Stray Kitten and Feral Male

I posted about a stray pregnant cat before. The advice worked. Today, just like when I first met her, she brought her kitten to the exact same spot where she had her previous litter. Although it kinda bothered me that there was only one kitten. Should I be worried about more that are either missing/dead?

Then, as I was caring for the mother-daughter duo (yes, the kitten is a girl), this other male cat, that usually "hangs" out with the mother cat, starts stalking the two. I had to stick around long enough for the male to eventually give up. Now, I remember reading about male cats eating their litter. Could this be the case? The male also exploited the same behavior yesterday while I was feeding the female. He would get close and snarl while she would stick to my feet. Repeating the same question, should I be worried?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I am very sorry in the delay to answer your thread! OH yes - male feral tom cats can and will kill kittens - young kittens. Some certainly do while others leave them alone. I would try to trap and neuter all of the feral cats in your area, if you can possibly do so. Contact your local TNR Organization in your county and they will be wiling to assist you in doing so. Otherwise, more kittens will be born to this type of uncertain life and all the dangers that go along with it. Getting that female feral cat spayed would be my first line of advice. See if you can trap both mom and her kitten. Let us know if you need any suggestions on how to do so!

karlybird7 said:

 
I posted about a stray pregnant cat before. The advice worked. Today, just like when I first met her, she brought her kitten to the exact same spot where she had her previous litter. Although it kinda bothered me that there was only one kitten. Should I be worried about more that are either missing/dead?

Then, as I was caring for the mother-daughter duo (yes, the kitten is a girl), this other male cat, that usually "hangs" out with the mother cat, starts stalking the two. I had to stick around long enough for the male to eventually give up. Now, I remember reading about male cats eating their litter. Could this be the case? The male also exploited the same behavior yesterday while I was feeding the female. He would get close and snarl while she would stick to my feet. Repeating the same question, should I be worried?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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It depends in much EXACTLY what he is doing.  A tom friendly with the mom is usually no danger for the kittens - he may even help with caretaking.

But some other toms, may be dangerous to a kitten yes.

Them killing the kittens at this age isnt no longer common. But there may be another danger instead, him mating the kitten.  Especielly as she cant defend herself...

So the safest here is really you take the kitten inside, and proceed with fostering here.  Taking two flies at the same stroke.

Also, as Feralv hinted - the best help to everyone is to spay and neuter them.  I understand it cant be done just like that, unless you are made of money and have lotsa of time.

But you can almost surely find some TNR group or similiar, to cooperate with...

Tx for caring!

@Feralvr:

I'm gonna have to train the cat first. I have trouble getting her to go in the house. Yesterday, I managed to lure her in with some food. But when I closed the door, she freaked out and headed for the window, thinking she could get out there. 

@StefanZ:

Here's the thing, there are two other male cats usually hanging out with her before and during pregnancy. Even after she gave birth, when we couldn't find the kittens, one or two of them would hang around her. I try feeding them but they mostly stay away from me. And there was this one time when I was about to feed her, one of them was there. They kept going near her, snarling while doing so. She reacted as if she doesn't want them near her. Which brings me to the 2nd paragraph of my post, that was the same cat that was stalking her. She even moved the kitten to another spot outside the house. Oh and I couldn't take the kitten away from her at that time as she was still too young. And now, sadly, when I went home last Saturday, the kitten was nowhere to be found... One of the helpers thought she saw another cat (don't know the gender), carrying another kitten to the neighbor's garden. And yesterday, I also tried following her and she went to the same garden, meowing as if she was looking for something. She keeps coming back to the house though. But that Sunday morning, her behavior was kinda different. She's back to normal now, I think.

So it seems the kitten has disappered, probably - practically surely, dead?   And she the whole time at your place, without any kitten??

If so, close the case asap, ie make sure she is spayed...

It sounds to me that you have a few feral cats that do need to be trapped and neutered. You don't want to try to get them into the house and lock them in as yes, they will freak out completely. Better option is to get a couple of Hav-a-Hart traps http://www.havahart.com/ and capture them that way so you can take them directly to the vet in the trap. That would be my recommendation to you and do appreciate all you are trying to do for these cats. If you would like some help in finding a local TNR Organization in your area then we would need your location - city/state. Most of these organizations will also have traps that they can loan you if you don't want to spend money purchasing one.

It is possible that the male tom cats are killing the kittens, especially the young babies, if they are disappearing this way and so quickly. Not all will do this though, and as Stefan mentioned, some will help with kittens. I had a very sweet male feral cat that actually protected and watched over his kittens before we trapped them all. IF the mom cat is in heat again and they want to breed her hence all of the snarling going on. Best to get them all fixed so they can live happier more peaceful lives.

THANK YOU for your efforts to help these cats.

Yep, she's still hanging out at my place. Don't know about any organization helping in neutering/spaying in my area though. I'm in the Philippines by the way. Gonna see what I can do here. Thanks for the help guys!

karlybird7 said:

Yep, she's still hanging out at my place. Don't know about any organization helping in neutering/spaying in my area though. I'm in the Philippines by the way. Gonna see what I can do here. Thanks for the help guys!

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Oh, I see. Maybe a compassionate vet is near you that may be willing to help spay/neuter the cats. It is always worth the effort to make some calls if you have not already. We wish you all the best in your efforts to help these cats.

Now there's a new stray kitten. But this one clearly isn't hers (the stray I'm caring for). Even if I manage to catch/tame it, will she accept it as her own?

karlybird7 said:

Now there's a new stray kitten. But this one clearly isn't hers (the stray I'm caring for). Even if I manage to catch/tame it, will she accept it as her own?

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I really don't know but would be very possible since she had kittens recently of her own. I guess I would encourage you to do what you can for these cats, the best you are able within your means.

Well scratch any future plans of adopting new kitties for now. She's becoming more territorial, even fighting off the stray kitty wandering around outside.

karlybird7 said:

Well scratch any future plans of adopting new kitties for now. She's becoming more territorial, even fighting off the stray kitty wandering around outside.

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Getting her spayed would help so much and I know you understand this and feel your hands are tied due to where you live but I do hope you can find a compassionate vet to help get these cats/kittens spayed. Mega vibes for this to happen