Pregnant or already given birth?

[Briochebun]

We have a stray cat we occasionally see, I tried to trap and neuter her early in the year but she escaped and had kept well clear of me since. I occasionally see her and she appeared normal.

Around the 6th June we had a complete male cat (owned) hanging around all week. About a week ago this stray female appears again and it very affectionate. Her nipples were much larger but also the area around her nipples was raised as if full of milk? She has been sleeping in our garage for a few days happily but now I have noticed the swelling around the nipples has gone down but the nipples are still enlarged. Is it likely she is pregnant or had she perhaps recently had a litter I was unaware of when she turned up. She seems a bit rounder but not much and her stomach feels quite solid.

Hoping someone could help me try and makes sense of it all.

Thank you

 

[catsknowme]

It sounds like she may be nursing. I would supplement her food with a high quality kitten food, both kibble and wet, plus kmr to drink. Hypocalcemia can impair productive labor contractions (if I am wrong and she is still preggers) as well as cause maternal mortality as her body uses all its calcium supplies to support growing kitten bodies.
If you can, use cams to attempt to locate the kittens' nest in case that you need to locate them in an emergency.
You can also begin to prepare her for trapping by trying to desensitize her to the trap. I use old broom handles, discarded poles, etc., to prop open the trap gate and keep the trap "open" for months and weeks. I put cardboard on top and inside of the trap. At the trap gate, I place a filled water bottle (I use the bottle & string technique on trapping days). I place goodies nearby as well as on and barely inside the trap. Eventually, I feed in the impotent trap. I don't care if other cats show up because any cat in my yard gets neutered (there are several ways to finance that part of the operation). Periodically, I carry the trap inside to practice pulling the string attached to water bottle (to be clear, I remove the handle/pipe that was preventing the gate from closing). The cats will see the trap coming and going which spooks them at first but eventually they figure out the trap means goodies. I also set the trap on the old sheet/blanket that will be used to IMMEDIATELY cover the trap. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to cover the trap ASAP when the cat gets trapped - it helps prevent panic & frantic escape attempts plus the other cats see a LOT LESS of what's going on. My advice is to not feel rushed to use the trap as soon as kitty is comfortable near/in it. As you already know, a few seconds of failed attempt can create months of reinstalling cat trust (sometimes it requires waiting until kittens can be used as "bait" in a double-gated trap, which can be several litters later).
Please keep us updated - many people cruising this site will be using your situation to help cats in their own area.

 

[sanfran_kitty_lady_21]

I've had a pregnant cat before (lived in rural farm areas in the past outside of north america, no available vets except for livestock). Cats are really friendly when they are in heat and when they are pregnant. My previous cat, both when she was pregnant with 3 kittens and then a second time with 4 kittens - she looked only a little rounder. It was definitely not very prominent, very dependent on the angle I was looking at her.

In my VERY humble opinion, I think this kitty hasn't given birth yet. She's chilling in your garage (assuming happily) because she needs a dark, safe, quiet place to give birth to her kittens. A new mama shouldn't be taking naps away from her kittens; she would only leave to hunt and eat and then head back to her litter. I wouldn't use the state of her mammillary to determine whether she's given birth or not because hormones are weird. My cat's mamillary glands never got that big even when she was actively nursing after birth - nothing like dogs.

My recommendation - start putting some kitten boxes around your garage. Something covered with an openning but a 2inch lip so the kittens don't just roll out. Put some blankets, old t-shirts (things that won't snag the kitten's claws because they don't retract for a few weeks). Hopefully a warmer corner of the garage since the kittens can't manage their own body heat. You might want to layer it with newspaper because the first layer can get messy after birth - so it's helpful to remove it right after birth so the area is clean. Hopefully mama will give birth there but my kitty chose my sock drawer the first time - but I was able to move her kittens to the kitten box soon after and she was pretty happy there from that moment on.

Thinking ahead, socializing the kitten from early on is important to get them adopted but mama might start getting defensive (you never know). But just petting them a little during their first will make a huge difference. It seems like mama feels pretty comfortable with you so hopefully she doesn't hiss at you. I would worry about TNR 6-8 weeks after the kittens are born.