Took in semi-unfriendly stray pregnant cat, help appreciated!

Hi, my names Kendra and I'm new to the forum. I currently own a 7 year old pit mix (Pooh) and a 3 year old neutered male cat (Toulouse). I recently found a young (less than a year) female cat outside my work who was  very obviously pregnant. She was very friendly when we found her, letting us pet her while she was eating, purring, we were even able to give her a flea bath with little to no  struggle  we brought her inside and kept her safe until i was able to take her home with me. I immediately set her up in my bedroom, away from the other animals, and she continued to be very sweet and surprisingly relaxed. She didnt hide, she played with toys, she overall just made herself right at home. I took her to a vet 2 hours after getting her home and in the vet lobby, she was sweet with the tech who became enamored with her.....until they got her into the exam room. She turned into a total devil! Weighing in at a solid 6 1/4lbs (even with a belly fully of kittens, she's TINY) it took 2 techs to hold her down, wrapped in a towel to get samples and give her a rabies shot! it seemed  as though every tech had to come by to see my demon-cat in action! the vet deemed she was about halfway through her pregnancy and otherwise appeared in good health aside from some hookworms. So i brought her back home and let her out and just gave her SPACE SPACE SPACE. This was about 4 or 5 days ago, and now she's settled a bit and will come cuddle me when im in the bed andpurrs her little head off, but she's impossible to read! sometimes she's totally into me gently petting her head and sometimes she'll growl and swipe at me for just being near her. I'm concerned that when she has her babies that she's going to be so temperamental that i'm never going to be able to handle them and get them socialized.

has anyone been in a similar situation that may have some advice? i really want to do what i can for this girl, even if she is a grumpy you-know-what!

Oh and I named her Lilith

You have a great way of choosing names (love your user name!)

Lilith  sounds like a handful.  She's probably fighting hormones and all the sights, sounds and smells of a new home, a new situation, new people, new housemates.  I am not surprised she is overwhelmed.  She's been through a lot in a short period of time.

I would spend time with her but would not over do it.  Her body language will tell you a lot and even though she may not give much warning, she will warn you when she's had too much.  Observe her carefully every time you interact with her and soon enough, you'll learn her signals.  We have one cat who gives one tail flick and he's got his teeth in your hand.  Sometimes I see that flick and still don't have time to react.  But I know his warnings, now.

Her own space is critical now - can you give her space within the bedroom?  A closet is fine - just someplace she can retreat to.  She will be hunting for a den for birthing, so she will need a quiet area -  a tote or sturdy cardboard box turned on its side will work.  In fact, if you can, set a couple around the bedroom.  Expectant mothers are very picky, so give her plenty of choices.  You will need towels or blankets, with spares.  Birthing is messy and you will want to make sure her bedding is clean and fresh.  Go to the dollar store and buy half a dozen or so cheap towels...

Thank you for helping this sweet baby.  Many people would not have bothered.  Kudos to you...

ps - you might also want to post in the Pregnant Cats and Kittens forum.  The experts there can guide you through the process and give more advice.

Thank you, and yes the doors were removed off my closet, and she's chosen a big tupperware/laundry basket in there with a ton of clothes that havent been worn in years as her "hidey space" although she likes to claim my bed and the area by my door a lot which is a bit of a trial at times haha she loves to growl and swat at me if i invade her bubble. I wish i had more room for her, and moving her to my spare is not an option since i can't handle her more than a pat on the head. I'm probably going to need to get some gloves for her vet trip in 3 weeks for dewormer haha
I just wish i knew if her attitude was hormonal/stress related and would pass with time or if that's just how she will be. I guess time will tell, but it stinks because i'm moving out of state in about 5 months, and i definitely can't keep her (especially since i have a strong suspicion she will NOT accept my cat and my dog) so I'd like to be able to find her a home. Otherwise i'll have to spay and release her which is not my ideal choice.
Maybe I'll consult the pregnancy section and see how the hormones have affected other cats behaviors.

Thank you, that's what I'm hoping for as well. Fortunately I think I will have little trouble finding homes for the kittens,its Lilith I'm more concerned about. As adorable she as she is, adopting out a (currently) untouchable cat is not going to happen in 5 months. We'll just have to see how it goes.

