Frankie's pregnant..I've got a few questions

I found this site while looking for info, because my kitty is pregnant. I read a ton of threads on this topic, but just to be safe, I've started my own.

First of all, I realize how important it is to have our cats spayed. Unfortunately, our cats are not "my cats", they're the family's cats(I just graduated highschool and am not yet out of the house ), and there's very little space in our tight budget for vet bills. So, despite my pestering, my mom put off Frankie's spaying, wanting to get it done at the "Spay Shuttle", a local low-cost mobile spay/neuter/vaccination clinic. We picked a date when the Spay Shuttle would be near our house, but before that happened, Frankie went into heat, snuck out, and got pregnant. Don't worry, as soon as this is over she will be spayed .

I'm not sure when she got pregnant exactly, but I know she's due sometime between now and the first week of July. The last time one of our cats had kittens(6-7 yrs ago), the cat got really big and had 6 kittens. Frankie doesn't seem that large, I'm guessing four kittens (but what do I know?). Anyway, here's a report on her current condition, I think she's pretty close, but I'm hoping some experts could interpret these symptoms for me

• I took her temp about a week ago, it was about 101. I tried a couple times after that, but she didn't put up with it long enough for me to get a reading. I tried again today and had success, 99.1. It seems to stress her out, so I don't think I'll try again.
• She has milk in her teats, if you squeeze the lower ones, a little bit comes out.
• She has had a white, mucous-y vaginal discharge off and on yesterday and this morning(She managed to get some on my bed, gross, but no odor). Now it's more a clear discharge, but it's still not constant. I check all the time
  
  , sometimes it's there, sometimes not.
• Her breathing seems shallower today, but not what I would call panting.
• She's been checkin for nesting places for the last few weeks. I cleared out a small closet and put a laundry basket with snuggly towels in the bottom of it and left the door opened just enough for her to get in. She seems to approve, a couple of times she's napped in there for over an hour, but she still likes to scope out my brother's cluttered room and my sister's underwear drawer. She seems pretty uncomfortable and is more vocal. Yesterday, for about 15 mins, she seemed concerned and was talkin' up a storm, but then she settled down and took a nap.
• She's still eating, but not as much. She runs to the food like she's hungry, then takes a few bites and and quits.
• Right now, she's trying to sleep, but she's uncomfortable and lets out a little groan every now and then.

Any ideas, advice? Let me know. I'm so excited She's a really beautiful cat, hopefully the apples won't fall far from the tree. I think I can't post pictures yet, because I'm a newbie, right? She's got a black and white cow pattern. She's not really spotted, her top half is black and her bottom half is white, w/black markins on her legs. I might have just seen a contraction. She groaned and rolled over in the middle of it though, it's hard to tell. Is it safe to go to bed or should I wait up for kittens?

wait for kittens!

How's it going? Any babies yet? I'm sure you'll have some before the day is out.... Good luck!

No babies yet!!! Late last night (actually early this morning), she seemed kinda restless, and she groaned and meowed every few minutes. I thought for sure it was time. She wanted to be with me, and I didn't want kittens in my room(I'm trying to get it sorted out for when I move out in the fall, it looks like a tornado hit it), so I slept in the hallway with her. She ended up going to sleep and got up this morning and ate a little. I've noticed that she's gotten irritable in the last two days. She wants me near her but doesn't really want me to touch her. For most of her pregnancy she's been desperate for belly rubs. I don't blame her for being crabby, I felt her tummy today and it feels like the little buggers are having a rugby game inside of her. Her breathing is a little heavy and she looks really uncomfortable, but she doesn't seem to be nesting. I think she just enjoys keeping me in suspense

Just thought I'd post an update before I go to bed . Frankie went all day w/o eating, so I figured she was getting close. Then she pigged out on kitten chow about an hour ago, so there goes that theory. The kittens are moving like crazy, they seem to be playing leapfrog. Frankie is not amused and looks like she wants to get the little monsters out of her ASAP. Arg, I hate all this waiting!!

hah.. she sounds like you're gonna have kittens in short order.

Ah, the anticipation! First of all, WELCOME! Second, Congrats on your graduation! I remember when I graduated; it was a strange mixture of elation and fear. Anywho, back to the kittens! I've never had an animal that gave birth, and always get tremendous joy from keeping up with these posts. I wish both you and Frankie luck and only ask that you keep us posted! There's some excellent sources of information here (Kumbulu, for instance, the Kitten Queen , and Hissy, knower of all) and I'm sure that they will post some valuable information when the time comes. Take care and keep us posted!

Don't give up - and don't let her fool you. As I just posted in my post about our new arrivals our momma cat defied ALL the "signs" of labor -- her temp stayed regular and, like your cat, her appetite seemed fine (in fact she even ate a bit during labor between kittens!!)......not all cat's give out the same signals so just be near and watch her for the little changes that might clue you in....good luck!!

Okay, I just saw this clump of dried reddish/brownish stuff on Frankie's rear end. It was smaller than a pea. Is this "The Plug"? What should I be looking for?