Is this starving stray pregnant, or has she had her kittens?/ Thomas

Thank you @sarthur2. Yes, it is wet food meant for kittens, and they are happily lapping it up. It's very sloppy but must be tasty.  I reckon too they must be about  6 weeks old, based on when mother arrived here.

I was going to take the tracker off, but thought I'd leave it on until we had the remaining 2 kittens, just so I know where she is if she decides to go roaming again.

I've attached a few of the photos I took tonight.  From what I read on the internet about tabby cats, one is a short-hair marled brown tabby, and the other is a short-hair spotted brown tabby.  The marled brown tabby has the most beautiful spotted stomach - black spots on white fur. They have had a lot of fun playing together tonight. 

To think these ittle ones could have had their mother taken from them without realising they existed.  Phew!

Until the next update, some photos...

They are absolutely adorable!!! So beautiful and very cute! You did a great job, @Checkers!

OMG!!! I am so excited and thrilled that the tracker has led all this to happen!!

So now about the other 2............where the heck are they then? Looking for mom or sibs?

Strange that they can't be found, they wouldn't go far that's for sure.

Is that area well populated or are there raccoons/fox around? 

Gosh are they CUTE!!

Thank you @sarthur2  and @catwoman707  !    And yes, they are just so adorable. I was starting to believe they wouldn't be found or somehing terrible had happened.  BTW, I did try the RSPCA for surrendered kittens in that time frame. They came up with one litter closeby, and in the time frame, but other aspects didn't match. Anyway, that's behind us now, and we've found a beautiful, healthy litter.

The folk who own the home where the kittens were found are kind and helpful, and are continuing to look for the remaining two kittens.  I'm confident they are there, as I saw one hiding behind the hot water unit. It was dark under their house so I couldn't make out colours - but it's either black or grey according to the family there. Mother cat disappeared again overnight so I'm sure she is feeding them.I'll go there later today with a box set up with small entry and soft towel inside to encourage them to hide there. (One of the kittens is playing with my skirt as I type.)

No racoons in Australia and no foxes in this area. It's an old well populated are in the suburbs of a big city (Brisbane).  I'm convinced they are just more timid than the others and are hiding.

I will keep you updated. Thanks again.

Oh Yay!

That's great news. What adorable little babies.

I think the other two will probably stay where they are and wait for Mum to go back and feed them, so you've got every chance of getting the whole family. I've had a similar situation where two of a litter of four moved into my kitten "safe" room a few days before their last two sisters did.

What are your plans? Are you going to be keeping any of the kittens or just Mum?

They're so pretty, it should be easy to rehome them.

Thanks @Norachan. It's great news, isn't it. But I still haven't found the missing two which is a worry.  I made up a box today with a little entry hole and fabric on the inside with a few kitten biscuits scattered inside. I took it to the house where the kittens are hiding.  I also took the mother cat back to the house to feed the kittens.   I'm hoping the kittens will take refuge in the box. 

The house owner (well, tenant, I discovered today - and she's moving out very soon!) said she would continue to check the box for kittens.

Mother and kittens were to go to the RSPCA tomorrow (they gave me an assurance the animals would not be euthanized if healthy, and they are healthy). The RSPCA was sending one of their animal ambulances to collect them.  But I had to leave a message with them today to stall their visit as we can't take the mother from the missing 2 kittens.

I dropped the mother off at the house more than 2 hours ago, and she hasn't returned here, so I'm hoping that means she's feeding her kittens.  The tracker is not giving me a signal, which happens sometimes, so I'm not sure where she is just now.

I would love to keep the mother and/or a kitten - or two, but I have an elderly mother who has moved in with me and her skin is too fragile for cat/kitten scratches.  I've fostered a few cats in the last year since my beautiful big old ginger boy died, and my mother (who likes cats but is now timid of them) ended up with some nasty skin tears - not from the cats being nasty (except once), but just from them jumping up on her lap or playing.  I was hoping this mother cat may have been different, but unfortunately not - she has bitten my mother (and me) a couple of times.

I'm attaching a couple more kitten photos.  Have a look at the spots on the tummy of one of them. Two of them have those markings, but one more than the other. Just amazing markings (well, I haven't seen them before; they may be common!).

