what can i do?

Grainne

have two cats the are mostly indoor. have another stray outside that i feed and shelter but shes so wild i can't even get near her to pet her. anyways, at the moment shes as big as a house and is due to give birth at any time i'd say. shes just being lying around for the past few days only getting up really to feed and then retreats to lying in the sun. is there anything i can do to help her, she seems really tired and her breathing is very heavy. does anyone know the stages cats go through before they give birth? and how many kittens is she likely to have? don't know what i'm going to do, we have half the cats in the neighbourhood coming to eat and socialise in our yard.

any help woudl be appreicated !

kerrysgold

You should trap her and maybe put her in a spare room so she can have her kittens in a safe place, then you could get her spayed and get her kittens spayed/neutered when they are old enough and rehome them. You could borrow a trap from an SPCA or a rescue.

carwash_2006

If she seems in any distress you should try and catch her or trap her (although if you need to trap her she may not be in serious distress, but it can be hard to tell with cats) and you should take her to a vet.

You could probably ring your local vet and describe her condition to him and he would be able to tell you whether she is in any danger. If you can make it so that she can have her kittens in a safe place it would mean that you could make sure they get handling and will therefore be possible to home. Of course as soon as they are eight weeks old she should get into the vet to be spayed and then you won't have this problem again
Hope all goes well.

franksm

Hey Grainne, she'll probably have four or five kittens. Maybe you could make a box for her in the back garden, or open the shed or something ? Goal will be to let her have the kittens, but trap them and her at the same time - for neutering

Can't give you exact advice as such but I can relate to your experiences. There was a 'mother cat' hanging around my place for a couple of years - always too shy to come close. Last year, I befriended her and found that, in her latest pregnancy, she was becoming more trusting of me.

I managed to trap her in the house (she was huge, about to pop) and made a nest for her - she got used to it pretty quick (warm house and lots of food helps :-) ). She went on to have two kittens, one surviving - she had stomach problems so while I had her at the vets, I had to wean her surviving kitten by hand for a few days. I also had the vet spey her. Back home, I kept her and the kitten in a cage, and everything was happy and fine.

Now, she's a home cat - still wary, but otherwise very friendly. And the kitten is an absolute dote.

Worth putting the time and effort in, and preventing more kittens on the go for next year :-)

hadook

If you're in Mayo you could try giving Maureen of Mayo Cat Rescue a call

NAME: MAYO CAT RESCUE
PHONE: Maureen 098 27752 098 35920

Mayo Cat Rescue offer a trap/neuter/return scheme so may be able to help you trap her. If she's showing signs of discomfort she may be close to giving birth but there could also be something wrong & you'd never get close enough to know. Maureen does great work & she should be able to offer some advice.

Grainne

i bought her a special house that i put under the deck and she sleeps in that. shes been using it for the last couple of months and seems to like it a lot. also we've left the shed door open and shes familiar with that area coz she feeds in there during the day. this evening she seemed a little bit more active and was up and about. i think i'll let her have the kittens in peace and then try and catch her and spay her once they are 8 weeks or so. i don't want to stress her out by catching her now and would prefer to let nature take its course. shes a very nervous creature and i don't want to distress her anymore than she already is. we've talked about it this evening and we're going to find homes for the kittens and maybe keep a couple ourselves.

this is the first time i've been through this with a cat, all our other cats were spayed from a young age. i'm sure she'll be fine and get on with things herself, i just want to help her out in any way i can.

cotton

Nature taking it's course & her getting on with things can both be extremely cruel.
Have you thought about what you'd do if there are any complications?
Pepper here is an ex domesticated stray. I caught her in a trap, literally about to give birth, after weeks of trying.
Kittens are now 4 weeks old (see thread below) & have gotten the best chance possible as they are being handled daily. Mum is now well used to me too.
Anyone that knows me here & knows their story will vouch 100% that this was the best way to do it.
Please, please don't leave her out in the open to give birth.

carwash_2006

If she gives birth in the open there is a very high chance the kitten will not survive. This is the first time any of Peppers kittens have survived.

kerrysgold

and if they are born indoors you'd also be able to get them used to being handled and find them homes as pets, if you let them grow up outdoors they might just become another bunch of feral cats and may not be suitable for finding homes as pets and feral cat's lives seem to be very tough.