New Here, and When will she have the kittens?

Hi there everyone!
I'm rescuekitty and I'm new here.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Kristen and I am also known as horsecrazy100 on many other boards. I am from Ontario, Canada.
I have a donkey named Bailey, who is almost a year old(April 23), a Belgian filly named MM Amazing Grace("Gracie") who is 9 months old, and rescued from slaughter a few weeks ago. And a goat named Zoe. I also have a new cat named Softie who is a faded Calico, and is pregnant. I also have a dog named Mason who is a Springer Spaniel.
Just thought I'd introduce myself, and let everyone know a bit about me.

Also, I wanted to ask when you think my cat will have her kittens? She is HUGE now. And being a barn cat, usually wanders and hunts during the day, but lately has been sticking around a lot more. She is a little afraid of the barn, but is slowly getting used to it. But since she is not in the barn at night yet, she has made her home under some sheet metal that is lying up against our greenhouse, right next to the barn. She is there basically all day the last few days. Which I am told this is a sign of her getting close to delivering?? But she shows no signs of "bagging up"(that's the term horse people use for a horse's teats and udder filling with milk.. I don't know what people say for a cat )
Anyway, anyone have any idea when she might deliver, or how close she is? She has had at least several litters of kittens before, but I will be having her spayed after these kittens are born. Feel free to ask any questions if there's anything else I can tell you that might help....
Thanks!
RescueKitty

Hi Horsecrazy I recognize you. If you can, bring this momcat inside to have her kittens in relative safety. If there are toms around the barn, they will try and kill the kittens if they can. She will get quite vocal before starting labor and she will want to nest somewhere dark and quiet. Often they stop eating 24 hrs before the first kitten arriving, but other cats keep their appetites

It's not really possible for me to keep her inside until she has the kittens, as I have family members that are allergic to cats!
She was a barn cat from a friend, and I have been looking at her for a while, and just got her home recently. It turned out she got pregnant in the meantime, and looks very close to her duedate. So this was not a planned pregnancy, and she is a mized breed barn cat. I am going to keep one or two of the kittens, and already have a few friends that want some of the others. If worse comes to worse, I'll have them FIXED first, and then give the other kittens back to my friend who I got her from, as she would have had them had I not taken her anyway.
She's definatly not wandering far off, that's part of what led me to believe she might have them soon!
There are no other cats around the barn, so that's not a safety concern for the kittens or the mother.

rescuekitty2-

We have Persian cats, we breed them and I've also birthed litters of domestic kittens and never once has the queen gotten too vocal, it's normally just because they're hungry and my fat kitties always eat right up to the moment..

You say you have family members allergic to cats but you're keeping the kittens? Will they be living outside?

Could you keep her in a garage or some place that she can't escape?

She's always been a barn cat, so she's not too comfortable being inside. She doesn't even like the confines of our small barn yet, although she is getting better every day.

Yes, I have family members that are allergic to cats. I will only be keeping one or two, and I have already found good homes for several others. I am looking into early spay and neuter to see if I can have them done before I send them off to their new homes. Just to remind you, I did not breed her, I just thought I could give her a chance to be spayed and have her kittens all spayed, instead of leaving them where they were, and letting them keep reproducing! And yes, the kittens that we keep will have to be barn cats as well, but will be fixed asap! I know it's not ideal for them to live outside, and I kind of get the feeling that people on cat boards look down on people that have barn cats. What's the difference? Personally, I am doing the best I can under the circumstances to give this cat another chance at life, and IMHO, that's what counts!

Hey RescueKitty...I think what you are running up against isn't so much that cat people frown upon outdoor cats....I think the frowning is regarding outdoor cats that aren't fixed. As a cat loving community...we want all cats to have the best life...and having the best life for an outside cat is to be fixed. Also...the perception may not be directed at you as much as people want others to understand that "outdoors" is not ideal for cats. But you are doing best by this girl by feeding her and planning to fix her after her litter is born...also fixing the mom is a great thing to do. If you have other cats that are roaming around...you may want to talk to a rescue group about getting them fixed as well. Good Luck.

Katie

Thank You SOOO much!! It's niceto hear something nice! I posted on another board and have been bashed so much about having her outside!! I know it's not ideal, but I'm trying the best I can, and she does not like to be confined to the barn which makes it harder, and even if I did lock her in there, there is a gap under the door that she can slip out of. So it wouldn't do her any good anyway, and I will lose her trust AGAIN! Sorry for venting, but I feel almost like I have to defend that I am trying my best on the other board! Thank You SOOOOO Much for being positive, and showing me that not all cat lovers look down upon people with barn cats!

I have not posted in here yet , but was following the hole thread .

Please don't feel bad to have a outsite cat , we have many members here who have also outsite cats including myself . I don't think if you have a save area and lots of space to have a outsite cat is wrong . I live in a rural area what is not to good to have them running outdoors and that is differend . Thats why most of mine are indoors .

Cats have kittens outside all the time. Right now just make sure she is getting good quality food, even feeding her kitten chow right now will help her with the added nutrients in the mix. She will choose her own spot come birthing time- and will probably ask you to keep away from her until she is used to being a new mom.

Thanks again for the positive people. You have brightened up my day.
Anyway, she is on kitten food, I have taken care of that. And she is quite an experienced mom, and she is very affectionate with me, so I will try to be around when she has the kittens if possible as people have told me there may be complications as she is older.