,New to caring for a very pregnant cat who happens to be semi-feral

I am certain that Henryetta remembers Chaucer :nod: !!!! They were doing a bit of bonding before when she was in the house.

I would not worry about her pooping outside the box. I had a friend who fostered litters of kittens from the shelter and she mentioned this about a momma cat on a couple of occasions. As soon as the kittens were weaned, she was spayed and in a new home, they always went back to using the boxes like good kitties do. :bigthumb: And, she IS trying - just missing.

I would agree with Catwoman and try to add a box with higher sides or elevate a box somehow. OR just add (I know... :anon about three more boxes scattered around the storage room. I would give her every option to feel comfortable using the boxes by adding many of them. LARGE boxes - enough room for her comfortably move about. They do say one box per cat. :lol3: Remember - this will only be temporary. You can also add in this --> Petsmart sells this as well but I get it on-line. You can mix it into any litter, not just Dr. Elsey's brand. (which I do use.). This may help draw momma right to the box. This stuff REALLY works. It is like a sign to cats saying.... HERE !!!!! DO YOUR BUSINESS IN HERE !!!!

NOW - the other issue may be that she is uncomfortable or sore from nursing?? :dk: Maybe getting into the pooping position is bothersome to her and she is just missing the box. I surely do not believe this will continue once she is milk free, not nursing kittens and spayed. Not to worry.

I would call a vet and ask him/her.If I have a concern I call the 24 hr animal emergency clinic and ask for their opinion.

Laura

Thanks, guys. She is doing better about the box.  Even with an elevated box, the kittens are crawling over the edges to use it. One is completely fascinated with the litter box and will watch me scoop out stuff and refill the litter.

Henryetta has an appointment to be spayed tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about this. She's started to go into heat as of this morning and is hanging around the door to the point she is blocking it with her rolling around. It's $5 more to have her spayed when she is in heat, but if I don't have it done now,  I'm afraid she will run out.   I have to separate her from the kittens tonight because she can't have any food after midnight. I will now worry about the kittens in the storage room by themselves with all the junk in there and them running around and Henryetta in the house.  I considered bringing the kittens in the house instead of her but then I thought she would miss them more if she could smell their scent everywhere. In the house, she will only smell Chaucer.

If anyone reads this before tonight, please give me your thoughts on which to bring inside- Henryetta to the laundry room or the kittens to the guest bathroom?

I find this website useful

http://pets.webmd.com/cats

Also,it helps to have the kittens get used to having your hands on their paws and in their mouth to make it easier when you have to trim their nails or brush their teeth.My cat once ate a foot long dental floss and had to be taken to the vet so I have lids on all my trash cans.As kittens they are too young to play with toys with feathers.Even though my cats are older I never use them.Kittens need chew toys.I have bottle caps scattered everywhere for my kitten to enjoy and many other toys.I use the Go Cat Catcher-wire string with a leather mouse so it cannot be chewed off.

Laura

Well, today is the day and I suspect you did what you had to do last night with separating her from the kittens. Really, the kittens will be alright without momma for a night and IF you have to keep her away from them tonight for recovering. You are REALLY doing a fantastic job with momma and her kittens. You have all along and I commend and give you a BIG :bigthumb: for all you have accomplished. I am sure you have had a few sleepless nights throughout this whole process.

Everything is going as planned and things will be just fine. They have gone good so far and that will continue. Give us an update on how Henryetta is doing today. And it will be alright! :cross:

Thank you, Maggie.  They are pretty socialized now at seven weeks. They know me as their other food source, playmate and climbing tree.  Friends played with them over the weekend and three other people came by yesterday to see them and played with them and they did just great with all of them. So much so that the first two people are adopting one in a few weeks.

