My Diary about a Pregnant Feral Cat

[shadowsrescue]

I am so happy to hear of Katy's progress, but saddened by the loss of her kittens.  How wonderful that you have cared for her and she now has a loving home to call her own.  She looks so happy!  Thank you so much for the update.

You are doing absolutely wonderful things for all these cats and you are to be commended.  How great that you are able to find homes for all of them.

 

[gilmargl]

Thank you Ondine and ShadowsRescue for your posts,

I often ask myself how I (could I say "we"?) find some cats more attractive, interesting lovable than others. It has nothing to do with their looks or even good behaviour. Katy is not beautiful - plump body, short legs and tail, small head and she has a mind of her own but she has always been something Special to me. Over the Christmas Holiday I fostered a beautiful placid teddy bear. I loved him as well but was quite happy to see him go to a new (good) home

Findus - the cat in my cellar now - bites. He has just bitten the back of my leg and drawn blood through my jeans while I was walking towards his litter box. I had a nasty bite on the hand received while he was rubbing his head against my hand - I was being quite placid. He bit the same hand in the same place when I was too slow in providing a treat. And the backs of my legs are now quite a sight! I am the only one in the house who dares visit and feed him. The children have been warned to keep away for the time being and I am being told constantly to get rid of him as soon as possible. Still - I hesitate and would love to be able to provide a home for him. I see little hope of finding him a good home - we had discussed the possibility of a farmyard or riding school but so long as he bites the hand that feeds him his chances are small.

I'm reporting my progress (or lack of it) in "Fostered-large-stray-with-biting-habit".

Thank you both for your support.

Gilmargl

 

[kcampbell]

I am amazed I found this diary. I have a pregnant feral cat who was brought to me when an employee realized the other feral cats weren't allowing her to eat. At my guesstimate she was 3-4 months old when they trapped her and brought her to me. At her first heat cycle she slipped out. It was like she didnt know me anymore. We finally gotabout back inside and is currently lying at my feet almost ready to deliver any day now. I am very concerned about her health as well as the kittens. I have been giving her kitten milk and she seems to have a bit more energy than before. As far as her adjustment to inside living around people it was about a month before I could pick her up and carry her around. It only took days for her to sneak into my bed while I was asleep and everything moved quickly from that point. She is the most loving and precious cat. She is like Velcro because if I am sitting down she is in my lap. We have a bit of company from time to time and no one but me and my husband can handle her. Most haven't even seen her as she hides upon the arrival of anyone. I pray this birth will go smoothly but am afraid she is just too young. If anyone of you have any suggestions for me it will be appreciated. She is my first cat. And the first delivery. She is staying even more close to me these last two days. I anticipate delivery no later than Tuesday. Thank you for such great information already.

 

[gilmargl]

Hi!

Nice to see that my diary may be of some help. I can only suggest that you should try to relax! Most births, even when the mum is very young, run smoothly. As far as I am aware, of all the pregnant strays and ferals captured here last year, my experience was unique. All other kittens were born naturally (without human interference) and those without obvious deformities survived though there were problems later with cat flu and other infections. A normal cat seems to know instinctively what to do when the time comes and the vet told me that Katy probably knew that her kittens were unlikely to survive so concentrated her attention on the strongest and abandoned the others. Perhaps I just messed things up by trying to help. The other very young cat which gave birth in my cellar many years ago had no problems at all (5 kittens, nice clean delivery) until the whole cat family became sick - but the vet saved them all.

So I can only wish you luck - your kitty is indeed very lucky to have found you. If she drinks kitten milk it can only do her good. At the moment I have the heartbreaking task of looking after trapped ferals for the few days following their castration and then setting them free in the area where they were trapped. There just isn't enough time to get them adjusted to domestic life and find them new homes. Who wants a phantom cat that only appears at feeding time? No doubt a pregnant feral or stray will get itself trapped and may land in my cellar for the birth and domestication of the kittens. I hope so. At least I will be able to give them more attention. Kittens always find new homes but the mother? I already have 3 females and don't really want to finish up as an old lady living in a dirty house, with 50 or more cats and nothing to eat!

Please keep us informed.

 

[chaucer]

I am so happy to have found this site and this thread. This is the first time I've cared for a stray/feral, first time I've had a pregnant cat and the first time I've had two cats at once.  I have a pregnant stray in my house now. I'd been feeding her, and what seems to be some neighbors' cats,  outside since early December. I could tell she was pregnant and knew I needed to do something soon. Trapping her became very easy last week and she went into my cat's carrier with no problems at all, was good in the car and at the vet's. She is about 5 weeks pregnant. Where I have made a mistake - one of several this past few days- was thinking that just because she was very loving and sweet to me was that she was socialized and would accept others who come to the house. She hasn't and actually ran into my fireplace, broke through the covered grate and disappeared down the ash chute when a neighbor stopped by. I had no idea that chute was there in the very back. It's an unusable fireplace. I was terrified that she was hurt or trapped. She came out sometime later and I was so very relieved. My other cats over the years have gone in there and this has never happened. I have now placed bricks over that foil-covered grate. She's five weeks pregnant. The thing is, if these kittens are born on time, normal and  healthy, I think it will be a miracle after the shots that I didn't authorize to be done, anesthesia for the exam that I didn't authorize to be given, worming, stress of being kept indoors and the trip down the chute.  I am very worried about this.

Thank you for sharing your story, Gilmargl. It has offered some encouragement.