# Pregnant Stray...Lots of Questions!!



## junebug (Apr 13, 2008)

Hi everyone,
A pregnant stray cat has shown up at my house, and I was hoping you all might be able to help answer some of my questions, as I have never dealt with a pregnant cat before. Or kittens, for that matter.

First of all, the cat has fleas. I would like to bring her inside, but I would like to treat her fleas first. Is there any product that is safe to use on a pregnant cat? Or, if nothing else, would a bath be too stressful for her? Her tummy is pretty big, so I think the kittens can't be too far off.

Second question...I already have a cat, and my cat has feline herpes. I honestly don't understand it very well. Would it be a bad idea to bring the stray into the house, where she and the kittens might be exposed to it? I would be keeping them in a separate room, of course. I can't decide if it would be worse to bring her inside, or to leave her outside. :?: 

Third question...I am going to buy some l-lysine for my cat -- after reading about it on this forum...I wish my vet had mentioned it -- but would this be good to give to the stray also? It is an immune booster, right? Also, this is kind of off topic, but where can I find a pill crusher?

Okay, last question, I think. What do I need to do with the kittens in the way of vaccines and de-worming, and at what ages? I follow a limited vaccine protocol for my current cat and my dogs, and I would really like to get these kittens off to a good start by avoiding any unnecessary over-vaccination. I will not be letting them go before 12 weeks, and will probably even keep one (in addition to the mother cat), so I was wondering if I could even get away with not vaccinating the one that I keep until it is 16 weeks old. Opinions?

Thanks so much for reading this! I'm glad to have found this forum.


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome, you sure started off with a bang, and I'm afraid the only question I feel comfortable answering is the pill crusher one. You should be able to find a crusher at a pharmacy. As for your other questions about the mamma-cat with fleas, your cat with feline-herpes and vaccinations, the best I could recommend would be to ask a vet.
Hopefully someone here will have better info than me!
Heidi


----------



## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

*First of all, the cat has fleas. I would like to bring her inside, but I would like to treat her fleas first. Is there any product that is safe to use on a pregnant cat? Or, if nothing else, would a bath be too stressful for her? Her tummy is pretty big, so I think the kittens can't be too far off.*

I would advice you to talk with a vet about flea treatment. Talk about deworming too, she'll probably need to be dewormed.

*Second question...I already have a cat, and my cat has feline herpes. I honestly don't understand it very well. Would it be a bad idea to bring the stray into the house, where she and the kittens might be exposed to it? I would be keeping them in a separate room, of course. I can't decide if it would be worse to bring her inside, or to leave her outside. :?:* 

Try to keep her separated from your cat. Herpes can be quite serious in kittens. Isolate her and the kittens in their own room and keep good hand hygiene between visits. 

*Third question...I am going to buy some l-lysine for my cat -- after reading about it on this forum...I wish my vet had mentioned it -- but would this be good to give to the stray also? It is an immune booster, right? Also, this is kind of off topic, but where can I find a pill crusher?*

L-lysine is mainly given in order to fight the Herpes virus, however the stray might be infected with Herpes and it won't do any harm giving her and the kittens L-lysine. I usually just crush pills between the bench and a spoon. :wink: 

*Okay, last question, I think. What do I need to do with the kittens in the way of vaccines and de-worming, and at what ages? I follow a limited vaccine protocol for my current cat and my dogs, and I would really like to get these kittens off to a good start by avoiding any unnecessary over-vaccination. I will not be letting them go before 12 weeks, and will probably even keep one (in addition to the mother cat), so I was wondering if I could even get away with not vaccinating the one that I keep until it is 16 weeks old. Opinions*?

Normally:
- Deworming before 21 days of age. Discuss with a vet if you'll need to deworm more than that.
- Vaccination at appr. 12 weeks of age, but you can start sooner. It's quite common to start vaccination at 8 weeks of age. Minimum protection should be against panleukopenia and cat flu. Rabies if the state requires it.

You should probably vaccinate all the kittens before you let your Herpes-infected cat meet them. Then they'll at least have some protection against infection.


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

These links will be very helpful in general, but please check with a vet in regards to the flea meds. and any other medications. Sol's advice is excellent.


http://cats.about.com/cs/kittencare/a/k ... styear.htm

http://cats.about.com/cs/pregnancybirth ... irth_3.htm

http://www.peteducation.com/category_su ... 1&cat=1366


----------



## junebug (Apr 13, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I was going to check with the vet anyhow regarding the flea treatment. I am just impatient and thought I would go ahead and ask here first to get some ideas, since the vet is not open until tomorrow.  I wasn't going to do anything without double checking with the vet first though.

How does everyone feel about using DE to de-worm? Good idea, bad idea? I will do whatever is best (and again, I will see what my vet recommends), but I'm just trying to consider all my options (and rule some out). :wink: 

Jeanie, thanks for the links. I am off to read them. 

ETA: I thought of one more question. I am currently feeding the cat a diet of mainly canned Wellness, with a small amoung of dry Felidae. Are these suitable to keep her on and to also feed the kittens? The Felidae is supposed to be ALS, but I am not sure about the Wellness.

Thanks, and any other info or advice of any sort is welcome, as I am sure there is a lot that I am forgetting.


----------



## andrewwilliam (Sep 17, 2008)

*SuperBabyGuide*

I would advice you to talk with a vet about flea treatment.
I would be keeping them in a separate room, of course. I can't decide if it would be worse to bring her inside, or to leave her outside.
I am currently feeding the cat a diet of mainly canned Wellness, with a small among of dry Felicdad. Are these suitable to keep her on and to also feed the kittens? The Felicdad is supposed to be ALS, but I am not sure about the Wellness. 
===========================================
Andrew William

Link removed- Zalensia, why link to a book about brinigng up HUMAN babies in a thread about pregnant strays/kittens????


----------



## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

Felidae and Wellness should be just fine for a pregnant/lactating cat and for kittens.

I don't dare advise you about flea treatment since I don't have any experience on that at all.

When it comes to dewormers I'm only familiar with the Swedish ones so again, I don't dare say anything about that.


----------

