Found a kitten...

Hi, All.

Me and my dh had an interesting Father's Day. We found a pair of kittens under our shed. I was concerned our three dogs might find them or that a raccoon or a local tomcat may come after them so we caught them both in a raccoon trap.

Our neighbor came out and took the first one (around 4pm). He's been feeding them mamma cat and trying to trap her and her 5 kittens to get them spayed and vaccinated. He already had one kitten so there's 2 more out there. No one is left under the shed, so I'll loan him our trap in hopes he'll have a better chance at catching the mamma cat and the remaining kittens.

The second kitten we caught after midnight so we had to hang onto him. We planned to hand him over to our neighbor in the morning, but DH named him "Yoda" and now we're caring for him. Our poor neighbor has 3 of his own cats on top of the kittens he's taming and the mamma he's going to take in so we feel happy to help.

Yoda is a cute little orange kitten who is very calm for a feral-born baby. He is scared, but doesn't struggle to escape handling nor does he swipe. I took him to the vet yesterday, and he didn't cry or growl when he got his temperature and a stool sample taken and his first 3-in-1 vaccine.

I've been working with him for two days now, and he's doing great. This morning I was combing him and he climbed up my chest and rub-marked his face on my chin. He will make a wonderful cat!

I feel torn though. I am getting attached, but I want to find him a good home as soon as he's tamed. We are really maxed out with pets. We have 3 small dogs, 2 cats, and 5 rats. It's a lot of work, and this has been a very expensive month. Everyone of our pets (except the rats) is on some sort of medication right now. It's really overwhelming as for the past two weeks, I've been taking someone into the vet every other day--sometimes twice a day.

I don't want to make our two cats feel displaced, either. One of our kitties(Stewy) has had a terrible month at the vets. He started off going to the vets for scabby feet and now he has been diagnosed with a stage 3 heart murmur (goes to the cardiologist next week). It's a real drag, because he's the sweetest cat in the world...he's so sweet he's going to be doing volunteer work at retirement homes.

Anyhow, DH has a very responsible coworker/friend (we know her really well)who has been looking for a few months for a cat/kitten. When we get the Yoda socialized I'm hoping to home him with her.

I'm just really worried about getting more attached. DH already is super-attached and wants to keep him, but we need another pet like a hole in the head.

Has anyone here been through fostering? Is there any way to make this easier? How do you deal with letting your foster go to his permanent home?

Thanks!

You just have to tell yourself that you are sending him to a very good home ( interview the people to be sure that you are ) and that you cannot keep all the strays that you raise. It is kind of like letting go of a child in that it hurts but you know that you have to do it.

Thank you for taking this sweet kitten into your home. He sounds like such a sweetie.

I'll move this to Caring for Strays & Ferals. I know a lot of our foster-moms (and dads) hang out there to answer your question.

Thank you so much for your well-wishes and replies.

Well, I am not sure what Yoda's future is, but I know where ever he goes he'll end up in a good hom.

I'm also very glad we caught him and his sister. I hope we or our neighbor can catch the remaining litter and the momma.

There are many dangers here for a litter of kittens, and the poor momma needs to be spayed. A week ago, we heard a ruckus between what sounded like a raccoon and two other animals - including an adult cat. It was horrible and then it suddenly stopped and became dead-silent. I think the third animal was a kitten who got stolen from the nest.

I believe the mom either moved the nest or was in the process of moving it when I caught the two kittens. The day after I caught Yoda and his sister, I reset the trap and ended up with a tomcat. I think he was hunting for the kittens and hoping to score with the mother. I was really tempted to drag him off to the vet and get him neutered and vaccinated, but I don't want to start a problem. The guy who owns him only lives two houses down. He is an alcoholic (lives in his friend's shed) and is mentally off. He has a big black dog chained in the yard 24/7. One of our adjacent neighbors (another cat lover) has the misfortune of living right next to him tried to get the humane society to take the dog. But the local animal control here is very typical for a rural shelter. They said they can't do anything as long as the dog has water and "shelter" (not kewl--the dog is very aggressive). Our neighbor told us the owner of the house (not the guy in the shed) had social services called on him. They took away his child and the house was so filthy they replaced the carpet.

I just put my latest fosters up for adoption, and it is never easy. I closed their little room last night and it was empty and I started to sniffle a bit.

But I know these tears are for myself, because these kittens are the lucky ones who are going to get great homes.

