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 Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 5:15 pm
And, to start with, apologies if this thread is in the wrong place, but I couldn't decide where it should go! I know threads can be moved, so feel free to shift this one. smile
Anyway, I was watching a conversation in a Facebook group last night, a group which is based around the cat rescue were I adopted Minstrel a couple of weeks ago. There was a woman saying that she had been feeding a stray for the last ten months and the cat has been getting fatter, so they think that she is pregnant. Upon finding this out, the woman came onto the cat rescue page to try to find someone to take responsibility for the cat. I'm not a huge fan of the whole thing... I kind of think that if she takes it upon herself to keep the cat fed and healthy, therefore more capable of bearing litters, she should be willing to at least help. I suggested that she get the cat desexed and the kittens aborted, which may not be great for the mother, but at least there won't be a litter of stray kittens. She wasn't a fan.
So one of the cat rescue ladies came on and suggested that the cat rescue pay for all the vet bills and find homes for any kittens when they are old enough, so all the woman has to do is keep the cat inside, fed and happy. She didn't like that notion either.
At about that point, my partner and I, having watched the conversation thus far with horror, leapt in and offered ourselves as a temporary home for the cat. So, she's currently outside, which I guess means that there's a chance she can't be caught, and I've got to go away for two days next week, but... next Wednesday, should all go well with the cat, she will be coming to stay with us for the duration of her pregnancy, and for the raising of the kittens to adoptable age. Which brings me to the next important point...
HELP!!! I've never dealt with a female cat, let alone a pregnant one, let alone kittens!
Can someone give me sage and wonderfully helpful advice? I know that she'll have to be kept separate from Blossom and Minstrel, and we can re-organise things so that she can have the spare room to herself; but I. Have. No. Idea!
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:20 pm
Lucky for you, my austrailian friend, I have reared a great many deal of kittens. Bwahahahahahahaha. That aside~
First off, you need to know the momma. Is she skittish? Is she unable to handle? You cant plop her inside and expect to go as planned. O.o
If you can get her in, keep her in a single room. Have a box and food handy and set up a nesting spot. Nesting spot could be a large cardboard box with a side cut out with some old towels placed in it. YOU DONT WANT HER TO HAVE KITTENS IN HER PLACE OF CHOOSING. I cant tell you how many times I had to fetch kittens out from under the house. emotion_donotwant
Once shes established that the box is her nesting area, wait. When she goes into labor, she should be pretty good on her own. She will eat the placentas and make sure that as each kitten is born, a placenta comes with it. If there isnt....well...vet. She should immidetly cut the umbelical cords and begin nursing. She will groom them to remove the mucas from the nose and they should breath. and squeek. Make sure not to handle the kittens at all. She could kill them or abandon them, or eat them.
After the kittens are born, watch them. Make sure they are getting plenty of milk. If any one of them seems sickly or if the momma cat seems to be intent on not caring for them, you may need to step in and hand rear. Feedins every 2 hour on the clock.
Feeding the momma: Make sure she gets food ALL THE TIME. A high protein food is best.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:21 pm
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 12:50 am
Oh, thank you! You wouldn't believe how much less panicked I am now!
It's still not certain that she'll come here, I'm waiting for the cat rescue lady to contact me so we can organise stuff. I'm still torn fairly evenly between wanting her to come here so I know she'll be looked after and hoping they'll foster somewhere else so it's not so scary for me! It'll be good though, if this comes off, to know that I'm doing something useful for once.
Once she comes here, she'll will be absolutely and positively kept inside. in fact, the current idea is that she'll live in our spare room for the duration. I am slightly worried though at the thought that she might decide the spare bed is a good place to give birth... my parent's have a dog crate. I was thinking that if we borrowed that, put a cardboard box inside it, like you said, then maybe draped it with something so she's got a dark, roomy nest... does that sound like something that would seem appealing? I guess it'll vary from cat to cat though... it would help if we'd met her!
What happens if she goes into labour while we're sleeping? If we wake up and there are kittens, do we just assume that the placentas came out on schedule?
I read somewhere, in my frantically not-very-helpful research yesterday, that for the last weeks of pregnancy and while she's feeding the kittens, to feed her kitten food so she gets extra protein and calcium and stuff. Is that a valid thought, or do we just give her the same food we picked out for Minstrel?
... and I'm really hoping she's a good mother and the kittens get enough milk from her, but if we have to do it by hand, I'm up for the challenge! I hand-reared a few litters of guinea pigs in high school; I know they're not the same sort of thing, but if I coped with that then, surely I can cope with kittens now. I hope.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:19 am
Freddus Oh, thank you! You wouldn't believe how much less panicked I am now!
