I Need Advice on Pregnant stray

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catperson3333333333

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I have a some questions.
Mom and her babies are very healthy. We have talked to the vet and he will see her in a few days, while we already have found families for the little ones. Me and my girlfriend have decided to adopt mom. We already fed and played with her for a long time, and she spent a latve part of basically every day comfortably sleeping inside the apartment, so we figured it wouldn't be difficult.

There is only one potential issue.

She has become kind of aggressive after having the babies. When I'm near the basket and she's inside she seems OK. But everytime we interact when she's outside she hisses at me. It usually isn't even near the babies. I could be minding my own business in the kitchen and she still hisses. I put some food in her bowl and she scratched it our of my hand. One other time she seemed affectionate, rubbing against my leg, before going blood thirsty and scratching me.

Before giving birth she was really affectionate and never hissed or scratched. I'm not referring to the duration of the pregnancy, as I know hormones can make her more affectionate, but for the last one-and-a-half to two years. Even when we first started feeding her, when one would expect her to be wary, she immediately showed physical affection.

My girlfriend remembers her having enlarged nipples some time around last spring, while the number of the cats in the neighborhood didn't rise at all, so her theory is her first litter was killed either by the cold or by male cats, and thus is extremely anxious and fearful it will happen again.

Another theory is because apartment is small, perhaps she doesn't view just the basket as her territory, but the entire room (where the kitchen also is), and doing anything there counts as coming close to the babies.

Do any of these theories sound plausible? Is this absolutely normal and I'm just overthinking? I have experience taking care of cats, but never mothers or strays, so this is a little out of my depth.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.
 

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catperson3333333333

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I should note that during the first day after the pregnancy she was her usual self, it's after the second day that she started acting like this. Nothing at all changed in the house, i have tried not to make any loud noises that could upset her (i haven't vacuumed or used the hair dryer), nor had any visitors.
 
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catperson3333333333

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Also, someone asked if we named her and i forgot to answer. Her name now is Maggie (As in the actress Maggie Cheung). I have grown to really adore this little creature, and i hope this agression is something temporary or that can be resolved as i really want to provide her a loving safe home.
 

Sarthur2

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You are over-thinking all of this. Her kittens are just 4 days old and she is hormonal from nursing and caring from them, and as overly-protective as any mother cat should be. Try to relax and let her be. You’ve done nothing wrong; she’s just on constant alert that you’d better not.

Is there a closet you could give her so that she and her babies have privacy for the next couple of weeks? A back corner of a closet? She might feel calmer.
 
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catperson3333333333

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Ok, i'm glad it's normal. There isn't really much space, but the basket she chose and currently stays with the babies is basically inside a library (so it's pretty private), and i tend to leave her alone and stay in my bedroom with the door closed, so she has half the house to herself. She hasn't moved the kittens, which i guess is a sign she feels safe in this place and doesn't see the need to hide them somewhere else. And she has fallen asleep with the kittens multiple times with me around, so it's probably not a conscious decision but hormonal automatic reaction.

I'm definitely overthinking lol. But it's a first for me and such an exciting time.
Thank you very much, i appreciate it a lot.
 

Cheeky_Moose

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The little kittens are adorable.
I just wanted to say catperson that my foster stray is doing the EXACT SAME THING. She was normal the first day and now we’re at Day 4 and she’s a different kitty. Super protective of the water and food bowl but happy to let me be near and watch her and the kittens. It’s super confusing and I just wanted to commiserate with you. It makes me feel so much better to know I’m not the only one struggling with this! I don’t mean to hijack your thread but I’ll be following along for any other suggestions people make. Hopefully the ragey hormones pass quick in our sweet kitty mommas!
 
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