Hi, the last couple of weeks we've had visits from a stray calico kitty.We had been keeping out bag of dog food outside in the back and apparently she had been getting into it and eating it.We figured it was fine because it didn't really matter to us;we would just buy more dog food.She had always been skittish and very jumpy even while eating but she did allow me to sit outside while she ate.If I tried to touch her she'd book it then come back once I sat back down.Well I had bought some cat food,planned on feeding it to her but since the 2 days when it rained and we had brought the dog food inside so it wouldn't get wet we hadn't seen her.I come home tonight and there she is crying up a storm on the neighbors roof.(The roofs and brick fences are her method of travel,apparently.) So she cryed and cryed then came under the fence onto our back porch and cryed at the back door.So I tried to ignore it (I'm a very big animal lover and have a hudge soft spot for animals.I always take in stray animals,even when I was a kid I'd bring all types of stray or hurt animals home to help.I've gotten into animal rights & a lot of those things these last couple of months and I know its bad to feed a stray cat because it will end up making their life harder.They learn to reliy on a easy food source that requires no work.Also we have a baby who isn't a yr old yet,a family dog,and we've adopted a cat of the week from our local kill shelter a few months back so I am not wanting to add to the brod at this point.)Anyways I couldn't stand to see her suffer in obvious hunger so I've been feeding her.I felt really bad about it,turns out my husband has been feeding her for at least a week now,no wonder why she was throwing a fit at our door.She wants to come inside and does cry at the back door but I'm not sure on letting her in on not yet.She's so,so affectionate now that she trusts us and is an amazing lap cat.Well now that she's allowed us to get so close to her, and she's become very attached to us always in our laps when we come outside,I've gotten the chance to notice her nipples.They are hudge,very swollen like heavy balls or mini-water balloons.She is an extremely thin and malnourished cat as it is,poor thing, but the sides of her belly swell out and look quiet plump.Here is my issue;I'm having trouble figuring out if she this means she is pregnant or has already recently had her kittens.We have had one pregnant female along time ago but she was in inside cat only and during her pregnancy she got as big as a billy goat.(Her belly shape did,of course she was feed well and spoiled) This cat's stomach isn't that big in compairison to the only other one pregnant female I have had,or seen.It is hard to tell if this is because maybe she is only pregnant with one or two babies?Maybe because she's so malnourished?Or has she already had her kittens somewhere recently.I can't feel anything while rubbing her stomach;which she loves; but that's because her nipples are so swollen its hard to feel much past them.If she has had her kittens recently (which I would guess had to be very recently because her nipples are so big,or she is still currently pregnant) then that's not good news for the kitties because today she's been hanging out on the portch ALL day and still ALL night when she had typically only came around at night.So her kittens are off starving to death somewhere if she's had them.Of course I don't want to allow her inside without a way outside if she has kittens outside as well.I am hoping now that she trusts us she will bring her kittens to our porch,which she seems to have deemed her new home.However I'm concerned because stray kittens are often in bad health and its getting chilly now.I don't want the kittens to die if there is any helping it.Also I'm not sure about letting her inside because of our new baby,new cat,and the fact that I'm unsure of if this stray has any diseases or anything else.I don't want to bring her to the vet simply because the cat we adopted from our local shelter not too many months ago had been sick with 'kennel cough' are.S.V really because he is a cat.Anyhow I had to have him stay a few nights in the vet's,he had an IV drip,anti-bitoics and a lot of other things.He is well,fat,healthy,and spoiled now but we are STILL to this day making payments on that vet bill,which really wasn't afforadable in the first place.We found out her was sick after only 2 days of having adopted him,didn't want to bring him back only to be put to sleep so we paid his vet bill and made sure to force feed him,etc until he got better.We've been lucky to be keeping up on paying it as it is;I literally can't afford to add another bill ontop of this.Any advice at all?Could it be possible that she's had her kittens and they didn't make it,or is it normal for her nipples to be so full?Please help,it would be much appreciated!Thank you,and for both my sake,the cats,and the kittens I hope this gets a speedier response then some of the other questions that never got any answer... =/

She could be to the point of weaning the kittens. Her nipples would still be distended at this point. I know you are between a rock and a hard place, but there is nothing to do other then take her to the vet and have her checked out. As for the kittens, well, what can you do Animalsaver. You have already fed her, so I guess you have her and she considers you her new home.

It is actually a grab bag of answers, you know that I am sure. All you can do is wait it out for her.

As for speedier responses, we are all volunteers here and there are many questions to get to. Sorry.

Oh I'm sorry as to the speedier response-I thought this was just a question & answer site where people posted & answered-I didn't know it was run and kept up by Volunteers.I am sorry,that was rude of me.Just wanted to update in case any one had read my question.Long story short-the mama cat ended up trusting me enough to show me where her kittens were.She was freaking out at a gardage a few houses down and when she started crying sure enough there were little kitten mews in respose.=] So I hunted the owner down,explained and asked him to open up.He said he didn't have a cat and tried to aruge with me that his garadge hadn't been opened in months (lie-they've had it open A lot these last couple of weeks during construction.He probably didn't know I lived a few houses down.)Any how he opened it and from a hole in the drywall out popped kittens.There are 3 beautiful kittens that were very malnourished-my guess is that when they finished construction & closed the garadge she was away and got separated from her kittens.No wonder why she was so swollen!Well now both her & 3 kittens are warm and snug upstairs in my bedroom closet... you can see the releif & happiness on her face... if you could understand what I mean.They're fattening up now so that's good & I've hunted for rescue groups and checked all resources.Nothing.Not a thing.No one is excepting right now because of cat season.I refuse to bring them to the local kill shelter-we just adopted from there and our healthy cat now was in horrible sickening condition when we first adopted him.Luckily I have found a site that will come to your home for a home visit & as long as you can prove that you simply don't have the funding to foster them-they will provide you with 'vouchers' for free vet checks for both mama & kittens as well as monthly supplies until I can rehome them with their forever loving homes.Thank God that I found this site & if everything works out OK then it'll be such a help & their lives will surely be saved thanks to these donated things,donated service from the vet,and myself for fostering if everything gets approved.Thx so much for the advice & I'm just glad they made it.Any longer in there without milk... the outcome might have been very heartbreaking for Mama.Anyways thanks!! Pray that all works out.

It took her a while, in her way, to tell you the story and get you there for the rescue. It turned out well. Now you have more mouths to feed !

Tick

Hi

Thanks so much for taking that poor mama cat and her kids in. The world needs more people like you.

I took 11 semi-feral cats into my home, from an abusive situation, and it is so rewarding to turn their little lives around and give them loving homes.

Annamarie

Help! I brought in a cat to my apartment last night. I am in NYC. I have been feeding her for a few months. She is very tame. She seems happy here, though last night she cried a bit and wanted out the window. I notice her nipples seem protruded... Oh no! Has she had kittens? Are they out there starving now? I have had her here for about 18 hours. What should I do? Should I release her outside where I found her?