First time momma cat and a "its been a while" caretaker

Im 22 an its been like 12 years since i had a prego cat. I was a kid so my parents did most of everything. Well i guess now its my turn.

Ive had my tortis shell calico (Snickers) for about 3 years. Well recently she got out and was gone for like 2 weeks. (Until this she was an inside only cat. And now continues to be so.) She came back so skinny. But over a week she has ballooned into a size she has never been. Her belly is hard an her nipples are quite big. Im not 100% sure shes is pregnant but i think she is. Im jus trying to get as much info on feline pregnancy as i can.

I had intended to get her fixed but she got out the day before she was going to the vet. Im getting her fixed after this litter (if shes prego) after the kits are gone. I dont wanna stress her out. Ive spent the past few days doing research but every site i come across doesnt seem like all the info is there an every site says the same thing. I came here hoping to get some pointers.

A few questions:

When do i take mama an babies to the vet?

Snickers has tape worm.. Idk how to treat that now.. I did get her dewormed an ive fed her a minute amount of tobacco to fight the worms. But this was before her possible pregnancy. Im not sure how to treat it now because meds an nicotine i KNOW are no good for developing babies.. How do i fix this??

Can i use a small heating pad on a low setting to help them stay warm?

I would be using a large dog cage to house them until they get better control of things. Is there anything i should worry about?

I have a bull mastiff/pitbull mix. Shes a sweet heart. But should i worry about her being around the kits? Snickers gets along great with her if that means anything.

Also, Snickers is a small cat. Does this mean there could be complications i should worry about?

Shes a lil young and is a first time mother. Im worried she wont know how to be a mom. But i did have a stray 5week old kitten i found that (once she got used to him) she kinda mothered him. This is a good sign, right?

When snickers was a kitten her mother was killed by a car. She an her other 2 litter mates were alone at 2-3weeks old.. Would this play into her being a mother to her own? Since she prolly dont remember her mother nor had a chance to bond with her or learn from her.

Shes a VERY well behaved cat. Quite lazy and quiet. But somehow shes gotten lazier and quieter..

Im kind of a worry wart. So if theres anything i missed or anything you can add all will be appreciated. Ill add a few pix of my baby later (whenever i find my phone lol)

If the mother is caring for them properly and there is more than 1 kitten, you shouldn't need a heating pad. Provide some nice nesting material (no terry towels---claws get stuck in the loops), and the mama should make a cozy nest and she'll keep them warm, and they'll keep each other warm when she's not there.

It's best not to take kittens to the vet until it's time for their first shots and de-worming, unless they're sick. Too many germs at the vet's office. You can ask the vet about which de-wormers are safe for pregnant cats and little kittens. Please don't give them tobacco :/. She may have to wait until the kittens are born to get rid of the tapeworms, if the usual de-wormers aren't safe.

3 is actually a bit old for a first litter. Hopefully she'll be OK, although of course anything can go wrong with pregnancy and birthing so keep the vet's number close by.

I wouldn't let the dog near them personally. Dogs can unintentionally hurt baby kittens just because they're so small. But this is up to you. Definitely not while they're little, though, because that will worry the mother cat.

Don't give them to new homes before they're at least 10 weeks old, 12 weeks would be even better. They learn a lot from their mother and littermates in that time.

Be sure to keep the mother cat inside away from tomcats, because cats can get pregnant again right after giving birth. You can ask your vet when she should be spayed---my vet says when the babies are 9 weeks old, but other vets have different ideas.

What coountry are you in, ie what dewormers and other gears do you have access too?

She doesn't have them yet. She's really fat. Her belly is hard an her nipples look like the size of a not tightly wrapped q-tip.. which is very strange for her. I live in central Indiana in the states. I was researching last night an I think she might be about 1-2weeks from her due date.. I thought I had like a month-ish left. But now that don't seem like that's good

These are some pix of my prego snickers.i took a couple a few days ago an a couple yesterday. All are recent though