Pregnant cat has adopted us...

[Mark57]

Hi first post here , hope you guys can help.
My next door neighbour moved a few months ago , maybe January. One time whilst having some friends over for dinner a very inquisitive kitty turned up at the back door , we had no idea who it was at the time so we left a tiny bit of food outside for it as it seemed a nice / fun thing to do.
Didnt see that cat for a couple of months then it turned up again one time , I let it it in and it seemed really hungry / noisey so i gave it some leftovers and that was that.
I spoke to the new neighbour eventually and found out it was her cat. She was very blase' about and said she was actually allergic to cats and only had it to catch mice...
So the cat has been visiting more and more and Ive tried my best not to feed it but my flatmate is a softy and gives it food.
I think it has now decided it prefers it at our place. Its quiet during the day so she just sleeps , where as next door have kids so I guess she doesnt get peace.
We are 90% sure she is pregnant. I would guess at least half way through the 65 days or so.

Thankyou for reading this far! My question is , Im not sure how this pans out. Its not my cat but its pretty clear she has chosen us or our place at least. The owner is up for the kittens and looking after them where as we are less prepared and it wasnt planned. What is the best course of action? Once this pandemic clears i will be back to work mon - fri during the day. Im totally in love with the cat so If i have to take it on I would but its about whats best for her and her kittens.

All advice and opinions welcomed.

[Mark57]

might be the wrong forum , mods feel free to move it if so , thanks

[Mark57]

Her behaviour drastically changed today. has not stopped meowing and is super clingy. Will not leave your side and she isnt hungry. Found her hiding in a drawer again too. Spoke to the owner we had a long chat and agreed the cat is more happy at ours even though it wasnt planned. Have stocked up on what i think we need having looked at web resources. Hopefully mum will do the rest. x

[fjm]

It sounds as if she has decided you are now her humans - congratulations! It's good that you have been able to come to an amicable arrangement with her previous owner. Have you any idea of how old she is, and whether this is her first litter? You have obviously started researching what you might need and what to watch for - advanced pregnancy is usually pretty obvious, but there are occasional stealth litters that arrive with very little warning!

[Mark57]

So Bailey gave birth on my bed very suddenly whilst she was chilling out... During a video call to my Family.... All very sudden but we've gone with it. Mum seems to be fine after the distress of the initial birth. 3 kittens all alive from what i can see. Leaving them to it overnight , wrapped in towels but they are on my bed so its soft. What a saturday night.

[Mollycat]

Wow wonderful!

[fjm]

Well, she certainly didn't hang about, and is clearly aiming to be an Instagram star! I hope you found a space to sleep - are there more kittens this morning? Three is quite a small litter, and could explain why she did not look full term. With the average litter of five it is much more obvious. A different kind of Saturday night excitement, but how lovely to be chosen by her to welcome new life in these trying times.

[Ruth B]

Congratulations on the new arrivals and i hope you can get your bed back for tonight, but it is a sign of how safe she feels with you. Hopefully going forward you and her original owner can sort something out regarding looking after her, cats are perfectly fine to be left for several hours while you are at work all day, hopefully by the time you are back in work the kittens will be old enough to be left as well. if you could fit a cat flap so she could get in and out when she wanted to even better (assuming you are happy to have her in while you are out).

As for unexpected births, I did hear of one charity that took in a female cat seized from a back yard breeder, they knew she was pregnant and had been told she had another few weeks to go, she was show very little sign so they accepted that. After less then a week of being allowed to quietly settle in she went into labour. The staff their feared the worst and thought she was going to miscarry, instead she produced two beautiful healthy kittens. Even people who are experts and deal with pregnant cats all the time can be fooled when a cat is only having a small litter.

Finally, and this again has to be discussed with the original owner, please see about getting her spayed and the kittens neutered or spayed when the time comes.

[Mark57]

so it turned out to be 4 healthy visions of joy that all survived and mum was doing her new job really well today. The owner spoke to a vet and decided they should be moved next door if it could be done peacefully , as that is where they will be spending next 8-10 weeks anyway. The transfer was very quiet and calm so I felt alot better about that. Latest news is mum has finally ate something and returned to care for the babies so it all sounds great. Ive had a crazy 24 hours! I am hoping to take one or a pair of Bailey's kids when the time comes or whatever is the right thing to do. Would upload a photo but no idea how. x

[Lisa-D]

Congratulations on the new arrivals! It sounds like you had an exciting weekend. If you'd like to upload a photo, the following guidelines might be useful: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=227

Lisa
Forum Admin