My pregnant foster cat arrives today, having a freak out.

[SentientCushion]

Hey everyone!

So we're fostering a pregnant cat and it's the first one we've ever done. Anyone got any advise for a first time kitty midwife/maternity ward?

Ps I'll definitely post pics don't worry.

How exciting! (And sad of course that someone didn't get her neutered in time)

Cats are pretty good at taking care of themselves, they don't really need a moggie midwife. Make sure she has a few safe bed options to have her kittens, and block off any areas which would cause you major annoyance if she decided to have them there i.e. under the bed etc.

Give her plenty of good food so she has some reserves, and when she does eventually have them just keep an eye that she seems content and is fussing over them. Stuck kittens don't often happen with domestic cats, but if she is particularly young or small you may want to watch out for this. She is likely to have them all in a fairly short period of time (overnight in my experience).

Good luck! We're getting a little FIV+ foster on Saturday. I'm very excited!

Oh how exciting for you Luna! Is this your first foster?

this is from our rescues foster group if it posts hope this helps
Life stages of kittens
By Sara Wilkins Atkinson on Friday, March 25, 2016 at 4:13pm
Pre-birth

Mum will probably act normally, right up to a few hours before the birth. She may sleep a lot and be less active than one would expect, but some cats play and jump as normal, particularly younger mums. Some cats also eat less in the day or so before the birth. Some cats start to “nest” a few hours before the birth - they find quiet secluded places, such as under beds, at the bottom of wardrobes and behind settees etc. Sometimes they find daft places like on the top of kitchen cupboards. You can help by providing lots of safe places for her - warm boxes with rigid but not high sides (about 8 inches) in secluded places that you can easily get to.

Birth

Mum may spend time before the birth frequently licking her bottom, and you may notice some discharge from her vagina, up to 12 hours before the birth. The birth itself is usually trouble-free - usually the kits arrive overnight and the little family is there to greet you in the morning. Most mums choose a box or dark corner, or maybe under a bed or wardrobe, but some have their kittens in full view, on the bed or settee! If you are present at the birth, just watch. Mum will know what to do. The kittens usually come about 30-45 minutes apart but there can also be a gap of several hours, and occasionally a day. Don't remove the soiled bedding for several hours if possible, and it is easier to prepare a clean box and transfer the kittens into it when you do change the bedding. Make sure that the blankets/towels in the bed are folded under so that kittens can’t crawl into folds and become separated from mum. We also recommend that you use fleece or towels rather than knitted blankets initially, as newborn kittens can’t retract their claws and may get them caught.

omg, I want piccies of kittens as soon as they pop out...!

Sorry no advice, the cats I've known just kind of got on with it. What's there to freak out about? You're doing a kind thing & you're not to blame. All around win.

Far more detailed instructions from issey - definitely follow those!

He won't be our first foster Sentient, as we fostered for a while before we fell in love with Number 10 and decided to keep him. Unfortunately he had to be PTS before Easter (FIV and Chronic Kidney Disease) and the house is just so quiet nad empty without a cat. We have agreed to take a mother and kittens at some point so I do hope we get one just to be able to squee at the kittens

Thank everyone :-) I'm sure I'll be fine we've been reading up about it loads and I feel ready but at the same time nervous.

X

Well you know that fluffy jumper that you really really love, that goes great with everything and makes you look like a goddess? I'd put that away in a suitcase, inside a concrete filled trunk in a shed at the bottom of a deep lake..... because you know that's what she'll choose to give birth on if you don't

No advice - but best of luck to her and her kittings.

Hahaha!

I know Ashwell

We've turned our spare room into a kitty heaven with plenty of boxes and blankets that we don't mind being ruined and she's going to be in there. We have cats of our own that are in the rest of the house.

X

Our cat delivered on DP's poshest linen jacket. The placentas were like little burgers and she scoffed them.

Any news on this little lady..... or do you have your hands full of kittings?

Hope everything went/goes OK. I also foster and refused a pregnant one because I was scared that something would go wrong and I wouldn't know what to do and harm might have come to mum or babies.