Success!

It finally warmed up enough to start trapping (I live in Iowa). I have two visitors I need to catch - an un-neutered male (tuxedo, "White Feet") and a tabby that we think is the mama to the kitten we trapped last August (and adopted).

So, I set the trap out for the first time...and Mama went in!  Yeah!!!

She'll be spayed tomorrow. When we pick her up on Friday, we'll put her in a large cage for recuperation and to see if she is tameable. We think she and her kitten were dumped last summer.  I'm hopeful she will turn out to be friendly.

My fear, of course, is that we will end up keeping her. We have 9 cats now...we REALLY don't need 10. Hopefully we will be able to find a home for her.

I just wanted to share the good news!!!!

Kalynnda

Caught and fixed: Stubby Tail and Fluffy...and Mama soon

Still to catch: White Feet

Great job!!!  So glad you caught the Mama.  No more kittens!!!! 

Keep us updated if she is tameable.

I hope you catch the male just as easily!

Good job.



Even if you can't keep or re-home Mama Cat having her spayed will make things a lot easier on you. Maybe you could provide her with a shelter and have her as your friendly outdoor feral?

I hope you catch White Feet soon. 

Hi there!

It seems we have very similar circumstances regarding a mama kitty. I'm desperately looking for advice and this is the only thing I've found onlne that relates to my situation. Here's the story:

In mid August of 2014, my neighbor knocked on my door with 2 ca. 7 week old kittens. She was leaving her house, drove to the end of our street (there's a creek and wooded area there) and saw a cat bolting out of a minivan, which promptly sped away. The cat ran into the wooded area. On the pavement sat 2 kittens. For safety reasons (we live in the suburbs outside of Dallas and there are coyotes, snakes and bob cats in those woods) she collected the kittens. She searched for mama kitty for some time to no avail. She brought the kittens to us as she knows nothing about cats and I've bottle-raised several feral orphans. The boys were alert and healthy, and (thank goodness!) ate wet food. They were completely laid back and comfortable around humans. They live with us now, along with their older "sisters" (rescued from the engine bay of a pickup truck in 2013). 

Mama kitty was spotted a few times over the next 2 weeks. I was unable to walk after surgery on both feet, but made my boyfriend take dry food and water to the place our neighbor told us she was dumped. We did this for several months, and nobody had seen her since August (granted, we had no clue what she looked like).

Night before last, Tuesday, around 10pm, I looked out the window and saw what I at first mistook as the reflection of one of the boys, which turned out to be- unmistakably- mama kitty (she looks identical to the boys, just dirty and older) on the window sill outside. She and the girls were softly mewing at each other through the closed window. One of the boys was nearby too (I have read that they might still recognize each other). She was crouched on the window sill, made direct eye contact with me, wasn't scared when I talked to her or when we stood up to get her some food. As soon as the front door opened, she bolted.

She didn't come back last night though I do leave dry food and a little shelter with styrofoam and hay on the front porch just in case .I also put wet food on the window sill, but it wasn't touched. I have considered getting a humane trap, but I don't know if that won't just snag the numerous neighbor cats allowed to roam outdoors. Can you please share how you came to catch the mama kitty and any advice you might have?

I probably sound crazed but I've been hoping to find her for so long...

I'm lucky that there aren't a lot of free roaming cats in my neighborhood, at least at night.  Here's what I am doing:

Since the cats only come around at night, I put food out just before dark. I have a wireless IP camera (Tenvis is the brand, you can find it on Amazon) that I use to watch them. I also record the video (free program...I don't remember the name right now and I'm at work). Often I'll let it run overnight to see who comes and when they come.

Mama was coming shortly after dark. I put the trap out with a pillowcase on the bottom and covering the trip plate. I put smelly food at the back, then partly covered the trap with a towel. There was no other food available. It took Mama two tries before her hunger overcame her concern about the trap. Second try she went in far enough to trigger it.

I don't worry about re-trapping the ones I have already gotten - they are trap shy.

Your situation is a bit different, with free roaming neighborhood cats. You could just try trapping and let the neighborhood cats loose if they are caught. Hopefully they won't try it again, and you can eventually get the Mom.