Will keep you posted

.

Just too, too cute!!!!  Such great news and a great adventure to boot.  Sending good thoughts for the other two.   

"To think these ittle ones could have had their mother taken from them without realising they existed.  Phew!"

Yes I almost did that.  Had I waited for my friends I would have successfully trapped the mother without realizing she had two other kittens stashed in another location.  I didn't even consider that possibility, because she was in the same spot for 24 hours, but she must have gone back to feed the others in the middle of the night.  Good for you for not assuming!

This is all fantastic! Do you think mama cat would no longer bite once her kittens are weaned and she's not a nervous Nellie anymore? I do sympathize with your issue, however, and so glad you are waiting on the family to be together before having them picked up. I hope the 2 kittens are located soon! It must be tiring for Mama to have to go back and forth so much. Bless her heart! And so thankful this mom has had you as her patron!

Thanks @Reba and @sarthur2. I can't take credit for thinking her litter may have been incomplete. The people who live in the house where her kittens were found told me she had 5 and described the missing 2, so I knew they had to be found.  Mama cat arrived back tonight more than 2 hours after I dropped her off at the missing-kitten house, so I hope she fed them. 

I'd love to think @sarthur2  that the mother wouldn't bite after the weaning was over. Trouble is, I won't be caring for her at that point. And yes, it must be very tiring for mama cat to trek between the 2 houses (although I do drive her sometimes ).

As I type 3 kittens are competing to sit on my right foot. Just too cute.  Sharp teeth though, and sharp claws.

I turned them over tonight to determine their sex, and found they were covered in fleas!  I went online to see how to get rid of fleas in such young kittens and advice was to submerge them up to their heads in warm water and wash them in Dawn dish washing liquid, then rinse.  Any other advice?  This sounds very traumatic.

Many thanks again.

There's a device like that? If she did have the kittens, I hope you find them!!

Yes, @stephakneexo, there are a few different brands of tracking devices on the market.If you click back to the start of the thread, you'll see some discussion about them.  I did find the kittens by tracking the mother, but 2 of the 5 kittens have hidden away and we can't find them at the address where we know they are.  Mother cat has left here for the 2nd time tonight and I hope it's to return to her lost kittens. She'll know where they are. I wish she could talk. It's now 1am in my part of Australia so I'll call it a day.

Any chance of setting a trap, of course a kitten trap would be best since the plate is more easily tripped for small weight kids, but often times I have found that kittens will enter a regular trap together too, which sets the trap off too.

It's worth a try for sure, I can't imagine at this age the other 2 have wandered off, and they can't hide too well either.

I worry about their safety, as I'm sure you do too.

Are there houses very nearby where someone may have found and taken them in?

THE LOST ARE FOUND!

Great news!  I did set a kind of a trap, @catwoman707. I sealed a cardboard box and made a little opening in one corner with a cardboard flap above it, popped some fabric in the bottom of it and tossed in some kitten biscuits. It wasn't a trap, as such, but a little hidey hole I thought they might find safe. Last night I left it at the house a few streets away where I knew they were. This morning I returned. The tenants were out so I went under the house and found one little kitten in the box - the black one with white paws and chest.  I took it home and left the 'trap'  there.  The tenant rang me an hour or so later to say she had one kitten, but not the other. Well, I had the other!  The remaining one was grey with lighter grey stripes. 

The final two were more timid than the others, a little smaller and a little less energetic. But they soon joined in the fun at my place, and mother cat stayed there contented with them all day until the RSPCA ambulance came tonight to take them to the refuge.  There the vet will do health checks and determine if the kittens can be separated from their mother (I don't feel they're ready, but they're the experts so I have to leave it to them). I think they must be about 6 weeks old. If they can be separated, the mother cat will be de-sexed and go up for adoption, and the kittens will go to a foster home until they are big enough (I think 1 kilo or 2.2 pounds) to go up for adoption. If they can't be separated, the mother cat goes with the kittens to a foster home.  I'm feeling, rather selfishly, sad tonight - so pleased that all kittens were found safe and well and saved from abandonment, but sad about the stress they may be feeling now in another unfamiliar environment, and that the mother cat and the kittens I've just met won't be here with me a little longer. 

