I have been feeding a cat who comes around for the past year and a half you can't get ant nearer than 3', she showed up looking emaciated and tired three weeks ago so I put out food and water which she ate. She then brought a litter of kittens and put them under my back deck. For some reason after a week and a half she took three and left two or two came back. I've been feeding them wet kitten chow with kitten formula. they now are eating dry kitten chow appear to be 6 weeks old and are staying on my enclosed porch as there are too many preditors around and ,moma shows up once or twice a day and I let them out to nurse,I'm not sure I doing the right thing, they use the litter box on the enclosed porch and I can handle and play with them and will have them vet checked soon, should I stop letting the mother interact with them, I can't leave them outside as she doesn't stay with them.Help!any suggestions would be appreciated I can't bring them in until they get vet checked as I have indoor cats. Colleen
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hope I'm doing the right thing
- Thread starter colleen-ct
- Start Date
Welcome to TCS...Colleen..you need to address the entire family. Mom cat will need to be spayed. What I recommend you do is to place the kittens into a carrier and place the carrier at the end of the humane trap. Hopefully mom will go into the humane trap to get to her kittens and then you can take her in to be spayed. As for the kittens, it should be fine to allow them to continue to interact with mom once she is spayed. Below is a list of low cost clinics in CT...they should be able to tell you where you can borrow a humane trap:
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html#ct
Katie
If im doing the math right one kitten is still with the mom? If he is still alive that is.
If so it is dangerously if you take in mom for castration... This kitten will be defenceless...
Best is if you can trace the kittens whereabouts, and take him in immediately after you catched the mom.
Or you may try to release her as soon after the operation as possible (about 24-36h with good vet), hoping the kitten did manage. After all, he is often left alone. Probably he has some hiding place...
Of course, the mom will also be defenceless against predators... Difficult.
Or you can do as you are doing. Hoping the mother will continue to come to you even after the kittens are not longer hers so to speak. And she probably waiting for next litter.
Whatever you do: keep with your good work!
If so it is dangerously if you take in mom for castration... This kitten will be defenceless...
Best is if you can trace the kittens whereabouts, and take him in immediately after you catched the mom.
Or you may try to release her as soon after the operation as possible (about 24-36h with good vet), hoping the kitten did manage. After all, he is often left alone. Probably he has some hiding place...
Of course, the mom will also be defenceless against predators... Difficult.
Or you can do as you are doing. Hoping the mother will continue to come to you even after the kittens are not longer hers so to speak. And she probably waiting for next litter.
Whatever you do: keep with your good work!
She had five kittens? So she still has three with her.
Try to locate them if possible. If not - do not take the mama in. The kittens are to small yet.
If I were you I would keep puting food out. Then there is a chanse she will bring the other three back to eat. When they are around six weeks now they will be wild and difficult to catch. When you know where they are you will need to trap them all. Do you have a cat-organization in the neigbourhood that can help you? There is some tricks to make this as easy as possible.
The kittens will be easier to trap than the mama. Once you have all kittens you can trap the mama with the kittens as bait.
Even if this is some work it feels a lot better when they are all inside and safe.
We have five feral kittens inside and there two mamas and even if they are taking a lot of our time - I haven't regretted it for one second.
Good luck and thanks for caring for them. Please don't forget to keep us updated.
Try to locate them if possible. If not - do not take the mama in. The kittens are to small yet.
If I were you I would keep puting food out. Then there is a chanse she will bring the other three back to eat. When they are around six weeks now they will be wild and difficult to catch. When you know where they are you will need to trap them all. Do you have a cat-organization in the neigbourhood that can help you? There is some tricks to make this as easy as possible.
The kittens will be easier to trap than the mama. Once you have all kittens you can trap the mama with the kittens as bait.
Even if this is some work it feels a lot better when they are all inside and safe.
We have five feral kittens inside and there two mamas and even if they are taking a lot of our time - I haven't regretted it for one second.
Good luck and thanks for caring for them. Please don't forget to keep us updated.
I disagree..the kittens are 6 weeks of age...we do not know if the other kittens are still alive and every day this mom is intact, she can become pregnant again. If anything....she should be returned as soon as possible.
Katie
