So, I took in the stray mother cat last night that I met last summer when she had two kittens. She is the neighborhood cat and I know of at least two other households that leave food for her and her previous litter (two kittens). However, she is very pregnant again at this point. She looks like she swallowed a cantaloupe. (honestly THAT BIG)
I've let her into my apartment before but my 6 year old neutered male, Shaggy, has never been able to get along with her. The time she spent indoors with him usually ended up with him picking a fight and me having to let her back outside. During her time indoors she'd find a place on my couch or bed and sleep for a while. This time, however, she has been snooping around into small dark spaces. She has been moving around a lot today, seemingly "nesting".
I'm not sure when she got pregnant but the past week or two she's nearly tripled in size. I'm figuring it's soon because her tiny little frame doesn't seem like it can hold much more.
I hadn't been able to bring her inside when I first noticed she was pregnant because she'd always catch me on my way out to work (not a good situation when you can't supervise two cats, one incredibly jealous) or I just couldn't find her!
Shaggy seems to get along with her better than ever before, maybe it's because she's soo placid. But, Shaggy is still jealous.
Anyway, I have a few questions...
ETA of kittens? (rough estimate if possible)
Is it okay to give her a bath(with flea and tick shampoo)? (she's rather big in the belly and I'm afraid that restraining her will cause her excess stress or possibly harm the kittens)
Anyway, Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!
I've let her into my apartment before but my 6 year old neutered male, Shaggy, has never been able to get along with her. The time she spent indoors with him usually ended up with him picking a fight and me having to let her back outside. During her time indoors she'd find a place on my couch or bed and sleep for a while. This time, however, she has been snooping around into small dark spaces. She has been moving around a lot today, seemingly "nesting".
I'm not sure when she got pregnant but the past week or two she's nearly tripled in size. I'm figuring it's soon because her tiny little frame doesn't seem like it can hold much more.
I hadn't been able to bring her inside when I first noticed she was pregnant because she'd always catch me on my way out to work (not a good situation when you can't supervise two cats, one incredibly jealous) or I just couldn't find her!
Shaggy seems to get along with her better than ever before, maybe it's because she's soo placid. But, Shaggy is still jealous.
Anyway, I have a few questions...
ETA of kittens? (rough estimate if possible)
Is it okay to give her a bath(with flea and tick shampoo)? (she's rather big in the belly and I'm afraid that restraining her will cause her excess stress or possibly harm the kittens)
Anyway, Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!