It's still not certain that she'll come here, I'm waiting for the cat rescue lady to contact me so we can organise stuff. I'm still torn fairly evenly between wanting her to come here so I know she'll be looked after and hoping they'll foster somewhere else so it's not so scary for me! It'll be good though, if this comes off, to know that I'm doing something useful for once.
Once she comes here, she'll will be absolutely and positively kept inside. in fact, the current idea is that she'll live in our spare room for the duration. I am slightly worried though at the thought that she might decide the spare bed is a good place to give birth... my parent's have a dog crate. I was thinking that if we borrowed that, put a cardboard box inside it, like you said, then maybe draped it with something so she's got a dark, roomy nest... does that sound like something that would seem appealing? I guess it'll vary from cat to cat though... it would help if we'd met her!
What happens if she goes into labour while we're sleeping? If we wake up and there are kittens, do we just assume that the placentas came out on schedule?
I read somewhere, in my frantically not-very-helpful research yesterday, that for the last weeks of pregnancy and while she's feeding the kittens, to feed her kitten food so she gets extra protein and calcium and stuff. Is that a valid thought, or do we just give her the same food we picked out for Minstrel?
... and I'm really hoping she's a good mother and the kittens get enough milk from her, but if we have to do it by hand, I'm up for the challenge! I hand-reared a few litters of guinea pigs in high school; I know they're not the same sort of thing, but if I coped with that then, surely I can cope with kittens now. I hope. Im sure the dog crate will work wonderfully. I suggested the cardboard box since they tend to be disposable. smile Make sure she does go to the vet first. You dont want to bring in contagious kitty diseases to Minstrel. It is absolutely IMPERITIVE that you keep the stray seperated from the rest of your animals until you can figure out that shes healthy and flea free. You could mix some kitten formula into with the other food, but you need to make sure the food is available at all times. She needs tons of extra nutrients to make good milk for the babies. smile If she does it while your asleep and you wake up to "OMG KITTENS!!!!" just check her over. Is she breathing ok? Are her movements of the norm? And for the kittens, gently touch them with one finger to feel their body temp. Are they cold or are they toasty? They should be wobbly little rats that dont get around very well. If the mother looks like hell, and is unresponsive, take her and the kittens to the vet ASAP. Cats have been giving birth with no assistance since the dawn of cat. (just look at all the ferals there is). She should be fine. How old is the queen (mother cat)? This could be her 2nd or 3rd litter of little ones. When the kittens get to be about 3 weeks old, you can pick them up and check them over. Check for sexing, check their eyes nose and ears, count their toes and POST PICTURES. I DEMAND IT. You could even give mum a break. If she leaves, you can put rice socks in the nest to keep the babies toasty. Make sure to put a blanket over them so that they dont get overheated. smile The sight I linked you is actually very good. It gives you a time frame of what to expect with the kittens development.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:43 pm
Punkin Avis Im sure the dog crate will work wonderfully. I suggested the cardboard box since they tend to be disposable. smile Make sure she does go to the vet first. You dont want to bring in contagious kitty diseases to Minstrel. It is absolutely IMPERITIVE that you keep the stray seperated from the rest of your animals until you can figure out that shes healthy and flea free. You could mix some kitten formula into with the other food, but you need to make sure the food is available at all times. She needs tons of extra nutrients to make good milk for the babies. smile If she does it while your asleep and you wake up to "OMG KITTENS!!!!" just check her over. Is she breathing ok? Are her movements of the norm? And for the kittens, gently touch them with one finger to feel their body temp. Are they cold or are they toasty? They should be wobbly little rats that dont get around very well. If the mother looks like hell, and is unresponsive, take her and the kittens to the vet ASAP. Cats have been giving birth with no assistance since the dawn of cat. (just look at all the ferals there is). She should be fine. How old is the queen (mother cat)? This could be her 2nd or 3rd litter of little ones. When the kittens get to be about 3 weeks old, you can pick them up and check them over. Check for sexing, check their eyes nose and ears, count their toes and POST PICTURES. I DEMAND IT. You could even give mum a break. If she leaves, you can put rice socks in the nest to keep the babies toasty. Make sure to put a blanket over them so that they dont get overheated. smile The sight I linked you is actually very good. It gives you a time frame of what to expect with the kittens development. Well, a disposable cardboard box inside a washable dog crate should work beautifully then! xd
I will make sure she's been to the vet. My thought would be that they would want her vet checked anyway, before letting her come home with me but I'll make sure I suggest it if they don't. I definitely don't want to bring anything home to my boy. Although, I am worried about what happens if she does have something infectious. I mean, if she doesn't come here, I don't know if she has other options. Unless there's someone who fosters but doesn't own any pets of their own... I hope she'll be okay. And she'll stay separate from my two until I know she's been vaccinated and everything as well. I heard that vaccinations don't usually happen during pregnancy, so I guess that'll wait until the kittens are born.
