# My mother brought home a stray: she had a surprise for us!



## keilee341 (Mar 23, 2010)

About a month ago, a stray cat that looks to be just under a year old jumped into my mother's car. She was very affectionate and even though we already have 5 indoor cats, we decided that it would be cruel to just put her out of the car and drive away. We have every intention of finding her another home.

When petting her one night, however, I noticed that her nipples were VERY large, and her round belly began to look very suspicious. A trip to the vet confirmed that she is pregnant. Vet said she had a week or two left, and that was a week and a half ago!

She is very round, has extremely bad gas, and still doesn't like most of our other cats, although she is slowly getting used to them. All of out kits are spayed/neutered, so there is no chance she will get pregnant again from them. 

She is eating voraciously, and has not begun to nest. We don't really have anything prepared for her... 

I have bottle-fed the last 4 cats we have taken in, 3 of which were only 4 weeks old, if that, and one that was a very malnourished 8 week old. I am hoping to find each and every one of her kittens, and her, a home as soon as they are weaned, but we may be able to get them into a no-kill pet refuge soon as well. 

I really want to do the right thing for her and her babies, and any advice is appreciated! 

I need to know what to prepare for her. Should she be eating kitten food mixed with adult food? Since she is just a year old, what kind of help might she need when she gives birth? 

I haven't been able to feel any movement. I hope she gives birth soon!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome!
I have only had one cat (Shadow) kitten in my home as an adult and only a few times as a child, so I have very little experience in this area. I have bottle raise three young and orphaned litters of kittens in addition to fostering, taming and socializing feral, semi-feral and poorly socialized cats for public adoption.

First, you will need to prepare her a kittening area where you can keep her securely separated from your housecats. She may be slightly tolerant of them for now, but as soon as those kittens are born her maternal instincts will kick in and she will turn into a protective mamma-bear. I feel it would be best to head-that-off-at-the-pass and separate now. 

Mamma cats like to have a cozy, cave-like place to birth and raise their litter. I like to use a cardboard box about 2 feet square. This provides plenty of room for her to maneuver herself and not accidentally lay on any kittens in a cramped space. I like to line the inside of the box with shelf-paper to help protect the cardboard from moisture. Fold towels and place them in a pillowcase for their bedding. The pillowcase prevents little kitten claws from getting tangled in terry-cloth loops. 
You can also cut an access hole, about 3-4" above the bedding level to prevent kittens from accidentally rolling out of the nest. In addition, if a kitten will not release a nipple when she is exiting, the cardboard edge of the access hole will gently bump the kitten off the teat and it will remain and not be dragged out of the nest. By the time the kittens are big enough to get out of the access hole on their own you can enlarge the hole for easier kitten access in and out.

I kept Shadow in our Master Bathroom. It was large and easy to kitten/cat-proof and clean. It also kept two doors between our housecat residents. The bathroom was fine for Shadow. As a new mother, all she wanted to do was nurse, care for her kittens, eat, drink and litterbox. She had no interest in playing or exercising so the small bathroom was sufficient. As the kittens grew older and began to explore I eventually gave them the bathroom and adjoining bedroom during hours when I was awake and Shadow would join them. At one point I did try to allow her access to the bedroom while she was nursing her litter and she tried to move them under the King sized bed where they would be inaccessible and difficult for me to clean so I confined her back to the bathroom.

Food-wise right now, I would offer quality kitten food and/or canned food and fresh water. All she wants to eat. You could try and get this mamma and her litter accepted into an adoption program where you 'foster' and care for them until they can be s/n and accepted by the organization to offer for adoption. Doing this will ensure that all are vaccinated and s/n before being adopted. You just pay for supplies and gas/time taking them to their apointments, the organization will pay all medical costs once they've accepted them into their program. 
Anyhow, others here have more kittening experience than I do and they will be able to give you more and better advice.
Good luck!
Heidi =^..^=


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## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

You've already gotten a great answer.

Usually cats don't need any help giving birth, they're great mothers. You might have to cut the cords depending on how fast the kittens comes and on how the mother copes with it all som make sure you have a sterilized scissor at hand. Take a firm grip of the cord (about 1 inch away from the kittens tummy), press it really tight and then cut between your fingers and the placenta. Press the cord for about 30 seconds after you've cut and then let go. You can also put a knot on the cord and then cut, use cotton thread if you do that.

Make sure all the placentas get out and check so they're whole. If not all placentas get out or you get incomplete placentas you need to call the vet. It's not acute but she might need medical help to remove the placenta remains from the uterues. If they're left in there she'll develop an infection.

Also make sure you have Pedialyte, kitten formula and a bottle/syringe at home just in case you have to help with the feeding part.


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## keilee341 (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks for the advice! 

I've gotten a box set-up for her, but of course, she hasn't even given it a second look. I am contemplating how we can separate her, but we really don't have a space that we can put her in...

It looks like her stomach has dropped significantly though, and I am wondering if the vet's timeline was accurate! She is still eating though, and has no interest in nesting that I have seen.

So I suppose that I am playing the waiting game as well... :roll:


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