Anyway, I'll post some photos now to share these gorgeous little bundles, with the very temporary nicknames I gave them.


'Minstrel', found this morning.


'Possum', the smallest in the litter and the last to be found.


'Minstrel' back with his sisters.


Family reunion this morning.


Poor mama!


Exhausted mama escapes the feeding frenzy, but still baby 'Ginge' tries to reach her (under chair).


Very satisfied mama, with all 5 kittens, and her food source, together after 5 weeks of trekking across streets and through suburban yards from kittens to food and back.

Thank you to all those who contributed to this thread. You've been a wealth of information and support. At the outset I wasn't optimistic about finding these kittens - or sure they existed - but after confirmation from this group that she was feeding kittens, I persisted. The search finally ended today with the best possible outcome. Thank you again!

Doesn't Anne give awards out to the deserving???  I nominate checkers for one!!!!

"I was hoping this mother cat may have been different, but unfortunately not - she has bitten my mother (and me) a couple of times."

Just noticed that.  My mom cat would try and bite me when we first took her in, but that gradually faded away after a few months.  She is the most lovvee, snuggee cat now - again, can't believe someone kicked her out - definitely their loss and our gain. 

Still I can imagine how you feel after having them leave - must be very hard.   

Fantastic news!!!! GREAT job!!  

What a gorgeous healthy looking family!! Wow, they are beauties aren't they??!!!

LOVE the tuxedo Minstrel! The gold/red colored face with the with and spotted tummy tabby is a doll! They are all just as darling as can be, and what a great feeling for you!!

You LITERALLY saved them all, from a life unknown, or living as ferals, which is an awful hard life, baby making machines until they are drained of everything, all of it.

I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful thing you have done here!

I think you have certainly earned a Friends of Ferals badge!! 

On the flip side, I know that feeling of loss now. The rollercoaster ride is over, the house is quiet again, but imagine yourself as their stepping stone, to get them on their way to a long and happy, healthy life full of love.

Which brings me to my next question................

How do you feel about helping the next who come your way? That is the key to being okay saying goodbye to this lovely family.

If there aren't other cats out there who need you, why not get on a list of fosters for a local org or rescue group?

Believe me, my fosters fill up pretty fast, and we have a point where we have to turn some away

Just a thought!   

So happy they are all together! This has been quite an adventure, and you definitely deserve an award! Although the move will be unsettling for mama, especially if they take away her kittens so soon, at least we know they will have shelter, food , and good homes! Thank you so much for the beautiful pictures! God bless!

Oh, I'm so happy to see the whole family together. They're absolutely gorgeous kittens. I hope they get a little longer with Mum before they all get sent off to their foster homes, but I'm relieved to hear they aren't going to be out on the streets fending for themselves any more.

You did a great job @Checkers  

Thank you @catwoman707  , @sarthur2  and @Reba!  At the risk of sounding corny, my greatest reward was finding those kittens. That was the best thing that's happened to me in a long while. 

The RSPCA asked if their media person could interview me for a story, and I have agreed to do that as they no doubt want to publicize the advantages of their GPS pet tracker.  Certainly without it I would not have found these kittens.  

Yes, catwoman707, they are certainly beauties - which make them no more deserving, but certainly an advantage when it comes to being adopted later - I hope, by the right kind of adopters.  What struck me about them all was the symmetry in their patterns.  All stunners, but I've got to say the spotted tabby with the ginger on her head ('Ginge', which was my redhead father's nickname)  had my heart melting.  She was really stunning, one of the boldest in the bundle, and the fattest!  She and her alike sister were so rotund when they were on their backs they would have to rock from side to side to get the momentum to get back on their little feet.  (I know the feeling! 

These pictures are honestly killing me - I think you missed your calling as a photographer. 

It's so unfortunate that your Mom's skin is so fragile - I would think the kittens would be of great benefit to her emotional well being.   Excited to read that you may be getting them back for at least awhile. 

If you want to keep them confined, these playpens from amazon are very handy: