cat rescue turns into possible pregnant cat rescue

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cosmotortelloni

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Update: We saw a 3rd vet and she had an ultrasound. She has a clean bill of health and the ultrasound shows one kitten. We will definitely spay her after kitten is weaned. Kitten will be neutered/spayed when that time comes as well. My son wants the kitten. I bought Royal Canin dry kitten food, because all the wet food (kitten or cat) we've offered her, she won't eat. I also bought some PetAG KMR Kitten formula and made her a bowl, and she did a couple licks and turned her nose up on it.

Now for the not so good news....

She is now staying in a dog crate with soft blankets and bed sheets over it for privacy. She has such rage issues. A few days ago I walked out of my room and into the kitchen. She was by the basement stairs and without provocation, she suddenly lunged at me and was basically wrapped around my lower leg scratching and biting like crazy. I couldn't believe the amount of blood. One bite got infected. She was hanging on my skin for dear life and biting. I couldn't get her off. My husband finally was able to get her off and she went full rage on him. She has been here and there hissing at us, bullying our other cat every time he tried to eat or drink. She kept eating his food, drinking his water, using his litter box - even though we have 3 boxes set up. When he would try to use his own, she would chase him out of there. He's scared to death of her. It's a good thing he's a sweet loving and cowardly boy, because he's 3x her size! She also attacked my husband and even bit through his jeans. I'm pretty leery of her and I hate it. :(.

We are very concerned about her giving birth to the kitten. Will she be maternal? Will she let us assist if she won't take care of it? We are devastated how this has turned out. She is like a wild cat and honestly, we are both scared of her, of this situation, and what will happen to the kitten? We are hoping and praying that once she gives birth and when cat is weaned, she is spayed, that maybe she will be normal. We have no idea the torment she's been thru, and if she will always deal with PTSD, aggression, etc.
 
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cosmotortelloni

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Forgot to add, the vet said she could go into labor within a week
 

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There was another thread similar to this situation, and hopefully your mama is the same, where when the birthing is over, she returns to normal.

Are you able to set up your other cat in his own space with his own things, food water and litter, away from her?
 
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cosmotortelloni

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There was another thread similar to this situation, and hopefully your mama is the same, where when the birthing is over, she returns to normal.

Are you able to set up your other cat in his own space with his own things, food water and litter, away from her?
Well, she's in the dog crate now. We do put her in my office at night as there's a futon in the room and I put super soft blankets that she kneads on. She also has a window to look out of. I hate that she's in a crate in our living room in the corner, but I don't have any space left. But, since we have them separate now, he's happily using his stuff again.

The thing is, we don't know if she was ever normal. We found her when we were up north at our cottage. The vet said, hopefully after pregnancy and spaying, she will be better, but since we don't know her other than being pregnant, abandoned, and starving to death, who knows what "normal" is for her....

Thank you for replying
 

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SMH I wouldn't ever go back to that first vet you went too and not so sure about the second. I do hope the kitten is healthy. I understand the uncertanty, this beautiful lady in my profile pic drove me nuts for a long time, because the vet wasn't sure if she was pregnant or not. When approaching the 70 day mark she developed a large lump - turned out she had a false pregnancy and was full of milk.
 
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cosmotortelloni

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SMH I wouldn't ever go back to that first vet you went too and not so sure about the second. I do hope the kitten is healthy. I understand the uncertainty, this beautiful lady in my profile pic drove me nuts for a long time, because the vet wasn't sure if she was pregnant or not. When approaching the 70 day mark she developed a large lump - turned out she had a false pregnancy and was full of milk.
For sure! My husband and I are so frustrated. We have spent now over $1500 in vet bills. It's pretty unnerving to come across incompetent vets! I feel like I've learned more about all of this from this and other cat sites. It's been a huge stressor for both of us these past weeks. Also, when we were calling no kill shelters and the humane society, etc, they all were like, we don't want her. She's not adoptable, and given the advice from a couple of them to throw her out the door.
 

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She may have overstimulation syndrome, pretty common in females, and stroking past a certain point, (my Chrissy would attack on the third stroke, fine with two pets), being startled, or being put in a stressful situation can get them really aggressive. Being pregnant and full of all those hormones doesn't help. she may be VERY protective of her kitten too, I wouldn't let your other cat around for a while. Cats hide their emotions very well. She is still stressed out from being in a new environment, all those vet visits, etc. so I really think she will calm down in time, ESPECIALLY after she is spayed. She is just too stressed out by everything right now. If she attacks you again, pull her off by the scruff of skin on the back of her neck and hold her to the floor until she stops struggling and say NO loudly to let her know that is not allowed. Having her in a smaller, confined area, may actually help her feel more secure, just make sure she has a box or something to hide in. A utility room, or extra bedroom would help too.
Bless you, for helping her, I pray you everything will turn out alright.
 
