AwwIf It Fits, I Sits: 10 Adorable Photos of Cats in Flower Pots

Catster

My first foster

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Tilly- [Adopted]

I want a- cuddle!!

Purred: Sat Jul 4, '09 4:32pm PST


	Just to introduce the rather elegant Tilly, a lovely spotted girl, full of kittens and also, my very first foster!! After a lot of doubt running up to this, we now feel totally that we've done the right thing, and this pretty kitty seems to think so too!

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I've never met a- kitten I didn't- like

Purred: Sun Jul 5, '09 2:26pm PST


	We are so glad you decided to foster - it is so rewarding that we don't know who gets the most out of it, us or the kitties. And to have your first foster be a pregnant Mama is extra special too. We got our feet wet with kittens first before we got a pregnant Mama. If you have any questions, problems, concerns, etc. about the birth, please p-mail us or post in this group. We usually check in every day or so. We have alot of knowledgeable members, although the group has been a little quiet lately. Hopefully that's because everyone is busy finding forever homes for kitties!! Let us know when the big event happens, and Good Luck to you and Tilly. Hugs and Purrs, Quincy

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Tilly- [Adopted]

I want a- cuddle!!

Purred: Mon Jul 6, '09 2:15am PST


	We've only got two problems so far. Firstly her belly is so big, and she is so small, she can't clean herself 'down there', is that a problem for the birth or general hygiene or not so much? Secondly, the rescue said to keep her in a puppy pen and not let her out, she thinks that's a very silly idea and decided to tell us so by waking my partner up at 6am by pawing his face in bed, we put her back twice but she's having none of it and would much prefer to snuggle with us in bed. Is this ok? I certainly don't mind the snuggles, but I'm worried about her jumping around.

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I've never met a- kitten I didn't- like

Purred: Mon Jul 6, '09 8:19am PST


	Her not being able to clean herself shouldn't be a problem. If she is not opposed, you could help her with a wet washcloth with some mild soap or baby shampoo on it. We give kittens "butt baths" when they are young and don't know how to clean themselves by filling up the sink a little and dipping them in there. Don't know if an adult would like that so much. What does your puppy pen look like? Is it an open pen that she can get out of? She is not going to stay somewhere she doesn't want to. Do you have other animals? If you have other animals, she is going to need a private place to have the babies where she doesn't feel threatened. All our Mamas have given birth in a spare bedroom where they had privacy and about half of them were also in a cage. You will want to pick a spot where you would like her to have the babies, although she probably will choose a different one. Most of them will go under a bed, in a closet, behind furniture, etc. After the birth you can move them to your chosen spot, but she may move them where she wants them. The puppy pen makes sense to keep the babies contained when they first start walking. When they are first born they stick by Mama or in a big pile when Mama leaves. They start wandering usually at 3 wks. or so. Three to 4 wks. is also the time to introduce them to the litter box. They should be contained until they get the hang of the box. I wouldn't worry at all about kitty jumping around. She is just being a cat - pregnant or not. Hope we have helped!! We are so excited for you!!

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Tilly- [Adopted]

I want a- cuddle!!

Purred: Mon Jul 6, '09 11:53am PST


	Tilly Is in our bedroom, and no other animals are allowed in. The initial plan was to have her in the spare room, but i got worried about her getting into difficulties overnight. The puppy pen is a four sided pen about a metre high, and the floor is paper covered and her bowls, tray and box lined with paper and blankets, which hopefully is where she'll have the kittens. We've tried to block off any other place in the room that she might want to have them, I have caught her rearranging my bed though, I really hope I don't lose my bed, or it'll be me sleeping in the spare room.

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I've never met a- kitten I didn't- like

