so that both momma cats and all their babies can share it? as @Dandila said, it's common for momma cats to share kitten raising duties. your two mommas are sisters too, so that may make them more likely/more comfortable doing so.

i think it's the natural maternal instinct in the 2nd momma (that hasn't given birth to her kittens yet) that has her wanting to care for her sister's babies. i'd let the sister join the momma sister with babies in their (much larger) nesting box, but (at least at first) only when you're there to keep an eye on them all. i'd make sure they're in one room, with the door closed if you're not right there to watch them every second, so the 2nd momma can't move any of the kittens far. the kittens need mommas and each others warmth to survive, as they're too young to regulate their own body temperature right now.

2nd momma might even give birth right there near her momma sister and babies. and i think it's quite likely that the two momma cats will share kitten raising. you may even see kittens from both litters nursing on both of the mommas, to give one momma cat a break to rest or eat or use the litter box.

may i ask what you're feeding the two momma cats? it takes a lot of energy to nurse and raise their kittens. so feeding the mommas canned kitten food will help them now.

are you weighing the kittens each day, to keep track of their daily weight gain? kittens should gain ideally 8 grams per day, more is even better. by weighing them daily, you'll notice very quickly if a kitten needs some supplemental feeding.

I'd say you have a front row seat to a very loving situation.  They are going to lean on each other for help.  As mickNsnicks2mom suggested, a larger nesting box is in order.  You'll need an ever larger one anyway as the kittens grow.  Keep a watchful eye out just to make sure both mother and the mother to be seem content.  If either are being "not so nice" go ahead and separate them.  My guess is that it will just be one huge happy family.

How are you planning on finding homes for all of the kittens?  There is lots of good advice on that here in the forum.

So I have gotten a bigger nesting box and both mama's seem content. I am feeding the moms hard kitten food and can food. I have been leaving the bowls with food so they can eat as much as they need to take care of their kittens. I have no idea about findng hones for them. I have not even thought that far ahead. I was not planning for this to happen.

Sounds like you're a good kitten grandmother and I'm glad all is well at this point.

I ask about placing kittens because I am grandmothering only two and I am so picky about the potential new owner's qualifications I don't think it will be easy for me to let them go to just anyone.  I've gone to every vet within 10 miles (mid size city) and posted pictures and a paragraph on what kind of owners I'm looking for.  The kittens are 7 weeks old and won't be ready for three more weeks.  All of the rescue organizations here are overwhelmed with kittens this time of year so it is difficult, but not impossible to get their assistance.

I've been told to never give kittens away for free unless you know the people you are giving them to pretty well.  We hate to think of them winding up as bait, right?  Always charge a re-homing fee.

I'm so anxious to hear about what happens with your sisters.  It would be nice if you had a sister as well to help you with the whole cat family care business!  Sounds like your plate is pretty full.

awwww! they look so happy together, the two mommas!

Beautiful photo...one you will cherish, I'm sure.  Those are very content young mothers.