two of my strays getting fixed this weekend... need some emotional support

kylieanne

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two of my strays are going to a TNR this weekend (one I'm going to start volunteering with!!!) . I've found out that if they test positive for aids or leukemia they will be put down immediately. I'm having such a tough time with this. One I plan on bringing in when I move out. She loves to get pets, comes running when I call her name... The other come running also and you can sometimes pet her when she's eating but she is more skittish. She's still come so far considering she pretty much used to be feral. The more skittish one is pregnant too, so I'm also dealing with the guilt of getting a kitty abortion, but there are already 5 kittens no one wants to adopt :(

anyone have some ideas on how to cope if the worst would happen? I've been giving them extra food and some extra love to Tuna (the friendly one), I'm trying to tell myself if that would happen at least they got to know what being loved and cared for is like.

I'm so stressed right now with taking them (finally raised JUST enough money to get them fixed, I set up a gofundme account and have gotten a few donations mostly from friends and family) plus one of the kittens got sick and is now living with me and I need to get her dewormed and vaccinated and tested so she can go live somewhere else (I live with my parents because I can't work... they say the 4 cats we have now are enough and I'm not allowed to keep my new baby). I've never worrried about money for myself, I don't care about money, but needing money for my fur babies is stressful!
 

Norachan

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Hi Kylieanne,

Thanks for all you are doing to help these cats. First time TNR is really stressful. I cried like a baby the first time I had to spay abort one of the female cats I care for, but like you say there are so many unwanted kittens in the world there is no sense in allowing another litter to be born.. I've been doing TNR for four years now and I've noticed a huge improvement in the health of the cats in my neighbourhood. Trapping never gets any easier, I still feel terrible about how scared they are, but the operation is over very quickly for them and they have a much better life after that.

I guess the TNR group you volunteer for insist on euthanizing any cats that test positive for Fiv or FLv? The only thing that I can suggest for Tuna is that you take her to the vet's yourself and then you have the right to decide what should happen if she tests positive for either disease. As far as I know FLv is horrible and it probably would be better to have her put down. If she has Fiv there is no reason she can't have a long and happy life, but you would need to keep her indoors, make sure she had all of her vaccinations and take good care of her diet.

I have the same problem with finances as you do, I tend to do a lot of over time so I have enough money to take care of my cats and pay the rent. Gofundme sounds like a good idea, I'm glad to hear you've had a few donations already.

Maybe some other member will have fund raising ideas for you.

Good luck with everything.

 
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kylieanne

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thanks, I can choose not to have them euthanized only if I have a confirmed indoor only home for them so they don't spread it to other strays... I don't have that since I have 4 indoor cats already and couldn't risk them (and I'm not allowed anymore anyway).
 

Norachan

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Fingers crossed that they are both OK.



I've only ever had to deal with one feral cat with Fiv and he looked really sick, dull coat, drooling, constant eye infections. I managed to keep him relatively healthy for about a year, but he went downhill fast in the end, poor boy. If your two girls look healthy then hopefully they'll be healthy too.

Hope it all goes well this weekend. keep us posted.
 
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kylieanne

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Sorry for the lack of posts! I've been so busy with the cats. We didn't manage to catch any that weekend, but this last weekend I caught one of the mamas (Anchovy) and she was spayed. All negative so she's healthy!

Funny story, while she was recovering in my room, my neighbor (who had NO idea we had the mom inside) showed up with 3 tiny kittens at our back door. they were wandering around on her property and she didn't want them there. It was Anchovy's litter! So now Anchovy and her 3 kittens are inside until the kittens are old enough to be adopted out. I'm hoping to find a nice home for Anchovy too.
 

shadowsrescue

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Thank you for taking care of Anchovy and her kittens!!!  You will have your hands full with the kittens, but it will be so fun and rewarding!!!

Thanks for the update.
 

red top rescue

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That must have been The Cat Goddess bringing you Anchovie's kittens, who were really too young to be left alone outside.  They will probably start nursing on her again, and she will probably go on having milk for awhile.  Just watch out for her incision and make sure it stays clean and the kittens don't hurt her.   You may want to trim the very tips of their tiny claw in the front so they aren't needle sharp.  You can do this with a baby nail clipper quite easily.  Only take off the very tip, do not clip any lower.
 

Norachan

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That's awesome Kylieanne! You've done a great job there, so happy to hear that the mother cat and all her kittens are safe.

Good luck with finding new homes for them.

 
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kylieanne

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She was very happy to see them, I was told 4 weeks was old enough that they could be alone for the night if we released her in the morning but when I saw them I feel like they were NOT old enough. She immediately started nursing them and I've kept a close eye on them (they're staying in my room).

They've been given the okay by the vet to start weaning so we started that this week. so far only one (Pickles) is interested in the KMR/food mix but I've been through this before so I know they'll all get there :) They've grown so much in the 6 days I've had them, they are all playing now and come waddling over as soon as I come in my room.

considering only one kitten from her last litter survived and the shape these babies were in, I'm not sure they would have survived had they not ended up inside.

I'll end this post with some kitten pics because who doesn't love kittens? haha


French Fry, the biggest (boy)


Pickles, the most adventurous and cuddly (boy)


Pickles likes to give kisses


Nugget, the runt. She's just barely a calico.
 

red top rescue

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Those poor babies, as little as they are now, I can imagine how tiny they were when their mama disappeared for the night.  They had no idea she would be coming back and must have been desperate.  I thank the wisdom of the Cat Goddess for getting your neighbor to bring them to you even though your neighbor didn't know you had the mama, and you didn't know the tiny babies were wandering around hungry and looking for their lost mommy with the milk bar.  Now they will ALL survive and be socialized and adoptable.  I'm sure Anchovie was greatly relieved to see them too.  Most mama cats are deeply attached to their babies.  As for weaning, I never force it.  I'll bring in food mixed with cream and let babies taste it, and usually the ones who get the least milk will want it and the others won't for awhile.  Just remember, once they start eating solid food, the mom no longer eats their poops so you will need to start litter training them.  I usually use just plain sand to start with (they usually eat some at first, and and won't hurt them but clumping litter can!  I usually use low cardboard boxes like can food cans come in, and put one in each corner since most kittens head to the corners to pee and poo, and the boxes can be dumped and thrown out easily.  If you dont have any, you can get them at most grocery stores just by asking.
 
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kylieanne

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I've had to wean before, two previous young kittens although neither had their mamas with them, I had to bottle feed them at first.. so no worries I never rush it. I've just started mixing more water into her canned food since they've started showing an interest and let them eat if they want. They've already got the litter pan figured out with no accidents since they first tried it :) I use the lid to one of my little plastic storage containers and that's been working well.
 
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