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OK, I actually know do how I got into this. I do TNR for a local rescue organization. I trapped the very pregnant momcat from a local colony, and the neutering center we use refused to spay her because they thought she was in labor. At that point our choices were take her back out and re-release her to have her kittens in the wild and then try to catch them all later including a now-trap-shy mama, or ... take her home, let her have her kittens here, try to socialize them and foster them out, and get her spayed and released once the kitlets are weaned. You can guess which option I chose. And, predictably, I get Momcat home and build her a little Momcat haven by daisychaining wire kennels and proceed to wait for the kittens ... and ... nothing. 24 hours on, no kittens and no signs of active labor.  Momcat is actually considerably bigger than she looks in this picture; she's got an impressive tummy. And the kittens are very active -- my husband says he's predicting an alien chestburster type birth if they get any more active. However, Momcat isn't eating at all although I've offered both wet and dry food, nor has she used the litter box or eliminated anywhere in the cage. She doesn't appear to be in distress, just uncomfortable and unhappy. She's not overly freaked out at us being around, fortunately, she just has this "why-me" look on her poor little face. Should I be concerned? Anything I should be doing that I'm not? I'd welcome comments or suggestions here!
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Mar 25, 2015 18:02
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First of all, thanks for doing this  I've heard that cats will eat tuna if they won't eat anything else. But Momcat needs more than that. Perhaps "Feliway" cat hormone sprays would help?
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Mar 25, 2015 22:16
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Good idea -- I went on and put a Feliway plug-in in the room. Momcat is shifting around and changing position a lot now, so maybe something is starting to happen? She still won't eat though 
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Mar 25, 2015 23:50
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No other input or suggestions? Momcat is still hanging out with no babies and no signs of active labor. Periodically she'll make little pissed off "unph" noises and change her position, but that's it for action. She did drink a little KMR last night and peed a small amount, but still hasn't eaten or pooped. Moving her would be traumatic for her, but shouid I take her to the vet or keep waiting? She doesn't seem to be physically in distress, just scared and uncomfortable.
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Mar 26, 2015 13:45
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I have no real suggestions other than to keep offering her stinky food, maybe sliced turkey or roast beef? And lots of cat milk. Good on you. As much as this seems like a real pain in the rear end...I'd like to do this someday too. 
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Mar 26, 2015 14:50
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Taking her to the vet is probably the right choice. Pregnant kitties need a lot of calories, so the not eating is worrisome. Other than that, wet food, dry food, tuna and feliway have all been covered, so I'm out of ideas.
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Mar 26, 2015 14:57
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Momcat is starting to roll on her side rather than kittyloafing, which I hope means Babies Coming. My vet says she'll run by the house tonight and check on her -- thank heavens for caring vets who will do house calls on occasion, because I REALLY did not want to try to get Momcat into a carrier and drive her across town to a noisy vet office! Belly shot:  Leave me alone damnit shot: 
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Mar 26, 2015 15:43
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Good luck with the kittening! Maybe throw some towels you never want to use again in there, let her nest a bit. And perhaps cover one of the crates with cardboard on all sides, make a little cave for her back there to feel a little more secure. Being out in the open can be very unnerving.
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Mar 26, 2015 17:26
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How's momcat today?  Hope she's coming along well, poor thing.
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Mar 26, 2015 20:08
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Momcat is bitchy today  I really thought she was going into labor, but it doesn't look like it. I have the end of one of the cages covered completely so that it's a little cave, and she's hanging in there but not really doing anything other than hanging. You can see the babies rolling around though, so at least SOMEONE is having fun!EDIT: Good idea on letting her nest more. When the vet comes and has her out of the cage, I'll toss some towels in there so she can make her own little nest (although she sure seems to like the cat bed that's in there now!).
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Mar 26, 2015 20:24
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Elaieva posted:Momcat is bitchy today I'm dumb! I thought today was the 27th. 
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Mar 26, 2015 20:31
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Don't have any advice to add to what has already been stated. Just wanted to say kudos to you, Elaieva, for being a good person with a kind heart. You've racked up some serious karma points in the cat kingdom. Cheering you, momma cat, and the future kittens on.
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Mar 26, 2015 22:31
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Generally the pregnant stray and feral cats i've worked with in the shelter stop eating before giving birth. It's not 100%, but if a very pregnant cat has not touched her food for the day she is usually going to birth soon. Keep food available, but if she is that close to birthing don't be surprised if she ignores it. They regain an appetite after. Don't worry about her not eating/using the bathroom so much yet. If it drags on more than a few days then it would be good to have the vet around in case there are complications with the birthing process.
