Expert: Ali - 6/15/2009

Question
I found a pregnant cat and it looks like it's about to pop. I brought her inside so she has somewhere to have the babies. I have two other female cats that are spayed. When my cats approach the pregnant cat she hisses and growls. For this reason I separated them, but now all the pregnant cat does is meow. Should I keep them separate or let them all roam around together? How do I get her to nest in the cardboard box I have set out for her? Or do you think I'm over my head and should just get rid of the pregnant cat?

Answer
Rosa,

This mom to be is exceptionally lucky that you've provided her with a safe place to have her babies and raise them until they're old enough to leave the nest. Caring for a pregnant queen and later a nursing mom and her babies is fairly simple - a pregnant or nursing mom needs the same things that any other cat does. Moms require more food and water than other cats because they're trying to meet their own requirements for nutrition as well as provide all of the nutrients that their rapidly growing babies need in order to stay healthy and be chunky little ones.

All cats should have the option of a safe, healthy and comfortable place to call home, in terms of pregnant or nursing queens this should also be provided, however since newborn kittens have very little resistance to viral or bacterial infections it's best to isolate the family so that the babies have the best possible chance of growing up to be strong, healthy kittens. It's important that any person handling mom or her newborns pays special attention to hand washing before and after handling the little ones or their mom, this will help to reduce the risk of passing along infections that your older cats may have come into contact with but aren't likely to be affected by.

Millions of cats and kittens worldwide never know what it's like to be safe and loved by a responsible, kind hearted human caregiver which is heartbreaking. Thankfully this mom and her babies have been given a second chance because you've decided to provide for their basic needs and give them the love and attention they need in order to be mentally sound, loving and highly adoptable pets. I only wish that there were more humane education programs stressing the importance of pet parents taking responsibility for their pet and ensuring that they're spayed/neutered before they have the chance to reproduce because that would ultimately be a good start to reducing the numbers of cats that are abandoned on the streets, in rural areas and the countless felines that are surrendered to shelters worldwide. Maybe one day every cat will have the chance to know what it's like to live in a secure environment and be spoiled absolutely rotten - until then many kind hearted souls will continue to rescue cats and kittens, meet their needs, rehabilitate them if necessary and find them loving forever families. Sometimes rescuing strays can be a thankless job so I wanted to make sure that your efforts to make a difference are much appreciated by the cats that are lucky enough to receive your helping hand as well as the cat lovers among us.

It's not unusual for cats that are being introduced for the first time to become aggressive with each other, cats are territorial by nature and they're creatures of habit which means that changes most often aren't popular if they're happening too quickly. Since your new foundling is pregnant and appears to be close to term (you may want to have a vet verify that by exam, x-ray and/or ultrasound) I'd recommend that she is isolated as a new cat normally should be when coming into a household with resident cats - the difference in this case is that rather than the 2-3 week isolation period I normally recommend to pet parents introducing new cats into their household this little girl should stay isolated until her kittens are ready to go into adoptive homes - I usually recommend about 10 weeks of age so that mom has time to teach them the important skills they need in order to be well balanced, happy pets. Contrary to popular belief mother cats don't need help weaning their kittens, they will normally do this on their own by the time the kittens are 8-9 weeks old although some moms will do this sooner or later than others depending upon their personality, temperament, health status and other factors.

Mom should be receiving as much of a high quality food (I recommend that you check out catinfo.org for information about providing the healthiest foods and best nutrition possible for all of your cats - they'll likely live longer, healthier lives) as she wants to eat, during pregnancy and nursing mom's food intake and energy requirements can double, triple or even quadruple depending on the size of the litter and mom's overall body condition when she came into your care. The only two commercially produced cat foods that I feel comfortable recommending are Wellness and Spot's Stew. These high quality, holistic foods made from human grade ingredients have never been recalled which is more than the majority of commercially produced foods out there can say - in fact there's a new Menu Foods cat food recall of Nutro, just google Menu Foods recalls and you'll find the site easily - this company is now warning cat caregivers that their foods may contain acetaminophen, aka Tylenol - a small dose of this drug is potentially lethal to cats without prompt treatment.