Purred: Tue Jul 7, '09 3:47pm PST


	Two of our Mamas had their babies on the bed in the spare room, which turned out to be a messy affair. It's good we covered the bed with an old cover and also put towels down once the babies started comming. The first Mama had a newspaper lined box that she started arranging herself, but ended up having them on the bed next to me. After the birth she kept them in the box for about 3 wks. or so. It was the same for the other Mama. One had her babies in the bathroom cause that's where we decided to put her instead of putting her back in the bedroom. She had the run of the house prior to that, until we came home late one night to her meowing her head off. Her belly was rock hard and taut because she had started labor. It was like she crossed her legs and waited for us to come home. She had been laying in the bathroom a bit before this, and she fought me when I tried to put her back in her room. So I just got some old towels and let her have them on the rug while I layed all cramped on the floor watching. Another Mama who was in the bedroom had hers in the middle of the night under the bed. I collected them in the morning (no easy task) and put them in a cage, not knowing she had one more in her. So I missed seeing that whole litter born. Our other Mamas had their's in cages because they were either feral or gave birth within days of comming in. Our last one had her's in a somewhat dirty litter box. I put another box in the cage for her to use cause I wasn't sure of her temperment, and I didn't want to handle them too soon. I let them stay in there for about 3 days before I confined her to another part of the cage and put them in an empty litter box lined with sheepskin. I moved them to a big cardboard box when they were almost 4 wks. old, but the Mama kept taking them out and putting them in the closet. So I just gave up and made a nest for them in the corner of the room. They had many more accidents than they would have if they were confined, but they eventually learn to use the litter box exclusively. It sound like Tilly may use your bed to have her babies on. My friendliest Mamas have wanted to be near me - the very first one even meowed real loud to wake me up and was all frantic when I realized what was going on and left the room to put my contacts in. Her water broke practically the minute I returned and layed down on the bed with her. You may want to keep an old cover or some towels on hand in case it happens that way. Let us know when the big event happens. We are eagerly awaiting the new arrivals.

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Tilly- [Adopted]

I want a- cuddle!!

Purred: Wed Jul 8, '09 6:15am PST


	We have some old blankets and towels in our room, I collected the towels from friends and relatives before she came, but the rescue gave us a ton of blankets anyway. I think we're close, I really don't know, it's like she's having braxton hicks the last 24 hours, do cats get them? Or just humans? Her belly is pushed so far back that she has a crease in front of her hips, her milk leaks regularly, she's not moving about much, or meeting us at the door like she did before and every so often she lies on her side and starts mewing strangely. But then she'll bounce up and go for a walk or jump back into the cage for food. She also didn't get into bed with us last night, which is strange because every other night she's been snuggling up. She's still begging for fuss every time anyone goes in. I really don't know what I'm looking for though.

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Tilly- [Adopted]

I want a- cuddle!!

Purred: Wed Jul 8, '09 8:02am PST


	I had to add quickly, one of the kittens just wriggled to the side of her tummy and stuck right out. I traced my finger gently around it, and you could feel it's outline perfectly inside her tummy, how bizarre.

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I've never met a- kitten I didn't- like

Purred: Wed Jul 8, '09 10:16am PST


	Not meaning to scare you, but one of our Mamas had what looked like gentle contractions the whole day before she gave birth, and her first baby was stillborn She knew it too, as she had him as she was walking across the floor, as if she knew he wasn't alive. I took his sac off and tried to revive him, but he was gone. I just wonder if he wasn't stuck in the birth canal for too long. Another one of her babies only lived about a day. She had 2 besides that, plus we gave her an orphan when they were about 3 wks. old. Sadly, the orphan and one of her's died when they were about 6 wks. old, and only the runt survived to be adopted. The runt got returned when she was about a year old because her owners had to move. She was still so tiny as an adult. She got adopted right away after being returned, and hopefully she is living a good life still. Tilly sounds like she is very close between the contractions, the hard belly, the milk, and the babies moving around. Their uterus is horseshoe shaped, so the babies line up on both sides to be born. There is alot of movement before this, and it always reminds me of something out of the Alien movie. Another thing you may want to watch for is if she goes off her food. Most of them do for about 12-24 hours before birth. They usually get restless and cry, and their temp also drops. Of course you'll only know that if you want to keep taking it, and most kitties don't like their temp taken. Some of the links at the bottom of the main page here have to do with pregnancy and birth. You may just want to browse those because they have helped me in the past. Also, there are list of supplies you may need and things you can do if something goes wrong - which we pray it doesn't. Good Luck and have fun. It is really amazing to watch kittens being born.

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Tilly- [Adopted]

I want a- cuddle!!

Purred: Wed Jul 8, '09 12:04pm PST


	I didn't want to do the whole temperature thing. No desire to freak her out any more than having four homes in a week has done. She doesn't seem to be in any distress, should I worry? I thought if something went wrong she'd be making a lot more fuss. Is there anything I can check to see if we've run into problems?

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