Small young pregnant queen

Question
QUESTION: Hello Teresa, nice to meet you :-)
I should explain my situation a little so you can understand what I'm dealing with.
I live in a very small, isolated village on a Greek island and have aquired several cats since moving here. The nearest Vet is 2 hours drive away through the mountains and I don't have a car at the moment. I should also mention that the vets here do not appear to have as much knowledge/training as vets in more civilized cities.
In July last year, in the middle of a heat wave I found a small kitten, in very bad shape but after a lot of hard work, I brought her into good health though she is still very small for her age (about 10 months old) she's about the size of a 4-6 month old.
When she came into heat about a month ago I tried as hard as possible to keep her inside to avoid her becoming pregnant, however with 8 other cats in residence, this was not easy and she managed to slip out.
about 10 days ago, a friend was taking her cat to the vet and offered for me to go with her to get my cat spayed but the vet tried to explain (in broken English) that she was already pregnant (this vet should have been a vet, he sees cats as vermin) so he was pretty unhelpful I came away not knowing what on earth was going to happen.
I have done much research on the internet and I think my cat is about 4 weeks pregnant. I am very worried that my cat will not make it through the labour as she is so small, and that if she does make it through, that she will not know what to do with the kittens as she is still very much a kitten herself and that I will have to hand rear the kittens. I think I have a good idea of how to help her through labour if need be, and how to help the kittens start breathing, how to keep them warm and how to help them pee and poop etc, my main concern is feeding them. I can not buy things like special milk formular for newborn kittens, and although I have found a couple of 'recipes' for kitten milk on the internet, I can not get some of the ingredients, like glucose and evaporated milk, nor can I get a bottle & teat small enough for newborn kittens.
Many of the websites advise you to take your cat & kittens to the vet if problems occur but as I explained, this is not really a plausible option for me.
I want to prepare as much as I possibly can but I am feeling pretty lost and would really appreciate some help and direction from someone more knowladgable than myself.
Sorry this is such a long message and thank you for your time!
Hannah

ANSWER: Hi Hannah, I get many letters from people living in remote areas with NO veterinary supplies or help and trying to do the same as yourself... so you are not alone !
First off, I think you are worrying too quickly about this little girl. You will be amazed that she will probably have these kittens fine and nurse them fine an all will be well. she is from TOUGH stock that has kittens at a small size and a young age... BUT>.. she is at an advantage over her "street sisters" in that she has you and regular meals etc. So, she will do better than most !
So, we are going to assume she is going to be fine.. but do some basic prep just in case. So for the delivery you don't want to be interfering too much but if you can be around that will be very important for your cat. Some people try to pull the kittens out... DONT DO THIS>>> the most you should ever do is to hold a kitten while the mom pushes... but really try to let her do things herself.
Once the kittens are born be ready to cut the umbilical cord if need be.. but never use sharp scissors.. you need a dull pair of scissors or you will have too much bleeding.  the other thing you may need      
is to open the sacs. You will need a dry cloth to be able to get a grip on them and just puncture them with your nail and pull the kitten out. Get the kittens revived asap and you can be very very vigorous with them. They will not break ! Then your mom should take over :)
If for some rare reason you need to hand feed you can use a syringe with a bit of tubing on the end?? can you get a hold of something like that?? or even the baby finger of a rubber glove can work...
For formula.. evaporated milk is the best with any kind of syrup in it.. you can even make a sugar syrup of sugar and water.
If you really cant get evaporated milk then you can use goats milk... and boil it down so some of the water is gone and it is thicker.. can you get goats milk?? then add the sugar to it.. and you are good to go !!
You will also be able to easily find another foster mom in greece as there are so many cats running loose and pregnant.. so you can always "adopt" another mom cat and get her to help out.. and that will probably be your easiest solution.
I wish you luck.. but really 99/100 cats manage fine...
:)
Teresa          




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your reply, I feel heaps better with your advice. I think I am so worried because last year a full grown cat had her first litter in my house and then she left the kittens and as hard as I tried, they all died as I didnt have a clue what I was doing, I was thrown in at the deep end and I didnt have an internet connection back then, which is why I am trying to learn and prepare as much as possible for this litter as I dont want them to die too. I will do my best to find evaporated milk but for sure I can get goats milk and I will ask at the pharmacy if I can get a syringe with tubing, if not, I'll make sure I buy some small rubber gloves.
Thank you again for taking the time to read and reply to my email. You really have made me feel a lot better about this. It's not easy trying to look after so many cats on your own with no real vets and a major language barrier so it's great to have someone out there offering help and advice, all be it via emails :-)
Thanks a million!
Hannah


ANSWER: *** Hi Hannah, I am back from holidays and was wondering how your little girl was doing... ?? Teresa






Hi Hannah, well don't hesitate to write back as the time gets closer... I am on holidays from the 20th to the 30th.. but hopefully she will wait until I get back to have her babes... :)
Teresa

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hiya, I hope you had good holidays.

My little girl is doing alright. She looks about ready to pop so I'm keeping a very close eye on her and making sure she comes and stays inside at night.
She's eating loads, each time I see her she is eating but I guess thats a good thing.
Other than that she seems to be doing fine...
Are there any signs that I should be looking out for when she's about to give birth?
I've put a box down with a nice fleece blanket but she doesn't seem interested, she's going in places that I cant access, like behind the oven or under the TV stand... I hope she gives birth in a more convenient place than behind the oven! Do you know anything I can do to encourage her towards the box?
Thanks again!!!
Hannah

Answer
Hi Hannah, well I am glad she waited for me to get home.. haha
I find mine deliver about a week after I think they are going to POP and can't get any bigger! It sounds like she is starting to think about a good place to  have her babies. Make sure the box is in a dark safe place out of the traffic areas of your home. A closet it usually the most acceptable place. Sometimes they will be "exploring" other options but then when it comes time to deliver they will go to the box you have prepared for them even though they showed little interest in it previously ! If you are around when she comes into labour then just keep directing her towards the box. Most cats will have the kittens near you so if you are sitting by the box she will most likely use it.. and not always for the first kitten. She will probably be a little scared and confused and may have the first kitten on your bed or on the floor or on your lap but then just put it into the box and she will be fine for #2.
When the mom cats  are ready to come into labour they will have the sensation to use the litter box or will want to go outside to do this. They will go in and out of the litter box and will be licking themselves and restless. They usually become very meowy and will follow you around demanding your attention. They may go to the box and then leave again. they are fidgity. When the contractions start you will see a bloody discharge and she will arch her back almost as if she is going to have a bowel movement. You can usually feel the contractions on her side as it will get hard when the contraction is happening. Most cats get a glazed over look and don't move during contractions but will groan. It will make you want to get yourself SPAYED just watching her!!! cats don't usually eat within a few hours of labour starting and you may notice she is a little cool to the touch as they have a temperature drop just before delivery.
I hope that helps. Keep in touch of course ! Teresa