First time having kittens

 I am waiting on my first litter too,  The mom just showed up one day, and now about to have kittens. She is very sweet but I can't have her inside with me because I have a dog and another female cat that lives inside. I have had her closed off in the garage for the past 2 weeks, and spend a lot of time with her. I am feeling the kittens move now but the thing that I am worried about is that her tits are not swollen or pink. I will post a picture of her,, she looks like she swallowed a soccer ball.lol

Yes, try to post a picture when you can


Ideally she should be inside, garages tend to have lots of nooks and crannies that kittens can get into and get stuck or injured. Once they are old enough to climb, it will be impossible to keep them from getting into all the little hidy-holes a garage can provide.

Are you sure you can't keep her in a spare room away from your dog and other cat? It would be much safer for her and her future kittens. Even an extra large dog crate or cage with blankets over it would do, you may hear some hissing from your other cat, but the momma cat and kittens would be safe inside the crate, and covering the crate with blankets will keep them from being able to see each other, as well as keep the kittens from escaping the crate.



Also, do you have a heat source for her (ideally a heating pad set on low and placed under a blanket, since she is in a garage and not inside the house)? And a place she can nest (a box with blankets or something that she can use)?

She needs a heat source because kittens cannot regulate their own body heat until they are 3 weeks old, so once she has them, you want to have something that will keep them warm, even when momma is away from them while eating or using the litterbox.

She is used to being in the garage,, I have a bedroom out there that a friend of mine lives in with her male fixed cat, they get along well too. She will leave the inside door open so she can come and go as she pleases. My hubby has 2 cameras pointing toward her 3 nest boxes we made for her. I haven't put a heating pad out there yet, we are in south tx so its already warm but I will put one in one of the boxes, she sleeps in one most of the time. I am not sure when she will have.

Welcome! It sounds like you are well-prepared! Are you feeding wet food and kitten chow to mom? Her nipples will get milk around the time of delivery. How long have you had her? It's so nice of you to take her in! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Just dry kitten food. She showed up at the end of last August. She has one eye that is scared and I dont think she can see out of it. I cant pick her yet, but she comes when called and loves the petting . We live out in the country so at night we have been bringing her into the garage at night for protection.We dont use that side so it should be safe for her.

Can you keep her inside with a litter box all the time now? If not, she may have the kittens outside somewhere. That's not safe! She really needs wet food too. It will help her to produce milk. She needs the nutrients. Can you start giving her a couple cans a day? She sounds like a very nice cat! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thank you for taking care of this mama. I agree that keeping her inside and providing a safe place to birth and raise her babies would be best.

Do you plan to rehome the kittens and spay mom when they are old enough?

She will be spayed as soon as I can. As for the babies,, I will try to rehome  them. I will go get some wet food today,, not sure what kind to get.

Fancy Feast is recommended for pregnant and nursing moms, but it's pricey, so Friskies will do. You may have to experiment to see which flavors she prefers. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I bought the Friskies turkey and giblets dinner, in the pate. I had a can of the salmon that I tried with Ms Kitty until I could get to the store,, she loved it. We will see of she likes the turkey.

I do keep her inside the garage and and the bedroom out in the garage that a friend of mine lives in. We both are watching her closely,, when my friend is home she lets her in her room. but when we are gone and her male cat is inside too, to keep them seperated until someone is home to watch them.

here is ms kitty today

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She is a long hair I think that is what you would call her,, she has a maine around the neck that reminds me of a maine coon.

I keep forgetting to ask, ms kitty does get in one of the boxes we have for her as a nest box to sleep. When she goes into labor, will this be the box she will use or will she prefer something else other then where she sleeps to give birth?

She may give birth somewhere else.  She is a cat after all and will do as she pleases!

There's really no predicting where she'll give birth. Some do it in a box, others under a bed or behind the couch. It just depends on how she feels at the time. Glad she's inside so they'll have a safe place to be delivered.

Here is a silly question, When Miss kitty finally start giving birth, how would I tell which one is A B C etc..  to keep them straight when weighing them. I may not be able to tell by looking. I have been feeling movement now for 5 days. I am guessing its getting close. I have been following louann's posts.

It takes 2-3 weeks after movement is felt. However, that's just a general guideline. As far as telling them apart, I've never had any trouble. There has always been a distinguishing mark or feature that allowed me to tell who was who. I'm sure someone will have some ideas for you.

You can put different color nail polish on the tips of their tails if they all look alike, but often there are distinguishing marks that will help you to differentiate them as you get to know them better. [emoji]128522[/emoji]