Adopted by a pregnant ginger cat!

It is approaching a month now since this beautiful stray sat on the boundary wall of our home and kept meowing till I offered it water. Since we don't have pets or cat food lying about the house, I offered her Marie biscuits and she devoured 3!
She now has a clean cardboard box with sheets, a bowl of water and 3 meals a day. Due to various reasons, we do not let her into the house; mainly because we prefer she be free to move about and we are not yet ready to undertake the responsibility that comes with confining an animal (vaccination, litter box, shedding etc..).
She recently began to scratch herself aggressively and seemed wholly preoccupied with this activity every time I laid eyes on her. I noticed tiny black lice/ fleas/ ticks/ mites quickly disappearing into her coat so after investigation I bought and applied a 0.5ml spot-on flea treatment. There was a considerable effect within 24 hours.
She is the most loving, vocal and perceptive creature I have come across. Every day seems to draws us closer as she also moves closer to her due date.

The front porch now belongs to her for eating, sleeping or lounging about.

Beautiful golden eyes to match her ginger coat


Sleep in the box


or on the mat!


Note: The black spots on her lips and nose appear to be lentigo, which according to Wikipedia 'also affects cats, those with orange coloration most often, and can appear on the nose, lips, and eyes as the cat ages.'

How adorable! You are both so lucky! I hope you become room mates. :-)

>2 krazy4katz: Thank you. Though, the latter part of your post might be an anathema depending on who you speak to in our family! :)

>3 mr.philistine: I understand. Curiously, some of our cats have arrived when I am out of town. You might want to get a local animal rescue organization involved to keep her until the kittens arrive. Then she can be spayed and you can decide what you want to do.

Best wishes, k4k

hi,how are yall, i kinda new anyone wanna be friends

adorable.

im so sad but i love cats ill be ok

Love gingers. They are rarely female. FWIW, gingers like this don't shed all that much

>8 SandraArdnas: really?thats pretty cool

>8 SandraArdnas: This one sheds a lot. If you look closely at the black border of the sheet towards the opening of the box in the 2nd photo, those white lines are all hers, not to mention the mat and the floor! :)

Some information from the web:
Pregnant cats can undergo hormonal changes that result in them shedding their coats more than normal. They will usually shed most of the hair on their bellies, making it easier for their kittens to nurse.

>10 mr.philistine: Ah, hair where they sleep is a given. With the ones who shed a lot there's hair everywhere. I have one tabby, for whom I only need some cover in places he sleeps, which can be easily washed, and one tuxedo, which leaves hair everywhere and vacuuming the whole place all the time is a must.

Interesting about the pregnancy shedding, didn't know that.

Good luck with the kittens. You're practically guaranteed to fall in love with them :)

>11 SandraArdnas: Thank you. The kittens are still a few weeks down the line and there is no guarantee she will have them with us. She often disappears for hours on end and we joke that she must have other humans like us in the neighbourhood who love and feed her. But she always gulps down the full bowl of food I offer her after she magically reappears!

5 lively kittens born late this afternoon 22 June, 2022!

Her yowling and meowing started this morning after breakfast and she refused to nap as usual. She tried to get into the house several times but I had to deny her entry. So I accompanied her to her box on our porch and she jumped in and started pawing and digging around. I quickly found an old towel and arranged it around her. Every time I moved away, she would meow as though asking me to stay. I came back after a while to see her licking the first kitten. I stayed next to her gently speaking to her and stroking her. She had the remaining 4 at intervals of about 30 minutes.

My first time watching something like this first hand!

>13 mr.philistine: Congratulations! They're adorable. She obviously trusted you enough to want you there.

>13 mr.philistine: Yes! Congratulations. You are now a feline stepfather!

They are so sweet and adorable. It's a huge show of trust that she wants you nearby

Congratulations!

Congratulations! The new family is adorable :)

Mother, 5-kittens and bewildered human foster father thank you all for your kind wishes.

She is an excellent mum and I recall reading online that caring for newly born kittens is the easiest thing - just take care of the queen and she will do the rest!
Giving birth must have been very exhausting and she seemed drained as her meows were laboured and raspy. I have increased her food intake to 5-times a day. She refused to leave the kittens for the first 3 days, but has now started taking time out for herself outside the box. She has regained much of her strength and also went for a walk and perhaps to answer nature's call.
There was an earthy smell about the kittens not unlike livestock esp. goats, and the moment she took off we successfully completed an operation to flip the sheets without handling the kittens.
By day-2, the kittens had already begun persistently swatting each other during feeding time, but they have since managed to resolve conflicts more amicably. They are very active but spend a lot of time sleeping or crawling over each other and around mum. Today a few of them began taking shaky steps with heads and body parts bobbing about - very amusing to watch.
The calico kittens were born after and are smaller than the solid-coloured ginger and grey-black kittens. But they are very active and have mastered the art of latching onto their feeding spots and not letting go! I have so far resisted the urge to even touch the kittens and continue to enjoy the trust and purrs of the queen as I gently stroke her.

