mom & kittens under shed!

twinka · Aug 3, 2005

Hi I am new to this board, and I have been reading some posts in hopes that I can do something for these new kits in my yard. Over the weekend I found that the cat that had been sneaking around my backyard had kittens. They looked to be about 4 weeks or so. I started to feed them all, but I have not seen the kittens in a few days, and I am worried. I have two dogs and I have put a barrier around the shed that she can get in and out of, but keeps the dogs away. Still I am concerned she moved the kittens and I will not be able to grab them. The road I live on is fairly busy, so I really want to be able to catch the entire familiy, get them to a vet, and hopefully find them homes.
Anyhow, should i try to get a trap and get the mom, even though I am not sure where the kittens are? Or should I wait and see if they show their little faces again?
(also.. a related concern. I smell cat spray outside my house.. how quickly can females go into heat after having a litter. It seems a bit soon but...)

tnr1 · Aug 3, 2005

Originally Posted by Twinka

Hi I am new to this board, and I have been reading some posts in hopes that I can do something for these new kits in my yard. Over the weekend I found that the cat that had been sneaking around my backyard had kittens. They looked to be about 4 weeks or so. I started to feed them all, but I have not seen the kittens in a few days, and I am worried. I have two dogs and I have put a barrier around the shed that she can get in and out of, but keeps the dogs away. Still I am concerned she moved the kittens and I will not be able to grab them. The road I live on is fairly busy, so I really want to be able to catch the entire familiy, get them to a vet, and hopefully find them homes.
Anyhow, should i try to get a trap and get the mom, even though I am not sure where the kittens are? Or should I wait and see if they show their little faces again?
(also.. a related concern. I smell cat spray outside my house.. how quickly can females go into heat after having a litter. It seems a bit soon but...)

Given that you smell cat urine...time is probably of the essense. I would try to trap mom and the kittens (if you can find them). Cats can go back into heat almost immediately after giving birth so hopefully the cat isn't pregnant again yet. Try to set up a same day appt and have the vet use dissolving stitches so she can be returned the same day if possible.

Katie

crazybash · Aug 3, 2005

Hi are you plannig on keeping the momcat or the kittens?I think the best thing you should do is maybe call an animal shelter and maybe they can catch or find the kittens for you....but maybe they are already gone too....well best of luck!!!!!!11

huggles · Aug 4, 2005

bless you for all you are trying to rescue these kitties.

As Katie said - time is of an essence as momma cat can go into heat extremley quickly after giving birth. Trap momma cat if you can and then keep an eye out for the kittens and trap them if they resurface.... do you think momma cat will be able to be socialised and homed? I surely do hope so.

Keep us updated - there will be loads of advice here so ask whatever you need to - you will always have a support network here (even if some of us are on the other side of the world

)

twinka · Aug 4, 2005

I have hopes for the mother cat. She seems to hang out and watch me when I find her eating , and almost seems to want to come over.. but not quite yet. She is a very pretty cat.. cream colored with a tabby like tail, fairly unusual. So I think if I can get her and spend a little time with her, she may turn out OK.
I am going to call my vet today as well and see if they have any advice (or traps I could use), and try the local animal control again. Hopefully I can catch her and the kits quick.

twinka · Aug 4, 2005

Another Q. I borrowed a have-a-heart trap, but I am worried it might be too small. The cat could get in, but probably would not be able to turn around. I know that they get smart to the trap if they see it more than once, so if this is too small to be effective, I would rather wait til I can get the township to answer my phone calls.

tnr1 · Aug 4, 2005

Originally Posted by Twinka

Another Q. I borrowed a have-a-heart trap, but I am worried it might be too small. The cat could get in, but probably would not be able to turn around. I know that they get smart to the trap if they see it more than once, so if this is too small to be effective, I would rather wait til I can get the township to answer my phone calls.

As long as you don't plan to have her in the trap for long..it should be ok. I would recommend reading the posts on this site about how to successfully trap cats.

Katie

huggles · Aug 4, 2005

sorry I cant give much advise - but I am thinking of you. How wonderful it would be if you could indeed socialise this mother cat !!

Looking forward to continued updates if you can

wellingtoncats · Aug 4, 2005

no advice from me either but definitly wishing you luck trapping her

twinka · Aug 7, 2005

OK . got the mom.. she is out in the trap,and not as pissed off as I expected. However, no kittens around. Iam not sure where they are so I have a Q for the experts... should I bring her into the garage overnight (I am going to bring her to the vets tomorow to get her spayed and checked out) or should I leave her out there with a largish varicrate in hopes that her kittens will come to her?

tnr1 · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Twinka

OK . got the mom.. she is out in the trap,and not as pissed off as I expected. However, no kittens around. Iam not sure where they are so I have a Q for the experts... should I bring her into the garage overnight (I am going to bring her to the vets tomorow to get her spayed and checked out) or should I leave her out there with a largish varicrate in hopes that her kittens will come to her?

