Taken in a stray queen!

Hi there, 

I've been lurking this forum for a couple of weeks now, but thought I'd post because searches haven't 100% helped me.

Since I moved to my new house in February, I've fussed a cat which was always walking up and down our road. On July 9th (about 4 weeks ago), we invited her in when we found him rooting through our bins at 3am. Very friendly, absolutely ravenous and very, very clearly stray. She had a small bump to the side of her, which I believed to be a sign of her being sick somehow.

This continued every few days until last Wednesday - she was skulking down the road as I went into my house and my word, she had got huge. Looks like she's swallowed a small frisbee sideways - no doubt looks bigger because she's so skinny - but no doubt in my mind she is pregnant. 

From what I've read, this would make her anywhere around 6-8 weeks (taking into account the bump at the start could have been *so* visible just because she's so skinny), but I have a couple of questions/concerns I'd appreciate some input on.

• Her belly is rounded and fairly taut - like a water balloon with a little give in it. Feeling gently, I can't feel any bumps at all. Perhaps one or two, not clear, but it could just as easily be her spine. 
• Her nipples are small and not swollen - the size of a small grain of rice and white. No sign of pinking up?
• I've treated her with pregnancy-safe flea treatment, and am periodically doing the house. She does have heaps of flea dirt, which I'm cleaning out as and when I get the chance - fleas will be gone once kittens arrive but who knows how quickly I can rid of the dirt (I don't wanna stress her out). Will this badly affect kittens?
• She's become sooooo picky at eating. When we first started feeding her, she was absolutely ravenous. Would easily chow down on two cans at once (I get the feeling she came to us when she hadn't eaten in a few days). Now she's on and off, eating well one day and being really negligent the next. I think she's picky with texture, but even then I want her to eat - I feel that the first few weeks of pregnancy being so hungry cannot have been good for kittens,.
• Every now and then she's begging to go out, admittedly usually when she wants the loo and the tray is dirty. 90% of the time she's happy as larry here though. Should I let her out? She's so far along I feel it's not a good idea.

Sorry there's so much here!

I'd like to take her to a vet but only if neccessary. As we've taken her in unplanned, I'd rather save my pennies for in case something of an emergency happens with her, not just a check up.

Many thanks x

It's probably also worth me saying that she's at least 4 or 5 years old, so this most certainly won't be her first litter. When she stands up, she has little baggy pouches where I guess she's expressed before.

Thank you for rescuing her!

I would NOT let her out for any reason.

She may be at the end of her pregnancy. It's difficult to know, especially as she was so skinny and showing early.

I'm concerned that her nipples are not pink. Has she been licking them much? Cleared away any fur around them?

Have you nesting areas set up for her?

Would she let you give her a bath for the flea dirt?

She will need worming from the fleas and for eating from bins. Most treatments are safe for pregnant cats. Preferable even, as some worms can be transmitted in mom's milk.

Poor gal will need spaying after this litter weans.

Thank you for telling me not to let her out - it's hard not to feel cruel sometimes   

No, not licking and no fur cleared. It actually took me a long time to find them because of how fluffy she is. I've read that it can be much less pronounced in experienced mothers, so I'm hoping it's just that. Or, perhaps she's much earlier on than I would expect. To be honest, she barely grooms herself at all. 

She has a nesting box with blankets set up & is quite happy with it it seems - napping in there a lot. It's been very hot and she's super fluffy, so quite often she'll relax on the cool tiles of our kitchen floor instead. Generally no nesting behaviour though.

Thank you for reminding me about worming, absolutely I need to get this done - had completely gone from my mind.

She may let us bathe her. She's incredibly laid back so we'll give it a go. I'm also flea combing her whenever she's still enough which she enjoys, so have made good progress.

Thank you for your help!

At some point she should begin grooming.

Have you been able to feel kittens yet?

Can you post a picture of her please?

Here are some pics. The top down view one of her was taken exactly a week ago. I can't feel any kittens as far as I can tell (see first post for a little description). 

Perhaps a silly question, but where in her belly would you expect to feel kittens? The *potential* bumps I feel are either side of her spine, relatively high up. Her underbelly feels firm but with a lot more give in it, no bumps that I can tell. 

Oh, yes! She is pregnant for sure! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

She looks very cozy lounging in front of the hearth!

When my cat looked like that, she still had a bit to go. You think they cannot get any bigger, but they do!

She looks very sweet! Have you named her?

 yeah - the fire at night and the fan in the day are her best friends at the moment.