As I await the opening of their eyes, here are some photos from the last 5 days :)

>19 mr.philistine: Thanks so much for the update. The kittens seem to be thriving and I'm sure mum appreciates your efforts.

>19 mr.philistine: So cute!

Thanks for the update and the pics. So adorable. I witnessed a kitty with newly born kittens only once and was equally fascinated by everything. Loved the silly walk of little hamsters, and even more so the crab walk when they master their movements. They sort of jump sideways with back arched up, playing I guess as if they are hunting or fighting with someone, although they do it all by themselves

>22 SandraArdnas: ..the crab walk..

Yes, this walk is always funny to watch.. especially with an ending like this :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfx55uI4tYE

>23 mr.philistine: Haha.

Beware they like to bite toes once they get teeth, haha. Seriously, there was a month when all of them were obsessed with toes

>24 SandraArdnas: I hope they don't split reality or move travel back in time like this.. (sorry I couldn't resist).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U6OwTH_pgY

LOL, that one was a bit scary.

>25 mr.philistine: Any plans for them? 🙂

What a wonderful story and such beautiful pictures! Congrats on handling this unexpected situation so well - everyone seems to be thriving. Congrats on being a successful step-dad!

At some point, it does seem like you'll need help from an outside rescue group - get them all in foster care so they can be given appropriate shots and get into their forever homes. Mom, too will need spaying! :)

Thank you for posting this uplifting story. What's next for this precious little family?

>27 krazy4katz: >28 terriks:
These are early days and their eyes still haven't opened. I try not to think of the many things that could go wrong. But my first priority is monitoring that the kittens are active and breathing. To ensure this, the queen must be well fed and safe. I will continue this routine until the kittens are weaned and secretly hope to unleash an army of cats in our gated community! :)

Here is HRH taking time out of the nursery...

>29 mr.philistine: How lovely she looks! I am sure she feels she is the Queen of kittens!

A bright morning to all! May I recommend playing The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun OR Jimmy Cliff - I Can See Clearly Now in the background to help set the mood as you proceed further :)

Yes, today is a bright day for all the kittens too, the last of which opened its right eye today! They started opening their eyes on 01 July, 2022 but the sable-grey only opened its left eye yesterday and its right eye today. Needless to say I am relieved that all their eyes are bright and free of any visible signs of infection. They are now crawling over each other with purpose and intent as opposed to bumping about in the dark; and also wrestling each other.

About a week back, mum left the nest for about 4-hours straight and we were worried she might not come back but she did! Apparently, her trips will become more frequent now that 2-weeks have passed since the kittens were born on 22 June, 2022. She also carries a kitten out of the box and tries to bring it into the house before one of her outings. She has become a fussy eater and not quite as hungry as when she was pregnant or during the days immediately after giving birth.

I blow air over the kittens to drive off mosquitoes in the evening with the intention of also getting them used to my scent. The first reaction from a few early 'openers' was loud meowing, hissing and also spitting! They have since begun to scramble towards the sound of my voice. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold back and stroked their tiny heads as they reached out to me. A few of them are also born escape artists as you can see below!

First sight


One-eyed Jack!


Escape artists in training




Snuggle bug!

How adorable! You are very lucky to have this experience! Any plans for this lovely family?

Thanks for the update! I had been thinking about your family just this morning. I'm glad you are stroking them and socializing them. They will do much better when they are adopted (unless you are keeping all of them?). And have you named them?

Thanks for adding more pictures! They are growing fast and look healthy. Love them!!! It's wonderful that you're taking time to get them used to your voice and handling.

Is there a kitty rescue group you can contact? They'll be glad to step in to help, and likely get those kittens to safe new homes when they're old enough.

You're doing a great job! :)

Little sweeties

Once they get used to having regular meals, all strays become more picky about food :) As long as she's nursing them, she would continue to eat more than she normally would though. Ours was eating like crazy, but actually getting thinner until she weaned them.

Doing great as foster father. Pet them all you want. She let you be near when they were far more vulnerable, so she trusts you and they will get to know you soon enough and, as pointed out, be more socialized with humans in general.

Thank you for all your encouragement and suggestions.
But on 12 July, 2022 the cat and kittens had disappeared. Early that morning (at 02:40 hrs), I had woken to check on them and saw 2 kittens out of the box taking shaky steps as mum lay purring. About a week earlier I saw her carrying a kitten within our property and called her back. So it appears she was already in a mind to move them to another location, perhaps to initiate boot camp training? It is exactly 20-days since the kittens were born and now gone. I remind myself that as a stray cat she likely had a habitat before arriving at our porch almost 3-months back. I'm glad the kittens were in a safe and clean place until they opened their eyes. I will keep a watchful eye and ear and be sure to share photos of any updates. I have served my purpose in the grand scheme of things and wish mum and kittens all the luck and hunting skills in the world!

Last photo clicked on 11 July, 2022

Oh, I wonder why she moved the litter. They ares still very small at 3 weeks. I take it she does not come to be fed herself either, which probably means she has another place where she gets food. Hope you'll still see your kitty family and how they are doing.