taking the kittens soon

Hi everyone,

Quick background: We rescued a cat a couple of months ago who happened to be pregnant. The cat now lives with my brother's family (they have 4 other cats) and we plan to take the kittens as soon as they are 10-12 weeks old.

Here is my question: When this happens, and the Mom is separated from the kittens, will she (or the kittens) miss the other? Should we expect sadness from any of them? Will the Mom go on like nothing happened, or should my brother expect her to look all over the place for the kittens?

Thank you!

She may look for the kittens for a few days, but I would not worry since the kittens are old enough to leave. She would begin to distance herself from them anyway. I do hope your brother is booking an appointment to have her spayed. Do not let her out - she can get pregnant again.

And you can schedule your kittens too for neuter/spay now instead of waiting.

Thanks!

The Mother cat is going to be 100% indoor. His other cats (3 boys and a girl) are all fixed and she will be as well. Currently, she is living in her own room with the kittens and the plan is to fix her shortly.

As for our soon to be kittens, we already have a tentative appointment with the new vet.

Different cats act differently, but the chances are good that yes, Momma will miss and look for her babies. She may call out loudly for them, she may patrol the house looking for them and she may not be interested in food or anything else. If this is the case with your girl, then I can tell you from personal experience that it will be heartbreaking for you to watch and so you will want to try to do everything you can to comfort her when the time comes. Keep her close by and give her lots of love ... you can also try to engage her in play with one of those fishing pole-type toys (my girl loves those things!) to distract her a bit if she's interested and it should only last a couple of days at most, but yes, she will pine for them.

As for the kittens ... are you taking all of them? How many is that total? If they all come together as multiple cats then they might look for Momma a bit at first, but mostly, they will look to and for each other when they need comfort. After they are used to you, they will warm up and perhaps come to you for love and comfort.

We are taking both kittens (she had two).

I know all cats are different, but will it help the Mother that she will be in a hose with 4 other cats?

Gayef and Goldenkitty45 have good information/advice for you, which should be helpful. Cats, contrary to some opinions, DO bond deeply in families! I know this from personal experience, and always try to keep families together whenever possible. Thank you for adopting BOTH kittens; and you and your brother sound like wonderful, caring, responsible people. THANK YOU.

Thanks. My wife and I lost our dog of 14 years back in March. It was time to start thinking about another pet when this tiny white cat showed up on our doorstep. Too us several weeks to catch her, but we did...and the rest is history.

Did I hear mention of a white cat? Any chance you've got pics?

Any plans on names for the new "kids"?

May you both be many times blessed for your kindness -- and I'm sure you will not regret rescuing this little one. Cats are captivating, lovely, sweet, unconditionally loving and loyal, and you are in for a wonderful experience!

Ok, here is the story.

As I mentioned, we had a dog for 14 years. Like most of you, we spoiled the heck out of her and blurred the line between pet and child. When she died, it took us a while to even consider another one. When we both felt we were ready, and made it known to members of out family (siblings mostly) my brother and sister-in-law started to talk to us about considering cats. They were dog people as well, but made the decision a few years ago to try cats, as they (correctly) believed cats are more independent and better fit into their work schedule. Needless to say, with 14 years of dog history, we were not convinced.

At about the same time, this little white cat started coming near the house. Over a period of time, she came closer and closer but did not allow us within 5 feet of her. Against my wife’s wishes, I started to feed her and give her water everyday. She really gobbled the food, but we could not catch her.

On July 4th, my brother and SIL traveled the 250 miles to our house and they both fell in love with the cat when they saw her. A neighbor suggested we try an animal cage with and place some tuna in it. We did, but nothing happened. At the end of the day, my brother drove home, his parting words were, “if you catch the thing, we will take her (they have 4 cats already)”.

A few hours after he left, she sprung the trap and we got her! So, at 10pm, we started the 5 hour drive to Chicago. Getting her out of the cage at his house was a challenge, as she clawed and bit everyone in site. She was taken to the vet the next day and found to be very healthy, and PREGNANT.

My wife and I talked it over and felt this whole thing was a sign from our late dog that we should have a pet again, but it should not be another dog!

To wrap up the story, Mother and kittens are doing great and we expect to pick the kittens up in about 2-3 weeks.

We have named them Mimi and Horowitz. That is a story in itself, but we wanted to somehow name them after my brother in thanks for helping save the Mother. Those two names sound awfully like two words he could not pronounce when growing up, and we just told him to say “Mimi” and “Horowitz” as both are close enough to what he was trying to say.

We have pics, but I do not know how to get them loaded to the site.

If you read the Sticky's at the top of the page of posts on the New Cats on the Block forum, you'll get all the TCS rules, including how to post photos. We can't wait to see 'em.

My neice took all the pics and has them here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...d&x=1&y=b1sfea

If it makes you log in:

Name = Cat
E-mail: [email protected]
Password: kitten

Hmmm, it didn't accept that, saying you already have an account. It would allow me to email you for your password, but THAT wouldn't help, either. Dang!

Originally Posted by kapmeister

We are taking both kittens (she had two).

I know all cats are different, but will it help the Mother that she will be in a hose with 4 other cats?

Click to expand...

It may be helpful that there are other cats around her, but honestly, I would expect a period of grieving from her regardless of the other cats. As Tarasgirl06 accurately points out, cats tend to bond in "families" and will grieve when a "family member" dies or in some other way, is no longer there. Mother cats (referred to as "Queens") are possessed with a very strong sense of instinct when it comes to their kittens. They are the sole source of survival for their babies and will fight to the death to protect them. So, it isn't unusual to see a queen grieve deeply when first separated from her kittens.

Try again. I might have been logged in testing the password. The alternative is for you to just join. It is free, and only takes a second to sign up.

Any guesstimate on how long it takes for her to get through this? On the one hand, I know we saved her (and her babies) by getting her in the cage. On the other hand, I'd hate to think we are going to make her miserable for a long period of time.

thank you

I'm so excited for pics! If you need any help figuring out how to post them, you can PM me! Just click on my username, then click "send a private message to white cat lover"!

Originally Posted by kapmeister

Any guesstimate on how long it takes for her to get through this? On the one hand, I know we saved her (and her babies) by getting her in the cage. On the other hand, I'd hate to think we are going to make her miserable for a long period of time.

thank you

Click to expand...

It should only be a few days at most before she moves on. I know you said you would be getting her spayed, but truthfully, if you can time it for right around the same time as you will be taking the kittens, her recovery from that might be just the distraction she needs - it may help to minimize her separation anxiety.

Let's see if these work...

Keep in mind that the Queen (picituted) is only 5-6 pounds.




http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat8.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat7.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...r-cats/Cat.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat6.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat5.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat4.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat3.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...-cats/Cat2.jpg

They worked! Yay! And OMG....little tiny babies are soooo cute!