Rescued cats

here is my story

been feeding a stray since november....guessing she was about 4 months at the time. We tried to pet the stray but she was too scared. Eventually over time she warmed up to us but by then she was pregnant!!
She had her kittens under a big bush outside our apartment (april 2nd). 2 weeks ago the landscapers decided the bushes needed trimming! well 2 of the cats got sliced lucky for the kittens, my wife was home and saw the bush was chopped up...ran outside and found 4 kittens in a box next to the bush. she quickly took them to the vet to get them stiched up.



eventually the mom came back looking for them. we gave the kittens a little bath cause they had fleas on them...big mistake! when the mom came back I guess she couldnt smell her scent on them? she his't at them...i was panicing..i didnt know what to do. eventually i sat the mother cat down and sat one of her babies next to her and she went stright for the milk mother cat laid there all relaxed so i brought the rest of them out and they went at it.



these pics were taken 2 weeks ago. all 5 cats live in our bedroom. we have another female cat who is 5 y/o. once we get new parents for the kittens we decided to keep the mom and the one who got sliced up. im guessing the mother cat is about 9-10 months old now. our other cat has been an only child and im kinda worried if they'll get along. both cats are very nice cats...our 5 y/o doesnt even kill bugs when she finds them...she just meows to let us know she finds them the stray is very gentle as well. I hope all is well once eventually.

John..welcome.....and thank you for saving this family. First, I don't know if mom has been to the vet...but before you do introductions between any of the kittens/mom cat and your own cat..you should first have them all vet checked. That way you can ensure that none of them end up passing anything to your existing cat and vice versa. There are lots of really good articles on how to introduce cats...this is one that I use for our rescue:

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catintroductions.htm

I would wait on the introductions until mom cat has weaned her kittens and has been spayed. I would also recommend that you check to see if there are any low cost spay/neuter clinics in your area that would perform pediatric spaying/neutering on the kittens. That way, the new parents would not have to pay for the procedure. Here is a list of low cost clinics by state:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

If you have lots of strays in your area, you may want to get in touch with a TNR group regarding having them all fixed:

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

And a final suggestion....make sure to charge a fee for the kittens you place so that you can avoid placing them with people who would not take care of them:

http://www.cathobbyist.com/articles/...yist/Free.html

Katie

Wow, that is a little too much excitement, isn't it?!? I'm glad the kittens are healing, and can stay inside now where they will be safe!

Remember Momma cats can get pregnant really quick after having kittens, so keep the Momma inside only until you can get her spayed when the kittens are 6-8 weeks old.

Thanks for saving these precious kitties!

How did the landscapers not notice that they had injured kittens while trimming a shrub????

Bless you for taking these babies in and taking good care of them! They're adorable.

I am glad those babies have you and your wife. Godbless...

What lovely pictures! Well done to you both for saving these lives.

wow just in two weeks they are all over the place! 2 weeks ago they could barely crawl now they "gallop" and play fight. every time i go in they come to me and want to climb me

we are keeping the one with the stiches and the mama. we are going to get the mama fixed and de-clawed. the cat we have now is going to be 5 years in october. she hisses at the little injured one when i bring her out to introduce them...she sniffs then hisses lol. but I know our punkin wont hurt the little one cause she is a gentle soul.

here is a pic of our baby


she still likes to kneed on us but when she needs she has to have something in her mouth....like my shirt! when i play my wifes ringtone on my cell, she comes to me wanting to kneed...its so cute.

here is a pic-video i made of her
http://media.putfile.com/Punky-Cat

my question is since shes be an only cat i know she doesnt like the fact the other cats are here. how exactly should i introduce the mama with her once we get the mama fixed and checked out? every time i pet the mama cat i let her smell my hands....she smells then licks my hands when I do this....is this a good sign? btw the mama and our cat have known each other since the mama adopted us(november)...they see each other through the window daily. any tips will be welcomed cause i dont know how they will react. thanks

Please don't get her, or any of the kittens, declawed! Please, please, please, please, please! It is unnecessary brutality: the "problems" it fixes can be fixed in other ways, and it creates other problems that would never have happened.

Her behavior towards you indicates that she's already decided that you are her new home, and she sounds super happy. Many strays are very thankful and affectionate that they finally have a forever home, and perhaps she was a runaway or abandoned and not feral. As for introducing her to your other cat, you will find TONS of advice with a forum search. They can already smell each other- are either of them hissing under the door or anything?

