Feral Pregnant cat- caught her- now what?

She is in the office of my outbuilding with free choice dry food water and a litter box, as well as a kittening box because she really looks like she is going to POP! Since it's so late in the pregnancy I don't feel good about doing an abortion.

The room is nice, linoleum floor, a few desks to climb on and a window to look out of. Also has a ceiling fan if it starts to get REALLY hot but generally the office stays cool bc it;s on a cement base. I've been feeding her wet at night outside (to help me trap her!) so I will continue that.

I can't touch her and I'm not pushing the issue too hard. I don't want to stress her out. I know gestation is 64-67 days but since I have no idea when she got pregnant I have no idea when to expect kittens. Her belly is big, lumpy, pendulous.

I borrowed a humane trap because she was living in the brush behind my work- a car dealership! I am going to get Mom spayed ASAP once she recovers, kittens too.

Any advice?

I haven't had kittens since my boyfriend ( now husband)'s female escpaed about 4 years ago. We managed to deal with that and adopt out all the kittens to friends and family. The only quirk then was Mama tried to give birth in a small fedex box- one that was only about 3 inches high. Hehehe- I had to gently dump her out into the nicely prepared kittening box we had set up.

Hoping for another easy healthy birth!

Welcome to TCS. What a great thing you did by bringing her indoors. The one thing that I would recommend given that she is feral...is to ensure that there are at LEAST 2 doors between where you have her and the outdoors. Some ferals have been known to dash out doors and break screens to get outside. If you have any concerns about her "fleeing"...then you may want to buy a large dog crate and keep her in there with her food/litter and water. Also, since she is feral, I would let her queues determine how much time to spend with the kittens...some moms are very protective of their young and you can still socialize older kittens. So don't be concerned if she ends up not wanting you touching them. There is a great yahoo group that you may want to join:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feral_cats/

They have a file section with all sorts of good information on caring for feral cats.

Katie

The way the builiding is contructed is a big garage door and a people door to the outside, then a second door to the office. ALso the screen on the window is ripped so the window is SHUT!

I have rehabbed a feral before to a housepet but she wasn't THIS unhappy with humans even to begin with. And she wasn't pregnant. Sigh.

Thanks for the tip on the yahoo group. Its more the pregnancy thats confusing me then the feral bit. I'm clear on TNR etc.

Originally Posted by penthilisea

The way the builiding is contructed is a big garage door and a people door to the outside, then a second door to the office. ALso the screen on the window is ripped so the window is SHUT!

I have rehabbed a feral before to a housepet but she wasn't THIS unhappy with humans even to begin with. And she wasn't pregnant. Sigh.

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Well...you do have your work cut out for you....but that yahoo group should be helpful.

Katie

Well, congrats on catching her. Read the stickies at the top of this forum, you will learn lots about pregnancy and delivery.

Basically, she will do everything herself, most likely. If she is really feral and scared, you will have to give her as much privacy as you can...while still making sure she and the babies remain safe.

There is a feral board here, too, and you might find pointers there.

Here is a link that may have some good info.
http://www.cat77.org.uk/articles/feral2.htm

You will have to let us know when she gives birth..


If you can see the babies moving then assume she has 1 week to go and another 2 be safe

I've seen tame cats attack people who approached their kittens and feral moms have allowed me to pick up their young. Read the signals of this girl very closely - every cat reacts differently.

Congrats on catching her and praises to you for taking her in.

I live with 9 former ferals in my house - they can be socialized - don't give up on her!!

Mom Of Many- do you post under the same name on the O.H. forums?
ANyway- as an update, her appetite appears to be lower, although it coul dbe because I have had free choice dry food out for her. She didn't finish her wet food overnight (about 2/3 of a can). Is this a sign of impending labor? She's also not very active (compared to when she was outside). And I don't think she's drinking enough.

Originally Posted by penthilisea

Mom Of Many- do you post under the same name on the O.H. forums?
ANyway- as an update, her appetite appears to be lower, although it coul dbe because I have had free choice dry food out for her. She didn't finish her wet food overnight (about 2/3 of a can). Is this a sign of impending labor? She's also not very active (compared to when she was outside). And I don't think she's drinking enough.

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Would love to be able to give you a definitive answer on that...however if you have read others with pregnant cats...some had less of an appetite before labor and some had more. Will she let you close enough to touch her?? If you can see milk from her nipples, that usually means you have 2-3 days to go.

Katie

I could get close enough to touch her but she hisses and is pissed off so I haven't tried to touch her yet. I spent some time just lying on the floor so she could watch me. Any thoughts on the water situation? I have it in a typical plastic dish, might it be worth adding some tuna juice to make it more appealing?

Originally Posted by penthilisea

I could get close enough to touch her but she hisses and is pissed off so I haven't tried to touch her yet. I spent some time just lying on the floor so she could watch me. Any thoughts on the water situation? I have it in a typical plastic dish, might it be worth adding some tuna juice to make it more appealing?

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What about trying some KMR??

Katie

I could get close enough to touch her but she hisses and is pissed off so I haven't tried to touch her yet. I spent some time just lying on the floor so she could watch me. Any thoughts on the water situation? I have it in a typical plastic dish, might it be worth adding some tuna juice to make it more appealing?

Originally Posted by penthilisea

I could get close enough to touch her but she hisses and is pissed off so I haven't tried to touch her yet. I spent some time just lying on the floor so she could watch me. Any thoughts on the water situation? I have it in a typical plastic dish, might it be worth adding some tuna juice to make it more appealing?

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Oh..I should have clarified....why don't you buy some KMR (kitten milk replacement) and see if she will drink that....most cats like milk. You can also try goat's milk.

Katie