Ahh, well that's good to know! My only experience with pregnant cats have either been much, much tinier (so by this size was more or less full term), or much, much fluffier (so it was hard to tell either way)! I will keep a close eye on her, but seems fair to assume she's perhaps closer to the 6 week mark. 

When she's not napping I'll get a top down snap of her standing again and compare the two.

Thank you!!

You're fantastic for taking her in.  I can't thank you enough for that!  And what a lucky mama she it, too, lounging in front of that lovely fire.  Do you mind my asking where you live?  I'm in Florida where the temperature is in the triple digits and your fireplace makes me long for the winters of my youth in Tennessee.

Not at all [emoji]128516[/emoji] I live in Nottingham in the UK. It's relatively warm here at the moment during the day (26c) but temperatures can drop a bit at night. We live in an old draughty Victorian house so fire is perfect to get rid of any chill [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Sorry to bump, but does anyone have any thoughts about her eating? And also where I'm likely to feel kittens?

Admittedly I'm also worried about the birth! We've taken her in are committed to spaying and keeping her, but there is no capacity at any shelters for kittens. It's a real issue in our city. We're excited for them, but my boyfriend and I work full time. I've witnessed a few cat births (although never been so responsible for one) and I know that the death of one is not uncommon. What other issues should I be prepared for? I don't mean to be pessimistic, but the first few weeks of her pregnancy were obviously not ideal so I'd like to feel prepared. Thank you!

hometownglory said:

Sorry to bump, but does anyone have any thoughts about her eating? And also where I'm likely to feel kittens?

Admittedly I'm also worried about the birth! We've taken her in are committed to spaying and keeping her, but there is no capacity at any shelters for kittens. It's a real issue in our city. We're excited for them, but my boyfriend and I work full time. I've witnessed a few cat births (although never been so responsible for one) and I know that the death of one is not uncommon. What other issues should I be prepared for? I don't mean to be pessimistic, but the first few weeks of her pregnancy were obviously not ideal so I'd like to feel prepared. Thank you!

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Are you leaving food down for her all the time? I'm wondering if she needs smaller meals more often because her insides are being squished.

For the kittens, you should buy some supplies. A small scale, powdered kmr, and a needleless syringe will all be helpful. You weigh the kittens every day and supplement if they are not gaining enough. 6-10 grams per day is what you want to see, with 6 being the bare minimum that's ok. Losing the runt is not necessary with your intervention.

Since your house gets cool, you may also want to get a heating pad to leave under the nest.

Thank you for caring for them!!

I've been putting down food in the morning, just one of those small tins, plus some dry food (on occasion she's wolfed down the wet very fast so I'd rather dry food be hanging out all day - less chance of flies). At the moment she'll eat the small can, a bit of dry and a couple of treats if I hand feed them to her. A couple of weeks ago she'd eat double that. I'm unfortunately out the house from 8.30 til 6 so can't dish out smaller meals.

I don't think I need to worry too much. She is eating, isn't sickly at all and will still have a day here and there where she'll eat *everything*. She drinks more. Do you think it's worth getting her some cat/kitten milk to boost her calories?

Thank you for the info will look into getting these bits.

hometownglory said:

I've been putting down food in the morning, just one of those small tins, plus some dry food (on occasion she's wolfed down the wet very fast so I'd rather dry food be hanging out all day - less chance of flies). At the moment she'll eat the small can, a bit of dry and a couple of treats if I hand feed them to her. A couple of weeks ago she'd eat double that. I'm unfortunately out the house from 8.30 til 6 so can't dish out smaller meals.

I don't think I need to worry too much. She is eating, isn't sickly at all and will still have a day here and there where she'll eat *everything*. She drinks more. Do you think it's worth getting her some cat/kitten milk to boost her calories?

Thank you for the info

will look into getting these bits.

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Mom can definitely have a dish of kmr per day!  Make sure you get kitten milk replacer, not treat milk.

Little update - she's back to completely demolishing any food we put down for her which is great. Also enjoying some kitten milk each day.

Great! They can have an off day now and again!

Weird thing today, twice my boyfriend has found her curled up all comfy in the litter box! She's coaxed her out, fussed her and groomed her and now she's perfectly content sleeping next to him on the sofa. I'm away for the weekend, but he's been whatsapping me. Is this potentially some strange early nesting beahviour? Or maybe just a quirk of a less-trained stray?

Could be nesting. Also sounds like she's enjoying the attention he's paying her. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Bit of a sad update - she's become incredibly lethargic in a very short space of time. Very limp and weak, although she is trying to drink. Very poorly, not eating, blood in her stool and husky breaths. We'll be taking her to the vet first thing in the morning. Will keep you updated.