Of course I'll post pictures! I think that the general excitement of having teeny little kittens in the house will result in too many photos, over all. But, if I'm not touching them at all for the first few weeks, and they're all squirming around in their little kitten box... won't the bedding need to be changed? How do I do that without touching them?
Thanks for that site link, it is already helpful. In fact, everything you're saying is helpful. I leapt in and volunteered to take this kitty and it wasn't until afterwards that I remembered I'd never had anything to do with any kittens at all. Ever. Apart from briefly looking at some that were a few weeks old when my brother's girlfriend's cat bred.
And ... what are rice socks?
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:15 am
Freddus Well, a disposable cardboard box inside a washable dog crate should work beautifully then! xd
I will make sure she's been to the vet. My thought would be that they would want her vet checked anyway, before letting her come home with me but I'll make sure I suggest it if they don't. I definitely don't want to bring anything home to my boy. Although, I am worried about what happens if she does have something infectious. I mean, if she doesn't come here, I don't know if she has other options. Unless there's someone who fosters but doesn't own any pets of their own... I hope she'll be okay. And she'll stay separate from my two until I know she's been vaccinated and everything as well. I heard that vaccinations don't usually happen during pregnancy, so I guess that'll wait until the kittens are born.
Of course I'll post pictures! I think that the general excitement of having teeny little kittens in the house will result in too many photos, over all. But, if I'm not touching them at all for the first few weeks, and they're all squirming around in their little kitten box... won't the bedding need to be changed? How do I do that without touching them?
Thanks for that site link, it is already helpful. In fact, everything you're saying is helpful. I leapt in and volunteered to take this kitty and it wasn't until afterwards that I remembered I'd never had anything to do with any kittens at all. Ever. Apart from briefly looking at some that were a few weeks old when my brother's girlfriend's cat bred.
And ... what are rice socks? Definently make sure shes healthy. smile And youll do fine. Cats manage well on their own. I would change the towels very carefully. I would make sure the momma is elsewhere (eating, using her box) and wearing gloves, carefully move the kittens. Change the towel and replace kittens. The momma should eat any waste from the kittens so they should be good. smile Not very messy but a little smelly left over from the birth. If she does have them outside of the nesting area (on the bed, under the bed) you may have to handle them to move them. She may think someplace else safer. smile Rice socks are socks (like the ones you wear on your feet) filled with rice and tied off at the end. Microwave them for a minute or 2, wrap a towel around them, and place them in the nesting box. Keeps kittens and baby birds toasty. Its like a home made heating pad. smile
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 1:35 pm
Freddus Once she comes here, she'll will be absolutely and positively kept inside. in fact, the current idea is that she'll live in our spare room for the duration. I am slightly worried though at the thought that she might decide the spare bed is a good place to give birth... my parent's have a dog crate. I was thinking that if we borrowed that, put a cardboard box inside it, like you said, then maybe draped it with something so she's got a dark, roomy nest... does that sound like something that would seem appealing? I guess it'll vary from cat to cat though... it would help if we'd met her!
Making a cozy dark space like a box in a covered crate is a good idea.
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:25 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ I'd consider covering the bed in plastic (go to a furniture store and see if they have any bags from new mattresses) and blockading the underneath if you want to deter her from having the kittens on or under it.
Making a cozy dark space like a box in a covered crate is a good idea. You're a genius!
Except now I feel like an idiot for getting rid of the plastic mattress cover that I had when we moved two months ago. I always love throwing things out and then realising I wanted them after all! xd
It's starting to sound like she might end up coming here this afternoon... if I can manage to contact the woman who has her at the moment - so I may not be able to get plastic, but it's definitely something I will be searching for as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I'll cover the bed with a heavy furniture protector and lay a dismantled wire rack across it to try to discourage her from nesting there. The wire has big squares, so she won't catch her feet on it, but they're small enough that she can't curl up inside.
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:27 pm
Punkin Avis Definently make sure shes healthy. smile And youll do fine. Cats manage well on their own. I would change the towels very carefully. I would make sure the momma is elsewhere (eating, using her box) and wearing gloves, carefully move the kittens. Change the towel and replace kittens. The momma should eat any waste from the kittens so they should be good. smile Not very messy but a little smelly left over from the birth. If she does have them outside of the nesting area (on the bed, under the bed) you may have to handle them to move them. She may think someplace else safer. smile Rice socks are socks (like the ones you wear on your feet) filled with rice and tied off at the end. Microwave them for a minute or 2, wrap a towel around them, and place them in the nesting box. Keeps kittens and baby birds toasty. Its like a home made heating pad. smile Well, unless something goes horribly wrong, it looks like she will be coming here for sure. I'm currently trying to get a hold of the horrible woman who won't take responsibility so I can organise a time to come pick the girl up! It's terribly frustrating, I only know the woman via Facebook and it seems her settings are all on private... I can't message her, so I quoted her in the group and told her to PM me. I know she's seen it because she liked my comment, but she still hasn't sent me a message! Just a tad irritating.
