I'm on the fence about whether to start this, having just seen a thread where a woman has been slated for knowing a dog who is having puppies and it wasn't even her dog.
My cat is due to have kittens any day. I'm not an experienced cat owner and haven't cared for a cat going through this experience. I'll say at the outset that this is a completely undesirable situation and it won't be repeated.
We've talked to the vet and read what we can about what to do, but thought it would also be helpful to start a thread in case further questions come up. If you have some experience and are happy to share it, I can't thank you enough.
If you wish to chastise me for getting into this situation in the first place, please don't bother as it will achieve nothing for the cat or anyone else at this point. I will simply hide the thread and not return to it (unless, of course, there is specific need for urgent information relating to the cat's welfare and it's impossible to get it anywhere else).
The cat is a Maine Coon and only ten months old. The vet wouldn't neuter her over the summer because she was being treated with antibiotics for a long-running gut infection that lasted months (now recovered). She came into heat at the tail end of that illness and unfortunately managed to escape my clutches (that is, the place where she was being confined) for long enough to mate. It shouldn't have happened and was an unfortunate one-off resulting from a unique set of circumstances that I won't go into here. She's a sweet natured, beautiful animal and we're upset that she is carrying a litter and at such a young age.
She didn't have the 'pinking up' symptom so we didn't know she was pregnant until the vet confirmed it two weeks ago. Apparently there are at least five kittens there. He estimated that she would give birth anytime from Monday to Friday of this week. (So she is a day late).
Don't urge me to spay her at the first opportunity because that is exactly what I am planning to do. In the past we have rehabilitated rescue dogs and never imagined we would end up contributing to the problem of overpopulation - very humbling experience and the priority now to is to get this right for the cat.
Thanks very, very much to anyone who has constructive advice.
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The litter tray
Pregnant Cat
slenderisthenight · 22/10/2016 14:56
slender
If there's a way - any sort of way - one of the pair will find it, I fear. Remind me - is she booked in for her op yet? 
I recall when the famous Cheekie had kits, she took up residence in our greenhouse and was attended - pretty well constantly - by the neighbourhood's battle-scarred tom. I recall being impressed by how 'gallant' he was being, protecting her and all, and how tolerant he was of her kits gambolling about and nipping his legs etc.
I was very young. 
cozie When the cat did her first 'calling' miaow I thought she was having a nervous breakdown.
A very bad case of kitcup here, shriek.
I would (of course) also like mum neutered at the first possible opportunity but at the moment we're still hovering anxiously over the kittens' weights each day and some of them are very small. The vet understandably doesn't feel losing a kitten or two is a problem but I do and would rather give them an extra week of mum's milk than not. We'll see how it goes this week.
Yes rubbish, I have a young human family who are not being quite so carefully reared as the kittens at the moment! We're trying to keep them apart now as they shared the conjunctivitis and clearly passed it back and forth.
Hanging baskets
Luckily I have only five minutes per day in which to indulge this mania or who knows where it could go. eyes up hanging baskets
The rain goes horizontally in the Outer Islands, though. (The wind.)
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Well with you stepping into the breach, I can understand her point of view.
(I doubt many/any of them would have survived TBH if it weren't for your help. Some cat mothers manage wonderfully, but she looked to be struggling a bit in the early days.)
They're just gorgeous.
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