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Mar 27, 2015 03:32
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Cats can delay labor due to stress. It's ridiculous. TRY to leave her be as much as possible with as much cover as you can.
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Mar 27, 2015 13:33
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Thank you, Tower and Topo. I haven't been around a pregnant cat since I was in 7th grade, and that was a long time ago, so ... I brought Momcat home with me, I'm responsible for her, and it helps to know what's normal and what's not. In today's Momcat news: Momcat ate a little yesterday evening, and a good amount last night, and used the litterbox! Go, Momcat! My vet ran by and took a look last night; we didn't want to stress Mom by trying to force her out of the cage and handle her, so this was just visual. Visually she's healthy, neither malnourished nor dehydrated in appearance or attitude, and definitely towards the end of pregnancy. How far towards the end? Without handling her or really getting a good 360 on her, it's hard to tell exactly -- we can't see her nipples, for instance, to see if she's started lactating, and while she's pretty calm with me she got hissy when Dr. Carla tried to get close, so we backed off. We could have labor in an hour, it could be a few days. Dr. Carla will stay on call for us and come out if there's an emergency; otherwise it's just a waiting game. I covered her cage more after Dr. Carla left, so that now about 2/3 of it is completely covered. I also attached a large cat carrier with towels in it to the Momcat Maze at Dr. Carla's suggestion, to serve as a birthing box if Momcat wants it to. It's really enclosed and perhaps more comforting for a scared kitty. Sure enough, Momcat ate a fair amount more during the night, drank more KMR, and then moved into the carrier. She's now lounging in there happily; when I checked on her this morning and changed her food and water dishes, she just watched me and didn't move or tense up at all. We're going to peek in and check on her every 3 or 4 hours and otherwise leave her alone. I'll post a quick daily update and definitely post kitten pictures when we achieve kittenage!
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Mar 27, 2015 14:06
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Yay momcat! Do you think you'll keep one of her kittens?
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Mar 27, 2015 15:26
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Yay momcat! Do you think you'll keep one of her kittens? My husband is a patient man ... but not THAT patient! We have 5 rescue cats already 3 of whom are special needs, plus a rescue dog, plus we dogsit for my sister's dog when she travels for work (at least 1 week a month). We're out of room, energy, and patience, not to mention money! BUT the rescue I TNR for has a foster whose current litter of kittens is going up for adoption in 3 weeks, so she'll be standing by for these kittens once they're weaned. When they're old enough, they'll go to the PetsMart adoption center that we staff to be adopted out. Our rescue is picky, picky, picky -- vet references, personal references, and a home visit before a potential adopter is approved -- so they will find good, loving homes. EDIT: special needs: 2 diabetic and 1 tripod with part of his intestines removed (stray, bobcat attacked him), who is incontinent and wears diapers and is a love-bug. Elaieva fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Mar 27, 2015 |
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Mar 27, 2015 15:59
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Kittens!  Yay!  I was beginning to think Momcat took a look around here and went hey! cushy life! I'm gonna hold out as long as I can! but yesterday she started vocalizing, purring, pacing, and generally having a total personality change She wanted me in the room, although she won't let me touch her; if I left she went bananas with the wailing. So, I hung out and did nothing at all productive and finally went to sleep next to the cage, and Momcat promptly and quietly had kittens -- in the litter box. Sigh. I guess it makes sense; she's a beach cat, and her previous litters probably have been born in sand so it was familiar, but what a mess. So anyway -- the first kitten, a big orange guy, was stillborn After that in short order she had three more; another little buff-ish orange tabby, one tha looks like maybe a dilute tortie or a gray with tabby stripes , kinda hard to tell in the dim light, and a dark one with tabby markings on the face but what appears to be tortie coloration on the back .. we'll see. I'll get a better feel on color when they aren't quite SO new and I can handle them a bit more without Momcat worrying so much. Obligatory kitten pictures to ward off the imminent danger of KES: Kitten 1:   Kitten 2:   Kitten 3:   Yay for kittens! One last question for the experts: the little orange did not have the umbilical cord cut; he's dragging the dried cord/placenta around. Should I do anything about that, or trust Momcat to handle it?
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Mar 29, 2015 15:50
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Let mom handle it. That happens and generally the mom deals with it fine. If you were a vet and it was a more friendly cat you might do it just for convenience sake, but here the mom is really not going to want you handling her kittens much. Edit: Forgot to say congrats! You did a fine thing.
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Mar 29, 2015 18:33
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Daww.. The world would be a better place with more kitten pictures. Thank you OP for your contribution.
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Mar 29, 2015 19:25
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Wow, go momcat! Good job, Elaieva. Thanks for the pics, too. 
