Pregnant Foster Cat— when will she have her kittens?

[Senecajh]

Hello All!
On Thursday I became a foster mom for a mother-to-be. The vet tech at the shelter told us it could be any day or weeks from now, so basically I’m looking for signs of pre labor. Here’s what I have so far:

1) she’s eating like a horse. We’re talking nearly double the standard amount of food.
2) there appear to be white flaky bits around two of her nipples
3) she had The Stinkiest diarrhea last night at 3am
4) she is crazy affectionate given she was a stray three days ago
5) she’s between 1 and 3 but no way of knowing if this is her first litter
6) we can see and feel the kittens moving
7) we can hear her abdomen gurgling loudly since yesterday
8) she spends most of her time sleeping on my bed but frequently seems uncomfortable
9) she’s pretty skinny aside from her belly.

and pictures:

Any and all advice/ knowlege/ facts about signs she’s due soon are welcome! She has several options for nesting boxes and I’m prepared for kittens.

 

[Senecajh]

Oh! And she’s digging in the litter box and scratching the floor around her food. Dunno if that’s relevant.

 

[Sarthur2]

If she has milk crust on her nipples, then she is likely due any day now. Milk comes in up to a week before labor and delivery. Diarrhea is also common in the day or two before kittens arrive. It sounds imminent!

Do you have kitten formula in the house in case a kitten needs supplementing? Mom should also drink a dish a day for the extra calcium for nursing.

Thanks for fostering and keep us posted!

 

[Senecajh]

I have KMR, miracle nipples, the whole shebang. Mom has been eating kitten food only, but I can definitely supplement with some KMR, good idea, thanks!

I’m not super confident it is milk crust, but certainly seems like it! Just don’t want to get myself excited over nothing.

 

[Senecajh]

Little miss queen is breathing pretty quickly and is finally investigating the nesting options. Hopefully today or tomorrow!

 

[Senecajh]

Aaaaand she’s eating dinner like there’s no tomorrow. Is it possible that because she’s a stray and didn’t have reliable access to food up until now that she won’t stop eating 12-24 hours before? The other cats I’ve fostered that were strays have often been weird about food.

 

[vince]

Another thing you might watch for is if she loses her mucus plug. It will be greenish-white. You might not find it, but that's a sign she'll be going into labor fairly soon. Nesting behavior is another indication that it might be soon. Do you have any nest locations set up? She might decide on one of her own, but some suggestions on your part might work.

 

[Margot Lane]

Phooootoooos!

 

[Senecajh]

Do you have any nest locations set up? She might decide on one of her own, but some suggestions on your part might work.

Oh boy do I! She has five nesting possibilities in the room (one in the closet, two under the bed, two in the main room). I have a sneaking suspicion she might use my bed though

 

[Senecajh]

Phooootoooos!

here is Cowey! The only cat I’ve ever been at risk to foster fail lol

 

[Senecajh]

no discharge yet, but my friend is in school to be a vet and she said something about Cowey’s vulva looking ready. Like, pink and relaxed/open or something? I don’t remember exactly but it sounded promising

 

[Sarthur2]

She’s close - be patient!

 

[vince]

She looks and sounds like she's just about ready. Best thing now is to let her pick the spot and keep it as quiet and stress-free as you can for her.

We had one cat that consistently used my Mom's nightgown drawer for a nest. She would not tolerate being moved and would take the kittens back to the drawer. If the drawer was closed so she couldn't get in, she'd throw a fit. Finally, when the cat would get pregnant, we'd just empty the drawer and put some more-suitable bedding in for her.

 

[Senecajh]

She’s finally investigating some of the nests I set up for her. I’m hoping she’ll choose the cat tent but the box under my bed is pretttyyy sweet lol

 

[Senecajh]

I know she’ll do this in her own time, but the suspense is killing me! She’s kind of nesting sometimes, and her breathing is occasionally fast but otherwise she’s just chilling on my bed or in the cat tree.

 

[Senecajh]

This cat is playing an elaborate prank on me. In the last two days she’s gotten huge and started to bat at us if we touch her belly, but no kittens yet. Every day I think “todays the day, no way she has another day in her” and every day I’m wrong. I’m being punk’d

 

[vince]

Go away and visit relatives for the day--she's guaranteed to deliver while you're gone!

 

[georagg]

lol she's waiting for the one day you can't be home... my girl is doing the same to me.... she keeps going off food...then inhaling her body weight in dry food before taking a relaxing nap. here's to an un disclosed ammount of sleepless nights

 

[kittiefoster]

Any updates!?

punk’d

+Î⅞⁷

 

[kittiefoster]

lol she's waiting for the one day you can't be home... my girl is doing the same to me.... she keeps going off food...then inhaling her body weight in dry food before taking a relaxing nap. here's to an un disclosed ammount of sleepless nights

Hi georagg... Seems you and I and the original poster are all in the same boat...
My cat is also a foster feral not sure if yours is but I know senecajh is a homeless pet....
Maybe we should start a new thread where the three of us can compare and invite anyone else on the thread who is very close.... Don't know if that's okay with moderators?
Senecajh I know exactly what you mean about being punked sure feels that way... But I think there's no way this cat is not having kittens I know you've had yours for over a week I've had mine since February 11th... Two weeks last Friday so now about 17 days that she's been showing with saddlebags and looking like ready to pop any day!!

Right now she's sitting in the corner meowing which would normally make me think something's up but every time she does something that makes me think something is up nothing's up LOL and I feel pumked again... Please do keep us up to date how your kittys coming along and any signs or info. If nothing else we can keep each other company while we're all going crazy haha