Moving A Pregnant Barn Cat

[monochromatic]

I just back from the barn and Sally is panting almost constantly and she is acting mildly uncomfortable. She will sit down and then immediately get back up and sit somewhere else. She is also kind of walking like she has to use the bathroom. She is no longer eating any of her food.

I noticed that there is more discharge than this morning, but she hasn't had any contractions yet.
Could this be the mucus plug coming out, or is this prelabor?

 

[monochromatic]

I need of emergency advise!

Sally had her kittens this morning, from 8am to 2pm. She had 6, the first one unfortunate didn't make it, it was very small and deformed looking.

I'm trying to figure out where to keep them now.
I have a large dog crate set up in the barn and I can try and move Sally into that, or I still have my giant enclosed dog playpen in my room that I initially had planned for her.
- The barn is where she has always been, it's where she is the most comfortable. However, the flies are really going after her butt now that the kittens are born, they are attracted to the smell.
- If I move her into my room, with the new smells and environment, she could abandon the kittens? My room would be so much better for all of them though.

I don't know how I would even get Sally into a carrier, I guess I could try again now because she is weaker after the delivery?
Should I wait to do anything until she has recovered from the delivery?

Any advice is much appreciated, thank you so much!

 

[ileen]

Congratulations on your five kittens, I'm sorry the first one didn't make it.
I'm calling to kitten expert @Sarthur2 to give you advice - she's very wise.

 

[monochromatic]

Congratulations on your five kittens, I'm sorry the first one didn't make it.
I'm calling to kitten expert @Sarthur2 to give you advice - she's very wise.

Thank you so much ileen!
Tonight I plan on leaving them where they are. I'm going to put my chickens in the milk house away from the barn so they don't try and peck the babies.
I do have 2 other barn cats, a male and female (both fixed), they ignore Sally, so hopefully they will leave the kittens alone?

 

[talkingpeanut]

I think you should move them into your room as soon as possible. If you put the kittens in the back of the dog crate, mom should follow them in there. Then you can close the door.

 

[monochromatic]

I think you should move them into your room as soon as possible. If you put the kittens in the back of the dog crate, mom should follow them in there. Then you can close the door.

Yes, talkingpeanut, I agree.
Unfortunately the large dog crate I have would be too big to even get into my room, if I used that to transport her.
I tried getting her in a carrier (just to nest in for now). I have a medium sized dog carrier that I used, I placed next to the hay bale near Sally's nest. I put soft blankets in, then her kittens. She came over, wanting to get to her kittens, she tried multiple times. I walked away to let her go in on her own. Unfortunately she was too scared to go in even for her babies. She just laid down on the outside of the carrier. I returned the kittens to the original nest for tonight, and I waited until it got dark for all the chickens roost before I left.
I will try putting just hay in that same carrier, along with her kittens, tomorrow. I think part of her fear going in was the blankets?
Is there any possibility she could abandon her kittens being put into a new environment with lots of new smells?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Safaria]

Yeah put hay on the ground of the cage maybe youll have to leave the kittens in there for a little bit to get them to start crying so she runs in also cover up the sides of the cage so she can only hear them through the cage walls and not see them maybe she will run through the door then

 

[Safaria]

Just make sure you take some hay with or something from her nest so its not to unfamiliar for her