Rescue cat pregnant.

Hi all, well you may remember a while ago I posted about a cat I rescued with her 3, 6 week old (at a guess) kittens that were dumped and left to die.

Well Saffy the mother improved dramatically and was due to be spayed later this particular week when she vanished. I feared the worst and thought maybe wild dogs or foxes got her. Her spay date came and went with her still missing, I was convinced she was long gone. Plus I had to leave town for a few weeks and would not be ta home to keep an eye out in case she did return.

Anyway 3 days after I left home, my partner rang to tell me "Guess who's back!!" I could not believe it! She had been gone over 2 weeks. I made sure she was locked in the house so when I returned home I could sort her out. 2 days later my elderly father who lives with us wasn't quick enough and she flew out the door!

I was due home soon and was just so annoyed she had escaped once again. This time though I had more hope she would return, apparently when she arrived back after over 2 weeks she was in good condition still so I wonder if she'd found another home and someone had been feeding her? One week turned to two, then two turned in to three, then three turned in to four! I was starting to think she was on her ninth life and her luck had run out! Then one morning about 2 am the dogs were restless and wanted to go out, which is unusual at that hour.

I heard meowing in the bushes by the dam and thought it was just her son Sampson who we kept as he sounds identical to his mother.... but no as I shone the torch it was Saffy! She was back once again!  There was something off about her and as I got closer I noticed she was skin and bones with a huge belly ... she's clearly very heavily pregnant, this is far from what I wanted but I am happy she is home and I am going to be here to look after her. I took her to the vet and they say she is too far gone to be spayed now the complications if I went ahead would be too great, so now here we are expecting a litter of kittens...

My thoughts of her being cared for by someone else are probably not the case as she is so thin and bony. She has eaten basically non stop since she has returned home and I am giving her prime cuts of meat plus good cat chow to try get some condition back on her before she gives birth. Has anybody had this experience before? Any stories tips etc you want to share would be greatly appreciated.

She is a beautie, with an interesting pattern and color combination,  tortie with white and black and silver classical tabby  thrown in too for good measure...

What you describe happens all the time. It's good you are feeding her well. Make a nest for her in your bedroom where it's quiet and once she has the babies keep the bedroom door closed so she does not get out again no matter what.

We have lots of informative articles on cat pregnancy and kitten care if you'd like to read up.

StefanZ said:

 
She is a beautie, with an interesting pattern and color combination,  tortie with white and black and silver classical tabby  thrown in too for good measure...

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Yeah I think so too!

She is one of the most uniquely marked cats I've ever seen

She has a beautiful nature too, never bites or scratches, ever.

sarthur2 said:

What you describe happens all the time. It's good you are feeding her well. Make a nest for her in your bedroom where it's quiet and once she has the babies keep the bedroom door closed so she does not get out again no matter what.

We have lots of informative articles on cat pregnancy and kitten care if you'd like to read up.

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I feel like I know you sarthur! (I found your thread on here)

Yep I've put new screen doors up now and dad is staying with my sister for a while.

I've showed her a few spots and thus far the closet in one of the spare rooms is a winner!

She walked in, had a sniff, turned around, meowed at me then lay down, started to purr and knead the linen in there.

I've checked her nipples but no milk as yet... the pics don't show how big she really is, but after seeing your girl and how big she was and only having four I'm hoping Saffy might only have a small litter.

Here is a picture of poor Saffy when I first brought her home, she was in a very bad way. She is not nearly so bad now, but she has lost so much condition I can feel all the bones in her back when I pet her now.

Wow, she's super beautiful. I don't have any advice as I'm not an expert, but good luck with the pregnancy/birth! 

She is beautiful. You are very lucky having her come back to you two times after her being gone so long. I have 15 cats that I take in and care for, getting them shots, spayed and micro chipped and then try to find them homes. I have been doing this for 15 years and have had many pregnant cats & the vet did good by not getting her spayed. I would wait till the kittens are at least 8 weeks before getting her spayed.

icoele said:

 
Wow, she's super beautiful. I don't have any advice as I'm not an expert, but good luck with the pregnancy/birth! 

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Thankyou Watch this space for updates! I'm starting to wonder what colours she will have and how many. I have a feeling I'll be keeping them LOL

margarida said:

She is beautiful. You are very lucky having her come back to you two times after her being gone so long. I have 15 cats that I take in and care for, getting them shots, spayed and micro chipped and then try to find them homes. I have been doing this for 15 years and have had many pregnant cats & the vet did good by not getting her spayed. I would wait till the kittens are at least 8 weeks before getting her spayed.

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Yeah I know right! I was sure she was a goner!

We live out in a very rural area and our farm is 45 acres, I know all the closest neighbours have not seen her, and none have cats at all, so she must have travelled quite some distance.

Yep she isn't going to bet allowed outside until she is fixed, even then I'm scared she will take off again, but I'm hoping once fixed she will not feel the need to roam?

Here is a pic of her just before she vanished, I was so happy with how healthy she was looking, then when she vanished I was devastated.

She will fatten back up. Keep her in even after she is spayed. Eventually she will likely not roam again. It was probably being in heat that put her on the move. She may have been lost for awhile too.

She has been eating very well so hopefully she puts that condition back on before the birth.

She has suddenly gone from hating things like liver and kidneys, to eating them greedily.... she is definitely favouring offal over anything else right now.

I'm starting to think the birth might be sooner than I thought, plus the fact she is so huge, she can't get much bigger surely?

They are very active in there, she is laying down by the computer and I can see them jumping around LOL

She is such a good cat, she NEVER bites or scratches, even if she doesn't like you doing something she will rather get up and move away.

Will keep updating as time progresses.

sarthur your little boy in your avatar reminds me of Saffy's son Sampson, he has very similar markings except he's a cream tabby

Should I be feeding her as much as she wants? She has dry food at all times but keeps wanting wet food and meat, but I've fed her so much as it is?

Just keep feeding her.  She needs the calories and so do her kittens.

I figured that would be the case, but was thinking she might get the runs. She's since gone in her litter tray and all is normal. It is very hot here where I am and she is splayed out half the time in the funniest positions. She looks massive! But after going through some other pregnancy threads I think it will be around the 4 or 5 mark, but who knows they all carry differently it seems. Going to get her some more items to set up more nesting sites tomorrow.

Saffy is huge now and she has milk! Just wondering how long other people's cats gave birth once milk was in?

Usually within a few days, but every cat is different.

Getting close then! I'm starting to get very excited and anxious about the birth. She has had at least one litter that I know of so isn't a first timer. I'll update as things progress.