Very pregnant feral cat trusts me!

feralkat

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I've been trying to make friends with a feral Siamese cat for a few weeks. She's absolutely gorgeous...and very pregnant, ready to pop. I've been feeding her regularly and she stays near but in hiding. I think she's too fat to fit in her hiding place because she stays in the open now. We surprised each other a week ago and ended up a foot away from each other. Neither of us moved or blinked. She had fear in her eyes. I had love in mine. I spoke softly and she was curious. I was amazed she hadnt run off. At first, I thought she was one of many routinely dumped at the ranger station but she had survival skills the drop-offs don't have. Over a few days time, she wasnt running away at the sight of me. I kept a can of food in my pocket just for these moments. I popped it open and sat it down, the. I backed away and watched her devour it while I spoke softly to her. She was starving. Super skinny with a huge belly. Poor thing.

One day I gave her a can of salmon and attempted to pet her. She was cautious but allowed me. I didn't want to overdo it so she could enjoy her meal. This became the daily routine. Knowing she would be giving birth soon I wanted to find a way to bring her inside so she could have a safe place to have her babies. By now she became so friendly I could sit down and reach my hand to her and she would come for a long head scratch, she even let me tough her expanded belly. She reached the stage of never getting enough. She would also come when I called her. I thought I'd press my luck a little more and try to put her in a carrier so I could bring her into a private cozy room. No trap needed for this little mama, she walked right in! Long story short- she has become affectionate and loving. She no longer has trust issues. She has made herself at home. I believe she was someone's beloved pet at one time and for whatever reason had to learn how to survive in the wild. Trusting humans wasnt at the top of her priority list. But she hasn't forgotten how to interact with people! Sheets me play with her toes and I'm going to try to clip her wicked sharp nails.

She has a clean bill of health, tests negative for all the bad stuff. The odd thing, after bragging about how sweet and loving she is, when other people come around to pet her, she hides in a flash. They leave, she's sweet again. Time will probably fix that.

Since she's due anytime, I put my sleeping bag in her room so I can be there if her magic moment occurs at some ungodly hour. The rangers are taking bets on the day/time/how many kittens lol. Put me down for 6 at 1:30 am Monday! I'm looking forward to seeing Saia's adorable babies!

Happiness is...when a wild cat displays the tiniest amount of trust in a human!
(Trying to import her photo from my phone...something isn't working right, probably me!)
 
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Columbine

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She's gorgeous :heart3: You've done so well with her already. She's so lucky to have found you. Thank you for caring for her - particularly in her time of increased need.
 

mani

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That really is a lovely story.  We look forward to hearing more.
 

chaucer

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She's beautiful! You are wonderful for helping this poor kitty.  I think most definitely that she was someone's pet at one point and either became lost or was abandoned. I had a similar situation last year, right down to her being friendly after a short time, pregnant, walking in the carrier and checking out okay and being so happy to be in a safe place. Your cat will very likely trust you when she has the kittens. Mine did. It is a great feeling when you know the cat trusts you, particularly with their new babies. Please keep us updated and post the photos of the kittens!
 

david68

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Great work!

I was about to say, though, as someone indicated above, this is not a feral cat.

The TNR cats I work with range from lap-friendly to semi-socialized, but none of them are truly feral.
 

orangepoe

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Awww that was so nice of you to take her in. You don't know how much you helped her. hope you keep her :-)
 
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feralkat

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Babies started arriving at 2:24am. She had 6, all light colored Siamese. This may have been Saia's first litter...after the second baby, she stopped opening the sacs or cleaning them, she just laid there. She was exhausted. I helped her get them dried off and cut their cords. I was a nervous wreck!! I didn't want to make any mistakes or have anything go wrong. Saia is a loving, attentive mama and all her babies look healthy and strong. Mama and babies are resting. :)
 

dahlia

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Oh my goodness, what cuties.  I admire you for knowing what to do to help her out.  I would have been freaking out and probably completely ineffectual.  Good job FeralKat and Saia!
 
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feralkat

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Mama and babies are doing well. A strange thing happened yesterday... Mama took one of her little boys and left him alone across the room. She must have sensed something was wrong with him and rejected him. I got goat milk and a dropper and am feeding him. He has to be stimulated to go potty after his meals. He seems to be doing fine. I put him in with the rest of his family for supervised visits frequently and it seems to be going ok so far.
 

StefanZ

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Mama and babies are doing well. A strange thing happened yesterday... Mama took one of her little boys and left him alone across the room. She must have sensed something was wrong with him and rejected him. I got goat milk and a dropper and am feeding him. He has to be stimulated to go potty after his meals. He seems to be doing fine. I put him in with the rest of his family for supervised visits frequently and it seems to be going ok so far.
Good you were watchfull!  Well done, exactly what must be done in such cases if you want to try and save the little one.    If there is some serious fault with him he may be doomed anyway, but with human help they often do make it.

