For about the last year I have been feeding a stray cat that lives around my condo complex. She has always been super friendly. I call her Polly because she is polydactyl. About 3 months ago, she had a litter of kittens. I wanted to get her fixed as soon as I could, but I couldn't get to her because of where she was keeping the kittens. The next time I saw her, I noticed she was pregnant again. About a week ago she stopped coming around for a few days so I figured she was having the kittens. Three days later, she showed up skinny. My boyfriend and I decided to follow her after she ate to see if we could find out where she was keeping the kittens. We followed her back to a bushy area around the large lake I live by. The next day we got a cardboard box, lined it with towels and went to grab the kittens while she was eating by my door. There were 4 of them! We picked them up and carried them back to my place. We found Polly and showed her we had put her kittens in the box. I called my mom and asked her what she thought we should do with them. We decided that it was probably best for Polly and the kittens to live in my spare bathroom.
That is where they are now. Polly has adjusted to living inside, she uses a litter box and doesn't seem that interested in going outside. My 2 other cats are interested in what is going on behind the door. The male seems to be angry while the female is just interested. My dog is also interested, but she doesn't seem to care too much. I took them to the vet yesterday to have Polly checked for diseases and just to make sure everyone was looking healthy. They all got a clean bill of health!
So I have a couple of questions. I have been feeding Polly some of the Orijen that I feed my cats, should I switch her to a kitten food? Can I let Polly interact with my other cats (will my male be a bit uneasy around her since she isn't fixed yet)? Can I let the kittens interact with my other cats at some point? My dog is very friendly around cats (she pretty much raised my male cat from the time he was a kitten, I found him as a stray and he thought that my dog was his mommy), but she is rather big so I'm going to definitely be careful with her around Polly and the kittens. Polly knows my dog from outside, they would smell each other frequently. That is all of the questions I have no, once they get bigger, I'm sure that I will have more! I've lived with cats my whole life, but this is my first experience with a momma and her kittens.
My parents are going to take Polly and/or a kitten once everyone is bigger. My neighbor has said that she and her boyfriend would like one (gray and white male). I think I am going to keep one and one of my friends says that he would like two. That takes care of everyone! I'm also going to get Polly fixed once the kittens are weaned.
Now, what I'm sure everyone has been waiting for... PICS! WOOO!!!!
I have two males and two females. The all gray male doesn't have any extra toes. The gray and white male has 6 toes on his front paws only. One calico female has an extra toe on her front left and back left paws only (too funny! only on one side!). The other calico (the one my boyfriend is holding) has extra toes on all 4 paws. They all started opening their eyes yesterday. I have been picking them up and petting them every day so they are used to human touch. Polly doesn't seem to mind at all, she also was super friendly at the vet yesterday. I feel like she must have been someone's cat at some point, and they moved away and just left her. Lucky for her, she found a sucker and her family!
That is where they are now. Polly has adjusted to living inside, she uses a litter box and doesn't seem that interested in going outside. My 2 other cats are interested in what is going on behind the door. The male seems to be angry while the female is just interested. My dog is also interested, but she doesn't seem to care too much. I took them to the vet yesterday to have Polly checked for diseases and just to make sure everyone was looking healthy. They all got a clean bill of health!
So I have a couple of questions. I have been feeding Polly some of the Orijen that I feed my cats, should I switch her to a kitten food? Can I let Polly interact with my other cats (will my male be a bit uneasy around her since she isn't fixed yet)? Can I let the kittens interact with my other cats at some point? My dog is very friendly around cats (she pretty much raised my male cat from the time he was a kitten, I found him as a stray and he thought that my dog was his mommy), but she is rather big so I'm going to definitely be careful with her around Polly and the kittens. Polly knows my dog from outside, they would smell each other frequently. That is all of the questions I have no, once they get bigger, I'm sure that I will have more! I've lived with cats my whole life, but this is my first experience with a momma and her kittens.
My parents are going to take Polly and/or a kitten once everyone is bigger. My neighbor has said that she and her boyfriend would like one (gray and white male). I think I am going to keep one and one of my friends says that he would like two. That takes care of everyone! I'm also going to get Polly fixed once the kittens are weaned.
Now, what I'm sure everyone has been waiting for... PICS! WOOO!!!!
I have two males and two females. The all gray male doesn't have any extra toes. The gray and white male has 6 toes on his front paws only. One calico female has an extra toe on her front left and back left paws only (too funny! only on one side!). The other calico (the one my boyfriend is holding) has extra toes on all 4 paws. They all started opening their eyes yesterday. I have been picking them up and petting them every day so they are used to human touch. Polly doesn't seem to mind at all, she also was super friendly at the vet yesterday. I feel like she must have been someone's cat at some point, and they moved away and just left her. Lucky for her, she found a sucker and her family!