Expert: Ali - 10/5/2009

Question
I just took in a wonderful stray who I had been feeding.  She is pregnant and looks like she's about to pop.  I noticed that she sounds congested.  Also her lips are almost black in color.  I have 2 other cat's that I have had for a while but this is both my first feral cat and first pregnant cat.  She is in a different room from my other cat's until I can get her shots.  I am concerned about her sniffles/ upper respiratory symptoms but I figured that the vet couldn't give her any medication because she is pregnant.  If you have any advice it would be appreciated.

Answer
Andy,

Feral and stray aren't interchangeable terms, in fact a stray is quite simply an abandoned pet while a feral cat has had little or no contact with people in their socialization period and feral cats are basically wild animals. Feral cats are often the descendants of stray cats abandoned by their "care" givers to fend for themselves. You can socialize feral kittens with people after the first 8-12 weeks, but it's a much more difficult and time consuming task. Based on your description of this little momma I'd say that she's probably a stray cat.I'd like to start off by telling you that there are slightly different ways of dealing with medical issues in pregnant pets than there are for pregnant women. At this point it's crucial for you to get this mom to a vet ASAP because if her babies catch her upper respiratory infection they likely won't survive and newborn kittens have very minimal antibodies to protect them from becoming seriously ill. The vet can most likely give you an estimate as to when the babies are due so that you can prepare properly for their birth (I can help you with advice about special things mom will need like a birthing box, dietary changes, etc if you're interested, so please contact me again with a request for that information if you're interested in learning more). I suspect that the vet will want to get mom's upper respiratory symptoms gone as quickly as possible and I'm really hoping that these babies aren't going to be born while mom's still sick, partially because of the risk of transmitting the infection from mother to newborn kittens. Another concern about newborn kittens being born when mom's ready to give birth is the fact that she's sick at the moment - labor and the birthing process are very stressful on a new mom at the best of times. Your vet will be able to safely determine the approximate gestational age of the kittens via an ultrasound or x-ray (it's perfectly okay to x-ray a pregnant queen, her kittens' skeletons will show up on an x-ray at a specific time later in the pregnancy which can sometimes be helpful in determining gestational age). Only a veterinarian can make a formal diagnosis as to what might be happening with your newly acquired feline companion and mommy to be. Your vet should be able to provide you with appropriate information about how to ensure the health and safety of the newborn kittens and their mother (especially while she's lactating) and I would encourage you to follow their treatment advice or speak with a holistic vet or a licensed homeopath who can make treatment plans based on a more natural approach. A new mother needs loads of energy to maintain her own body condition and provide for her newborn offspring. I have plenty of information that will help you to provide the best possible diet for your cat and her kittens as you can afford.

I'm not sure exactly what the vet will want to do in your kitty's case, but if you feel super uncomfortable with the idea of giving mom medication prescribed by a licensed vet you could consider contacting Dr. Chambreau on the Ask a Vet portion of this site - she's a homeopathic vet and will do phone/email consults throughout the US for a fee to be negotiated by you and her. Homeopathic remedies have the advantage of being safe, gentle, effective and overall I haven't heard of any adverse reactions. The worst thing that will happen if you give the wrong remedy (in the majority of cases) is that absolutely nothing will change. My own vet is a holistic vet who uses homeopathy in her practice and I truly believe that my eldest cat wouldn't be here today if I'd simply followed a conventional only treatment protocol for the renal failure she developed after eating tainted cat food during the Menu Foods recall - fluids, low protein prescription diet and cage rest weren't working at all, in fact her condition was deteriorating rapidly until she was given homeopathic remedies to treat her symptoms. Today my baby girl is still with us, she no longer receives any supplemental fluids for any reason, she's not on a prescription diet and her kidney function is 100% normal (after the recommendation to euthanize was made by two other vets)...

I would strongly advise against allowing momma cat outside at all, at least until you've had her spayed. Female cats are capable of becoming pregnant as early as 24-48 hours after giving birth and I'm sure that you really don't want a never ending line of kittens coming into your home (they're cute, but awfully expensive to take proper care of!). If you would like to know more about spaying/neutering cats I'd be happy to pass the information along to you so that you can make an informed decision about the surgery itself and what you can expect afterwards. I do recommend against declawing (as does the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners) for a variety of reasons, if you're interested I can send you information about this MAJOR cosmetic surgery. If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer, please feel free to contact me again and I'll be happy to help you out. In the meantime, good look, take good care of mom and her newborns and I look forward to hearing from you and finding out how mom and her babies are doing. Your new family will be in my thoughts.