In my experience it's best to confine mom to a quiet, dimly lit room where she has everything she needs. Some cats are going to be slightly more anxious than others, particularly a stray that's had to survive on the streets without much help until you came along and gave her the kindness she needed. If everything goes well mom will be able to take care of herself during labor and delivery - some queens are very uncomfortable with the idea of being touched or handled in any way during the birth process, others will actually seek out comfort and enjoy being pet and quietly encouraged, you'll have to fly by the seat of your pants on that one if you happen to be around when mom gives birth. I don't recommend getting overly involved in terms of having multiple people watch mom giving birth (I know I wouldn't want company at that point) or taking photos because if mom becomes stressed her labor can stall and she can end up needing some medical help in the form of hormone injections or even a caesarian to deliver the babies. If mom needs a c-section to have the kittens for any reason I'd suggest having her spayed at the same time to prevent further pregnancies.

The nest box can sometimes be more appealing if you use a large enough box to comfortably allow mom to stretch out with her babies and move around a little. I recommend using a large, old towel to line mom's future nursery - I often use the disposable incontinence pads to line the bottom of the box to avoid stains on the carpet if blood and fluids from the birthing process manage to seem through the towel and the bottom of the box. These pads are blue plastic on the bottom side and on top they have a thin layer of material similar to that of a disposable diaper, it's a fairly cheap item to buy and it can save your flooring from stains. If mom seems to be the anxious type or she has a penchant for hiding in small, dark places you may want to try using a box that's enclosed on all four sides. You'll need to cut a small opening in the front side of the box that leaves a 4-5 inch lip on the bottom so that no tiny kittens accidentally find their way out of the box. The hole for the doorway should probably be a square opening that's about 6-8 inches wide by 6-8 inches long, you may have to adjust this and make it smaller or larger depending on the size of mom. In anxious cats this type of nursery box allows mom to maintain her dignity and privacy during the birthing process and afterwards as she feeds, cleans and cares for her babies. In a cave like nursery box some of the outside light and stimulation is shut out and mother cats will often look for similar type places to have their babies if they're feral or stray because this also provides protection from the elements. I would recommend that you set mom's nursery box up as described above, line it with the incontinence pads and towels and allow mom to decide it's time to check out her nusery on her own. I've found that some cats will express very little interest in their nesting box until the time comes and they're actually in labor or about to give birth -early in labor you might see your kitty digging in the nest box to make a comfortable bed for her babies, late on you can see the cat pacing, showing signs of anxiety, panting and she may even become more vocal.

There are some cases where queens just don't want to use a nest box and there's very little you can do about that because if there's too much human interference in the labor or birthing process mom's labor might stall which would be a serious problem that could potentially require some pretty expensive medical intervention in order to save the lives of mom and her babies.I would highly suggest that you make sure no sentimental items or expensive clothes are located in an area like the bottom of a closet because in the event that mom decides to find her own nursery you don't want anything sentimental or expensive to be ruined. To minimize the chances of any personal items being ruined I'd recommend keeping your closet door closed and storing anything sentimental or important in another room until after mom's had her babies.

