pregnant stray cat disappeared!!

Originally Posted by Feralvr

Try not to worry, although I know that is hard. But, she had kittens before and knows what to do and how to care for herself as well. Yes, the cold weather is bad, but she could be receiving food from someone else along with you too. Sometimes, the ferals/strays have a few different "feeding stations" set out for them from other kind-hearted people like yourself. So, let's just hope for that. Please keep posting, because a few of us here want to know how things are going for you and the mother cat. I am glad the kitten followed you back to your patio from the pool. Could you trap that kitten and get him/her fixed? You can borrow a trap from most rescue organizations in your area. You just have to get on the internet to find some in your area and give them a call. I couldn't believe how helpful these rescues were to me.

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i went back again a little while ago and try to get her attention but no luck.. you are right she has the kittens before and there were all 3 healthy ones. i saw her kitten again by the pool so for sure the kitten is not hanging around with mom. i live in townhome complex and few months ago i saw her and her kitten were on top of the roof to office manager building playing. the building has vents to ac and fire place spaces up there. i wonder is she is up there!!
oh well there is not much i can do.. the food is out in my patio and she knows where it is.
thanks for your help and concern.

p/s: i am working with organization now to take care of the kitten, at least spay her for now since she has not have much human interaction so she is kind a feral. but i am waiting on mom's situation.

A mom cat normally will abandon their existing kittens when they give birth to the next litter. I had a feral cat that would show up with kittens when they were about 5-6 weeks old, hang around long enough to make sure they knew where the food bowls were (and avoid my trap), and leave until she had her next litter. I had a great spot for cats but she had another sweet spot that I never found. She pulled this on me for a couple of years until I finally got her.

You need to take care of her remaining kitten as she has most likely abandoned it entirely. If you see her again, which will probably be in about 5 weeks, grab her and all her kittens and get her spayed. I made the mistake of trying to wait until my feral weened her babies to trap her and by then she would disappear again.

Kitten season up here (Kansas City) is April. Kitten season by you (Houston) is earlier. February is a bit earlier than normal (they usually start to arrive down there in early March), but not unheard of. Your shelters will be filling up with kittens in the very near future.

Yes, my concern too now is the remaining kitten. If she is over two pounds weight, she can be spayed. I am glad to hear you have help with that kitten. Because she will have kittens of her own soon enough and the problem just magnifies. Let us know how you are doing

Originally Posted by Momofmany

A mom cat normally will abandon their existing kittens when they give birth to the next litter. I had a feral cat that would show up with kittens when they were about 5-6 weeks old, hang around long enough to make sure they knew where the food bowls were (and avoid my trap), and leave until she had her next litter. I had a great spot for cats but she had another sweet spot that I never found. She pulled this on me for a couple of years until I finally got her.

You need to take care of her remaining kitten as she has most likely abandoned it entirely. If you see her again, which will probably be in about 5 weeks, grab her and all her kittens and get her spayed. I made the mistake of trying to wait until my feral weened her babies to trap her and by then she would disappear again.

Kitten season up here (Kansas City) is April. Kitten season by you (Houston) is earlier. February is a bit earlier than normal (they usually start to arrive down there in early March), but not unheard of. Your shelters will be filling up with kittens in the very near future.

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you know you are so right.. the mom of my cat "sephi" was a stray cat too and we noticed her vanished for long time when she got pregnant, then we saw her 3 kittens showed up different places and one of them was my sephi who i rescued.
my question is how is she surviving withought eating for this long?

Originally Posted by Feralvr

Yes, my concern too now is the remaining kitten. If she is over two pounds weight, she can be spayed. I am glad to hear you have help with that kitten. Because she will have kittens of her own soon enough and the problem just magnifies. Let us know how you are doing

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they call me cat magnet!! lol
every place i move to i pray the god that it won't be any stary cats but that is just not my luck..and it is because i have soft spots for them and i hate to see them eat out of dumpsters etc..etc..

HA HA! It is so true. These stray cats just know where the "softies" live, don't they . How is the kitten today?

