Pregnant Ferals/kittens Advice

[mehyabbers]

First off, brief summary... I've lived at my current home for 2 1/2 years. I have two barn cats and because they have food outside, I frequently have ferals coming in to feed. I have found, captured, and rehomed two separate kitten litters to date.

Obviously, I cannot allow the kitties to multiply any further for the their own sake and the sake of my wallet (food gets pricey when you're feeding 8+ cats).

I've begun working with my local shelter and their TNR department. Ideally, I'd like to fix all the local ferals. I've TNRed 3 ferals to date. One male and two females.

One of the females was pregnant (although I was unaware because the vet I took her to said otherwise) so ultimately the kittens were aborted.

I am sheltering a feral currently that I caught yesterday and I believe her to be a female. So it's very possible she could be pregnant. I haven't been able to perform a general "intake examination" because I wanted to give her time to settle in. She is certainly frightened, but not aggressive (yet).

If she's pregnant, I really want to give her and her kittens a fighting chance. I'd like to shelter her until she gives birth, allow the kittens to wean, fix and find homes for them. Then get her fixed as well and release her back.

My question is... Is it better to deworm/vet her before she gives birth? Theoretically that would mean all the kittens would be dewormed and checked for potential disease so I shouldn't have to go through that process with them, correct?

I'm trying to be as cost effective as possible. Although I truly love helping them I unfortunately don't have loads of dough to spend on this project.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Bless your heart for being there for those kitties!

From what I'm reading, most members are of the opinion that you want to have the vet handle the deworming and deflea-ing so if you can, have your vet check her before she gives birth. I'm not clear on whether that takes care of the kittens afterwards, but your vet should be able to tell you..

 

[mehyabbers]

Welp! Just found out new feral kitty is a boy. Has a big pair of fuzzy balls back there.

Note to self... Perform intake examination before administering revolution... Just wasted a dose on him. At least he'll appreciate it.

Still welcoming opinions on whether or not a kitten needs "re-vetted" after birth. I'm sure this isn't the last feral I take in.

 

[Jcatbird]

First off, the Revolution is probably a blessing to him. In order to work with him you need him de bugged! No sharing of critters or leaving eggs and larvae behind is a good thing. I don’t think you really wasted it.
By re vetting I take it you mean checking for worms? Since worms can be spread, along with other parasites by a flea, then you may need a check up for them depending on how long you have them. If someone fosters Mom and babies you could avoid some costs. It depends on the shelter you work with. A simple phone call to your vet can pinpoint the age requirements for the kittens. I’ve used different vets and found a little bit of difference of opinion. You may be able to avoid that expense too if the shelter takes them in as babies. If they are months old then they will need either a check or a treatment. It only takes one flea. Most shelters are going to treat them and test them if you haven’t provided them with records showing test results and medications given. Since I have never used Revolution on a pregnant cat I don’t know if it is even safe for the Mom. The label should tell you that. Even if kittens are born without worms, they can still get them if you have a flea around.

I have brought in many ferals and for older ones my vet supplied me with Capstar for immediate flea killing. I don’t know if your vet would agree but it’s about 6 dollars a pill and it kills the critters on the kitty for 24 hours. That bought me time to get them to a vet or foster without being over run with fleas. I have resident cats and we didn’t want gifts brought in from outside. Even isolating new cats doesn’t keep fleas from traveling.
The prescription Advantage I use is expensive but it treats fleas, ticks, worms and Heart worms very well so if they are here long enough for me to get them to a vet or clinic, they get it. I rescued one older male that tested positive for heart worms. Most people don’t realize that cats can get them just like dogs. All outside kitties are at risk from mosquito bites. I know if you are doing TNR you probably can’t treat the wild ones but I just wanted to make sure you know about this. Inside kitties need the treatment too since mosquitos can come in the door anytime! I don’t know where you are but we are in mosquito land here.

I think you are fantastic for helping these kitties! I have to tell you that I smiled fondly with memories of my own surprises of unexpected furry balls. It’s amazing how well they can be hidden under a tail! You’re doing a great thing! Thank you from all us kitty lovers!
Please keep us posted as you go along. We all look forward to hearing about rescues. I think a lot of people will be interested and also be here if you need any info along the way. Maybe even know some cost cutting tricks.
You made my day!

 

[Willowy]

Yes, I think kittens will need to be de-wormed when they're about 6 weeks old, even if the mother was de-wormed during pregnancy. Goodness knows how they get worms if they're indoors, but it seems like they do.

You can get a big bottle of generic pyrantel pamoate online for about $20. That will provide many many doses of de-wormer and is a good idea to have around since you live in the country. You can ask your vet, too. . .farm vets are usually accommodating when it comes to things like that.