We recently just got "adopted" by a cat that is feral and will not let us touch her. Her name is Charly. She will come by to eat food, but will run away if anyone gets close to her. I recently looked at her one day, and thought to myself "Why is she so fat?" Then it hit me. Charly is probably pregnant! She is huge by the abdomen and it has gotten bigger and bigger over the weeks. I am worried abut her because all of the websites I read say that she should be taken inside for birth, but she will NOT allow that! I also cannot examine her myself, and see if she may be pregnant because she will not allow us to be near her. I don't want her to have a heart attack if we trap her and bring her to the vet either. I don't know what to do because we had a feral cat who gave birth outside, and a dog came by and ate two out of the four kittens. We still have one of them. He is 18 years old now. Charly does have a nice warm place to nest in if she does give birth outside. She sleeps in a trash can with leaves in it. She seems to like it a lot. We also have another outside cat that loves us and will let us touch her, but she is fixed. I'm wondering if she can coach Charly or help in some way that I can't during the birth. Thank you for reading this.
Responses (1)
Pregnant animals of any kind are very unwilling to let anyone touch them, don't take it personally. You could try bringing a vet to your home so they can try and predict when the litter will be born. You could make sure you are home or available at least around that time. Try and coax her indoors without using any form of contact perhaps offer her food as she will become more comfortable in your house's environment if you do your best not to stress her. in general offering of food or shelter tend to win a bit of trust from pregnant animals. You could also leave a bed or blanket and lead her to it with food. If she become acclimated to the bed, then it would be good if she sleeps in it regularly and willingly as she may choose it as a prime position to give birth in. Make sure it is well sheltered if it is outside and away from eyesight as many animals do not feel safe when they are being watched.