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cosmotortelloni

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She may have overstimulation syndrome, pretty common in females, and stroking past a certain point, (my Chrissy would attack on the third stroke, fine with two pets), being startled, or being put in a stressful situation can get them really aggressive. Being pregnant and full of all those hormones doesn't help. she may be VERY protective of her kitten too, I wouldn't let your other cat around for a while. Cats hide their emotions very well. She is still stressed out from being in a new environment, all those vet visits, etc. so I really think she will calm down in time, ESPECIALLY after she is spayed. She is just too stressed out by everything right now. If she attacks you again, pull her off by the scruff of skin on the back of her neck and hold her to the floor until she stops struggling and say NO loudly to let her know that is not allowed. Having her in a smaller, confined area, may actually help her feel more secure, just make sure she has a box or something to hide in. A utility room, or extra bedroom would help too.
Bless you, for helping her, I pray you everything will turn out alright.
Thank you so much for this. I'll look into the overstimulation syndrome. She's so defensive. I want to cry thinking of all she has endured in her short life thus far. I also want to cry over all this stress, fear, unknown, etc.The vet gave my husband some liquid Gabapentin but was super cautious of us using it on her during labor, delivery, and nursing. I won't use it until after the kitten (praying will be alive and well-loved by her) is weaned, and then only if I feel we need to. I cannot wait until she's spayed - especially once she is recovered from the spaying.
 
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She's not eating or drinking in the crate prehaps because the litterbox is so close by. :(. I could only get her to eat by spoon feeding her at the bag of the crate Royal Canin wet kitten and mama food. Thank God that's the one wet cat food she will eat. So, after church I'm going to pick up more cans! BUT, the back of the crate is her bedding and towards the front on one side is the litter box and the opposite side is water and food. Though it's a dog crate, so somewhat bigger, still too close for these items for her liking.

She refuses to want to leave the cage. When we try to coax her gently to come back to my office during the hours I'm not working, it's just not her 'safe space' anymore. This is where she was since we got her. As her pregnancy progressed, she became more and more aggressive. She positions herself in the corner of the cage and will hiss if we try to have her come out.

So, any ideas on the placement of her food, water, and litter in such cramped quarters? The dog crate door is quite large. I was thinking of possible a cardboard piece to separate, but i know it will fall as soon as we open the door. UGH. Please help. Any and all ideas are appreciated. I hate that she's in there, but she seems to believe it to be her new safe space.
 

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She's not eating or drinking in the crate prehaps because the litterbox is so close by. :(. I could only get her to eat by spoon feeding her at the bag of the crate Royal Canin wet kitten and mama food. Thank God that's the one wet cat food she will eat. So, after church I'm going to pick up more cans! BUT, the back of the crate is her bedding and towards the front on one side is the litter box and the opposite side is water and food. Though it's a dog crate, so somewhat bigger, still too close for these items for her liking.

She refuses to want to leave the cage. When we try to coax her gently to come back to my office during the hours I'm not working, it's just not her 'safe space' anymore. This is where she was since we got her. As her pregnancy progressed, she became more and more aggressive. She positions herself in the corner of the cage and will hiss if we try to have her come out.

So, any ideas on the placement of her food, water, and litter in such cramped quarters? The dog crate door is quite large. I was thinking of possible a cardboard piece to separate, but i know it will fall as soon as we open the door. UGH. Please help. Any and all ideas are appreciated. I hate that she's in there, but she seems to believe it to be her new safe space.
I know many say not to put the kitchen next to the bathroom, but I've had many cats that I've had to keep in crates do just fine with that situation. She is probably just stressed, if she gets hungry enough she will eat and if she doesn't maybe try putting a box she can perch on and put the food on top.
 

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It is almost standard practice to crate cats and kittens in large dog crates for reasons of health and safety. I have certainly done it enough times and it seemed that the positioning of the food closer to the litter was not a problem. Of course, your cat might object, but if she sees this as her safe spot, I would be inclined to let her stay there and continue to feed her as you are given that you are awaiting the birth of the kitten which might change things, hopefully for the better.
 
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TYSM, CatladyJan CatladyJan and fionasmom fionasmom

You both helped this stressed cat mom feel better about her being crated. She is such a loving little girl in there wanting lots of pets and I happily oblige.

I was in Pet Supplies Plus to get some more kitten food and a worker there told me she has a Maine Coon at home pregnant with 10 kittens!!! She said she's normally a 25lb cat and is 35lbs right now. Poor thing
 

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Can you move the crate to your office and open the crate door for her to come out on her own when you are not working? Maybe put her food outside the open crate door for the night. I’d think she might appreciate coming out to move around and stretch her legs during the night at least.
 
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Can you move the crate to your office and open the crate door for her to come out on her own when you are not working? Maybe put her food outside the open crate door for the night. I’d think she might appreciate coming out to move around and stretch her legs during the night at least.
Thank you. That room is so tiny & that crate is too big for the little floor space that’s left.

We are going to try the box in there . Also gonna try to elevate her food and water dish and hope that when we get better. I really love this website. You guys are so kind to give your time and help! 👍🏻❤

Praying she doesn’t go full rage while we move her to clean up. Also, hope she loves the box and elevated dishes 🙏🏻
 
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She seems to like the crate with the box in there. She seemed content up until just now. My husband just checked on her and she hissed and let out some aggravated meows. When I walked over to see what was going on, she hissed at me. :( No labor signs and she's loving the Royal Canin kitten wet food.

I keep forgetting to ask this. Can an ultrasound later in cat pregnancy tell how many kittens? The vet said one, but I just read an article that said u/s cannot tell how many kittens. I'm just wondering if that's only for very early u/s.

Thanks!
 
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