Originally Posted by Feralvr

HA HA! It is so true. These stray cats just know where the "softies" live, don't they

. How is the kitten today?

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the kitten is good, when i walked my cats this morning i saw her by the pool on top of small tree.. she goes from there to the roof of the manger office building!!! she comes eat at nite in my patio but she does not stay there. still no sign of mom cat.
the kitten will be hard to trap to be spayed.

Hope mom cat is alright. Actually, trapping is quite easy if you can get a Hav-a-Heart trap. They are pretty easy to set and kittens are usually not as wary as older kittens or adults. Hunger will take over and she will go right in. I covered the back half of the trap with a dark towel to make the trap feel more secure. Don't leave the trap unnattended though. You have to plan a time when you have awhile to watch the trap. When I trapped the family outside, the brave kitten went in the trap withing three minutes!!! I thought that the process would go that quick with all of them. Not so. It took me three days to trap all five.

So this one kitten should be fairly easy. Have a plan set-up with the vet so you can bring the kitten straight to the vet. This would be ideal. Most vets will have open scheduling for you if they know you are trapping and can't possibly make an exact appt. day. If you trap the little girl after hours, just keep her calm in the trap over night in the garage with food, water, and I was able to slip in one of those disposable Tidy Cat litter boxes on one end of the trap!! I couldn't believe it, it was almost like they were made for traps! I put a folded towel at the other end of the trap as a bed and put the bowls on that end too. The trap I had opened both ends so I was able to slide these items in on either side. Some traps only open on one end. But she should be fine for one night in the trap.

This really is a wonderful thing you are doing for this kitten. She probably is young enough to become quickly tame and adopted. You are saving lives

3 nites pass by since she vanished and no sign of her. i don't know why i am so concerned since she wasn't even my cat.
it does not look good! i have to say this is what happened to her:
1. complication with birth and she might passed away maybe lack of food or cold weather.
2. someone snatched her that nite knowing she is pregnant and dumped her somewhere else( people do that all the time).

i am thinking to go to office manager and see if anyone or maintenance people see a diseased cat anywhere.
i just can't let it go the way it is..

Originally Posted by catdaddy

my question is how is she surviving withought eating for this long?

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She has another place where she is eating, otherwise she would hang out by your place. If she is an experienced mom, she will find a quiet place to have her kittens close to another food source. She'll leave them long enough to eat then return to her nest. Chances are if she brought her last litter to you, she sees your location as a better place to raise kittens that are weaned and will leave them in your hands to care for.

This is exactly how my household got so large. I didn't always catch the moms, but always took care of the kittens. I stopped this cycle 8 years ago when I bought a humane live trap and took a very active role in catching and fixing every cat in the neighborhood. Before that time I would borrow traps, but my timing was usually wrong.

I do not think something terrible happenned to the mother cat. She knows exactly how to take care of herself and a litter of kittens. She has other feeding stations too, and she will come back probably with kittens. So be ready with a trap!! You could contact the manager's office to see if any of the complex workers have seen her. I think she is caring for her litter of kittens right now.

I am going out to buy my own trap this week. I have always had to borrow traps, but I need to have my own so I can be ready at a moments notice to get it outside and set.

You are so nice to be concerned and taking care of these cats. Mom will come around to you when she is ready. Just keep watch out for her. How is the kitten??

Originally Posted by Feralvr

I do not think something terrible happenned to the mother cat. She knows exactly how to take care of herself and a litter of kittens. She has other feeding stations too, and she will come back probably with kittens. So be ready with a trap!! You could contact the manager's office to see if any of the complex workers have seen her. I think she is caring for her litter of kittens right now.

I am going out to buy my own trap this week. I have always had to borrow traps, but I need to have my own so I can be ready at a moments notice to get it outside and set.

You are so nice to be concerned and taking care of these cats. Mom will come around to you when she is ready. Just keep watch out for her. How is the kitten??

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thanks for your concern, I made an update with another thread that she is back still pregnant.!! She is eating like is her last meal!!!