A high-tech solution is one I plan to implement if White Feet (the tom I still need to catch) proves difficult or if the raccoons start coming too early.  There are instructions on Instructables for making a remote trigger for cage traps out of a cheap remote control car. Combined with a video camera, you could wait until the Mom goes in the trap and then trigger it. I'll look up the link if you are interested.

For now, I'd make sure she has food and water, even if it means the neighborhood cats get some too. If she only comes at night, you can just leave the food out then. If she comes during the day, you may be able to get her on a schedule (i.e. food always comes at X time and is removed a few hours later).

Good luck. It's hard when all you want to do is help them and they don't cooperate.

Update on Mama - she almost certain IS Kismet's Mom. She is female and was pregnant (not any more).  She's doing fine and I pick her up tomorrow.  I'm stopping at Petsmart to get a small condo for the cage that doesn't have other kitty smells on them. That will give her a place to perch and a cave to hide in. Think I'll add some small toys too.

They estimated her age at 1 to 1.5 years. Kismet was 3 to 4 months old in August, 2014, making his birth late April or early May.  If she's on the older end of the range, she would have been about 6 months when she got pregnant, which is quite possible.

I am almost certain they are related. Besides looking a lot alike, I've seen her bat at the water the same way Kismet does.And of course, he came with her and she was concerned when he was in the trap and kept visiting him until I noticed and went to retrieve him.  I guess she could be an older sister from a previous litter. It doesn't really matter other than for my curiosity. At least she is safe, warm, and will be taken care of. And NO MORE KITTENS.

I'm hoping that Kismet remembers her, and vice versa. He may be helpful in convincing her that humans are OK.

Thank you so very much for all of your insights! I was contemplating the camera, too. If I don't see her at my house I'll see about mounting it to a tree where she was let go. Since I have her babies, who are now 9 months old, I'm also leaving the front windows open so maybe they'll be able to lure her in. I hope you are able to catch the little tom cat soon.

Thanks again!

Gigi76:  You might want to start a whole new thread about your mama cat and ask for advice that way.  We sometimes miss questions that are part of an existing thread.

In any case, if you can buy or borrow a humane trap, tie it open and begin leaving the food in the trap.  You can place the food at the doorway and gradually move it towards the back of the trap slowly.  By the end of a week or so, the food will be far enough back that she will be used to eating in the trap.  Make an appointment for her to be spayed/vet checked and then set the trap to spring when she goes in.  As soon as she's trapped, cover the trap with a blanket or sheet.  That will calm her down. Put a pee pad under it.  Leave her in the garage, shed or maybe a bathroom overnight, away from the other cats.

She will need a few days recuperation and you can do that in the trap if you don't have a crate.  Again, put a pee pad under the trap and that will have to do for a potty.  You can release her back outside and continue to feed her or, if she is socialized at all, find her a new home.  Poor dear has been through a lot.  Thank you for helping her!

Hi Ondine,

Thanks for your post! I was just curious to see how kalynnda13 caught her mama kitty, which is why I didn't think to start a separate thread. Once mine is caught, I am perfectly comfortable and confident on how to handle her (I was a vet tech for years, and have experienced angry feral cats, too), I've just not had to trap a cat before.

The real issue seems to be the fact that we hadn't seen her until a few days ago, and that was the first time in the 7 months since she was dumped. I haven't seen her since, either. I also realize that doesn't mean she hasn't stopped by. I'd been hoping to find her in the neighborhood, and ow that I can walk, I'll be looking in bushes and everywhere I can to check for her. Given the fact that she's alive and unaltered, I don't want to take my time and have more kittens out there. I hope there is some sort of karmic payback for people who abuse and neglect animals.

Thanks for the idea of feeding her in the trap, I think I may implement that along with the camera, to see if and when she visits. Since they were clearly domesticated cats, once she has an exam, shots and been spayed,  we will be trying to re-socialize and keep her if at all possible, as you said, she's been through a lot.  Our kitties have been alerted to be on the look out from the living room window, too. They're not too sure about all the guests we've been having of late!

Oh, so glad you have the experience to help her.  If she has been out on her own all this time, she will need some re-socializing.  Good luck with her.  Fingers crossed you catch her soon!