Hello everyone. I am new to the board and I am wondering whether anyone has some thoughts about this issue.
The heroine of the story is the little feral cat that started coming by several months ago. I call her Peeky. She started getting pretty big soon after she showed up, then all of a sudden (when I was away for a week and had someone else bring out food for her) got back to her normal size. Sure enough, several weeks later she came to the door with a little orange kitten, Crumbly. And now she looks pregnant again and looks like she's pretty far along too! She obviously needs to be spayed right away, but there are all these complications.
First, I don't have an adequate space in my apartment to give her shelter to help her recuperate from the procedure. I live in a one bedroom and the only area I could free up for her would be a small laundry room that I use as an office. My two cats fight with her all the time over the screen door, and I can't imagine keeping her in a trap for a whole week, which is what the vet's office is saying she might need. They would probably scratch at the office door too. But I can't imagine just releasing her after the procedure (especially given how complicated it will be) -- I would like to be able to observe her to make sure she is doing fine.
Second, she is still nursing her kitten. I feel bad about taking Crumbly away from her, but I have been told I need to do it so that she would stop lactating. He is about 6 weeks old and eats solid food. There are space issues with that too, but I think that might be manageable.
I have scheduled the procedure with the local SPCA for Monday the 17th. They are very busy and I had to practically beg them for this date. But I am not sure I can go through with it -- I would hate to make a decision that would end up hurting her when I am the only person she trusts. On the other hand, the last thing we need is for her to have more kittens. There are already too many feral and abandoned cats in the apartment complex (thanks to irresponsible owners) and in the area. I am very torn up about all of this.
Does anyone have any advice about any of this? How risky is for her to have the procedure while she is lactating? How long do kitties typically take to recover? Is it inhumane to take the kitten away from her after only 6-7 weeks?
Thanks.
The heroine of the story is the little feral cat that started coming by several months ago. I call her Peeky. She started getting pretty big soon after she showed up, then all of a sudden (when I was away for a week and had someone else bring out food for her) got back to her normal size. Sure enough, several weeks later she came to the door with a little orange kitten, Crumbly. And now she looks pregnant again and looks like she's pretty far along too! She obviously needs to be spayed right away, but there are all these complications.
First, I don't have an adequate space in my apartment to give her shelter to help her recuperate from the procedure. I live in a one bedroom and the only area I could free up for her would be a small laundry room that I use as an office. My two cats fight with her all the time over the screen door, and I can't imagine keeping her in a trap for a whole week, which is what the vet's office is saying she might need. They would probably scratch at the office door too. But I can't imagine just releasing her after the procedure (especially given how complicated it will be) -- I would like to be able to observe her to make sure she is doing fine.
Second, she is still nursing her kitten. I feel bad about taking Crumbly away from her, but I have been told I need to do it so that she would stop lactating. He is about 6 weeks old and eats solid food. There are space issues with that too, but I think that might be manageable.
I have scheduled the procedure with the local SPCA for Monday the 17th. They are very busy and I had to practically beg them for this date. But I am not sure I can go through with it -- I would hate to make a decision that would end up hurting her when I am the only person she trusts. On the other hand, the last thing we need is for her to have more kittens. There are already too many feral and abandoned cats in the apartment complex (thanks to irresponsible owners) and in the area. I am very torn up about all of this.
Does anyone have any advice about any of this? How risky is for her to have the procedure while she is lactating? How long do kitties typically take to recover? Is it inhumane to take the kitten away from her after only 6-7 weeks?
Thanks.