How Did This Happen?

[Cmmack]

Hi. I'm a new member and have a question. I feed the ferals in my neighborhood. One, in particular, is a tiny steel-gray female we call Familiar. (No, I didn't name her, my daughter did.) Exactly four months ago to the day, she gave birth to six beautiful kittens. I haven't been able to find homes for any of them, so they live on my porch.

Anyway, I stepped out on my porch this morning to fill up their food bowls and was greeted by the mewlings of newborn babies. I peeked over the back of the small sofa sitting there and was stunned by the sight of Familiar wrapped around a litter of tiny, tiny kittens in a space no bigger than six inches in diameter. How did this happen?

up until a month ago she and her first litter lived in my bedroom. I had to put them outside because they were clawing me up too bad. Counting back, she had to have gotten pregnant at least two months ago when the kittens were a couple of months old. She never went into heat. Believe me, I would have known. How? If anyone can enlighten me, it would make me very happy.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Silent heats are possible. Was she going outside at all?

Are you working to have these cats spayed and neutered? You will be quickly overrun. The females from her first litter can get pregnant any time now.

 

[Cmmack]

Yes, I let her out whenever she wanted to go. I'm pretty experienced with cats, but I never heard of a silent heat before. And so soon after the birth of her first litter?

I'm already overrun with cats. LOL. I'm an old lady on a limited income. Just buying their food is a strain. The TNR program here wants more than I can afford to spay them.

I opened a savings account and I'm saving a small amount each month but it's slow going.

 

[Willowy]

Even if you have to borrow money, have the females spayed ASAP. It will cost WAY more if they keep having kittens and will only end in heartbreak. Plus it costs more to feed kittens and a nursing cat than to spay, if you add up all the costs. Can you imagine what will happen when every female is having 2-3 litters a year, then their daughters do the same? It can become a real problem very quickly. The overwhelming reality of cat reproduction has affected pretty much everyone who's gotten involved with rescuing strays, trust us! It will be so much cheaper in the long run.

If a female cat is bred quickly enough, humans won't notice she's in heat. They only start howling when they get desperate. It's fairly common for an outdoor cat to get pregnant before their owner notices anything.

Cats can get pregnant right away after giving birth. They don't do it every time, but it's possible. Try to keep her indoors only until she's spayed.

 

[Cmmack]

This is a pic of new mom and kids

Borrowing isn't an option for me. On the upside, I found a non-profit clinic, called
C-snip where they do the job cheaply. I must have done a hundred searches and this didn't come up till this morning.

My next payday in less than a week, I'll have enough saved to get mom and one daughter spayed. She only had two girls so that leaves one girl to go. Then I can start saving for the others.

Thanks for the replies. I learned something new today.

 

[jen]

It doesn't matter if she is in heat or not, males will find her and she can get pregnant anytime. Cats are very fertile animals. Glad you know to keep her strictly inside now. If the older kittens are all 16 weeks old now they should be finishing up with their kitten series of vaccines and ready for their rabies shots so don't forget that too. Might want to have the mom tested when she goes in also to make sure she didn't pick up FIV or FeLV from the males she mated with.

 

[Willowy]

If you're doing it in a week, have the 2 daughters spayed instead of the mama. Mama cat really shouldn't be done before the babies are 6-8 weeks old, except in an emergency.

Glad to hear you found an affordable place! That's terrific.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes the older daus are coming now into the danger zone.

So take prio priority on them.

 

[Cmmack]

I think you're right about getting the girls done first. The older kittens are so tiny.
Mouse, who is no bigger than an eight week old, and The Ripper, who is only slightly bigger wouldn't survive a pregnancy. They aren't malnourished, Familiar is a very small cat and they take after her. The new babies are about the size of a mouse. Thanks for the advice.

Oh, yeah, do you think that the fact that I had to mostly hand feed them because mama didn't have enough milk could have had something to do with her coming into heat so soon?

 

[Willowy]

Oh, yeah, do you think that the fact that I had to mostly hand feed them because mama didn't have enough milk could have had something to do with her coming into heat so soon?

