Halp! How can I tell if a cat has given birth recently or not?

[Flaxbee]

OK, weird question perhaps, but I can't decide if I should incarcerate this female overnight (pre-trip to the vet's) or should let her go in case she's got babies somewhere...

She's got a round belly, and distended nipples so she's close to giving birth (if she hasn't already) - I just can't tell. She's been eating a lot b/c I've been feeding her what seems like every other hour since she showed up a few nights ago (Friday night), but I think her "fullness" is from more than food. She's here in the a.m. and the evenings, but gone all day; I had her locked into our screened porch this morning getting ready to take her to the vet's but she escaped (pushed part of the screen out) so I'm going to try again in the morning.

It doesn't feel as if the babies have "dropped" - her roundess is still high, not down between her hind legs.

I just don't know what to do. I'll be up until at least midnight, then will be up again at 6am calling for her and I don't know if I should trap her in the downstairs bath (something my husband is against, b/c he's really worried she's already had her babies) or if I should just crapshoot the next six hours and hope she doesn't have them then...

Halp! Who here can give me some advice?

[crispini]

1. I would think if she still feels pretty fat

she's still preggers. They get quite flat after they have had their kits.

[mike_c]

2. if she's got very newborns she won't spend much time away...

...from them, and if she's coming to your door then they're very nearby. It sounds like she might be pregnant-- follow her around and if she has kittens, you'll likely find them.

[SoCalDem]

3. There would be dried milk on her fur next to her nipples

if she had babies.. It sounds like she is about to have them... Poor little thing..:)

If she comes around for feeding, just scoop her up in the am and haul her off to the vet.. they will know for sure :)

[benddem]

4. agree with above

she won't go far or stay away from the babies. Is she nesting? Looking for a place to have the kitties? They pretty much do that. That's why human females have the urge to clean the house before they go into labor.

[Bouncy Ball]

5. If she'll let you feel her belly enough

you might be able to feel the kittens move. Then you'd know for sure, but I agree with the others, she sounds pregnant.

[Flaxbee]

6. thanks, all, for your input...

I think she's still preggers, too, but my husband was totally convinced he "heard kittens mewing in the bushes" by our house - I was going to incarcerate her in the bathroom downstairs tonight but then I started to worry, it's going to be cold here tonight and I envisioned frozen little babies if I kept their momma away from them.

If I sit next to her, she purrs and kneads and paces and just in general seems like she can't get comfy, and with a belly full of kittens, it's no wonder. I have a box full of towels next to a litter box on the porch with the door propped open so perhaps if she needs a place tonight she'll come back. She's used that litter box, so at least the area smells familiar.

I'm going to start hollering for her at 6am, then off we go to the vet's.

Sigh. Poor momma cat! I think I know who knocked her up, too, and he's going to the vet next week to get his jingle bells snipped.

[susanna]

7. LOL

I know I shouldn't, but this:

"Sigh. Poor momma cat! I think I know who knocked her up, too, and he's going to the vet next week to get his jingle bells snipped." That just kind of set me off laughing. I'm sorry...

P.S. I am not a good cat judge; if you had asked about dogs, oy the stories I could tell about pregnant/just birthed/ready to get knocked-up canines... ;-)