- Joined
- Jul 28, 2023
- Messages
- 1
- Purraise
- 9
I was never a cat person, and not a pet owner. And as of today – almost 5 weeks from first meeting a stray/feral in my yard I am now seriously considering becoming one.
Some (long) background. Almost 5 weeks ago I went outside in the heat of the NJ summer to water my plants only to see a community cat (feral I think) resting on some cool concrete under some shade in my back yard. I had seen him before and didn't mind him there – they can catch and kill rodents and the like and have in the past decade. I viewed them like spiders – leave them alone to do their thing and they will really help out. Also, like spiders, don't touch them.
Then I saw three little heads all look up from his side as he turned his head to see me. 'That's odd' I thought 'I didn't think males could nur... oh. OH!' and then the kittens all ran/pounced as fast (and as cute) as they could under my shed. The (now I realized) mom stood and poised herself to run there too while looking at me. I left her alone and watered the plants. Going to the store I picked up some fancy feast and thought 'the littles ones are probably too small to eat this, but I can help mom feed the little ones'.
I left it outside (I always scoop it and spread it on paper plates) and went back inside the house and watched from a window. The mom came, investigated and began to chow down. Then the little ones came out to do the same! I was surprised, and went out to pick up more fancy feast so I could get them two meals (no more than 2 cans per meal I swore to myself, how little then did I realize). Once they were done eating I removed the plates.
Over the next few weeks I continued to feed them and they slowly warmed up to me. The little ones were still wary whenever I would stand up after sitting with them, or if I made any sudden movements. And some days I couldn't get the kittens to get any food (they would stay under the shed in the backyard) but as the weeks went by I would start seeing all of them every meal time.
Mom devours everything (as do the little ones) liking the plates clean. Mom in particular is always so, so hungry. I think it's a combination of her still nursing them (even today – the day I am making this post) and her being a strat/feral. Every day I began to sit a little closer to them as they ate, and was finally able to be sitting there with them as they ate, and they would play a few feet from me. Standing up though would usually send them off to some distance but not always under my shed.
Every day more and more amazon drop offs arrived as I tried to make life easier for them in my backyard. Lids for the trash cans to stop flies, an outdoor tent for some shade (which they don't like as much as the shed or under my car), and more. I even made a 3k down payment to have my yard fenced so I can stop dogs from inspecting my yard (will go up before September arrives).
I almost killed these little guys a few times too once by almost weeding the yard (realized right as I had finished filling the feeder that they lick their paws, which could mean death to them) and a few times I found the kittens in my cars engine (I had seen a little paw climb up into the under carriage and was horrified that they could do that – getting them OUT of the engine was a real challenge). The importance of reading ingredient lists on tuna/sardine cans can not be stressed enough either.
At week two I reached out to find some help and was lucky enough to be put into contact with a wonderful lady who does TNR. In fact – almost a month since I had first seen them we managed to catch all 4 beauties. The mom went right into the trap to get the food placed in there without any worry and didn't freak out in the trap either (was toweled). The little ones all went into the cat carrier so we were able to get them inside my house where I've been taking care of them for almost a week now.
For their personalities – Mom (Oreo is my name for her) is a sweet heart. After two weeks of feeding her she would be pawing at the back door when it was feeding time, and would walk beside me as I placed it down (almost tripped me twice). She eventually let me pet her (not all the time) and showed me her belly a few times too. The little ones let me pet them when they were feeding (although they weren't sure of this, so I didn't press the issue) by the 3rd week. As for their names – I named the mostly black kitten Rumor, the two black/white ones are Button and Sentry.
Sentry got his name because of all of them he is the only vocal one, and was meowing at me from the first time he saw me, as if he was warning the others under the shed that there was a large two legged monster outside. He meows when he wants just about anything too, which is adorable.
Button got her name from 'as cute as a button' and is the most 'streamlined' of them. Like a huntress. When I break out the worm toy to play in the afternoons she leaps and pounces all over the room to catch it and also is the only one to try to bring it someplace safe to feast on it – as if she has a den.
Rumor is named after a large black cat in the Shannara series of books and was really good at hiding in her own shadow. She is the runt of the litter and a wall flower. She took the longest to trust me initially and somedays I wouldn't see him. He has something wrong with his left eye so when he goes in for an appointment we'll see if we can have it looked at.
