Two weeks ago, I took in my neighbor's abandoned Mama cat and Mama's three kittens. Mama is not feral, but she was neglected and left outside by her former humans. Mama's kittens are feral, though; it was quite obvious last week that they'd never had human contact (they were fearful, aggressive, etc.). When I found them, I took them all to the vet. My vet treated Mama's festering wound (an abscessed spider bite), and said that Mama had to stay indoors until she was healed. So, I put her and her then 6 week old kittens in a separate bedroom (away from my other five spayed/neutered cats). I'd also had all four of the newbies tested, and they (like my other five cats) are healthy and free from FIV/leuk.
In the past two weeks, I've been treating Mama's wound (really deep in her forehead like a puncture wound) and trying to socialize the kittens. The kittens were so developmentally behind (due to Mama's injury?) that they could barely walk at age six weeks. Now, they seem almost as carefree and bouncy as normal eight week old kittens and they are learning to love and trust, but not quite there yet. I had Mama spayed yesterday, but she's still nursing today.
My concerns are as follows:
- My vet said that since Mama's spayed, she no longer has the proper hormones to produce milk. So why isn't she drying up? For the past two weeks, I've been feeding the kittens both canned and dry kitten chow to try to give Mama a break, but I can't separate Mama from her kits (to wean them properly), because I have nowhere else in my home to put her.
- Mama has been aggressive with her kits for the past few days (started before she was spayed). She gets them in her mouth behind the neck and shoves them down to the floor until they start screaming. She won't release them until I intervene. This happens maybe once a day that I know of.
- The kits are eight weeks old now, and I want to start integrating them with my original five cats, because it looks like I'll end up keeping them (shelters are full and nobody else wants them). My vet wants the kittens to completely finish all of their shots before I introduce everyone, but that will be at least another month (they just had their first set of shots yesterday). Won't the kittens then be set in their feral ways in another month's time and be hard to introduce to other cats if I continue to keep them separated? The door that separates them is a screen door anyway that has the bottom covered in weatherizing plastic. When should I remove the plastic so they can get to know each other?
- I had originally intended to treat and spay Mama and then release her outdoors, where I thought she preferred to be. But she might need extended care for her wound that isn't healing (my vet knows), so I might end up keeping her, too, if she will stay indoors (I'm not sure she will or that she will get along with my other five cats). What are the cat politics involved with adding a Mama cat and her feral kittens to a home of five other cats? Of course, I intend to spay/neuter the kittens before they are mature.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I've asked my vet so many questions already that I don't want to keep bothering her office. I'm hoping someone here can help. Thank you very much!
In the past two weeks, I've been treating Mama's wound (really deep in her forehead like a puncture wound) and trying to socialize the kittens. The kittens were so developmentally behind (due to Mama's injury?) that they could barely walk at age six weeks. Now, they seem almost as carefree and bouncy as normal eight week old kittens and they are learning to love and trust, but not quite there yet. I had Mama spayed yesterday, but she's still nursing today.
My concerns are as follows:
- My vet said that since Mama's spayed, she no longer has the proper hormones to produce milk. So why isn't she drying up? For the past two weeks, I've been feeding the kittens both canned and dry kitten chow to try to give Mama a break, but I can't separate Mama from her kits (to wean them properly), because I have nowhere else in my home to put her.
- Mama has been aggressive with her kits for the past few days (started before she was spayed). She gets them in her mouth behind the neck and shoves them down to the floor until they start screaming. She won't release them until I intervene. This happens maybe once a day that I know of.
- The kits are eight weeks old now, and I want to start integrating them with my original five cats, because it looks like I'll end up keeping them (shelters are full and nobody else wants them). My vet wants the kittens to completely finish all of their shots before I introduce everyone, but that will be at least another month (they just had their first set of shots yesterday). Won't the kittens then be set in their feral ways in another month's time and be hard to introduce to other cats if I continue to keep them separated? The door that separates them is a screen door anyway that has the bottom covered in weatherizing plastic. When should I remove the plastic so they can get to know each other?
- I had originally intended to treat and spay Mama and then release her outdoors, where I thought she preferred to be. But she might need extended care for her wound that isn't healing (my vet knows), so I might end up keeping her, too, if she will stay indoors (I'm not sure she will or that she will get along with my other five cats). What are the cat politics involved with adding a Mama cat and her feral kittens to a home of five other cats? Of course, I intend to spay/neuter the kittens before they are mature.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I've asked my vet so many questions already that I don't want to keep bothering her office. I'm hoping someone here can help. Thank you very much!
