Small pregnant kitty - New Baby Pics!

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

I have had a stray cat hanging around in our barn for a few weeks now. I set a live trap and caught her this morning. She is now in a Great Dane size kennel with food/litter box/water and a bed, in my house of course. I covered the whole kennel with bed sheets since she is totally ferral. I named her Frankie.

Frankie has quite a large belly now and I'm certain she is pregnant. Since I never had any animal birth at my house before I was wondering if any of you had any pointers. What do I have to watch for when she gives birth etc.

Once she had her babies and they are off to new homes we will spay her and put her back in the barn (I hope she is better socialized by then).
Frankie is a small kitty and I believe it is her first litter. Does that mean she is going to stay this small? What is the average litter size on first litters (if there is such a thing as an educated guess ).

I don't want to drag her to the vet right now since it would upset her so much more.

Thanks for any input guys. (Once she is settled in I'll get some pics of course )

[FLQuarterhorse39]

My cat who is very small, probaly 4 pounds or so, had 4 kittens. So did her mother. They are usually just fine on their own. It could also be worms maybe? I don't know though, I've never actually watched a cat give birth. They usually hide somewhere quiet and safe.

Good Luck.

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

We need all the luck we can get , thanks. I'm very certain it's not worms, at least not only worms. Unless she chowed down like crazy in 3 weeks and got worms on top of that. Honestly though, her belly isn't so much round as it is sagging and seems large on her.

[breburtch]

I'll say this first do as much handling to her before she has the babies but when she's giving birth and for the first week or so leave her along and don't touch the babies only interact with her while cleaning the cage etc but don't touch her babies.

Most cats for there first litters and with her probably not any older then a year they usually will have 3-5 kittens but sometimes more. Signs of her getting close and going into labour as she will become restless and "nest" she may become more aggressive but she might also become quiter and wanting attention. She will also clean herself more and lick her area when she's in labour and you can usually see wet spots if she sits down then gets up.
You will also clearly see her contractions when she's in labour.
Some cats yowl while giving birth.

The only time you may need to step in is if she's having a bretch(sp) birth in which case you will have to help her by pulling ever so gently when she has a contraction and pushes(be very careful though because even a very tame loving cat will scratch or bite out of pain and fear) or if theres a kitten thats unable to break from its sack

[breburtch]

cats usually deliver a kittten every 2-6 mins(although sometimes there larger or small gaps all depends on the cat) between each kittens delivery momma should start cleaning off the kitten and checking it out(if you have a weak stomach you might not want to watch or be in ear shot because what she does and the sounds are kinda gross)

Usually if theres kitten momma shoves from the litter or refuses to care for it means somethings wrong with it.
Also keep an eye on her for the first day because some first time moms will try to eat there young weather its healthy or not

[breburtch]

o yeah and she probably wont get much bigger then what she is.

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

Great info guys thanks so much!! Frankie seems very timid, she will blink at me when I talk to her but then she tries to find a spot to either climb out or run away if she could. She hasn't made a sound yet. She looks to scared, I feel sorry for her.

What would be better, only going in her room a few times a day then talking to her, or setting up a radio and get her used to people noises that way?

[breburtch]

I think at first till she settles in a bit you should only go into the room when you need to and kind of talk to her when in there you could also get some treats or by some wet food or tuna and whenever you go in put some in her cage and she will begin associating you with yummy snacks.

Putting a radio and having it turned to a calm soothing type of music would be good you wouldn't want something loud that would startle her.

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

I'll give her a couple days and then add the radio. I'm feeding her Fancy Feast (getting her spoiled already )

[tallyho]

Might wanna just check with a vet via phone call about the situation. There may be something you can give mom to make babes healthier. Since she hasn;t had any innoculations, is ther something that can be passed to kittens during birth? Dunno, Also, since she doesn't have any rabies shots, etc, I'd be REALLY REALLY careful handling her. Ask the vet about that as well. My farrier will give shots to barn cats when she does the horses.....maybe yours as well?
Or if a rescue could come out to the house, or the clinics that are at the local petco, etc for shots, maybe someone could come to the house to see her, instead of hauling her to the vet.

[hawk]

Originally Posted by tallyho

Might wanna just check with a vet via phone call about the situation. There may be something you can give mom to make babes healthier. Since she hasn;t had any innoculations, is ther something that can be passed to kittens during birth? Dunno, Also, since she doesn't have any rabies shots, etc, I'd be REALLY REALLY careful handling her. Ask the vet about that as well. My farrier will give shots to barn cats when she does the horses.....maybe yours as well?
Or if a rescue could come out to the house, or the clinics that are at the local petco, etc for shots, maybe someone could come to the house to see her, instead of hauling her to the vet.

I totally agree with you! Definately take her to the vet - she being more upset isnt something to be concerned over-thats mental. the fact she might be preggo's and carrying kittens and whether or not they are alive/dead is something to be extremely concerned over- thats a physical something to be worried about at this moment as well.... She's never received any vaccinations since she's entered your home or when you saw her at your barn, so I'd be concerned for Feline Luekemia/kitty-HIV and other diseases that can affect and kill baby or her. Please take her to the vet - best chances of knowing how many kittens are in her and how health wise she is to deliver them

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

I normally would agree on taking her to the vet but at this point I think I would risk the babies getting hurt by her being upset and with ferral, I mean ferral! I would have to man handle her and I don't think it is a good idea at this point. If she has Feline Leuchemia or FIP there is nothing the vet can do at this point. I think all I can do is gain her trust, let her have her babies and hope she trusts me enough to get her checked out later, with shots etc. once the babies are old enough to go to the vet with mommy.

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

Frankie had 4 beautiful babies this evening. So far everything looks good. I was wondering yesterday why she was different and thought it had to do with being feral. Well, I guess now I know. She is doing well. I'm hoping that she will get a bit friendlier once the babies are a bit older. I guess we got her just in time. I would have hated for her to have the babies with all the rain we had.

Now I want to keep them all .

[Horselessnomore]

Oh my -- I guess you were right when you though she was pregnant. She sounds so small to have had 4 kittens. Hope mom & babies are doing well.

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

This is a picture from wehn she first came:

[Tippy]

Oh congrats We do need pictures

[seerfarm]

Glad to hear that Frankie and her new additions are doing well. And yes, we need pictures of the little tikes.

[horselady]

Great news that Frankie and babies are doing well.
Thanks to you

[Carri]

I am so glad you caught her and had her inside so she could have the babies! With time, I am sure she will settle down and become more tame. She may always be a one-person cat, but I imagine you will get where she trusts you soon.

Congats on the new kitty babies!!

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

I felt bad taking the pictures, I don't want to frighten Frankie. She is a good mom but just so timid. I'm not sure how I will be able to clean her blankie and things (get rid of the kitty litter). Here are a few babie pics.