The mom went thru her spaying and vaccinations/shots without any trouble and tested negative for luekimia and FHIV. A few days after the proceedure though mom had a full milk gland (looked swollen) so the TNR lady who was watching her reached out to a feeding/lactate/nursing expert on cats and was recommended to bring the mom to the kittens pronto – they can suckle from it and open it up.
So now I am watching the family, and little Rumor did most of the work on that breast drinking it up whenever he could. Mom looks health and happy as do the little ones, and I've given them all my laundry room to romp around in. I can pick rumor up and put him in my lap, and if I am stroking his head/cheek with my palm, he purrs endlessly and almost falls asleep. Mom I've gotten somewhat used to brushing now and she purrs when I do so – I can't believe what a sweetie she is. Button doesn't like being petted much still, while Sentry doesn't mind as long as it's just a few times. I've also now been able to pick up the little ones and place them back down near food or getting them down off high places – but trying to herd them is never going to work. This morning they managed to run past me and began exploring the rest of the house – thankfully food brought them all back to the laundry room! They are getting very brave which I love since I do not want them to be afraid of humans.
Let it be known that I did not understand kitty litter at all – this has all been quite a sudden adventure my life has undergone.
In any case – I am in the process of 'cat proofing' the home while I see if I can find a rescue (or home) to take in the little ones. While I would love to keep all 4 I am not ready for that many cats. Maybe I could keep the mom and one little one, but all 4 is just too many unfortunately. (I am super allergic to cats – and my house is filled with 'doodads' which I am boxing as I also work on changing shelves, throwing away any nicknacks that they could eat, move paints/game pieces and so on into chests or other secure places.
I will wrap this up by saying thank you to the posters here in this forum, as it is the reason I made an account here too. Some google searches about strays/ferals would occasionally bring me here. Turns out I was doing everything right but it is so good to have confirmation from others who have done this on a regular basis. I also now realize how overburdened the shelters and TNR efforts are, and have learned a great deal about cats in general (never had one, never even considered getting one, but when I was able to hold little Rumor as she purred in complete content I can't imagine what a wonderful world I had missed out on for so long).
Although it is tough to get good pictures of them I have a few. The outside one was from about two weeks ago now, the indoor ones were from yesterday. And thank you TheCatSite - your discussions and questions helped me over the last few weeks, and helped me calm down especially when I searched for 'will mom cat forgive me for spaying her' ha ha ha!
Some (long) background. Almost 5 weeks ago I went outside in the heat of the NJ summer to water my plants only to see a community cat (feral I think) resting on some cool concrete under some shade in my back yard. I had seen him before and didn't mind him there – they can catch and kill rodents and the like and have in the past decade. I viewed them like spiders – leave them alone to do their thing and they will really help out. Also, like spiders, don't touch them.
Then I saw three little heads all look up from his side as he turned his head to see me. 'That's odd' I thought 'I didn't think males could nur... oh. OH!' and then the kittens all ran/pounced as fast (and as cute) as they could under my shed. The (now I realized) mom stood and poised herself to run there too while looking at me. I left her alone and watered the plants. Going to the store I picked up some fancy feast and thought 'the littles ones are probably too small to eat this, but I can help mom feed the little ones'.
I left it outside (I always scoop it and spread it on paper plates) and went back inside the house and watched from a window. The mom came, investigated and began to chow down. Then the little ones came out to do the same! I was surprised, and went out to pick up more fancy feast so I could get them two meals (no more than 2 cans per meal I swore to myself, how little then did I realize). Once they were done eating I removed the plates.
Over the next few weeks I continued to feed them and they slowly warmed up to me. The little ones were still wary whenever I would stand up after sitting with them, or if I made any sudden movements. And some days I couldn't get the kittens to get any food (they would stay under the shed in the backyard) but as the weeks went by I would start seeing all of them every meal time.
Mom devours everything (as do the little ones) liking the plates clean. Mom in particular is always so, so hungry. I think it's a combination of her still nursing them (even today – the day I am making this post) and her being a strat/feral. Every day I began to sit a little closer to them as they ate, and was finally able to be sitting there with them as they ate, and they would play a few feet from me. Standing up though would usually send them off to some distance but not always under my shed.
Every day more and more amazon drop offs arrived as I tried to make life easier for them in my backyard. Lids for the trash cans to stop flies, an outdoor tent for some shade (which they don't like as much as the shed or under my car), and more. I even made a 3k down payment to have my yard fenced so I can stop dogs from inspecting my yard (will go up before September arrives).