I ended up bringing in Henryetta and the kittens because I was worried about them in the storage room alone. Since the bathroom has one of those sliding pocket doors, it was a challenge to get it closed so they couldn't get out.  Henryetta aided them in escaping because she could slide the door and could work the card table front I had pushed against the door as a barrier aside.  To contain 5 kittens, I now have a card table, an ottoman, two cat cages, a small cast-iron stool and a heavy ceramic crock pushed against the door, along with a piece of board wedged in the crack!  She spent the night in the laundry room with a bowl of water, litter box and a nice rug on the dryer. This morning Henryetta was howling from one or all three of the following:  heat, hunger, kittens in the bathroom.

She is doing fine at the vet's.  I decided to let them keep her overnight because my last female cat had to be spayed twice and the one before her nearly died and needed transfusions.  Chaucer had to go back for further "searching" since they only found one testicle and it turned out that he was born with only one, which is supposedly rare.  On the plus side of all of this, I had some time to clean up the storage room before she comes home. What a  mess it was with cat litter, bits of cat food (and I found a little poop as well) and papers scattered everywhere.  I was able to vacuum! I think she has tinkled a little on the carpet rugs out there too. Lysol day. 

Chaucer is not happy at all and has thrown-up and that is a rarity for him, along with acting out. He doesn't like the kittens and I have shown them to him.  One of them came up to him and sniffed his head - I was holding him on the floor- and he hissed and growled, also rare for him, so I immediately put him over the barricade.  The little kitten was all fluffed up and I spent a few minutes holding the little brave thing until he started purring.

Feralvr, thank you so much for holding my hand through all of this with Henryetta and then the kittens. I'm grateful.

Chaucer said:

Chaucer is not happy at all and has thrown-up and that is a rarity for him, along with acting out. He doesn't like the kittens and I have shown them to him.  One of them came up to him and sniffed his head - I was holding him on the floor- and he hissed and growled, also rare for him, so I immediately put him over the barricade.  The little kitten was all fluffed up and I spent a few minutes holding the little brave thing until he started purring.

Feralvr, thank you so much for holding my hand through all of this with Henryetta and then the kittens. I'm grateful.

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I enjoy the hand-holding part of doing this and hope only to help in some small way even if just by support. It truly helps to have a place like TCS to come and share stories, experiences and get support.

I would not bother showing Chaucer the kittens. There is no need for that anyway because they will soon be going on to their new lives and you are not planning on keeping any..... OR are you??? :lol3:

I hope that Henryetta is feeling better, eating well and recovered by now. You have done a great, great job from start to finish. Well, almost finished.

An update on Henryetta and the kittens -

I still have all five of them. They are 10 weeks-old today and no news from the local shelter. I am thankful to have the storage room to contain them.  The shelter said not to give them their shots because it will be done as soon as they take them in, but at the rate of waiting time, I will soon need to get their shots and if it goes too long and they reach 4 months, I will have to have them neutered/spayed.  They seem to be thriving out in the storage room but I worry a bit about Henryetta being stuck out there, so I have started to bring her in house for an hour or two each day. She needs a break from the kittens.  I've been introducing Chaucer to the kittens every morning through the screen door and I took him out there in his carrier and let them climb on it to get used to his smell and him to theirs.

Henryetta and Chaucer sniff through a crack in the door but she hisses at him a couple of times and walks away. Knowing that Chaucer will run after her, most likely to get to know her better and hopefully not to seriously attack, I don't let him out of the room unless I hold on to him. They are fine with each other if I'm standing there holding him. It's when I put him down that she will hiss at him and walk away. Chaucer's personality is more like the kittens in that he is an active two year-old cat who likes to chase, run, play and jump. He HAS to have some Siamese in him, based on his shape, behavior and attitude!  Henryetta seems a little more reserved and doesn't want to be bothered. The guess by the vet and myself is that she is around two as well.