Not really. It's pretty common for cats to have one litter in March and one in July or August. They usually don't have winter litters, although in tropical areas that doesn't apply of course. And if they're exposed to artificial lighting it can mess up their cycles too. But this situation is pretty normal for a spring and summer litter.

 

[Cmmack]

Got an appointment for the two daughters to be spayed. For a little extra they'll give rabies and distemper 3-in-1 shots so I''m having that done also. Will be so relieved when it's over. These kittens are so small, a pregnancy would be a disaster! Thanks for all the help and advice. This site is a godsend.

 

[talkingpeanut]

That’s great! When are the appointments?

 

[Cmmack]

Got appointments for sixteenth of next month.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Of August? Great!

Can you keep the girls inside until then?

 

[Cmmack]

Trying to, but you know cats. Easier said than done. And it's hard to impress upon other people the importance of "Mama, The Ripper and Mouse stay inside till they"re fixed" when the girls are determined to get out. It's funny, if I wanted them to stay out, they'd want to stay in!

 

[talkingpeanut]

It’s critical, and you need to make sure it happens. If it means you lock them in a room that no one goes in except you, that’s what has to happen. You can do this!

 

[Cmmack]

We don't have a room like that. We have a two bedroom apt. There are four adults living here, three of which I have no control over. It's "I'm sorry, Mommie, I forgot."

I'm trying to keep them in my room, and for the most part I've been successful, but as you know, it only takes one time.

 

[Willowy]

Well, if they do get pregnant before then, they'll only be about 2 weeks along, at most, when spayed. It may upset some people, and some vets charge extra, but it won't be more dangerous for them. So it's not a disaster if they get out. But I'd still try to keep them in as much as possible.

 

[Cmmack]

There"s that, of course, but I'd rather they didn't get pregnant at all. On the other hand, when I said a pregnancy would kill Mouse and probably The Ripper, too I wasn't kidding. They are tiny. So if it comes to a choice, I'll keep the ones that are already here, rather than those who are just a gleam in their mothers' eyes. If people get upset about it, I can't help it. I already checked about the fee, and they don't charge any more for a pregnant cat.

Mama Cat has really been dragged down by these two pregnancies. I know I'll have to help her feed this last litter like I did the first. I bought a tube of nutrical for her but she still looks bad.

She's very small, has to be less than 5 pounds. If her kittens hadn't been so tiny, I don't believe she would have survived it, either.

We believe she belonged to the people who lived here before we moved in. When they moved, they just left her. The day we moved, a little less than a year ago, she was on the porch and she walked in like she owned the place. We aren't supposed to have pets here, but what can you do? Anyone who could walk past those big green eyes, knowing they are hungry and cold and scared and do nothing, isn't fully human in my opinion.

We tried letting her stay on the porch and feeding her there, but gradually over the past year, she moved into our house and our hearts and stayed there. I never thought I'd have another furbaby after I lost my 3 cats and two Chihuahuas in a house fire over thirty years ago but here we are.

 

[Babypaws]

I’m kind of in a similar situation. I had befriended a part feral cat that was born in our yard last summer but wasn’t able to bring her inside until late May....in the meantime she had gotten pregnant so when I brought her inside I also brought in her 3 kittens....I’m keeping all of them and they are now house cats. But I didn’t realize when I brought them inside the mother cat was pregnant.....her kittens were only 5 weeks old.. I had made an appointment to have the mother cat spayed before I realized she was pregnant again but I canceled it because she was too far along and I didn’t want anything to happen to her. So I’m letting her go full term but she’s been inside now for 63 days and has never been outside since she came inside....everyday I get up hoping she’s had the kittens but nothing yet.....she’s huge and I’m starting to wonder how much longer I should wait for the birth...she must have just got pregnant before I brought her inside...has anyone ever had their cat take this long to have a litter?
A week ago she turned against her first kittens, growls at them if they come near her so I try to keep them separated as much as possible.