I need some advice. There are a bunch of stray cats that live in the woods behind our house. The cats lived in a house that was knocked down and the owners did not take the cats with them. One cat in particular has taken a liking to us. She is a bit skidish but very sweet. Needless to say, she looks like she is pregnant and pretty far along. We eventually want to trap her and get her fixed and all her shots and maybe adopt her. However, I do not want to do this until after the kittens are born. Here is where I need your help. How should I assist the cat during this interim period and after giving birth. We give her food and water. But, I am concerned about where she will give birth and how we can protect her kittens. There are racoons in the woods (which actually came on our deck last night after sniffing her food!) and a really mean black cat whom she and other cats have fought with (on our deck as well!). Should I try to make her a whelping box on our deck of some sort, or is she likely to just go into the woods? After the birth should I try to move her kittens near our house for her to care for? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Pregnant Stray
- Thread starter hotdog
- Start Date
Hotdog....frankly, I would trap her now and bring her indoors if you want to help her with her pregnancy. The outdoors is no place for a cat to have kittens and unfortunately there is no way that you can control "where" she has them or "when" she will bring them to you. Also, by the time she has had the kittens and they are old enough for you to handle, she could be pregnant again. If you want to help this girl and allow her to have her kittens..best to trap her and bring her inside and set her up in a room indoors.
Katie
I totally agree! Kittens outside with several other cats (and racoons) will not last very long. If the tomcat doesn't kill them, the racoons surely will. You cannot protect theses babies if the mom has them outside. Definitely bring them in if you can.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
It would probably be a good idea to take her to the vet..they can tell you how far along she is and they can certainly let you know about fleas products etc. Just make sure the vet understands that she is a stray with an unknown background.
Also, as far as the other cats...you may want to contact a local TNR group in your state:
http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html
There is a lot of really good information on Alley Cat Allies:
http://www.alleycat.org/resources_care.html#4
Some more good information:
http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehom...feralindex.cfm
And another group that specializes in feral/stray cats:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feral_cats/
Katie
Good Luck and keep us updated!