Twinka...don't know what you decided to do..but I would keep mom in your garage overnight. When you take her in to the vet...make sure they are aware that you believe she has kittens and will need to be returned as soon as possible so the vet needs to use dissolving stitches. If mom seems "ok" once she has woken up after her surgery (do check her spay scar before you release her) then you can release her the same day. I would keep an eye out for where she goes so that perhaps you can determine where her kittens are. I wish you good luck finding the kittens and thank you for taking care of this mom cat!!!

Katie

wellingtoncats · Aug 7, 2005

Yup keep her in the garage - let us know how the vet visit goes

twinka · Aug 8, 2005

well, we made it through the night. She was sort of annoyed when I moved her, but other than that she has been pretty calm. Although she must have had some sort of problem, since she scraped up her nose (poor thing). I guess the thing I am concerned about is that I have not seen the kittens in over a week. I expected to be seeing MORE of them as they were starting to come out and explore. I am wondering if something happened to them. If I release her,I will probably never get her back, and I was hoping to see if she acccepts human company and if so, find her a real home. I am going to leave the crate & tuna out today in hopes that the kittens will come out. I will also look around to see if there are likely spots I missed.

hissy · Aug 8, 2005

I would get her spayed and then release her. She will find the kittens for you, and if you provide her food outside, she will eventually lead them back to you (that is if they are still alive). If they were still nursing off of her when you trapped her, they very well could have perished not knowing how to survive yet on their own.

twinka · Aug 9, 2005

ok this keeps getting stranger and stranger. I was hoping to catch the kittens, but with no sightings I was going to check the trap one last time and the let mom out. She was pretty out of it from the spaying, so I wanted to wait til she was better equipped to let her out. The kittens had eaten the food I left so I thought they could make it one night. ANYHOW, as I am going out for the final check of the trap I hear an insistant MEOW from the bushes. So we get out the fancy feast and try to lure the kit out. Well, still waiting, but we did get it to come out enough to see it. (1) it is not the kitten I saw earlier (2) it looks much older (~3 months) and (3) it resembles the mom. So mom is being released in any case, for the younger kits. But I am wondering if the one I am trying to get now is from an earlier litter.

huggles · Aug 9, 2005

looks like you have a few kitties on your hands there now dont you...

your doing a marvellous job (who is helping you btw?)

Keep up the good work - and I am sending major ((((trap those kitten vibes)))) your way!!

tnr1 · Aug 9, 2005

Originally Posted by Twinka

ok this keeps getting stranger and stranger. I was hoping to catch the kittens, but with no sightings I was going to check the trap one last time and the let mom out. She was pretty out of it from the spaying, so I wanted to wait til she was better equipped to let her out. The kittens had eaten the food I left so I thought they could make it one night. ANYHOW, as I am going out for the final check of the trap I hear an insistant MEOW from the bushes. So we get out the fancy feast and try to lure the kit out. Well, still waiting, but we did get it to come out enough to see it. (1) it is not the kitten I saw earlier (2) it looks much older (~3 months) and (3) it resembles the mom. So mom is being released in any case, for the younger kits. But I am wondering if the one I am trying to get now is from an earlier litter.

The kitten could definately be from an earlier litter..so it's good you got mom spayed.

Katie

twinka · Aug 10, 2005

well, we had no luck with the older kitten last night, but given the amount of food s/he got I am pretty sure s/he'll be back. I let the mom go, which made me very sad. But since I cannot find the younger kittens, I had to let her go take care of them. The even sadder part is that while I was releasing her from the garage, I noticed that she had used the litter box I put in there all on her own.
Oh well, I hope we get another shot at her to see if we can socialize her.

huggles · Aug 10, 2005

you have done the right thing releasing her, even though I know its hard. I am sure in time you will get another shot at socialising her

twinka · Aug 14, 2005

boy this kitten is something else. i have not caught her yet, but she seems pretty at home in my backyard. i think she is "lonely" as whenever i am outside with my two dogs she comes out and watches. they are german shepherds, so i am not sure if she thinks htey are very big cats with those pointy ears. i have the trap set up now, so i am hoping i get her today. from her behaviour, i think she will respond well to being socialized.. she seems really in need of company. i have not seen the mom and hte younger kitten, but i am hopeful that they are coming to get the food at night.

mom & kittens under shed!

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