You are awesome for taking Lilith in. I agree with the others she is probably hormonal. As far as going crazy at the vet. I had a cat years ago, who was the sweetest most affectionate cat ever, but when he was at the vet's office he went cray cray! His chart had red warning stickers all over it. He just was terrified of going to the vet. I have another cat who is kind of temperamental. I can only pet him a certain way or he growls at me. He does great at the vet though. I was truly surprised he does so good when my sweet cat turned into demon cat. My cat was so angelic we called him Gabriel. 

Good luck with your new family!

Well, I think I've lost my room now! Was a bit late waking up for work and she chose this morning to actually CHASE me around my room while I was getting ready, to try and swipe at me. Now every time I go in my room, she's claimed my bed. So guess what I'm doing.

Sleeping on my couch.
Because I'm scared of a 6lb kitty.
Oh lord.

I burst out laughing at this!  Try bringing in a wand toy and letting her chase that.  She sounds like she's feel good.

Oh I've had the wand toy already, she's much more interested in growling at me and trying to catch me than a bunch of boring feathers! I only wish it were playful! Such a grump.

Update! Lilith had her babies this weekend while I was out of town, of course! A little nervous to invade her space, I was able to lure her into a crate with some wet food so I could count them. 4 babies, 1 black, 1 dark tabby, 1 grey tabby, and 1 solid grey. Lilith absolutely loves them and is being such a good mama. She does let me kinda hover and watch her with the babies although I'm sure if I were to try to reach in there, I would regret it lol
Any suggestions on keeping babies socialized would be wonderful, and does anyone have an idea on what age I would be safe pulling them from mom for a few minutes to meet the other household animals. I DO NOT want to move too fast with them but I definitely want to make sure they'll be able to come socialize out in the main house when they are old enough to go exploring. here are some baby pics, sorry for the messy birthing area, I took these as soon as I found them and hasn't had an opportunity to clean it up, they have clean shirts and sheets and I removed those bags.

Congratulations!  I would spend time in the room with them whenever you can.  Potty cleaning and feeding on schedule to keep Lilith calm.  Does she growl or swat at you when you approach them?  If so, you may need to handle them when she's confined.

Whatever you do, they are all better of than before they met you.

She does not growl when I come near, she's too content purring away and rolling around with her babies although she does keep a watchful eye on me if I move around. I don't have a death wish, so I haven't attempted reaching for them with her around. I was able to easily lure her into a crate with some wet food so I can handle and inspect the babies and clean up their space a bit. I'm trying not to pop in the room too much so I don't stress her out and she feels she can continue being comfortable with me in her space. They are so unbelievably cute, I'm already mentally breaking my own rules because I'm pretty sure if the black baby is a boy I'm going to HAVE to keep him hahaha

  Yeah, we all end up with at least one failed foster!  

If you move slowly and gently, she should allow you to pick them up.  If she gets upset, just set them down again.  Handling them will ensure they are socialized to people, so you should do that as much as you can.  Just make sure all your actions are slow and easy.

This is the same cat who tries to maul me when I try to pet her so I'm pretty close to positive handling the kittens right in front of her is out of the question. I may just continue with feeding her a special wet food treat in her carrier everyday so I can have some uninterrupted handling time, that way everyone comes away happy and unscratched[emoji]128514[/emoji] I'm hoping when they become more mobile in several weeks it will be a little easier, and my fiance will be home in 5 weeks and he isn't afraid of being liliths chew toy like I am, so he'll be a big help haha

Very sad, my little black baby is not doing too well. He's noticeably smaller than the other kittens and was seemingly being shunned by his littermates aND just seemed lethargic, so I've pulled him to be bottle fed. I'm hoping I can maybe get his strength up and reintroduce him but right now I've got him in a big box with a hearing pad covered with a towel and have very unsuccessfully tried feeding him for the past hour. He does seem much more active and mobile, I think because he was cold before.
I'm so worried about my little guy!!!

Well, upon further inspection I'm almost 99.9% positive my baby has a cleft palate I'll be bringing him to the vet as soon as I'm able but I really don't know what his chances of survival are. I'm totally heartbroken for my little babe.

Oh, so sorry!  You are doing all you can for them.  Keep us posted, please.

So unfortunately, I brought the little baby to the vt and they tried their best but eventually decided the humane thing was to put him to sleep. They said that even if he made it through kittenhood they weren't sure his palate could be fixed surgically
I'm pretty damn heartbroken, but I'm trying to stay positive since I have 3 very happy healthy babies still, so in that I'm lucky.

Sometimes the best thing to do is let them go.  I am happy to hear his siblings are healthy and doing well.  Keep us posted.  RIP little one...