Hi - New & Looking For Advice!

Hello!

Found you all on a google search. Hopefully I can get some advice on a little situation I have. Here it goes..

I currently have 1 cat about 1 year old I adopted when I moved into my apartment. I couldn't bring my other baby (lab). So she lives with my parents. Anyways, I wanted to get a friend for my cat that I have now. However, I have stumbled aross 3 kittens from a stray mother just 100 feet away at the other apartment building in the woods. They are very cute.

Here is my dilema. Do I really want 4 cats? I don't really want to break up a family. I really don't. However I am not sure what 4 cats are like. Especially how they will act with each other (at least mine now and the 3 kittens).

What do I do? Can they be split up? Im a guy ok. I love my cat, but I also dont want to be percieved wrong for having 4 cats you know?

I have plans on snatching them tomorrow and getting them to the vet to get looked at and checked out before I do anything.

I just don't know. 4 cats seems like alot. Will my other cat get upset and not love me anymore?

This all seems crazy but I dont want my cat getting upset. I want her to have a friend(s).


Please advise.


Thanks
Kris

Do not worry about splitting apart a family, unless the kittens are under 10-12 weeks old. They need to be with the mother until then. After that it doesn't matter. The mother may even begin to push them away.

You could keep them if you have the room, the time and the money for them. They will need high quality kitten/cat food, vaccinations (there are a couple sets for kittens up until the adult booster) you will be responsible for spaying and neutering them all. This can be done at 8-12 weeks old.

Keep that all in mind and then decide. What are your plans for the mother cat?
She can already get pregnant again so keep her in and away from intact males. 4 cats is not abnormal. Lots of people have 4 or more, lots of people in this site too. I have 6.

Welcome to TCS!!

I agree.... as long as the kitten's aren't too young to be taken away from their mother than it's ok to seperate them if you have to.

As of right now, I don't know how old they are. They were out running around, playing, chasing and having fun. Maybe a month or so old? I can't tell. The lady said they were ready to go because they were eating the hard food she put out for them. Again, I am unsure.

I am aware of all the "medical" items that need to be done and I can get help with that. So that isn't a problem. I just don't know about all the cats tho. It would be cool but.. can they share 1 litter box? I know it would have to be cleaned alot more than what I do.. but I don't know about that.

Do you think my female cat would get along ok with them? She was around another female a while back and she wanted to "play". She was just a bit younger then but she is still playful.

Just not sure what to do. Especially if they are ready to be taken away from their mom.

The female.. I don't know what is happening with her. I was told this is her 3rd or 4th liter. There are talks of her getting fixed but I don't think anyone is going to do that. Hell it only costs 35 bux here. If nobody else will I think i will try just so she will stop having babies.

Thanks

It's okay to split up kitty families..If you keep all 4 cats, you must make sure you can afford all that goes with them...Vet bills, food, toys ets...It's alot of responsibility and money with 4 kitties. I definately wouldn't be able to handle four while giving them the best care possible.

If they are a month old they are DEFINATELY not ready to be away from the mother. Could you take them all into the vet and have the mother tested so she is okay before meeting your cat.

Then bring in the whole crew and work on getting the mother fixed. If your cat has problems with her, take it slow, don't plop them all down together and expect them to get along. Especially with an unspayed female, that might have an effect on her reaction.

Then go from there. See how they all are and if you can handle it.

Oh and they cannot all share one box. You should have one box per cat and one extra. Or you can get a big dog litter box too. I have one and it is great. Try Feline Pine for odor control, it works amazingly well and the urine turns to sawdust so no urine smell.

My gut feeling is telling me NO MORE KITTY'S. Even to the point of just acting like I don't even know they are over there.

Originally Posted by Jen

If they are a month old they are DEFINATELY not ready to be away from the mother. Could you take them all into the vet and have the mother tested so she is okay before meeting your cat.

Then bring in the whole crew and work on getting the mother fixed. If your cat has problems with her, take it slow, don't plop them all down together and expect them to get along. Especially with an unspayed female, that might have an effect on her reaction.

