"Auntie Kiera" - surrogate mom wannabe !

Yesterday was soooo funny... Kiera, my pregant foster mom has been in her room from ther day we got her. I have no idea when she's due but you could tell she's had enough of this solitary confinement. She does not get along with my other cats so for everyone's safety, she has stayed in her room though I visit often.

Yesterday, a kitten from the other foster family (Chanel's family) sneaked in the door while I was going in to check on her. Normally, she hisses at any cat - kitten or adult - if she sees any. Not yesterday ! She snifed him all up, licked him, "talked" to him as though she was the mother. I let the other kittens in and she did the same thing. She even nursed one briefly before I separated them (keep the precious colostrum for HER babies, whenever they get here). When I sent the kittens back with their mom and shut Kiera's door, she cried ! So I let them all back in, she washed all of them, called to them... It was so cute: maternal instinct ! We call her "Auntie Kiera" now. Chanel, the real mom is not overly enthused by the idea of a surrogate mom and watches carefully.

Every now and then, Kiera would jump into her birthing box and pant for a while then jump back out and "mother" the babies. I assume she'll have her litter soon though her temperature is back up to 101.6 (it was at 99.5 for the last 48 hours) and she shows no signs of labor. I can still squeeze milk from her nipples (and evidently, so can Chanel's kittens !) so I know were getting close...

Now if I only knew how close...

Julie

Julie, if she's beginning to pant, it will most likely be in the next 24 hours. Her care of the other kittens is a good sign that she'll be a great Mom.

That's what I was thinking "Oh she's gonna be great with her kits !"

All panting has stopped for now... I was sure she was going to have them last night, I even slept with her in the spare room but no... nothing yet...

She seems to start panting only when she's around Chanel's kittens. If they all go away or fall asleep, the panting stops... Plus her temp is back up... I don't know what to make of this !

Has she lost her mucous plug yet? Is her vulva a little swollen and a deep pink? If so, it will be very soon.

She's not showing any signs. She was panting for a while last night then again this morning and I can squeeze milk from her nipples. Those are the only "signs" so far. No vaginal discharge or mucous plug yet, she looks comfortable, has a good appetite, her temp is now 100.5F. I can't really tell about the vulva, her skin & fur around there is black.

It's the milk thing that's throwing me off... I though it would be soon after that. Maybe I'm just a really good milker ! (TMI alert: reminds me of my breastfeeding days, I could express milk manually better than with the pumps)

She's wandering around now trying to "corral" her borrowed kittens into her room
I'll keep watching (obviously !!)
Julie

LOL Julie, all you can do is patiently wait.

yep... Can you tell "patience" is not my strong suit ? Granted, from what I've seen here, patience is hard to come by when waiting for kittens !

*grin* Yes, patience is indeed a virtue, but unfortunately, not one I seem to possess ... any changes?

~gf~

Nope... everytime she sees the kittens, she starts to pant. When they go away, she stops. I've had move the kittens twice now as they try to nurse from her. She's sitting in her box right now, meowing cause I'm away. Oh she found me ! Gotta go back and sit with her. Good thing I had nothing else to do tonight... Hope it's soon, this "sit beside me" thing is wearing thin - especially on the cement floor in the laundry room ! (I borrowed my daughters Blue's Clues fuzzy chair for the time being)

waiting...

Well, I've made coffee ... *grin* ... but I am afraid my Nascar Dale Jr. stadium cushion is about all I have in the way of a special seating arrangement. LOL I'll be around, checking in from time to time.

~gf~