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Mar 29, 2015 21:11
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Aww good job Momcat. Sounds like she's not socialised but not feral, if she is wanting you to be around. She could get comfortable enough with people to be placed in a home.
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Mar 30, 2015 22:04
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6-Ethyl Bearcat posted:She could get comfortable enough with people to be placed in a home. Obligatory Momcat and kitten pic (this is Kitten 3, the dark tortie). That wee little squinched up face! And damnit, these kittens need names!  We usually theme our names for litters that we are fostering/adopting -- any ideas? Momcat is from a colony that lives beside a Winn Dixie and behind a Bayou Bill's Crab House if that spurs anyone's creativity
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Mar 31, 2015 00:25
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How about King, Blue, and Spider, for different crab types? Also ty for kittten pics!
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Mar 31, 2015 00:37
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OMG the ever-rotating kitten pile (click pics to embiggen). You can (kind of!) see all three kitties in the first pile ... little grey kitty is almost buried. Little orange kitty IS buried in the second pile   
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Mar 31, 2015 02:16
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So cute!!!
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Mar 31, 2015 03:46
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Aw, adorable little kittens! Well done! I home momcat ends up being okay for adoption.
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Apr 1, 2015 07:42
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What are the kittens' gender? I'd like to know for naming reasons.
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Apr 1, 2015 15:30
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Viola the Mad posted:What are the kittens' gender? I'd like to know for naming reasons. I haven't sexed them yet; because Momcat is feral and was pretty freaked out, I've left her (and the kittens) alone as much as possible for the past couple of days. She's gotten very calm about me being around, so as the kittens become more mobile I'm going to start getting her, and them, used to me handling them. At that point I'll figure out what's what Only one I'm pretty sure of is ... the little tortie is gonna be female! Gratuitous adorable kittens pic: 
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Apr 2, 2015 00:15
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Oh my goodness what cute kitties . As for names... Winn-Dixie always reminds me of that children's book, so how about names from other books by the same author? Opal, Gloria, Otis, Flora, Ulysses, Edward, Mercy.
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Apr 2, 2015 02:17
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I think that third one is just going to be a black tabby, not a tortie tabby. Just placing my bets now.
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Apr 2, 2015 12:16
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Orange tabby almost certainly a boy too. So cuuuuute!
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Apr 2, 2015 13:33
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I love how Momcat's expression never changes.
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Apr 2, 2015 15:25
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Momcat has resting bitchface down to an art form. And Topo, the dark kitten may well be a black tabby; my husband is sure it's a tortie, i go back and forth. I still can't tell if the grey is a dilute tortie or grey with faint stripes, either ... with both of them one day I think one thing, the next day in different light I think the other. It's so hard to tell without taking them out and getting a good look, and I'm just not going to upset Momcat by doing that right now. She's doing so well and being so tolerant of me changing her litter box, changing her food bowls, etc., with just a little warning hiss now and again. When the kittens start moving around more and not staying right with Mom, we'll all find out
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Apr 2, 2015 17:26
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Today, Momcat's brood went from 3 kittens to 5 kittens in less than 5 minutes -- another pregnant kitty in our rescue delivered her kittens and died less than 24 hours later. So, we split that litter of 6 up among 2 rescues and 3 nursing mamas, and I would now like to present Momcat and her new and improved litter! Momcat's kittens are 4 days old and the new ones are barely 2 days old and much smaller, so I'll have to really watch that .. but she's the Best Momcat Ever and took these little guys the minute we put them in reach -- one she took right out of my hand! She's currently purring up a storm and they are happily nursing and squeaking a little, so I have hopes that they'll do well. Both are little white babies with black spots on them, so they're pretty easy to tell apart from the "original" kittens.
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Apr 3, 2015 00:11
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The momcat hormones are strong with this one.
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Apr 3, 2015 01:23
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Elaieva posted:Today, Momcat's brood went from 3 kittens to 5 kittens in less than 5 minutes -- another pregnant kitty in our rescue delivered her kittens and died less than 24 hours later. So, we split that litter of 6 up among 2 rescues and 3 nursing mamas, and I would now like to present Momcat and her new and improved litter! That's a bittersweet ending... Glad Best Momcat willingly adopted the new babies. 
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Apr 3, 2015 16:16
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More the merrier in tortietown!
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Apr 3, 2015 20:19
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Little orange kitty is going to be a BEAST, look how big he is! The new babies look bigger already; their little tummies are fat and round and they've gone from pathetic little scraps of fur to active squirming babies. I'm really, really pleased at how well they're doing 
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Apr 4, 2015 02:02
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look at all dem kittens
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Apr 4, 2015 03:32
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