Kittens and mama cat in danger?

persiancatlover

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Hi, There is a mama cat and her kittens at my father's business property. There all pretty skinny. Specially the kittens. Their bones show and everything. We are leaving food and water for them everyday and they eating because I do see improvement but there still underweight. We try to catch them but there too fast. We even called animal control and they said if WE catch them they'll pick them up. What else can we do for these cats?
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by persiancatlover

Hi, There is a mama cat and her kittens at my father's business property. There all pretty skinny. Specially the kittens. Their bones show and everything. We are leaving food and water for them everyday and they eating because I do see improvement but there still underweight. We try to catch them but there too fast. We even called animal control and they said if WE catch them they'll pick them up. What else can we do for these cats?
What you need to do is to borrow a couple of humane traps from your local humane society or TNR group and trap this mom and her kittens. I would not involve your local shelter because it is likely that these cats will be euthanized. The BEST thing you can do is to trap the family, get them all fixed and then determine whether you can socialize the kittens and mom or whether the mom needs to be returned back outdoors.

There are lots of TNR groups in California:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#ca

and here is a list of lowcost spay/neuter clinics:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/stca.html

Here is information on TNR:

http://www.alleycat.org/visitor.html

Katie
 

jen

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Remember that cats, especially nursing mothers are going to be very cautious of humans approaching that they don't know. They could be feral or they could just be scared. I have found that many times, the one's I thought were feral turned out to be very sweet once I got them inside, out of danger, in a clean quiet room to themselves and feed them.

Anyways, don't call animal control, they will most likely euthanize them immediately. Good chance your local rescue or humane shelter is full too. Best thing to do is to get them in, fixed, and rehomed.

Good luck.
 
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persiancatlover

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Originally Posted by TNR1

What you need to do is to borrow a couple of humane traps from your local humane society or TNR group and trap this mom and her kittens. I would not involve your local shelter because it is likely that these cats will be euthanized. The BEST thing you can do is to trap the family, get them all fixed and then determine whether you can socialize the kittens and mom or whether the mom needs to be returned back outdoors.

There are lots of TNR groups in California:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#ca

and here is a list of lowcost spay/neuter clinics:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/stca.html

Here is information on TNR:

http://www.alleycat.org/visitor.html

Katie
I think thats a wondeful idea. I will get to it right away. Thanks so much!
 
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persiancatlover

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Originally Posted by TNR1

What you need to do is to borrow a couple of humane traps from your local humane society or TNR group and trap this mom and her kittens. I would not involve your local shelter because it is likely that these cats will be euthanized. The BEST thing you can do is to trap the family, get them all fixed and then determine whether you can socialize the kittens and mom or whether the mom needs to be returned back outdoors.

There are lots of TNR groups in California:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#ca

and here is a list of lowcost spay/neuter clinics:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/stca.html

Here is information on TNR:

http://www.alleycat.org/visitor.html

Katie
Ok, I looked at the first site and I can't find TNR groups in my area
 

gayef

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I would call your local vet's office and ask the front desk people this question ...

"Who, in our area, would be the people to call for assistance with a trap, neuter and return program for a colony of feral cats?"

The front desk staff at your local vet's office is a wonderful resource for information on and about the animal community at large in their area. They tend to be very helpful and if they personally do not know the answers, they will go to the vet techs and even the vets themselves to ask for help.

They would be my first call.
 

catsknowme

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Originally Posted by gayef

I would call your local vet's office and ask the front desk people this question ...

"Who, in our area, would be the people to call for assistance with a trap, neuter and return program for a colony of feral cats?"

The front desk staff at your local vet's office is a wonderful resource for information on and about the animal community at large in their area. They tend to be very helpful and if they personally do not know the answers, they will go to the vet techs and even the vets themselves to ask for help.

They would be my first call.
Excellent advice! The vet's office often knows who might just have recently "had an opening" in their home for a cat; who is likely to volunteer to help trap/monitor, etc.
 
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persiancatlover

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Originally Posted by gayef

I would call your local vet's office and ask the front desk people this question ...

"Who, in our area, would be the people to call for assistance with a trap, neuter and return program for a colony of feral cats?"

The front desk staff at your local vet's office is a wonderful resource for information on and about the animal community at large in their area. They tend to be very helpful and if they personally do not know the answers, they will go to the vet techs and even the vets themselves to ask for help.

They would be my first call.
I've contacted two vets and even animal control on this matter and no help whatsoever. I'm at a lose as to what to do right now. I feel so bad for these innocent kittens. They still have a chance at life but not sure about the mother.
 

callista

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Animal control wouldn't even let you borrow a humane trap!? Maybe you can get one from another source... a vet maybe?

