Death Row Dilemma!

dottydotcom

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Help me to make a decision. A mama cat and her three kittens showed up about three weeks ago. (We like cats and already have a cat.) We have found a good home for one of them but can't place the other two. We cannot care for them. So far, we've let them be "barn cats" and live outside. We keep them supplied with good food and fresh water and they are very happy playing and scampering about. There's a storage shed for them to use as shelter.

We're going to have to take them to the animal shelter before they grow too much more. They might stand a slight chance of being adopted but I seriously doubt it. At the shelter they keep them for several days, sometimes a couple of weeks before declaring them non-adoptable and euthanizing them.

If we take them to the shelter they'll surely be confined to a small cage and suffer until they are euthanized.

I hate to even think about it, but I'm considering taking them to my vet and have him euthanize them painlessly and get it over with. Would it be more kind to do this than to take them to the shelter where they will be confined and suffer on death row while awating execution?

And suggetions will be greatly appreciated.
 

graciecat

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You may find that your Vet won't put the Mommy and Kittens to sleep as long as they're healthy.

I don't know about where you live, but my Vet would never put an animal to sleep unless it was sick with no chance of recovery.

I agree with Susan, is it possible to find a low cost spay/neuter clinic and have them fixed and then just let Mommy and babies be barn cats?
 

robertm

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I agree with Rosiemac and Graciecat.

I just wanted to add that as long as you just leave them outside to be "barn cats," with little to no interaction with humans, then you're absolutely right --- the shelter would declare them to be "non-adoptable." Because to most potential adopters, that's exactly what their behavior at a shelter will likely indicate. Once feral kittens pass a certain age --- like, say, 8 weeks --- it becomes exponentially difficult to socialize them. Not impossible, mind you, but difficult. Socialized kittens and docile adults are a dime a dozen, especially around this time of year when it is kitten season. So why should a typical adopter want to bother with "wild" kittens?

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to be critical here, because you obviously could have just ignored them and left them to fend for themselves, as most people would have done. You are caring enough to provide them with nourishment and you recognize that you have a dilemma on your hands. For that you deserve credit. I'm just saying that if you think there is any chance that you could find them homes, or that you will bring them to a shelter, please try to spend some time with them and get them used to being around people. You should be able to find numerous articles, posts, etc. about this topic. Their successful adoption might still be a longshot even with your best efforts, but at least they'd have some chance.
 

sakura

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Find out if your shelters has a trap/neuter and release program. If not, they probably will know of other shelters in the area that do. They will spay/neuter the animal and then you release them back to being feral cats. Or you can pay your vet to spay/neuter them and just let them live in your backyard barn as barn kitties or they can find their way to wherever. They will be able to live lives as street cats but will not produce any more litters.
 
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dottydotcom

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Originally Posted by RobertM

I agree with Rosiemac and Graciecat.

I just wanted to add that as long as you just leave them outside to be "barn cats," with little to no interaction with humans, then you're absolutely right --- the shelter would declare them to be "non-adoptable." Because to most potential adopters, that's exactly what their behavior at a shelter will likely indicate. Once feral kittens pass a certain age --- like, say, 8 weeks --- it becomes exponentially difficult to socialize them. Not impossible, mind you, but difficult. Socialized kittens and docile adults are a dime a dozen, especially around this time of year when it is kitten season. So why should a typical adopter want to bother with "wild" kittens?

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to be critical here, because you obviously could have just ignored them and left them to fend for themselves, as most people would have done. You are caring enough to provide them with nourishment and you recognize that you have a dilemma on your hands. For that you deserve credit. I'm just saying that if you think there is any chance that you could find them homes, or that you will bring them to a shelter, please try to spend some time with them and get them used to being around people. You should be able to find numerous articles, posts, etc. about this topic. Their successful adoption might still be a longshot even with your best efforts, but at least they'd have some chance.
They're not ferals at all. They wandered in from some unknown place in the neighborhood or a nearby neighborhood. They are very loving, sociable and affectionate, which is one reason we couldn't just ignore them.
 

robertm

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Originally Posted by Dottydotcom

They're not ferals at all. They wandered in from some unknown place in the neighborhood or a nearby neighborhood. They are very loving, sociable and affectionate
This was not readily apparent to me based upon your initial post. And they can certainly go from being loving, sociable and affectionate to feral without adequate interaction with humans, which was the point that I already made.
 
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