Maple's kitten adventures...

[Akane]

Just like everything cats vary greatly. Some cats are great mothers and some should never have been allowed to get pregnant. My little farm cat was one of the latter. Luckily we were there when she had her kittens. As the first one came out she lept out of the box and I caught cat in one hand, kitten in the other, with the cord between them and moved them back in the box. She settled down so we left her checking every 10mins or so. She got it cleaned up and then started screaming her head off and pushing her butt against the box like she could keep the kitten from coming out. I had to hold her down so she wouldn't try to run away again. Kitten 2 came out ok. She cleaned it up a little and then got squirmy again. Kitten 3 was coming out backward and stopped 1/4th out. I hooked it's back legs with my thumb and finger and pulled it out. Finally we got to kitten 4. We scooped everyone up and stuck them on some old blankets in the bottom of a closet. It turned out after getting over the birthing (which would have gone horribly without supervision) she wasn't too bad at raising them. She fed her kittens, protected them, and within a couple weeks they started wandering out of the closet. We immediately offered them kitten food soaked in water and slowly lowered the amount of water as they got better at eating. She proved to be a horrible mother again by losing her kittens all over the room and dropping them off objects they managed to climb on to. She ended up making 2 of them afraid of heights.

You couldn't lift them more than 2' off the ground or they'd scream like you were killing them. She'd also have mood swings and suddenly start beating on them with her back legs while in the middle of cleaning them. Somehow they all survived to find homes but I can't say they were all sane. We've had a few other litters abandoned around the time they start walking and fed them on kitten food soaked in kitten formula and eventually water. You just make it a little thicker every few days until they are crunching solid pieces.

 

[Imp]

Oh Gosh, maple's a cat lady. Would've never thought it. Imp's a cat lady too; well kinda.

The only thing I can add to the great advice you've already gotten is that you may be surprised at how much she may eat. My last rescue showed up in December begging for food. I let her in and she would eat 3 full bowls of food, in minutes. She looked so bloated, and you could easily tell that she was either very close to birth or had kittens somewhere. I was afraid to keep her in because I wasn't sure that she didn't have kittens outside somewhere. Which turned out to be true. Eventually I found her original owner, and with them rescued the kittens, the she decided to move in with me.

Imp- all ended well

 

[BarkerChickens]

How wonderful of you to bring her home!! Definitely post pics of her when you get the camera again!

She sounds like a wonderful cat.

...and kittens are the cutest things ever!

 

[justbugged]

She needs as much high quality food as you can give her. A nursing cat can not get enough calories to keep up her body weight. She can become pregnant again before she is done nursing. So you will need to have spayed around the time the kittens are about 8 weeks old. I am so pleased that you found her. Often little mama cats end up having to abandon the kittens in order to survive herself. Of course they end up have litter after litter too.

 

[tazcat70]

I am glad you found each other!

Awww kittens! I love kittens! Growing up we always had kittens. I even had a momma give birth right next to me. So exciting and wonderful to have an animal have that much trust in you. Since becoming an adult the only kittens we had were some orphans my husband brought home and I bottle fed them.


Love her, let her have her babies, spay her, and love her some more.

 

[maple]

Ok,
Finally able to get them uploaded...computer was slow as molasses though...

Here's "Willow" the rescue Mama cat.

Her boo boo on her neck, notice all hair had fallen off around it:

With 9 yr. old daughter, Zoe:

With 5 yr. old daughter, Ava:

belly shot:

 

[PitterPaws]

Shes adorable!!

 

[maple]

Thank you.

I even found my mom opening the door and spending time with her today. I think granny needs her a cat.

That way my kids can keep the kittens.

You didn't hear me say that. But Grandma did say she'd take the mama cat, she's so friendly. My mom's been without since her elderly cat snuck out and got hit by a car but he kept sneakin out...he was a rescued tom and liked going in and out but he was getting so old, he left for a while one time and the vet told her he probably left to go off to die. Then her neighbor said she found him in her back yard...mom went and got him, put all this money getting his teeth cleaned and then he got out again and the next day was right outside her door, hit. Poor guy. So now it's been 3 or so years and I think she's ready for another cat again. She's worried about her little jealous dog though. I think Sophie will get over it...it's not like mom hasn't had cats before.

 

[sonew123]

shes beautiful! I cant wait for updates!!!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

What a cute cat! Just make sure she has a quiet, safe space to deliver and be with her kittens and most likely, all will be fine.