Henryetta is still going to be a bit hissy with Chaucer even in the house away from her kittens in the storage room because she still knows the kittens are there and naturally has that protective instinct even though she knows Chaucer presents no danger. Chaucer sounds like quite the character and is most likely enjoying all of this newfound activity!! You are doing everything perfect as far as introductions with Chaucer and Henryetta AND Chaucer and the kittens. :bigthumb:

I can't believe they are 10 weeks old already!!! Once they weigh over two pounds, they can be fixed. I am there with you in that I hope the shelter has openings very, very soon otherwise you are wise to get them going on their kitten shots. SO the "saga" continues!!!!! :rub:

Thanks.  I brought Henryetta in today and brought them together. They sniffed and she backed up but didn't hiss, merely turned away. I  loosely held onto him and let him step forward and he went around her and she moved to a spot beneath a kitchen desk. I feed them snacks after they see each other.  She is incredibly loving toward me and rubs around my arms, legs, sides, depending if I'm standing or sitting. I wonder if she realizes that I rescued her or that she is just a "nice kitty."

Chaucer said:

. I wonder if she realizes that I rescued her or that she is just a "nice kitty."

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I certainly think it is a little of both BUT surely your first point takes priority in Henryetta's heart. I also think helping her raise her kittens played a part too. :bigwink: She trusts you explicitly now and you have a strong bond. ;( :heart3:

Just wanted to tell you all that the kittens were supposed to go to the shelter this morning. I'd been on the waiting list for nearly four weeks and was called day before yesterday, but also on that day the friend who had been trying to help me find homes for them shared two more photos - a picture of the three males cuddled together and then one of the female- and mentioned they were going to the local shelter on Saturday morning. Lo and behold, her niece wanted the female and another friend of my friend wants all three males!  The female kitten went home with her new family today and I got to meet them and watch them with the kitten.  It seems to be a good fit and they have an under-1 year-old cat at home so she will have a friend, eventually.  The three males go to their new family tomorrow.  I will get to meet the woman and see how it works out.  I will get to see photos of the kittens as they grow up!

Henryetta still has one kitten to care for until my friends from out-of-state arrive to take her home, and I know that will be a loving home.

Now begins the Chaucer/Henryetta saga. It's been up-and-down each time I've brought them together.

I was able to give away one of the 6 week kittens I brought in.I posted pics at StarBucks,Potbelly,vets,Petco,and Natural Paws.The very day I did that someone called to adopt him!She saw his pic at Potbelly surprisingly because the pic was in a place not normally looked at.

According to Jackson Galaxy,you are introducing the cats the right way.

I hope so, Maggie but I'm kind of worried after learning that Chaucer, my resident male, is more curious and social than territorial and Henryetta, the new cat, is the one who is hissy, growly and swatty, which isn't a good thing.

That is such a cute photo of the kitten. No wonder someone wanted him.

Has Henryetta been spayed?That might calm her down.

I just saw the post from way back so she has been spayed.

Laura

WOW - what an update on the kittens !!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy that you were able to find them all homes and the three boys together too!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, please forgive me :anon: as you know I can't help myself in my plight to save feral kitties from being born in the first place... Are you SURE they will get the kittens all spayed and neutered? Will you be able to follow up with that? I am sure you will tell me YES but I just had to ask. I TRULY am happy that they did not have to go to the shelter and now that leaves room for some other needy kittens.

I have a pretty good feeling that Chaucer and Henryetta will soon become fast friends. Surely Chaucer feels the love of all you have done for her and for the kittens. :bigthumb:

Yes, the kittens will be neutered. I told her that one of them was already starting to exhibit some of the "tom cat" behavior at nearly three months and she said that they would most definitely be neutered soon because she wasn't sure how soon they were sexually mature. The last kitten, a female, has already been adopted but is staying with me until the new "parents" can come get her.  They have sent me money to get her spayed, all her shots, exams and micro-chipped and some extra for food and litter.

I put in my other thread that I think the house upsets Henryetta because she is not used to living in a house. She's okay in the storage room but maybe the house feels strange to her right now. I don't know her previous situation if she was outdoors all the time or was indoor/outdoor.  She accepts Chaucer completely in the storage room, trilling, sniffing and is very civil, even with the remaining kitten in there. The kitten even sniffs him. He doesn't seem to mind. Today, I put him down and he wandered around and Henryetta went back to eating and the kitten sat in my lap. Maybe getting them used to each other out there may help, but I really think she is not comfortable in the house.