Pregnant stray cat...tips!

Lovely looking cat, with eyes like that looking at you, I think she has plans for you, anniehoo..

Gorgeous kitty! I can see why you've taken a shine to her.
Milbemax tablets are great broad spectrum wormers and are safe for use during lactation and/or pregnancy. I'd try to get the tablet into her now before she has the kittens and then you can worm the kittens every 2 weeks from 2 weeks of age.
Oh and about spaying- I'd try to do it around 6 weeks after she has the kittens. If you're really unlucky she could get pregnant again that soon!

First, keep her indoors, and commit to keeping her indoors throughout the rest of the pregnancy and until the kittens are weaned. There is always a risk of injury or death to cats with unrestricted outdoor access, and I'd be worried that, even though she might not intend on going far, a kick from a person or a smack from a car would be enough to necessitate a trip to the vet, and more importantly, you'd have to get your 2-hour-round-the-clock-handfeeding mojo on for her kittens.

Additionally she may well decide she doesn't fancy your spare room and go give birth to her kittens under a bush outside.

In terms of what to expect and when, gestation averages 65 days. In the last 48 hours before she gives birth, she may nest (you want to provide her a large, high-sided cardboard box lined with newspaper or an old blanket or towel - something that won't snag on her claws or the kittens would be good). You can make a good kittening box by taking a sturdy cardboard box about two feet square, and cut one of the sides down by two thirds so the queen can get in and out but the 'wall' helps keep the kittens in the box while they're tiny.

If there's any requirement at any stage for you to use a heat pad or a hot water bottle with your queen and her new kittens, make sure you always put the heat source to one side so kittens can get off it if they get too hot. Even small kittens will roll away from the heat if it gets too much. I've seen some instances where very well-meaning people have killed tiny kittens sitting them atop a towel atop a hot water bottle - they just get too hot and try to roll away, and if they can't get away from it they will overheat and die.

As well as nesting, her mammary glands will increase in size and she may begin producing milk in the last 48 hours, plus she may go off her food a bit. (That appetite will come back with a bang after she has the kittens!) However if she goes off her food entirely for 24 hours or becomes lethargic or depressed, call the vet.

Don't worm her while she's pregnant. She doesn't look to be hopelessly thin and in terrible condition in the picture, so no need to worm her just yet. Wait until the kittens are a couple of weeks old and feeding and growing well. Give the vet a call and request a good worming med for a nursing mother. I wouldn't use a spot-on medication on a nursing mother with young kittens either, so stick to oral meds. Better for the meds to be passed through the kitten via the stomach through the mother's milk than passed into the kitten via the placenta while they're still being formed. Milbemax is indeed a very good wormer but my personal preference would still be to wait until the kittens are two weeks old.

Cats can get pregnant as soon as two weeks after having a litter. It depends on the cat. I've seen quite a few queens push the kittens away at about 6 weeks old and start to call. You'll *know* if your queen is calling - yowling, bum in the air, trying to escape. If you're keeping her indoors-only and not allowing her to escape, you can pick your spey time at the vet. Ideally waiting until the kittens are 8-10 weeks old would be good, but you need to make certain she can't escape. If you can't guarantee that, talk to the vet about booking her in when they're six weeks old.

Don't let her out. Don't stress her out. Let her get on with it. It can take a few hours to deliver a whole litter of kittens. If she doesn't want to be in that box, don't put her in there.

Where has she set up in your room? What's she up to right now?

Okay, more info:

If you're dealing with an anxious, timid cat, you're going to stress her out utterly if you keep opening and closing the door to watch her. Grab a sleeping bag and a cup of coffee and a book, and head in there slowly and calmly and sit on the floor and read your book. Speak soothingly to her, but no fast movements. Either that, or stay out!

Some cats nest, some pick something other than the nest you've provided. Plenty of people have set up nesting boxes in their bedroom to find the cat giving birth on their duvet that afternoon.

To make yourself feel better, get a few things together - clean towel, kitchen paper for cleaning up just in case, the number for an emergency vet like UCD who can calm you down 24 hours a day over the phone if you get anxious, so on.

She'll do the work herself - she'll chew through umbilical cords, she'll wash and nudge kittens - with an anxious cat who isn't quite tame, I'd be participating as little as possible. At most I'd pick up a kitten gently and place it against her belly for suckling - and ONLY if she was pushing the kitten away.

If she's pushing a particular kitten away you may need to intervene to make sure the kitten is breathing - sometimes a wee intervention of giving them a gentle rub in a clean towel can get the party started, as it were, and you can drop them at her belly to suckle and she'll then accept them.

Don't panic too much - instinct is a marvellous thing.

Nah if she was feral you wouldn't even be able to take pics of her. She's just stressed.

If you have to handle her at any point for any reason, move slowly and extend your hand towards her with fingers curled under unthreateningly, not outstretched. When you do touch her, be firm and very gentle, but don't be hesitant or tentative because that can cause more agitation.

Any change since this morning?

You're both doing really really well. Seriously well done.

I can't wait to see pics and updates on these babies.

That's so sad, anniehoo. Poor Molly and poor you, too, you did everything right for her and now this sad ending.
At least you know that she is safe and if she'd given birth somewhere else that might not be the case.

Oh Anniehoo, i feel so bad for you, you've gotten so attached to Molly and seeing her babies probably only made you closer, its terrible when kittens don't survive, but it does happen. My heart goes out to you XXX