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- May 2, 2015
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I have a stray cat (Alley) who has been hanging around my apartment complex for nearly a year. She's become pretty friendly with people, but we haven't been able to trap her to get her TNRed. Well, then she showed up about 4 weeks ago showing pregnancy, so I started feeding her kitten food and set up a bunch of nesting boxes around my patio.
Alley spent 4 straight days on my patio last week being uncharacteristically affectionate, so I was hoping she'd have her kittens here. But she never did show interest in the nesting boxes and now she's been disappearing and only showing up for meals. She's also eating less than before, and has become standoffish, which I think either means she's very close to labor or already had them. My biggest fear is that she'll have her kittens somewhere I won't be able to find them, because I'd like to get them socialized and adopted, and of course be there to help if she rejects them or anything goes wrong. I'm also worried she may already have had her kittens and I just can't tell? Her stomach "dropped" a bit and she looks a little less round, but it does feel pretty hard still, and hangs down for sure. I haven't noticed any discharge, but she's got long-ish fur and doesn't really let me inspect her much (picture is about a week old, I'll try to get a new one tonight.)
I can't take her inside and none of the local shelters that take in "outside cats" have room, so I'm not sure what to do. The best place I have for her is an outdoor storage closet, but I feel bad locking her in without ventilation; it's pretty hot around here during the days in southern AZ.
Anyway, any advice on how to best try to keep track of Alley and the kittens (or how to tell if they're already born...) would be appreciated! Thanks!
Alley spent 4 straight days on my patio last week being uncharacteristically affectionate, so I was hoping she'd have her kittens here. But she never did show interest in the nesting boxes and now she's been disappearing and only showing up for meals. She's also eating less than before, and has become standoffish, which I think either means she's very close to labor or already had them. My biggest fear is that she'll have her kittens somewhere I won't be able to find them, because I'd like to get them socialized and adopted, and of course be there to help if she rejects them or anything goes wrong. I'm also worried she may already have had her kittens and I just can't tell? Her stomach "dropped" a bit and she looks a little less round, but it does feel pretty hard still, and hangs down for sure. I haven't noticed any discharge, but she's got long-ish fur and doesn't really let me inspect her much (picture is about a week old, I'll try to get a new one tonight.)
I can't take her inside and none of the local shelters that take in "outside cats" have room, so I'm not sure what to do. The best place I have for her is an outdoor storage closet, but I feel bad locking her in without ventilation; it's pretty hot around here during the days in southern AZ.
Anyway, any advice on how to best try to keep track of Alley and the kittens (or how to tell if they're already born...) would be appreciated! Thanks!
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