Advice Needed On Feral Mom And Kittens

[tiggsmommy]

Hello Everyone! First, I have a wonderful update that all of the feral/semi-feral colony that I care for is now completely fixed! I'm so very relieved to have finally been able to TNR everyone!

Unfortunately, one of the cats that I wasn't able to trap the first time around had kittens. Mommy (Sweet Pea), for whatever reason, totally trusts me, as we have developed a great bond where she lets me pet and love on her. So, she made a nest in one of the winter shelters I have on my front porch, which I was so grateful for, because I have been socializing the kittens and mom and fostering them in a spare bedroom (I have two other cats inside, hence keeping them in a separate bedroom).

One kitten has a loving forever home waiting to take her, and the other kitten and mom are being fostered by me through a rescue agency. The kittens are about 8-9 weeks, so I'm really wanting to keep them all together until they are completely weaned.

I gave everyone a dose of Pyrantel last Friday night. Before that, kitttens stools were solid, but mom had diarrhea. Ever since this, the kittens have also had diarrhea. I've been giving everyone pumpkin with their wet food, and am only a day in with this, but seems to be helping already (yay!).

On Saturday, the rescue agency will be providing me more dewormer meds to administer to mom and kitten.

My question is this: if the other kitten's diarrhea is better by this point, is it okay to keep her a little longer with mom and sibling or because she won't yet be receiving the other dewormer meds, or should I go ahead and let her go to her new home?

My heart is already breaking for the two kittens to be split up. They play together, cuddle during nap time together, and have so much fun. I only want the very best for them, but I'm conflicted as to what is the best thing to do.

Also, once the kitten is left without his sibling, would it be a good idea to gradually introduce him to my two resident cats? He is tiny (2 lbs), and my resident cats are like Titans. They are one and two years old.

Please forgive my ignorance, as fostering kittens is all very new to me.

Thank you so much in advance for your advice and help!

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh boy! They should all finish any meds they need before being re-homed.

All diarrhea should be clear first. They may need panacur for parasites if the diarrhea continues. They need normal poops before being re-homed.

If the two are bonded, you should ask that they be re-homed together.

If the rescue cannot guarantee this, and you feel strongly about it, perhaps you can find them a home together yourself. It is always a good idea to re-home bonded kittens together.

Thank you for all your fantastic work with the TNR community!

Thank you for fostering them!

 

[tiggsmommy]

Hi Sarthur2! Thank you SO very much for your response! The only issue that I failed to mention is that the kitten that already has a home waiting and was found this home before I became an official foster through a rescue agency. I have been fostering her as well only because I wanted to let her stay with mom as long as possible. The person that is going to adopt her will be reimbursing me for the dewormer and feline leukemia test they had a week ago. Perhaps the best thing would be to ask if I could purchase the meds from the agency to give her along with mom and sibling, and just get reimbursed from the person adopting her?

I'm also going to ask if they would take both kittens to keep them together. I know they have two older cats, but it is definitely worth asking if they would take them both!

Thank you again so much for your response, advice, and wisdom shared!

 

[catsknowme]

Prayers and vibes that the adopter takes both kittens. Thank you for taking on that little kitty family. The world needs more people like you. Please keep us updated.

 

[Sarthur2]

You can explain to the adopter that the pair is bonded, and that single kittens need playmates their own age since they have 2 older cats. Two kittens are no more trouble than one!

This happened to me once. I went to adopt a male kitten, and he would not leave his sister's side. The sister would have been left as the last kitten, and I already had other cats at home. I took them both, and never regretted it! They became awesome cats, and were the best of friends!