John....I didn't read the reason why you were planning to have mom declawed. Is your other cat declawed? If so, I know many people who have clawed and declawed cats living in the same home.

Here is a really good article on introducing cats:

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catintroductions.htm

Katie

well our 5 y/o is declawed..i would hate them to get in a fight ya know?

btw im still semi-alergic to cats. when i met my wife she had the cat. we moved in together and a day later i wasnt able to breath well...kinda like asthma. time went by and I guess I got use to it..i still every once in a while get the asthma like symtoms but its nothing severe.

Originally Posted by JohnTS71

well our 5 y/o is declawed..i would hate them to get in a fight ya know?

btw im still semi-alergic to cats. when i met my wife she had the cat. we moved in together and a day later i wasnt able to breath well...kinda like asthma. time went by and I guess I got use to it..i still every once in a while get the asthma like symtoms but its nothing severe.

Click to expand...

I have severe athsma and allergys, I do cat rescue, dog rescue and bird rescue, birds being the worse because i cant bathe them as often, You want your symptoms to go away? Bathe your cat once a week in baby shampoo. Sure cats dont like water. find a way to make it work. It really helps.

Your baby is queen ann you should keep it like that. Feed her first cudle her first before the adopted cats.

my wife bathes her once a month. yes we do greet her before we greet the stray...we want her to know shes still #1. I used the queen to propose to my wife...shes a very special to us.

6 cats in my house, a good mix of clawed and declawed all brought in at different times.
There are no issues.
Cats do not use their front paws to fight, only to give warning slaps.

I would strongly urge you to research exactly what the procedure entails, especially when done to an older kitty, before you decide to go that route.

I also would like to say God Bless you for taking this family into the safety of your home until they fine new homes of their own.

Please read the other threads on houses with declawed / not maimed (clawed)! There are many people here with several of both and no problems. Declawing is actually outlawed in many countries because it is considered cruel. I'm sure people would love to share their experiences and advice on their mixed-claw households. If you are concerned about your original cat, the new one could wear Soft Paws, which would prevent injury to anything in your house, as it covers the claws and renders them as dull as plastic butter knives, without amputating every single toe at the first joint and destroying the cats balance and posture.

I'm allergic to cats too. What do you bathe your baby with?

Originally Posted by Arlyn

6 cats in my house, a good mix of clawed and declawed all brought in at different times.
There are no issues.
Cats do not use their front paws to fight, only to give warning slaps.

I would strongly urge you to research exactly what the procedure entails, especially when done to an older kitty, before you decide to go that route.

I also would like to say God Bless you for taking this family into the safety of your home until they fine new homes of their own.

Click to expand...

We need to do lunch sometime in the future. Being so close. I am new here and I went to Bogies in Ogden but it isnt my taste.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Please read the other threads on houses with declawed / not maimed (clawed)! There are many people here with several of both and no problems. Declawing is actually outlawed in many countries because it is considered cruel. I'm sure people would love to share their experiences and advice on their mixed-claw households. If you are concerned about your original cat, the new one could wear Soft Paws, which would prevent injury to anything in your house, as it covers the claws and renders them as dull as plastic butter knives, without amputating every single toe at the first joint and destroying the cats balance and posture.

I'm allergic to cats too. What do you bathe your baby with?

Click to expand...

some cat shampoo my wife bought...she bathes her. its funny when its time to bathe, the queen knows and tries to hide

Originally Posted by JohnTS71

well our 5 y/o is declawed..i would hate them to get in a fight ya know?

btw im still semi-alergic to cats. when i met my wife she had the cat. we moved in together and a day later i wasnt able to breath well...kinda like asthma. time went by and I guess I got use to it..i still every once in a while get the asthma like symtoms but its nothing severe.

Click to expand...

John..why don't you first get her spayed and see how the slow introductions go...I would hate for you to declaw her if it wasn't necessary.

Katie

ill talk with my wife about it..seems like not doing it is the way to go.

here are some pics I just took of them. kids are 5 weeks old

they look so tiny for 5 weeks old!!
Maybe its because my 3.5 weekers are big. they are more then a lb each. ( mom held them in for a while) But really they do look tiny. and such cute little fuzzballs * runs away to collect a fuzzball of her own*