I think she's pregnant...

You are doing a lot already.  None of us can help as much as we wish we could.  

Perhaps if you feed him he would become friendlier. He is there, though, because he is attracted to Sophie, and he is probably the dad, like you said. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I got a pic of the daddy...He happens to be a handsome fellow!

Yes, he is a very handsome fellow!

Could sophie be farther along than I have suspected?

She just walked up to me and I noticed a small bulge on the sides of her belly. Tried to get a pic but it's a little hard.

Could she be showing early because of how slender she is?

Another pic of baby bump

If she never got out before that one time, I don't see how she could be farther along :dk:. Maybe she has a large litter or just, like you said, she shows more because she's young and slender.

If there are that many strays, the black and white tom may not be the only father! She could have mated with several males while out, there could be a lot of half-siblings in this litter . Depending how many males she mated with, each kitten could, theoretically, have a different daddy. . .better call Maury! :lol3:.

(Haha, I just realized you might not know who Maury is, probably they don't have that show in Israel. Anyway, it's a trashy talk show in which his guest is a woman who doesn't know who fathered her child. Then he has a DNA test done on the kid, then has all the woman's boyfriends show up and argue about who the daddy is. There are usually a few fistfights. Then he reads the DNA results. "Tom, you are NOT the father! Bill, you ARE the father!" etc.)

She only got out once since I realized she was in heat. She has gotten out before that though. (Two little kids means the door opens a lot and doesn't always get closed). Also, when I realized she was in heat, I first thought that she was dying... She's generally a quiet cat and all of a sudden she was howling and screaming. I had no idea what was going on until I looked on the internet and realized it was heat.
And yes, I do know who maury is lol
I grew up in the states and only moved here as an adult I hope the black and white cat is the only dad. My kid wants to know how she got pregnant if they're not married...And if they are engaged to be married. (He's a very traditional kid)

I would also be over the moon if she was farther along than I thought.

It would mean that she would be due before my houseguests arrive and would just make life so much easier for her and I.

princess sophia

She might just have a large litter? Or she could just be showing early since she is so young and not really fully grown yet. The only way to really tell how far along she is, (if you're still unsure when she first went into heat and got out) is to go to a vet and have an Xray done, but if you're budgeting your money, it may not be worth it unless you REALLY want to know EXACTLY how far along she is.

Just make sure she gets fed properly and that she has a few safe places to "nest" by the time the kittens do come. You'll know when she's about to give birth when her nipples start to swell up a lot and she starts lactating a little bit. She may also be looking for places to nest/ hide quite a lot (that's why it's important to make safe nesting places for her in areas like closets, or anywhere where it's warm, dark, and quiet, where she won't be disturbed or stressed while trying to give birth).

When I spoke to my vet initially, he said that she's healthy and there is no need for prenatal visits.
He is the most qualified vet in my area and since this is his side job (he sits on the government veterinary board) he is much more affordable.
I guess I'll prepare nesting boxes earlier than I had planned jic.

Also, is it okay if I set her up in the corner of my room? It's going to be the qietest room in the house at the time. I was thinking of giving her her own corner with the box and food and water and hanging up sheets to make it a bit more private. And I'd put her litter box on the other side of the room. I was also thinking to not allow her out of the room while there are so many people here. Is that okay for a week or does she need time outside the room?

princess sophia

I don't think there is any harm in confining her to your room for a week if she's got everything she needs (food, water, litter, nesting space and peace and quiet).

NOT confining her would actually be more dangerous in my opinion, as kittens absolutely NEED to nurse every 2 hours or so, if she gets out of your room and is spooked by all the people and runs and hides somewhere in the house, her kittens could starve. Also, heavily pregnant and nursing cats tend to be very protective of their bodies and typically won't want people (especially people they are unfamiliar with) to be petting/touching them, they may become agitated and scratch, bite, hiss or growl at anyone who tries to touch them. Not all cats are like this though.

So, in my opinion, it would be best to keep her confined while you have so many houseguests, as it would be much less stressful for her and it could save you and your guests from being scratched or bitten.

I like the idea of using your room for safety, privacy, and quiet. She needs that and will appreciate it. The corner is a good idea. A closet works well too. The stray I took in had her babies in a closet, and stayed there with them for 3 weeks.

Houses are generally not built with closets here. We use stand alone closets for our clothes. But I'm gonna try and jimmy rig her her own space by hanging up sheets. A friend is also lending me a baby corral so it will really be a room within a room.

I have another question, since I rescued sophie at about 6 weeks old (not knowing how long she was on her own before I found her) she hasn't really learned to be the most proper kitty. Will this be an issue with her teaching her litter how to behave? Or will she hold them to a higher standard than herself?
Some of the things she does is she's a bit nippy, she tries to steal food, she uses her claws when playing, ect.
I've tried my best to fix these behaviors but to no avail. She's very stubborn!

Sophie has a rash on her neck where her collar would be and I'm nervous!

It's not discolored, but more like the hair is missing on part of her neck and she has a scab on the bottom of her neck.

She doesn't seem distressed by it but won't let me touch her to get a better view. She has been a little finekey about touching since she got pregnant in general though.

Do you think I have anything to worry about?

It sounds like it may be a flea bite that she scratched. Can you post a picture of it?

sarthur2 said:

It sounds like it may be a flea bite that she scratched. Can you post a picture of it?

Click to expand...

I can, but it's not pretty...
Is that okay?

Yes, that's ok.

hair loss on the side of her neck.

scab on bottom of her neck. It looks really bad, I know :'(