Need help from experienced feral cat owners.

simbanalapepper

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Good day! I've been lurking this forum for some time now, and finally made an account because I need urgent help. Here is a summary of my problem. Please give me the best possible solution in my situation right now. I'd prefer someone with enough knowledge on feral cats as mine is one. 

My cat's information:
  • 1 year and almost a half years old
  • Feral cat (*adopted her from the streets when she was 2 months)
  • Had 2 close intervals of kitten litter (first one gave birth to 2; second one to 3 just last February)
  • Shots is up to date
  • Weighs at 3 pounds (had always been thin but already gave meds for worms)
My cat's life:
  • Became an outdoor cat for 1 and a half months now (Along with 3 of her children)
  • Eats separately from her children (eats inside the house)
  • Cuddles me to wake up when she gets the chance to go inside the house
  • Occasional stranger neighboorhood cat goes near her but she doesn't mind
The problem:
  • Recently turned moody
  • Gives me a bite warning when I normally touch her stomach
  • Growls and hisses at me everytime I let her out of the house (I do because of Parents' decision)
  • Growls, hisses, and scratches at her children when they go near her
  • When left inside too long, she pooped on our beds on two separate occasions
Vet and internet explanation:
  • Vet said it could be that she is in heat after giving birth. (w/c also explains the weight)
  • Internet said it could be due to stress w/c I don't know the source to
  • Internet says could be due to stomach ailments
On my part:
  • Never treated cat badly (hitting, pushing etc) Only use positive reinforcement ( ignoring) 
  • Only smacked her a few times when she behaves bad
  • She would stay near or beside me whenever I go (I'm her "mom")
  • Would avoid going to vet as much as possible due to financial reasons
It's just that right now, she's a little bit driving me crazy. There is clearly a problem and I don't know what. She's never pooped on our beds even when she was an indoor cat. And she is now hostile towards her children which is a clear sign of something being wrong. Also, the weight problem had always bothered me as she had not gained visibly even though she's up-to-date with her worms medication and eats small amounts of food.  Any advice on cat grooming would help too. Thank you!
 

nansiludie

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Is she spayed? She seems semi-feral considering she comes in the house and stays inside with you. Are her kittens spayed/neutered? She could be either in heat or pregnant if not fixed. She might have other worms that the de-wormer may not have covered. Do you feed her kitten food? Again if she's not spayed, I've noticed un-fixed cats have a harder time keeping weight on.
 
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ldg

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If she's not spayed, as already pointed out, that is the place to start.

Has she had a vet check up? A fecal? I don't know where you're located, but if vet services are available, that's the starting point. Yes, all of my 15 cats are former ferals and I have 13 years of feral cat rescue experience.
 

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She's almost certainly pregnant again if you haven't had her spayed yet. They'll have 2, sometimes 3 litters a year if unspayed, so if the last litter came in February, I'd bet that she's got another one on the way now. As you can imagine, having that many babies is extremely hard on their bodies and frequently leads to illnesses and a shortened lifespan. And we all know that pregnant ladies get cranky ;). If she really is 3 pounds, that's quite small---she may not be robust enough to manage having so many litters.

Also, she's no longer feral if she's your pet ;). Feral basically means a domestic animal that is living like a wild animal, with little/no human contact. She's just a regular pet cat now :D.
 
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simbanalapepper

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 She's almost certainly pregnant again if you haven't had her spayed yet. They'll have 2, sometimes 3 litters a year if unspayed, so if the last litter came in February, I'd bet that she's got another one on the way now. As you can imagine, having that many babies is extremely hard on their bodies and frequently leads to illnesses and a shortened lifespan. And we all know that pregnant ladies get cranky 
. If she really is 3 pounds, that's quite small---she may not be robust enough to manage having so many litters.

Also, she's no longer feral if she's your pet 
. Feral basically means a domestic animal that is living like a wild animal, with little/no human contact. She's just a regular pet cat now 
.
Really?I just thought she's in a really long heat. I've read it could go on for months. I did check her stomach and it doesn't show signs of pregnancy apart from her bodyweight. There's no visible swelling and physical movements indicating she's pregnant, or I'm just not experienced enough.  And about the feral cat, ohh I guess what I meant was she was a stray cat then and now she's not 
 
 
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nansiludie

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@SimbaNalaPepper   Please try to keep her indoors until you can get her spayed, if her kittens are old enough and there is  a male among them, she will end up pregnant. Cats can reproduce before 6 months of age. Could you try to see if the Vet would work any special discount since she was a stray and she has kittens. Any local Humane Society that may have a discounted spay/neuter program? Hopefully she isn't pregnant or she's not very far along at all. Especially since her small size and weight.
 

ldg

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Are you in the U.S. or Europe? Perhaps we can help you find a low-cost spay/neuter if you give us an indication of a large town or city you're near?
 
