When to trap?

lin pirretti

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 We live in a condo and across the street is a wooded area where the mother cat goes after we feed her every day.  The kittens are about 2 1/2 weeks old but  we never have seen them.   We feed the mom an enormous amount of wet food; she then rests under a car for 15 minutes or so and then disappears into the woods where her babies must be.  When should we try to trap her for spaying? Thanks for your help.

Lin
 
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Norachan

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The sooner the better. Mother cats come into heat after they have given birth and she could get pregnant again really soon.

How cold is it in your area? If it's fairly warm then the kittens will be OK without Mum for the day. If you have a trap start feeding the mother cat in the trap every day without setting it, then when the day of her spay appointment arrives you'll have an easier time of trapping her.

Talk to your vet about how long they want to keep the cat in after spaying. My vet keeps cats in over night usually, but if they know she's a feral cat with kittens I drop them off at 8 am and pick them up at 4 pm and he uses dissolving stitches and gives the cat an antibiotic jab so she doesn't need a second vet visit.

I rarely see any kittens until they are about three months old, that's when they get brave enough to follow Mum to the food source.

Good luck, keep us posted on how it goes.
 

mani

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After the mother is spayed, should I put her with a colony of cats that she has never been with?  Will she likely be rejected or should I return the mother cat to the same area where she has always been?

Thanks for your help
 

catpack

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Mom should be returned to the area she has been living if at all possible. This is even more important since she has kittens.

Relocating cats isn't as easy as putting them with another colony. It takes about 4-6 weeks of crating the feral in the new territory for them to recognize that as home. During that time, they must receive daily care (litter box changed/dumped, given fresh food and water.) They also need shelter from the elements while crated.

And, yes, there is always the chance that an existing colony rejects the new cat and runs them off.
 

ritz

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New or old colony-I think it partly depends on if there is enough food to go around. Otherwise the established members will not welcome her, hiss, spit, etc. And even if food is not an issue, cat pack is correct, the mother cat may try to return. The number of weeks I have read is 2 weeks to keep a cat confined, but a cat I was helping socialize for nine months escaped and return to his colony nine months. (He was later retrapped and successfully adopted into a forever home.
 
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