I'm not going to go into the circumstances of how she was abandoned because that's a separate issue. Suffice it to say that I noticed this tortie inside an apartment window and then a few weeks ago they tenants moved but the tortie was still hanging around. I tried to coax her over with some food, and slowly got her to come to my patio but not inside at all. When she got closer to me I realized that I was almost certain she was very pregnant. (I suspect this had something to do with her former "people" leaving her behind.) Low and behold, today, she came up to me purring and rubbing on me and being very affectionate. I was able to take her to a the birthing area I had set up for her in the back bedroom closet.
Now here's my concern. The mama isn't a very big cat and I don't know what her nutritional intake was before these irresponsible people just dumped her a few weeks ago. Meantime we've been giving her Blue Buffalo and I give her Fancy Feast for extra calories. I would guess that pre-pregnancy, she weight somewhere around 7 pounds. She started birthing her babies at about 3:30 PM and then I had to go to work. My husband was able to check in on her every so often while I was gone. When I got home, there were two live ones and one still born. He looked liked he wasn't as well developed as the other two. It was very sad.
So I'm wondering if a litter size total of 3 is normal for a cat this size? Is there a way for me to tell if she still has another kitten or afterbirth that hasn't come out? She has been purring contentedly and nursing her babies so they seem to be all right. They are latching on to the nipple well. She did let me feel her belly somewhat, and she is still a little fat and I can feel that her milk glands are enlarged, but is there a way to tell if she has a kitten still in there?
When I was a kid, we had a dog pass away from a stillborn puppy that gave her blood poisoning, so I'm extra paranoid about this.
Any advice is appreciated!
Now here's my concern. The mama isn't a very big cat and I don't know what her nutritional intake was before these irresponsible people just dumped her a few weeks ago. Meantime we've been giving her Blue Buffalo and I give her Fancy Feast for extra calories. I would guess that pre-pregnancy, she weight somewhere around 7 pounds. She started birthing her babies at about 3:30 PM and then I had to go to work. My husband was able to check in on her every so often while I was gone. When I got home, there were two live ones and one still born. He looked liked he wasn't as well developed as the other two. It was very sad.
So I'm wondering if a litter size total of 3 is normal for a cat this size? Is there a way for me to tell if she still has another kitten or afterbirth that hasn't come out? She has been purring contentedly and nursing her babies so they seem to be all right. They are latching on to the nipple well. She did let me feel her belly somewhat, and she is still a little fat and I can feel that her milk glands are enlarged, but is there a way to tell if she has a kitten still in there?
When I was a kid, we had a dog pass away from a stillborn puppy that gave her blood poisoning, so I'm extra paranoid about this.
Any advice is appreciated!