I think you know that keeping the kitten is not the best idea. Your cats and finances don't need further strain, and the kitten would do better in a less crowded home. Keeping him, although a totally understandable desire, would ultimately be selfish.

As to how to keep from getting attached? They are just too darned cute aren't they! My best advice is: wait until the weekend before giving her the kitten, so you can have a nice final day with him and can spend good time on goodbyes. Remember that you will probably see him again, I'm hoping she (or whoever gets him) will send updates/pictures.

It's impossible not to get attached in my experience. But think about the pets you already have and how much more they need you than this kitten who is going to a loving home.

And it's always okay to cry.

Well, I just gave the trap to my neighbor who has two of the kittens. He is going to trap mamma and her remaining two babies. They've been on his porch so he has a good chance. Turns out he and his wife are in the same predicament. They are getting attached to the kittens and have 3 cats. DH and I are going to help them with getting Mamma fixed, and find some of the kittens homes...maybe even see if we can either tame Mamma cat or get her to a feral-friendly barn. They also are getting permission from the tomcat's owner to let us trap and fix the tomcat, too. Great folks!

That is GREAT news.

Katie

It is easy to get "too attached". I know I love each baby that comes into my home, but it is kind of like babysitting. I can't possibly care for them all! And it is nice to share a wonderful kitty with someone else.

Also, some cats live to be about 20 years old. Where will you be in 20 years. If you take on too many pets, will you be in a bad position down the road? Although each kitten is so precious, and "just one more" seems like a good idea...20 years is a huge commitment of time, love, and like you said, money for the vet!

Thanks for doing what you are to help this kitty family!

Thanks, All, for your advice and kind wishes. It's been a wild few days. The entire family is caught (momma and all 5 kittens). Everyone has checked out great at the vets (they are even FIV/FLV negative).

The momma cat is being spayed. All five kittens are healthy.

Unfortunately, the cat who is probably the father is still lurking around. He is losing weight and looking sick. I want to capture him or call animal control, but he belongs to a neighbor who lives two houses down.

Already our other neighbors (who live next to us) asked him if we could neuter the tom, but his reply is that he will do it himself and get him vaccinated. But I don't believe him.

The man is a drunk, irresponsible and has admitted to not vaccinating this cat in over two years. He already lost a child to social services. I want to step in and call animal control--or trap this cat myself and take him to a rescue, but we just moved here and I'm really scared of the reprecussions. This neighbor only lives two houses down from us and he is really shady. I don't want to give him a vendetta against us. Although where we live is a little shaded I think it's too easy for someone to catch us if we do it, and Animal Control does not take anonymous complaints.

I know it sounds nuts, but my husband and I decided to keep the kitten in our care. The little guy has really taken to the other pets (and they love him, too). Even the other cats enjoy his company--which is something I've never EVER seen with new cat. We would not have come to this decision if factors were different.

Before anyone worries about our resources, I must explain we do have the financial resources and time--however I will NEVER do foster work nor will any new (rescue or not) animals come into our home again (I'll find other ways to help them). This is it.

When I first started this thread, we really had a really extreme bought with vet trips. It gets a little crazy, but we are not in over our heads by any means. It wasn't so much the money, but the frusteration of not knowing what was going on with our two furballs.

Luckily, things have turned around. Our one pup who was throwing up had an endoscopy last week. It turns out she has ulcers--which is great since ulcers are completely curable with antibiotics. I was really worried she had collitis or some sort of weird complication as she had aquired Lyme's disease before we adopted her. She hasn't thrown up in two weeks--and I'm keeping my fingers crossed she will be doing great after her meds are done. She's had a hard enough life as it was. I

Our Stewie-cat has had a shocking turnaround with his feet and his urine-proteins. Everything is back to normal. We are not completely sure why, but the dermatologist thinks he had a reaction to his rabies vaccine--which is rare but does happen. He still has to have his ticker checked out as he is a 3 (too, too high for a two year old cat), but he has a sonogram next week and it's most likely treatable (we had a cat with a heart murmur before so we know the routine). Right now the biggest issue is dealing with getting everyone medicated. This has been a crazy month, and I'm hoping this is the worst of it until the crew starts to get into their golden years. You never know what's around the bend though--which is why we keep a chunk saved for emergencies. Life works in strange ways

Hmm...you know...I would post about this in Ask Animal Control...if it were me and this cat got into my yard unneutered...I'd trap it and take it to the vet to be neutered. My concern is to the cat's welfare...not the owner. However, given how tense the situation is...perhaps Mark Kumpf can provide you some direction.

Katie