We're being adopted by a pregnant cat

[namechange5575]

Yeah we seem to be being adopted by a pregnant cat. We've lived here for five years, initially had a problem with cats pooping in our garden but not in the last few years. A few weeks ago a local cat started wandering into our flat, she looks pregnant. She's being pretty persistent. We are trying not to encourage her, DP is really allergic. I gave her some leftover salmon skin in the garden. I'm worried she's got nowhere better to choose to birth, and feel a bit protective I'm not sure what I'm asking... thoughts? Comments?

Try and catch her and take her to a cats protection if you can or similar

Take her in, if she gives birth outside the kittens don’t stand a good chance of living. My dh is allergic too but he acclimatised after 3 weeks and only reacts now if he touches the cat then rubs his eyes.

DH and DS are also allergic, but about 3 days after acquiring a new cat (we have 3), the symptoms stop.

Cats Protection League?

but one of our cats looks pregnant, and he’s a boy!

You need to contact your local cat charities for help, the sooner the better. You can find a list by area on this website: www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-rescue-centres-uk-ireland

Definitely cat charity. She will be better off by a long way if she comes under their care. This may involve being placed in a suitable foster home to keep her safe and ensure her kittens are socialised appropriately for all of their eventual rehoming. The charity will also neuter the cats, saving them from a lifetime of hardship. They will ensure she is treated for any fleas, worms etc which she will be likely to have if she has come from a place where even basic neutering hasn’t been done.

Get her to a vet so they can check for a microchip and find the owner!!!!! She probably has a happy home and an owner who feds her and looks after her and yet people (particularly on local FB groups) always say that you're doing them a favour by taking them in. Don't unless you know they're a stray or they're looking really shabby, and then always take them to the vet to check for a chip.

A rescue would check for a microchip.

Friar It is extremely rare for a pregnant cat to be microchipped - as people who don't bother neutering their cat rarely bother microchipping either (and the two are often done at the same time at the vet's anyway).

OP, if you're not sure if she's pregnant or not, and if she's approachable, you can put a paper collar on her with your details asking owner to call you. You can find templates online with instructions.

Update - on your advice I checked - no collar. I honestly thought she had an owner but asked neighbours and they think not. I joined a local cat fb group, and a lovely lady has popped round with cat food (I would have bought some myself, she was just super efficient!) and she's found a place at a local rescue. There's a cat carrier in the garden so hopefully we can catch her and she can get taken somewhere safe. We do regularly get foxes in the garden so I think that's a good idea. I'll update again when we have more news.

Oh and this lady works for rescues and has a handheld chip checker, so won't be taking her away if she is chipped.

Further update - the cat had been absent for a few days - I saw her and she'd obviously had the kittens. She ate some food I left out and I saw her go into a neighbours shed. I let the rescue lady know and she was able to come round pretty quickly and get the cat and kittens into a large cage and take them away to the rescue. I'll hear from her again later. But I'm really glad the kittens are with their mum and somewhere safe. There were five kittens apparently :)