Anyway, I have to organise a time to pick her up and I'll take her home via the cat lady and the vet. Hopefully the vet, anyway, if we can organise an appointment as well. I don't want to bring her back here before she's had a check-up.
I got the dog cage from my parents, so I'll build her a nest in that and feed her right next to it. Hopefully, she'll be all tired and heavy and just curl up in the nearest comfy spot. Fingers crossed anyway!
Ah, that makes sense then, with the rice socks! I have a few socks that have been eaten by some dog (not mentioning any names or anything.... smile ), that I can probably turn into rice socks. Their room is probably the coolest room in the house, but that might be a good thing - it's really starting to hit summer hard now; they're predicting 35 degrees on Sunday. sad
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:31 pm
Freddus ~ Aki - Fairy ~ I'd consider covering the bed in plastic (go to a furniture store and see if they have any bags from new mattresses) and blockading the underneath if you want to deter her from having the kittens on or under it.
Making a cozy dark space like a box in a covered crate is a good idea. You're a genius!
Except now I feel like an idiot for getting rid of the plastic mattress cover that I had when we moved two months ago. I always love throwing things out and then realising I wanted them after all! xd
It's starting to sound like she might end up coming here this afternoon... if I can manage to contact the woman who has her at the moment - so I may not be able to get plastic, but it's definitely something I will be searching for as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I'll cover the bed with a heavy furniture protector and lay a dismantled wire rack across it to try to discourage her from nesting there. The wire has big squares, so she won't catch her feet on it, but they're small enough that she can't curl up inside.
You could always use large garbage bags, as well.
And with the top of the bed, it's not necessarily to deter her from having them there, but just to ensure that if she does it's not really damaging anything major (like a mattress or bedspread/comfortor - I don't know about Australia, but bedding is stupid expensive here). Who knows, she could be that weird cat that wants to have them in an open sort of space (so if I were you, I'd maybe skip the rack - better that she have them on a protected bed than the carpet (if you have carpet in that room)
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:39 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ I can't think of many people who keep the mattress plastic; it's big and bulky and how likely are you to find a use for it?
You could always use large garbage bags, as well.
And with the top of the bed, it's not necessarily to deter her from having them there, but just to ensure that if she does it's not really damaging anything major (like a mattress or bedspread/comfortor - I don't know about Australia, but bedding is stupid expensive here). Who knows, she could be that weird cat that wants to have them in an open sort of space (so if I were you, I'd maybe skip the rack - better that she have them on a protected bed than the carpet (if you have carpet in that room) Huh, good point. Being a rented house and all, probably not the best idea to have all of that going on while she's on the carpet! Well, I'll strip the bed, lie the furniture protector over the top and hope she's happy in her little nest!
And there's always someone that keeps anything - just in case! My parents used to have a four car garage and it was always full of just random ... stuff. Fortunately, they moved and cleared it all up. xd
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:53 pm
Freddus And there's always someone that keeps anything - just in case! My parents used to have a four car garage and it was always full of just random ... stuff. Fortunately, they moved and cleared it all up.
Moving can certainly help, but really getting rid of stuff is one of those things that you just have to grit your teeth and do. The quicker the better, like removing a bandaid - once it's gone, it's gone, there's no going back; but if you take your time and hem and haw over it, you'll keep it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:10 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ I'm definitely one of those people who has a hard time getting rid of stuff, because I have that niggling "I might want/need it" voice that always speaks up.
Moving can certainly help, but really getting rid of stuff is one of those things that you just have to grit your teeth and do. The quicker the better, like removing a bandaid - once it's gone, it's gone, there's no going back; but if you take your time and hem and haw over it, you'll keep it. I'd like to say that I'm not too bad... but I am a bit of a hoarder. I don't mean to be! We've actually moved across the country twice in the last three years, so I shed a lot of excess, but there's so much stuff I can't get rid of because of the memories attached. Plus there's the heaps of books that everyone keeps telling me I don't need....
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:22 pm
Freddus I'd like to say that I'm not too bad... but I am a bit of a hoarder. I don't mean to be! We've actually moved across the country twice in the last three years, so I shed a lot of excess, but there's so much stuff I can't get rid of because of the memories attached. Plus there's the heaps of books that everyone keeps telling me I don't need....
Tell the people telling you you don't need your books to go to hell.
Since buying an e-reader, I'm not buying physical copies of books so much anymore (there's some that I have part-sets of that I'll continue to buy physically), but I'm not about to double my spendings by buying the "important books" again so I have them on my reader (at least not for the most part).
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