Dilemma - Street cats and a Newborn Kitten

[StefanZ]

Also- when you said you stared at her, remember in the feral world, a direct stare is a challenge.  She may not be truly feral but she's been part of that society.

Good luck and thank you for helping!

Yes, the trick is to look a little aside, say at her flank, so you dont stare in her eyes.  Home cats can do so, but amongs ferales it is hostile.

You can try and show some friendly signs, like  look at her with half closed eyes.

Or yawn.  Or standing on all fours, yawn broadely.   (so cats yawning or streching themselves arent sleepy, usually they do so to their human or cat pals).

Talk also a lot with friendly voice, make friendly soft noises.

Moms talk so to their babies,  also friendly toms court so.   These non friendly toms just takes what you saw yourself..    So the surely know whom try to be friendly, and who doesnt even bother.

When you have her in, plan for a quite soon vet visit. Check up, but also spaying, you dont want a new litter.

Good luck!

 

[StefanZ]

ps. This wrapping up in a towel is no hostile kidnapping.  its mostly a way to safeguard none of you can hurt each other. 

  I know a breeder who wraps up her studs, who hates to get nailclipped.  But wrapped up, he doesnt care much, as he anyway cant do anything about it.

In another variation, such a wrapping up and carrying at your chest, singing and talking friendly half an hour or longer, is a forceful tool in socializing ferale kittens.  I would guess it may work also with adults, so when the day comes, try this trick with her too.    

 

[kittychick]

SO glad you're making progress on getting Mom cat inside! Defintely be sure to isolate her from your cat until you can get her looked at (same with the kitten) - and WASH YOUR HANDS! Keeping your indoor kitty safe is important too! But the best thing in the world is a big dog crate - if you can lure mom into one with her baby - put away from your cat in a bedroom, etc. - she'll feel safer and so will you. Just put something in the crate she feels she can "hide and nest" away safely from prying eyes---even a box turned on its side will be a big help for her.

Keep us posted - sounds like you're making great progress on actually getting her safe too! Defintely be sure you're stimulating kitten to eliminate if it's not with mom non-stop (easy to find instructions online on how to do so). Kittens won't survive without that as mom's do it for them. So read up on that - it's not hard, and it gets remarkably easy to do once you've done it a few times

Good luck!!!!

 

[kittywave]

I went to a vet yesterday with the kitten, as his eye was pussing and we got a little worried - he said the kitten was doing really well, was the right weight, and treated the eye with Polysporin ointment for eyes.  The eye is almost perfect today!  We still haven't been able to poop but he pees a good amount.  The vet said if we stimulate him enough to pee, when he wants to poop he would.  

Now that we have our car, it should be much easier to figure out the cat situation.  The same vet is giving us free treatment for the mom, as she is a stray rescue.  He will vaccinate her, treat her for rabies, and neuter her!  The vet is really great, he runs his own charity apart from owning a vet clinic, so through his charity he takes care of a lot of the expenses with stray cats.  I love that there are people like that out there.  The mom and I have made more progress with getting along, she waits for me sometimes in front of my door and comes in for a bit.  The male cats have seemed to stop chasing her as much, I think the caretaker and I scared them a bit (we have been chasing them away from her every time we see them, and then she comes and follows me to my door - Safehouse!) I will update as soon as I get her to the dog crate! 

ps; as we have been taking care of the kitten, when she sees him and smells him, do you think she would reject him because of the human smell?

Thank you !

 

[laurasorphans]

She will NOT reject him. It would be great if he can be with her ALL the time in a small room like a bathroom or in a crate with a sheet over it. Put the baby in a box with his heater on half of the surface area and put a blanket on top- and then mom should go in with him to sleep with him and feed him. Just make sure it is a big enough box for her to fit in comfortably. If you don't have a box and don't have access to a crate or carrier you can use a plastic bin that is shallow enough for mom to jump in and obviously without the cover on top. You can still supplement with the bottle and depending on how long she has been away from him she may not be producing milk anymore. Putting them together ASAP and him rooting around on her mammary glands may help her start lactating, but if it's been more than 3 days it may be too late. It is probably safest for you to just keep doing what you are doing BUT put him with mom also, unless you are SURE he is eating from her and mom is lactating.

 When you go in their room to feed baby talk to mom in a reassuring voice and don't go right for baby- talk to her first and sit down , making sure you don't make direct eye contact. Also I have noticed some cats will get freaked just by you not blinking enough if they are feral/skittish and sensitive so I always try to be sure I am blinking- blinking slowly is even better. Keep talking to her when you go to baby and pay close attention to her. I think judging by the progress you have made she will be good, but be wary because it is her instinct to keep baby safe. The best thing to do is to offer her some canned food or meat baby food when you go in to feed baby. I will feed babies infront of mom once I know they aren't going to do anything and are sweet with me, but I will NOT potty babies infront of mom until we have a strong bond since  most babies will sceam and cry and this will upset the mother. 

Even if she is not feeding him, there are considerable benefits from him having his real mother. We cannot lay with orphans and clean them like a mother can, but most importantly we cannot teach him like his mother can. 

As far as the baby, I really think you got him just in time- I'm pretty surprised he was not killed by a male before you got him. I'm actually kind of shocked. 

Make sure when you are stimulating him you are starting up at his rib cage and massaging by making circles with your finger all the way down to his anal area- them stimulate his anal area. He needs to have a bowel movement- I wouldn't be concerned if it was less than 2 days but his tummy must be getting distended if it's been over 2 days. If he is with his mother she will probably take care of pottying him. Mothers will "clean up" the feces so you may not ever see any while he is still in need of stimulation. This is another benefit of having mom around. In addition to MUCH cleaner kittens and less baths!

It's great you found this vet- I would kill to have him near me! It is really great news.

Until mom is tested for FIV/FeLV be sure to keep her and baby separate from your kitty, and just wash your hands after handling them to be safe. I always take extreme precautions and some people think I am crazy but it's always better to play it safe. I have fostered hundreds of kittens and cats, some with very contagious illnesses and my cats have always been healthy. Just stay aware and follow the great suggestions you've gotten so far and the vet who is helping gives :-)

Lastly, thank you for taking these two. That poor mom is going to be so happy once she has adjusted inside- imagine how much better her quality of life will be.

 

[kittychick]

Any update on mom & baby? Hope baby's growing----& hope moms been spayed by now! Keep us posted!! Been wondering!

 

[kittywave]

Hey!

Thank you for keeping up and caring!

The kitten is doing so well! His teeth are growing, he is "running" around (more like falling over and walking) and seems very happy.  The mom is in a safe place with the caretaker, until our vet has time for her. I will probably not be able to spade all the cats in the colony, but I am sure for her.  She seems to be the one that is most often pregnant, as the caretaker has told me, so a little by little hopefully it will get better.  

Thanks for caring, and I will update soon