Tom taking care of kittens?

My mom is in california at the present, and she says that there is a tom cat that likes to hang around and eat my grandma's cat's food. Apparently, he also has a litter of kittens that he brings around, too. I found this extremely odd. I asked mom if she was sure it was a male, and she said yes.

Has anyone ever heard of a tom taking care of his kittens? I don't know where the mama is, but Mom said that they're definitely his kittens, becuase they all have the same kind of face...she said they're not persian (maybe part?) but they have the same really broad forheads and their muzzles aren't very long.

Also, she said that while they're out there, Tom makes something like 'chucking' noises at the kittens. Now, I noticed that Gemma will make noises that she didn't make before the kittens came (something like a cross between a soft meow and a purr...very short, but she does it a lot).

I just thought this was all very interesting!

And shes absolutely sure this is a male?? Highly unusual. Males are often aggressive towards kittens. Its possible they are a part of the same colony, are they feral?

Hmm, I've heard of all sorts of male animals taking care of thier young when normally they would not be expected to. I guess some animals just have a maternal instinct, despite thier species expectations to shove off.

Yeah, she's pretty sure (it's an orange cat, as well, which highers the chance it's male (though it doesn't rule out a female)...later on I'll ask her to see if she's seen his hooneys or not)...

I dunno if they're feral or not, but they have no problem coming onto the backporch (where the food is, Miss Kitty is an outdoor kitty) through the doggy door to eat the food (which I believe is ontop of a table, or something). But I think that if it were a colony, the other cats might follow him there, wouldn't they?

I knew of a cat who would leave her kittens with a tom and go play. They were friends, and he would watch over the kittens until she got back. He was not their father, but it didn't bother him.

I had an orange Tom who was the most benign alpha cat, especially to kittens - friendly & tolerant. (Not so with adult males who came on my property, before I made an indoor cat of him.)
Then a stray tuxedo cat whom I was feeding outside "adopted" two teenage kittens from a litter I had seen with their mother a few months earlier. It was so cute to see him lounging in the sun, flanked by the two white kittens, one sleek like him and one furry. They were feral, but young enough to be influenced by his example. WHen he let me pet him, they saw it was OK for me to be around. Soon I was petting the sleek little male trapped him for neutering. HE was cool with petting before I trapped him, but his sister was always more shy. Both have ended up lap kitties, thanks to little Tuxedo, their foster dad.

Gilligan shares parental duties with Angel, grooming the kids and playing with them. He chirps at them just like mom does. It's adorable. First time I'd ever seen that with a Tom.

My Fred loved kittens. He raised every rescue kitten I brought home, and even brough some home himself. I would leave any newcomer in a box at the door for him to find, and he would take it to the food and litterbox.
He would look after the neighbor cat's kittens. She would bring them to a box on our front porch, go do her thing, then come back for them. Fred would lay in the box, clean and cuddle them until momcat returned. Then he would help her take them home.
He was the dearest kitty, loved everything but dogs and squirrels. He even had a possum for a buddy when we lived in the country.

Originally Posted by timestreason

Yeah, she's pretty sure (it's an orange cat, as well, which highers the chance it's male (though it doesn't rule out a female)...later on I'll ask her to see if she's seen his hooneys or not)...

I dunno if they're feral or not, but they have no problem coming onto the backporch (where the food is, Miss Kitty is an outdoor kitty) through the doggy door to eat the food (which I believe is ontop of a table, or something). But I think that if it were a colony, the other cats might follow him there, wouldn't they?

Click to expand...

There are orange females...not as many as males...but unless she knows it is a male (by looking at his..umm) then she probably should assume he is a she. As far as next steps...best thing to do is to contact a TNR group about getting a humane trap and getting the colony fixed.

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#ca

As you can see, there is a pretty extensive list for California.

As for your question regarding a feral cat colony...ferals are active from dusk to dawn and typically shy away from humans...so the others wouldn't necessarily "follow" this cat for food. You may have a situation of mixed strays, owned cats and ferals....but regardless....unowned cats should be fixed.


Katie

Our Solomon loved his kittens. At 8 weeks his mate, Sheba, would declare them weaned and would have nothing to do with them. Solomon would take over and bath and care for them. I have some photos of him being followed by his kittens somewhere...

I care for a colony of seven...for the most part they are strays not "true" ferals. Last year, one of our males "CowCat" definitely helped take care of a litter of kittens. I was so surprised to look out my window and see CowCat gently nudging the kittens back into the doghouse/shelter.

Yes...toms are known to kill young kittens but it is definitely possible you have a loving male out there

I have tow males in my siamese cattery. Mow is my nine year old. He is spayed but he is definately an alpha cat. He is the king. T-Bird is my 8 month old stud. He thinks that he is a kitten. Sarah my blue point had kittens five weeks ago and he nurses and grooms that kittens like he is one of them. When all of the kittens curl up in a pile he gets right on top and tries to squeeze in. It is very funny. I think he has some type of identity crisis. The breeder said that he nursed until he was four monts old when I brought him to home.

When our kits started walking, Buddy, the daddy, would bathe them and snuggle with them. To this day, he still will bathe and snuggle with them.


The only time he refused to snuggle was when they returned from the vet after being spayed and neutered. I think it was because of the "vet smell" and it reminded him of his trip to the vet. LOL

I've also known of hermaphroditic cats which would have testes....and litters of kittens. Nature's a wierd, WIERD force...

I had a cat, Scraps, a few years back that took care of a kitten that had been brought to me. One day I walked in to see Scraps teaching the kitten how to hunt...he would clean him, snuggle, all the things that mom would do. The kitten would cry, and Scraps would come running, and one time, caught a mouse--and offered it to the kitten. (yuk!) He was something else.

Both of my studs, Rusty and Hef-cat loved their babies. And my little man Tiger? he's " mothered" two motherless kittens......everything except feed them (albeit the last one "nurses", lmao!). Cutest thing I've ever seen was him carrying one in his mouth like a momcat!

Hay it is about time the male stuck around and be a dad

Aw, wow, this is really awesome. I had no idea that Toms could be so loving Well, I know neutured males can be (even then, Cosmas near tried to kill Ben and Callie when we brought them home...well, now they're all friends) very sweet, but Toms themselves...

Thanks all!

LOL Yep I am amazed also, But know it isn't impossible.