I almost killed these little guys a few times too once by almost weeding the yard (realized right as I had finished filling the feeder that they lick their paws, which could mean death to them) and a few times I found the kittens in my cars engine (I had seen a little paw climb up into the under carriage and was horrified that they could do that – getting them OUT of the engine was a real challenge). The importance of reading ingredient lists on tuna/sardine cans can not be stressed enough either.
At week two I reached out to find some help and was lucky enough to be put into contact with a wonderful lady who does TNR. In fact – almost a month since I had first seen them we managed to catch all 4 beauties. The mom went right into the trap to get the food placed in there without any worry and didn't freak out in the trap either (was toweled). The little ones all went into the cat carrier so we were able to get them inside my house where I've been taking care of them for almost a week now.
For their personalities – Mom (Oreo is my name for her) is a sweet heart. After two weeks of feeding her she would be pawing at the back door when it was feeding time, and would walk beside me as I placed it down (almost tripped me twice). She eventually let me pet her (not all the time) and showed me her belly a few times too. The little ones let me pet them when they were feeding (although they weren't sure of this, so I didn't press the issue) by the 3rd week. As for their names – I named the mostly black kitten Rumor, the two black/white ones are Button and Sentry.
Sentry got his name because of all of them he is the only vocal one, and was meowing at me from the first time he saw me, as if he was warning the others under the shed that there was a large two legged monster outside. He meows when he wants just about anything too, which is adorable.
Button got her name from 'as cute as a button' and is the most 'streamlined' of them. Like a huntress. When I break out the worm toy to play in the afternoons she leaps and pounces all over the room to catch it and also is the only one to try to bring it someplace safe to feast on it – as if she has a den.
Rumor is named after a large black cat in the Shannara series of books and was really good at hiding in her own shadow. She is the runt of the litter and a wall flower. She took the longest to trust me initially and somedays I wouldn't see him. He has something wrong with his left eye so when he goes in for an appointment we'll see if we can have it looked at.
The mom went thru her spaying and vaccinations/shots without any trouble and tested negative for luekimia and FHIV. A few days after the proceedure though mom had a full milk gland (looked swollen) so the TNR lady who was watching her reached out to a feeding/lactate/nursing expert on cats and was recommended to bring the mom to the kittens pronto – they can suckle from it and open it up.
So now I am watching the family, and little Rumor did most of the work on that breast drinking it up whenever he could. Mom looks health and happy as do the little ones, and I've given them all my laundry room to romp around in. I can pick rumor up and put him in my lap, and if I am stroking his head/cheek with my palm, he purrs endlessly and almost falls asleep. Mom I've gotten somewhat used to brushing now and she purrs when I do so – I can't believe what a sweetie she is. Button doesn't like being petted much still, while Sentry doesn't mind as long as it's just a few times. I've also now been able to pick up the little ones and place them back down near food or getting them down off high places – but trying to herd them is never going to work. This morning they managed to run past me and began exploring the rest of the house – thankfully food brought them all back to the laundry room! They are getting very brave which I love since I do not want them to be afraid of humans.
Let it be known that I did not understand kitty litter at all – this has all been quite a sudden adventure my life has undergone.
In any case – I am in the process of 'cat proofing' the home while I see if I can find a rescue (or home) to take in the little ones. While I would love to keep all 4 I am not ready for that many cats. Maybe I could keep the mom and one little one, but all 4 is just too many unfortunately. (I am super allergic to cats – and my house is filled with 'doodads' which I am boxing as I also work on changing shelves, throwing away any nicknacks that they could eat, move paints/game pieces and so on into chests or other secure places.
I will wrap this up by saying thank you to the posters here in this forum, as it is the reason I made an account here too. Some google searches about strays/ferals would occasionally bring me here. Turns out I was doing everything right but it is so good to have confirmation from others who have done this on a regular basis. I also now realize how overburdened the shelters and TNR efforts are, and have learned a great deal about cats in general (never had one, never even considered getting one, but when I was able to hold little Rumor as she purred in complete content I can't imagine what a wonderful world I had missed out on for so long).
Although it is tough to get good pictures of them I have a few. The outside one was from about two weeks ago now, the indoor ones were from yesterday. And thank you TheCatSite - your discussions and questions helped me over the last few weeks, and helped me calm down especially when I searched for 'will mom cat forgive me for spaying her' ha ha ha!