Then go from there. See how they all are and if you can handle it.

Oh and they cannot all share one box. You should have one box per cat and one extra. Or you can get a big dog litter box too. I have one and it is great. Try Feline Pine for odor control, it works amazingly well and the urine turns to sawdust so no urine smell.

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Yeah .. I can't do 1 box per cat. Not enough room. Hmm. I guess somone else will have to find them a new home.

Well if that is the case then maybe not. How about keeping the mother, so she is safe and cared for and then rehoming the kittens? That way you kitty has a friend. You said she wanted to play with a cat once before. I always think you should have 2 cats and not one so they can be buddies

where do you live that they charge $35? that is great! I go to low cost clinics but usually it is $54

Originally Posted by Jen

where do you live that they charge $35? that is great! I go to low cost clinics but usually it is $54

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Richmond VA. Lots of places here help with getting animals fixed for cheap.


I can't take the mother. She is a stray.. I cant remember the name of a cat that was born/raised outdoors and away from people. She is skittish and does not like other cats. That is a no go.

I am thinking of maybe just taking one kitty and be done with it. I think 2 kittys can share 1 box? I hope. If not I will just stick with my one cat.

Hey only you know what will work!
That would be really great if you could get the momma spayed and find the kitties a new home. Even just put an ad up on Craigslist.com or petfinder.com and see if anyone is interested. Charge an adoption fee of about $20 or so to ensure a good home and that they don't go to labs or hoarders or anything.

Oh and the mother might get along just fine with other cats once she is spayed. So put up an ad for momma cat and kittens to good home. Can you at least bring them in until the kittens are old enough and the mother is spayed?

Originally Posted by Jen

Oh and the mother might get along just fine with other cats once she is spayed. So put up an ad for momma cat and kittens to good home. Can you at least bring them in until the kittens are old enough and the mother is spayed?

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Not really. The mother I hear will get very "aggressive" if any other cats are around. The whole family is out there. Mom, Dad and 3 kittens.

Ohh that is too bad. What about trapping them? If both parents are out there, she will really get prego quick if not already. A vet or shelter can loan you a trap. It is really easy. I mean, the babies are at risk outside at that young age and when those babies are older the father and brothers will just impregnate the females and you guys will just have tons more out there.

Sorry I just don't give up do I?

Originally Posted by Jen

Ohh that is too bad. What about trapping them? If both parents are out there, she will really get prego quick if not already. A vet or shelter can loan you a trap. It is really easy. I mean, the babies are at risk outside at that young age and when those babies are older the father and brothers will just impregnate the females and you guys will just have tons more out there.

Sorry I just don't give up do I?

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Its ok. Im going to make a couplee calls tomorrow and see what I can do. Need to get an age check on the kittens tho.

Glad to hear it!!

Let us know what they say! If I lived near you I would help you out and take those babies in side.

I think your heart is in the right place...even if you cannot adopt and "save" these kittens, you do have the ability to make a huge difference for this little kitty family.

It sounds like someone is feeding the Momma. Can she catch the Momma and take her to be spayed, if you will pay the $35? Or maybe if you give the vet $20, she will pay the other $15? Anything to encourage her to get Momma spayed, so she will quit having babies. If she cannot easily catch the Momma, the vet can probably loan her a trap, to capture her. The father should be neutered also, so he will quit producing babies, and will be less likely to fight.

The adult cats can simply be released back where they came from, if the lady is willing to keep feeding them. Some kitties are just too wild to easily be adopted, but by spaying/neutering, you improve their health greatly!

As for whether to get a kitten or not...sometimes people do have two kitties with one litterbox. But the recommendation is one more litterbox than you have kitties. So ideally, with two kitties, you would have 3 litterboxes! Only you can decide if you really have room for another kitty.

It is also a whole different story to have 1 litterbox for two cats, then to have 1 litterbox for 4 cats. So you could try it out and then start figuring out a place for one more if need be. Even just for one cat, you should have two boxes though. Some cats like to pee in one and poo in the other.

If you ever have unwanted urinating problems, that would be the first thing to consider.