What sort of goat milk did you got?  Bottled or real, raw goat milk?

If you want to have more  help with them kittens, you can place a tread in the Preg and Kitten care forum.   Im there too.

Start a new tread with your directed questions, or click on the red flag in the left corner, a dialog rectangle comes where you can explain what you wish done and the mods will help you move  either the post, or the whole thread, exactly as you wish.   They are very helpsome, our mods.    :)
 
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StefanZ

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For better monitoring of them kittens, and esp the little one, its good you do weight them every day at the same time.  Use preferably an electronic kitchen scale measuring in grammes.

Small borne kittens shall add  6+ grammes a day, more normal borne kittens shall add 10+ grammes a day.

That little one in potential crisis, weigh him every 12 hours till he is stabilized.
 

chaucer

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So happy that she is trusting you with them.  The kittens are so sweet and you are doing such a great job with this, especially with that little male!  Hopefully, once Mama sees he's gotten stronger, she'll take him back on.

Thanks for posting the pictures!
 

dahlia

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You are really doing a great job.  Saia is lucky she found you.
 
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feralkat

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Hi StefanZ!

Thanks for the info! So many categories...such an informative website! If moderators think something should be posted somewhere else, I'll let them be the judge. I'm still the new "kit on the block" and learning the in's and out's of the site. Endless information...awesome! If I have a specific problem, I'll figure out what CATegory it belongs in and post it there. I always appreciate tips and pointers, especially since I'm kinda new here.

The goat milk is canned, from a grocery store. I live in a one horse town that doesn't even have one horse...but I'm sure there are goat owners. I lucked out that the only grocery store actually have goat milk.

The little one is hanging on and getting stronger. He gets tired easily. He's slowly gaining weight. I use a postal scale and its accurate, at least enough for the post office. I sell on ebay as a hobby to support the rescued cats. I always call him the Little Guy, but he needs a name that says strength and hope...open for suggestions! =^..^=

Thanks for following the kitten drama! (I live for this stuff!)
 
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feralkat

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We are Siamese if you please!
Their purrsonalities are starting to come out! One will hiss when he gets disturbed, he pushes his siblings out of the way and steals the nipple they were attached to. He has to try them all and doesn't stay on one very long. This may be the kitten version of ADD. I call him Bully because he can rapid-punch his siblings in a Bruce Lee style until he gets his way. He cracks me up. The Little Guy still struggles but is gaining weight and strength. He gets cold easily and is easily exhausted. He eats from a dropper but nurses also. He prefers the dropper because there's no competition. He's going to develop a complex if I keep calling him Little Guy. In the photo he's the one with the pink belly. Musayka has a unique musical voice, the others squeak and squeal but she sings in a musical tone. She rough-and-tumbles with the boys. Simon is the darkest one. He's dominating but not a bully. He doesn't care who he steps on to get where he's gong and makes the others cry when he walks across the pile of sleeping babies. He's got Cattitude! Samantha is a robust thriving girl. She reminds me of a boxing kangaro. She's a sweet girl who knows how to getvwhatshe wants and puts the boys in their places! She's gonna be a fiesty one. Pippa is almost pure white, she's very mellow. She doesn't mind venturing as far as she can before Mama goes and gets her or I round her up and put her back with Mama. She will be a handful when her eyes open and she can see where she's going. Mama Saia has learned her role as guardian and protector of her babies. She allows them to nurse anytime. She washes them often and takes very good care of them. She cares for them with love and allows me to help her. She's always gentle with them and very attentive. She has a lot of patience and doesn't mind being climbed on and pawed at. She's still trying to figure out why she suddenly has all these little darlings. I babysit for her to give her a break and she's fine with me handling them.

Every litter is different, a lot to be learned from each batch of babies! I'll give this little family my best and when the time is right, they will be spay/neutered and vaccinated. Kim thoroughly enjoying the Kitten Experience! =^..^=
 

Norachan

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Hi,

Thanks for all you are doing for this little family and thanks for all the pictures. They are gorgeous! Are they all ginger? I'm glad to hear that the little one is doing better now and Mama cat is taking care of him.

I'll be following your thread closely!

 
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feralkat

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Hi Norachan!

Some are ginger, some are starting to get gray Siamese markings. They all are melting my heart and are stunningly beautiful! The Powers That Be knew what they were doing when this cat was sent to me, haha! The Little Guy is improving which is a relief to me because nature can be cruel. I think Saia will accept him back when he isn't as needy and can fight for his own food. His siblings are aggressive eaters, he'd starve if I didn't give him supplements. I can tell his energy level is increasing. He can stay awake up to three minutes now. I'm having a great time watching them grow and learn. They are a bright spot in my life and I'm honored she chose me to share this special time in her life with me! =^..^=
 
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