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simbanalapepper

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@SimbaNalaPepper   Please try to keep her indoors until you can get her spayed, if her kittens are old enough and there is  a male among them, she will end up pregnant. Cats can reproduce before 6 months of age. Could you try to see if the Vet would work any special discount since she was a stray and she has kittens. Any local Humane Society that may have a discounted spay/neuter program? Hopefully she isn't pregnant or she's not very far along at all. Especially since her small size and weight.
Yes one of her children is male. I want to keep her inside and had told my parents but they wouldn't allow pets inside our house. Instead, I just bought a cage that's big enough for her to stay. Would it help if we limit physical contact with her male child until I get her spayed?
Are you in the U.S. or Europe? Perhaps we can help you find a low-cost spay/neuter if you give us an indication of a large town or city you're near?
Neither 
 There is actually an animal shelter where I plan to volunteer that has low cost spay/neuter (about half the cost of our nearby vet). But then like I said, we are in a tight budget as of the moment, and going to that said shelter costs gas since it is quite far from us. Maybe pictures of my cat would help ? 
 

Willowy

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Keeping her away from the male kitten won't help if she's outside----there's always a tomcat around when a female is in heat. Unless there are just NO cats within 5 miles of your home, I'm pretty sure she's pregnant now. Unless something has gone wrong inside her and she's infertile (which can be a sign of a larger problem). But, yes, if you don't want more kittens, try to keep her away from male cats. They're very sneaky though---a tom can show up, get her pregnant, then leave, and you'd never know he had been there!

Hopefully you can find a way to scrape up the money and tranportation to get her and the female kittens to the shelter soon (yes, the male should be neutered too but he can't get pregnant so it's not as immediate of a problem). It's actually cheaper to spay than to raise kittens so it will save money in the long run.
 
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simbanalapepper

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Keeping her away from the male kitten won't help if she's outside----there's always a tomcat around when a female is in heat. Unless there are just NO cats within 5 miles of your home, I'm pretty sure she's pregnant now. Unless something has gone wrong inside her and she's infertile (which can be a sign of a larger problem). But, yes, if you don't want more kittens, try to keep her away from male cats. They're very sneaky though---a tom can show up, get her pregnant, then leave, and you'd never know he had been there!

Hopefully you can find a way to scrape up the money and tranportation to get her and the female kittens to the shelter soon (yes, the male should be neutered too but he can't get pregnant so it's not as immediate of a problem). It's actually cheaper to spay than to raise kittens so it will save money in the long run.
What if I neuter the male kitten first since it's cheaper that spaying? Also, because she's most likely pregnant, I guess I just have to go through that, but spaying the male kitten would reduce the chances of my female cat getting pregnant. Yeah, there's actually a tomcat hanging around our house a lot. It even has the courage to sneak on my cats' food! Hopefully my parents can get the money soon. They are pretty much aware of the risks of not spaying/neutering cats. 
 

Willowy

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Neutering the male kitten won't keep anyone from getting pregnant if other males are around :/. That would only help if you're keeping the cats confined in a place where the neutered kitten is the only male with access to the females.

So I'd say your best bet is to get the female kittens spayed first, because they probably aren't pregnant yet but will be soon if not spayed.
 
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nansiludie

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Agreed with Willowy, best to get one of the females fixed rather than the male right now, besides male kittens usually take a little longer to mature. Some though do mature early.
 
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simbanalapepper

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Neutering the male kitten won't keep anyone from getting pregnant if other males are around :/. That would only help if you're keeping the cats confined in a place where the neutered kitten is the only male with access to the females.

So I'd say your best bet is to get the female kittens spayed first, because they probably aren't pregnant yet but will be soon if not spayed.
 
Agreed with Willowy, best to get one of the females fixed rather than the male right now, besides male kittens usually take a little longer to mature. Some though do mature early.
Okay that makes sense. The problem is though I have 3 female cats. The first being the female cat I was talking about and the other two are her children; that is to make sure none of them get pregnant. 
 

nansiludie

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Probably try the kittens as if they were to get pregnant it would be extremely taxing on their young bodies plus its best to spay them before their first heat if you can. If not its still best to have them spayed.
 
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simbanalapepper

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Probably try the kittens as if they were to get pregnant it would be extremely taxing on their young bodies plus its best to spay them before their first heat if you can. If not its still best to have them spayed.
Will follow your advice as well as the other users' advice. 

Thank you all for your helpful answers!
 
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