Pregnant cat, anyone have any idea how far she may be? ?

Question

We moved into a new house in early June and the previous owners left there cat behind and she is an outdoor cat who never comes in the house, we have made a little place for her in the barn.

Our neighbor told us that not long before we moved in the cat had kittens and they were in her garage and when they got old enough she gave them up for adoption and now I have noticed that the cat is pregnant again.

She use to be very active and VERY thin and now her stomach is really big and all she really wants to do is lay around and when she is up and about she walks slowly rather then running and she eats like a pig now and her nipples ave turned from a brownish color to a pinkish color.

I am worried because I have no idea how far along she is and sometimes she wonders off which worries me alot because im afraid she is going to be out roaming and go into labor or she is going to go into labor during the night and be alone. I am currently locking her in her area at night in the barn so incase she does go into labor I know where she is, my mom said I should lock hr up in there and just let her out when im out and keep an eye on her but I think that is wrong and she will get lonely.

I do not have money to take her to the vet and my parents refuse to let her in the house because we have other cats

Answer 1

Best was to insure she has her kitten where you can find her is to set up a good nesting spot for her, a large box with a little hole in it padded with old towels is a great nest. Put it in the barn in a corner out of the way where there arn't any drafts. Show this to her a few times then leave the box alone. This will increase the chances that she will choose it as her spot when she starts labor. If the hair starts growing away from her nipples or she has a kinda ucky bloody discharge (just in small amounts from her 'yoohoo') this should mean she's within a week of giving birth.

Answer 2

This cat's  been a mum before, and even the first time they know what to do, from instinct. She will make a "nest" for herself to give birth in, and not go far from it when she feels the time is close. You can help her by providing a fairly shallow cardboard box and a lot of shredded newspaper.

She sounds tame and friendly, so she'll accept help from you. But there is no need for a vert - it is a natural process they manage very well by themselves.

After she has all the kittens, which could take all day with breaks in between, she will clean them up and feed them, then move them to a more permanent nest. At this point you might want to put them into a more comfortable box. The mother might snarl or fight if you try to take her from the babies; you should be able to take the babies one by one without her noticing....then she'll be happy when you put her back in with them.

Feed her extra food - milk and meat - while she is feeding the littlies, as producing all that milk takes a lot out of the mum.

When the kits are 5 or 6 weeks old, do take the mum to the vet for her operation; in the long term it is more fair to all concerned. This gives you about 7 weeks to save up.

Answer 3

She has been thru this before so she will know when its time, you don't have to worry about her being out some where. It sounds like she's pretty close to delivery now. She will find a place to nest and get ready for birth. If you watch her you can probably see where she's picked. Just leave her alone. You don't need to lock her up, she will be in her nest when the time comes. If it happens to be some place other than where you have picked she will be distressed.

The only thing is that she will be having kittens every few months being a barn cat. Ask your mom if you can have her spayed when these babies are 6 to 8 weeks old. any longer than that and she will be pregnant again.

If you call the Humane Society maybe they can tell you where it can be done cheaper.