Nursing and pregnant queens

[Georgey :)]

I wasnt sure where to put this but please move if needed :)
As a fosterer for the CPL I feel I should educate myself on nursing and pregnant queens. I have never encountered either as all of my cats have been spayed :)

I am at home all day every day and have been told I'll probably be getting mother and kittens alot. We are deffinatly in kitten season and our branch has taken in one queen, one nursing mother and 3 kittens and one single kitten just this week.

What do I need to know about them? I have a 107cm dog crate set up in my own bedroom, I can cover this, keep it shut, open it when needed, wipe it clean when dirty ect.

Should I handle mum or kitten's?
How much should I feed them?
Should I let mum out of the crate at all while the kittens are still suckling?
When are kittens weaned, and is there anything I need to do?
Same for litter training.
Should I put a shallow tray in rather than a deep one? Will the kittens just pee and poo on thier bedding? If so how should I go about changing it if mum is scared of me/very protective?

Sorry to bombard you!

[dandysmom]

Can't help as I've never had a pregnant/nursing queen, but many members have and hope they will be along soon with advice. Well done you for taking them on, sure all will go well! :D

[angieh]

Hi Georgey - this will be very exciting and a lovely way to learn more about cat care. I expect and sincerely hope that Cats Protection will give you any information you need to help you with your fostering task.

Here's a link (http://cats.about.com/od/reproduction/a/postnatal.htm) to be going on with - I find the Internet is invaluable for looking up stuff like this.

Good Luck - do let us know how you get on.

Have your first two foster kits moved on successfully now?

[yola]

Georgey - no personal experience of nursing queens here - however as a CP volunteer myself (admin side rather than fostering), I know that there is a large amount of information available for fosterers via the CP intranet.

Can you ask your co-ordinator for access as this will give you a huge amount of practical information which will help with the care of nursing queens and kittens.

You should not be given such critical situations to deal with unless you are happy/comfortable to do so. Again, please speak with your area co-ordinator for advice on how best to handle this specific situation.

[Georgey :)]

I have no doubt that they'll give me information they are very good I just like to do my own research aswell so I can get a wide range of information :)

I'll have to work out who the area co-ordinator is, I think we're getting a new co-ordinator at the moment! I'll have to ask someone :)

Angieh - thanks for the link :) Mikey has moved on, and there is a possible home for Gilly pending a home check and the all clear from the flu!!!