If you can trap them, you can take care of them yourself, if you have a quiet room to put them in. A big dog kennel for the mom and kits, some quiet music, and a calm, non-pushy human caretaker... Vet care (you might have to sedate the mom), flea treatments, worming, FIV/FLV testing (positive cats should be isolated from other cats, but can live a reasonably healthy life)... At least the kittens would have a safe place to grow up in.

Provide a hidey-hole for the mom. She'll want somewhere where she feels safe, if she's feral. And if she's stray, she'll still want to approach cautiously from a safe position.

Feral cats often look thin but healthy... they have adapted to their environment. So what you've got is either a feral that something has happened to--disease, accident, weather, maybe having to provide for kittens--to throw off its adaptations enough that it's now doing poorly. Strays are often thin and mangy-looking because they're not used to surviving on their own. So if your cat is healthy and her environment hasn't been too bad, she was likely owned by a human at some time--at least in kittenhood--or is a first-generation feral for whom socialization may be marginally possible (to the "I tolerate humans but don't let them touch me much" stage).

Do a web search on socializing feral kittens--it is possible.
 
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persiancatlover

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Originally Posted by Callista

Animal control wouldn't even let you borrow a humane trap!? Maybe you can get one from another source... a vet maybe?

If you can trap them, you can take care of them yourself, if you have a quiet room to put them in. A big dog kennel for the mom and kits, some quiet music, and a calm, non-pushy human caretaker... Vet care (you might have to sedate the mom), flea treatments, worming, FIV/FLV testing (positive cats should be isolated from other cats, but can live a reasonably healthy life)... At least the kittens would have a safe place to grow up in.

Provide a hidey-hole for the mom. She'll want somewhere where she feels safe, if she's feral. And if she's stray, she'll still want to approach cautiously from a safe position.

Feral cats often look thin but healthy... they have adapted to their environment. So what you've got is either a feral that something has happened to--disease, accident, weather, maybe having to provide for kittens--to throw off its adaptations enough that it's now doing poorly. Strays are often thin and mangy-looking because they're not used to surviving on their own. So if your cat is healthy and her environment hasn't been too bad, she was likely owned by a human at some time--at least in kittenhood--or is a first-generation feral for whom socialization may be marginally possible (to the "I tolerate humans but don't let them touch me much" stage).

Do a web search on socializing feral kittens--it is possible.
I'll have to recontact animal control and see if they will let me borrow a humane trap but when I told them about the story didn't suggest anything. All they said was they would pick up the cats if WE caught them which is impossible since they run from us. Now I do have other cats so i'm not sure if I can take of them myself. I'm a busy mom of three kids and I work part time so I am busy. Say if I did catch them who would I give them too?
 

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Originally Posted by persiancatlover

I'll have to recontact animal control and see if they will let me borrow a humane trap but when I told them about the story didn't suggest anything. All they said was they would pick up the cats if WE caught them which is impossible since they run from us. Now I do have other cats so i'm not sure if I can take of them myself. I'm a busy mom of three kids and I work part time so I am busy. Say if I did catch them who would I give them too?
What area are you in?
 

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Is there any way you can get a dog crate? Maybe yuo can hook it up with a long string on the door and run the string through the cage, out the back, and about 20 feet away so they won't see you. Put wet food in the crate, wait for the mama and/or kittens to go inside, give em a second to get comfy and then pull the door shut! I know it sound kinda silly, but I think it will work. You can keep doing it til you have all of them.

I'm not good and describing things, do you understand what I'm saying to do? Does it sound like a good idea?
 
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persiancatlover

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Originally Posted by TortieBaby

Is there any way you can get a dog crate? Maybe yuo can hook it up with a long string on the door and run the string through the cage, out the back, and about 20 feet away so they won't see you. Put wet food in the crate, wait for the mama and/or kittens to go inside, give em a second to get comfy and then pull the door shut! I know it sound kinda silly, but I think it will work. You can keep doing it til you have all of them.

I'm not good and describing things, do you understand what I'm saying to do? Does it sound like a good idea?
If any of the kittens or the mama cat sees or hears us they start running away. And I don't wanna scare them because unfortunately there is a busy street road next to us and my fear is they'll run in that direction and get killed
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by persiancatlover

If any of the kittens or the mama cat sees or hears us they start running away. And I don't wanna scare them because unfortunately there is a busy street road next to us and my fear is they'll run in that direction and get killed
This is why you need to borrow a humane trap and trap this family so that mom can be spayed and the kittens can be socialized. Contact your local humane society or vet office about borrowing a humane trap. You will be doing this family a huge favor by stopping the breeding.

Katie
 
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