- Joined
- Apr 30, 2013
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- 33
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Hi all,
I used to post on this site for advice for my two cats, but it's been many years, and I don't remember how to log in to my old account...
We have many regular strays that come around our backyard, and I have become very familiar with most of them over the years. We don't use our garage and left the door open one winter when it snowed here (we're far south in the US, so it was very unusual) for them as shelter, so I think a lot of them have become fond of our garage.
I know all of the cats that come around here by sight, but this evening I was very surprised to find a kitten! In all five years that we've lived here, there's never been a kitten among the strays. They were with a gorgeous tortoiseshell I've tried befriending for years, but she has never been won over. I'm not certain, but I think she may be the mother? I've just never seen her with a kitten before and assumed she might be spayed. There's also just this one kitten.
She and the kitten both ran into our garage, and I am wondering now, is it possible to befriend the kitten and eventually adopt? What can I do to encourage them not to run away?
They look quite small, so I am not certain if they are over 6 weeks old. So if the tortoiseshell is the mother, I do not want to separate them now. I sent my husband out to find some kitten food to leave out (the pet stores were closed, so we couldn't get milk... is that bad to do?) I think they would obviously stick around if they are fed, but I wonder how I might manage to get close. Should I stay nearby after feeding them? Leave an old shirt out by the food? I went to check ten minutes after we put kitten food and cat food out in the garage for both of them, and the bowls were both empty, but no sight of the cats, so I think they are definitely in there.
Is there any good way to determine the age of the kitten? I'm not sure if it was bad for me to put out the wet kitten food or not.
I used to have a very small, stray kitten who we absolutely adored and we lost to cancer (myxosarcoma) at the young age of 5 back in 2018, so my heart is just extra caught up in all this. I haven't adopted another cat since we lost her, but I think about it a lot and just never manage to actually go through with it.
I used to post on this site for advice for my two cats, but it's been many years, and I don't remember how to log in to my old account...
We have many regular strays that come around our backyard, and I have become very familiar with most of them over the years. We don't use our garage and left the door open one winter when it snowed here (we're far south in the US, so it was very unusual) for them as shelter, so I think a lot of them have become fond of our garage.
I know all of the cats that come around here by sight, but this evening I was very surprised to find a kitten! In all five years that we've lived here, there's never been a kitten among the strays. They were with a gorgeous tortoiseshell I've tried befriending for years, but she has never been won over. I'm not certain, but I think she may be the mother? I've just never seen her with a kitten before and assumed she might be spayed. There's also just this one kitten.
She and the kitten both ran into our garage, and I am wondering now, is it possible to befriend the kitten and eventually adopt? What can I do to encourage them not to run away?
They look quite small, so I am not certain if they are over 6 weeks old. So if the tortoiseshell is the mother, I do not want to separate them now. I sent my husband out to find some kitten food to leave out (the pet stores were closed, so we couldn't get milk... is that bad to do?) I think they would obviously stick around if they are fed, but I wonder how I might manage to get close. Should I stay nearby after feeding them? Leave an old shirt out by the food? I went to check ten minutes after we put kitten food and cat food out in the garage for both of them, and the bowls were both empty, but no sight of the cats, so I think they are definitely in there.
Is there any good way to determine the age of the kitten? I'm not sure if it was bad for me to put out the wet kitten food or not.
I used to have a very small, stray kitten who we absolutely adored and we lost to cancer (myxosarcoma) at the young age of 5 back in 2018, so my heart is just extra caught up in all this. I haven't adopted another cat since we lost her, but I think about it a lot and just never manage to actually go through with it.