If you notice that mom has greenish discharge coming from her vagina this may be an indicator that one or more of the placentas have separated prematurely which could mean that one or more babies will be stillborn if they aren't delivered quickly so I'd recommend having a vet take a look at mom on an emergency basis if this happens. Sometimes nursing moms can develop medical problems - a very serious problem is called eclampsia, this is essentially a deficiency of magnesium that is potentially fatal. If mom seems stiff in her movements, somewhat like an old fashioned wind up toy in the days or weeks after giving birth this is an emergency and must be treated quickly to save the queen's life and avoid potentially having to hand rear an entire litter of kittens which is a time and labor intensive task. During the first 2 1/2-3 weeks of life the kittens should be spending the majority of their time nursing or sleeping either cuddled up with their mother or in a pile. If you notice that mom is consistently moving one or more kittens away from her nursery and refusing to care for them I'd recommend seeking veterinary advice, sometimes moms do this because the kittens have an obvious birth defect like a cleft palate or some less obvious health problem that queens are often able to recognize instinctively. If you take anyone in the new family to the vet for assessment and/or treatment the whole family should go, this will minimize the risk of mom rejecting one or more of her babies. Normally feline moms are wonderful, attentive and loving mothers which is most likely the reason that so many unwanted cats and kittens are on the streets and in shelters worldwide, however there are exceptions to every rule. If you notice that mom doesn't seem to want to care for or feed her kittens she should be assessed by a vet to ensure that there isn't something happening that requires medical treatment. Obviously in the event that mom rejects her kittens without a medical reason that the vet can find there are some tough decisions to be made.

It's quite possible to hand rear the orphaned kittens yourself, but it's important to know what that entails. Newborn kittens aren't able to maintain their own body temperature this means that they can develop hypothermia or overheat quickly if their environment isn't climate controlled. I've found that keeping orphaned kittens in a reasonably comfortable environment such as a kennel or box lined with clean towels so that they have each other's warmth and the added insulation of the towels to keep themselves warm works well. I don't recommend using heating lamps or pads to keep the babies warm as a general rule because if they get overheated they can become seriously ill or even die.

Orphaned kittens must be fed a ready to serve or powdered kitten milk replacer such as Mammalac for kittens, Just Born or KMR. Many kittens don't want to take their formula from the nipples sold for formula feeding small animals so I generally keep several brand new oral syringes on hand, I use the type that are used to give human babies liquid medicines - they usually cost about $1-2 each. It's extremely important that you don't recycle any syringes that have been used to administer human medicines because many common medications are quite toxic to cats. Even if you don't have to hand raise the kittens I would recommend that you pick up a kitchen scale that measures in grams or ounces up to two pounds so that you can weigh each kitten at birth and every few days for the first couple of weeks to make sure they're gaining as much weight as they should.

If you have two or more kittens that closely resemble each other there are a couple of ideas you can use so that you can tell them apart. You could make some temporary collars from several different colors of yarn or ribbon tied around their necks but be sure to leave enough room to get the tip of your little finger in between the baby's neck and the temporary collar. It's very important to check on collars frequently to ensure that the kittens aren't injured or killed as a result of their collar being too tight or becoming embedded. It's best to replace these temporary collars once you can't get your finger tip between the kitten and the collar but it's still not snug on the baby. You can also use a tiny amount of nail polish applied to a single nail on a different paw for each kitten that looks similar to another.

During the first 3 1/2-4 weeks of a kitten's life their mother or caregiver must stimulate them to use the toilet after each feeding and when they wake up from naps - an orphaned kitten's bladder and bowels will empty without stimulation, but they'll do it on an overflow basis (this just means that there isn't any more room in the kitten's bowels or bladder for more waste so they go involuntarily) which isn't good for them. I can provide you with information about hand rearing if it becomes necessary or you'd like to have that knowledge for future reference.

Essentially raising orphaned kittens by bottle feeding them is never a best case scenario, but sometimes it becomes necessary to hand raise these babies for one reason or another. It's important to bear in mind that in the first 4 weeks of life a kitten's development goes from a helpless newborn to a mischeivous toddler. I've hand raised many kittens over the years and to be completely honest the whole process is very time consuming, labor intensive and exhausting but if all goes well in the end it's an incredibly rewarding experience overall. I'd be happy to clarify any points in this answer, offer further details or answer any questions you may have, so please feel free to contact me again and I'll do my absolute best to help you out based on my experience or at least direct you to an appropriate professional if that's necessary.