There is a stray cat (we call her Big Gray) that hangs around my parent's home. She is pretty tame - we believe that she was a pet at one time because she's declawed. She had kittens a week ago, Aug. 11, underneath a bush on their back porch! My dad created a fort of sorts around the corner from the bush, and Gray moved her kittens in it. We made sure the door was only large enough for a cat to get in since there are many predators around - coyotes, hawks, male cats. They live out on a farm, and there are now a few cats that live out in the fields. I feel responsible for them since I brought a male cat, bobtail, to their home, since I live in an apartment complex in town, and I was so afraid he was going to get killed. It took some time to trap him since he was feral and we couldn't touch him. He was actually en route to a woman who owns a shelter in the neighboring town when my dad opened the door to his carrier to feed him and he got loose in the yard. Since, he's been living in the field, mated with Gray, and has had 5 cats. We got one of the females spayed, but the rest are tough to catch, and we think the one belongs to someone else as it only hangs around here in spurts. Gray, though, we had hoped to spay before she got pregnant again. She'd had kittens, but she had them in the fields somewhere, and none of them survived. Luckily, she had this litter nearby the house. Even so, when the kittens become mobile, we're so afraid of them wandering away, and also, what if Gray moves them again? We know that cats don't like humans around their kittens, so we only check on them a few times a day, and make sure Gray has plenty of food and water.
Gray, as I said, is pretty tame. She'll let us pet her and even pick her up, but she seems to not trust us as much since she's had her babies. She moved her babies one at a time to the fort we'd created, but strangely, left one kitten under the bush for an hour or so after she'd already moved the rest. She had taken some time in between moving each one, I guess to get the others comfortable. But this one poor baby was up there crying for an hour - I finally went out and talked to it, wanting it to cry more to attract Gray's attention, but she seemed not to care. I was so afraid she'd abandoned that poor thing that I put on gloves and gently brought the kitten to the new nest. Gray didn't seem to mind, and nursed the kitten. Anyway, we're afraid of messing with them too much, but we're also afraid of predators. There is enough room in the fields and woods for a few cats, but it's still pretty dangerous even for full-grown cats. We thought the coyotes were gone as hunters killed some, but a neighbor let us know she saw one last night. We're thinking of putting the cat family in our garage. We can't think of anywhere else where they'll be safe and have enough room. My dad is clearing off a large section for them, but we're trying to weigh the pros and cons and decide when is the best time to move them. They're a week old and the eyes aren't open. There are six. We just want them to make it. We don't know what we're going to do with them all, though we do have a home for at least one of them. Is it possible that if the mother is scared enough, that she won't care for the kittens? I believe she trusts us, but I don't want to touch the kittens too much - is it true she could abandon them? Sorry for such a long post, but if you could offer any advice, I'd appreciate it.
Gray, as I said, is pretty tame. She'll let us pet her and even pick her up, but she seems to not trust us as much since she's had her babies. She moved her babies one at a time to the fort we'd created, but strangely, left one kitten under the bush for an hour or so after she'd already moved the rest. She had taken some time in between moving each one, I guess to get the others comfortable. But this one poor baby was up there crying for an hour - I finally went out and talked to it, wanting it to cry more to attract Gray's attention, but she seemed not to care. I was so afraid she'd abandoned that poor thing that I put on gloves and gently brought the kitten to the new nest. Gray didn't seem to mind, and nursed the kitten. Anyway, we're afraid of messing with them too much, but we're also afraid of predators. There is enough room in the fields and woods for a few cats, but it's still pretty dangerous even for full-grown cats. We thought the coyotes were gone as hunters killed some, but a neighbor let us know she saw one last night. We're thinking of putting the cat family in our garage. We can't think of anywhere else where they'll be safe and have enough room. My dad is clearing off a large section for them, but we're trying to weigh the pros and cons and decide when is the best time to move them. They're a week old and the eyes aren't open. There are six. We just want them to make it. We don't know what we're going to do with them all, though we do have a home for at least one of them. Is it possible that if the mother is scared enough, that she won't care for the kittens? I believe she trusts us, but I don't want to touch the kittens too much - is it true she could abandon them? Sorry for such a long post, but if you could offer any advice, I'd appreciate it.
