Hello everyone, this is my first post - apologies for its length. I've been reading as much as I can search for, but I haven't found anyone with exactly the same concerns as I have, so I thought I'd ask.
For the past couple of years, my wife and I have been taking care of a pair of "community cats" who were here when we moved in: "Mr. Orange", one of the dominant males in the neighborhood, and his girl, "Ms. Grey". Mr. Orange is as feral as feral can be, but Ms. Grey might have been someone's pet at one time, because she's been far more trusting than Mr. Orange. Indeed, she has a very loving little creature, and spends part of her day in my backyard-facing room.
The concern now is that she is pregnant - again - and my wife and I want to help her with the kittens and keep them once they're weaned. She's not a huge cat and we don't expect a massive litter. Last year she had kittens before we had bonded with her quite to the extent we have now, and her single adorable kitten hung around for about two months until he disappeared for the third and last time. Since then, she's been pregnant again but gave birth in late December and we never saw the kittens.
Fast forward to February 2nd and 3rd... and those two are at it again. In addition to fighting off several neighborhood suitors, Mr. Orange mounts Ms. Grey numerous times...
Fast forward to today, and Ms. Grey is now heavily pregnant. Her appetite has increased quite a bit and she's been coming into my room numerous times each day to eat, nuzzle/snuggle, sleep, and laze about. She's clearly very comfortable with me, as she'll flop down with her belly facing me, resting her head on my leg as she sleeps. I've provided her with a little nook to sleep in, food and water all the time, and just yesterday bought her a nice cage with a little box area and started putting the food in there (without closing the doors.) Note that she is still fairly jumpy if I drop something loudly or I startle her when I yelp when her claws dig into my leg accidentally, but she calms down just as quickly.
The plan, I suppose, is to confine her in about a week's time... to cover the cage and provide a little white noise for the background so she isn't disturbed by outside sounds (like our other cats elsewhere in the house). At this stage, though, I think it's clear she has her mind made up to give birth elsewhere, as she wants to leave me room after she's done snoozzing, eating, or snuggling, and disappears into the neighborhood for a few hours.
My hope is that, once she is confined, she takes to this setup with minimal fuss and gives birth in a safe, warm, dry environment with plenty of water on hand, giving us an opportunity to observe her and assist as may be needed. Also we want the kittens to get used to us as soon as they're able to explore. Once everyone is OK we plan to get the kittens their shots, etc., as well as get Ms. Grey fixed so she can enjoy the rest of her life (hopefully with us, but that's up to her...)
My concern is that she will freak out, stress out, or that I'll miss the birthing window by waiting too long in an effort to minimize her stress.
Is this notion of ours even wise, to attempt to confine her? Personally I think the kittens will be better off if we do that, though Ms. Grey might not be too happy at first...but hopefully she should be able to handle things given how much trust she already has in us.
I'm curious for any thoughts on this from folks with more experience with ferals and strays than I have. In particular, if it's a good idea to confine her, when should we lock her up? My guess for her delivery date is some time during the first week of April, perhaps the weekend of the 7/8th, at the latest. I can already see the kittens wriggling around a bit in her belly so the day may come sooner than I expect. Her appetite hasn't disappeared completely yet, but she has been gone from our yard for longer stretches than in past weeks so clearly she's got a site picked out.
Will diverting her from her plans cause her to freak out and care for the kittens improperly? Should I capture her as quickly as I can in order to acclimatize her to the new setup? Or should I give up on this idea and let nature take its course. Very concerned about doing the right thing...
Any comments would be appreciated!
tldr: I have a pregnant feral that's half tame and we mean to confine her for her due date which I expect is around 4/6 thru 4/8. So...two weeks tops, to decide. Any thoughts or comments (even those advising against this plan) are welcome, as nothing has been decided finally. Thank you all!
John
For the past couple of years, my wife and I have been taking care of a pair of "community cats" who were here when we moved in: "Mr. Orange", one of the dominant males in the neighborhood, and his girl, "Ms. Grey". Mr. Orange is as feral as feral can be, but Ms. Grey might have been someone's pet at one time, because she's been far more trusting than Mr. Orange. Indeed, she has a very loving little creature, and spends part of her day in my backyard-facing room.
The concern now is that she is pregnant - again - and my wife and I want to help her with the kittens and keep them once they're weaned. She's not a huge cat and we don't expect a massive litter. Last year she had kittens before we had bonded with her quite to the extent we have now, and her single adorable kitten hung around for about two months until he disappeared for the third and last time. Since then, she's been pregnant again but gave birth in late December and we never saw the kittens.
Fast forward to February 2nd and 3rd... and those two are at it again. In addition to fighting off several neighborhood suitors, Mr. Orange mounts Ms. Grey numerous times...
Fast forward to today, and Ms. Grey is now heavily pregnant. Her appetite has increased quite a bit and she's been coming into my room numerous times each day to eat, nuzzle/snuggle, sleep, and laze about. She's clearly very comfortable with me, as she'll flop down with her belly facing me, resting her head on my leg as she sleeps. I've provided her with a little nook to sleep in, food and water all the time, and just yesterday bought her a nice cage with a little box area and started putting the food in there (without closing the doors.) Note that she is still fairly jumpy if I drop something loudly or I startle her when I yelp when her claws dig into my leg accidentally, but she calms down just as quickly.
The plan, I suppose, is to confine her in about a week's time... to cover the cage and provide a little white noise for the background so she isn't disturbed by outside sounds (like our other cats elsewhere in the house). At this stage, though, I think it's clear she has her mind made up to give birth elsewhere, as she wants to leave me room after she's done snoozzing, eating, or snuggling, and disappears into the neighborhood for a few hours.
My hope is that, once she is confined, she takes to this setup with minimal fuss and gives birth in a safe, warm, dry environment with plenty of water on hand, giving us an opportunity to observe her and assist as may be needed. Also we want the kittens to get used to us as soon as they're able to explore. Once everyone is OK we plan to get the kittens their shots, etc., as well as get Ms. Grey fixed so she can enjoy the rest of her life (hopefully with us, but that's up to her...)
My concern is that she will freak out, stress out, or that I'll miss the birthing window by waiting too long in an effort to minimize her stress.
Is this notion of ours even wise, to attempt to confine her? Personally I think the kittens will be better off if we do that, though Ms. Grey might not be too happy at first...but hopefully she should be able to handle things given how much trust she already has in us.
I'm curious for any thoughts on this from folks with more experience with ferals and strays than I have. In particular, if it's a good idea to confine her, when should we lock her up? My guess for her delivery date is some time during the first week of April, perhaps the weekend of the 7/8th, at the latest. I can already see the kittens wriggling around a bit in her belly so the day may come sooner than I expect. Her appetite hasn't disappeared completely yet, but she has been gone from our yard for longer stretches than in past weeks so clearly she's got a site picked out.
Will diverting her from her plans cause her to freak out and care for the kittens improperly? Should I capture her as quickly as I can in order to acclimatize her to the new setup? Or should I give up on this idea and let nature take its course. Very concerned about doing the right thing...
Any comments would be appreciated!
tldr: I have a pregnant feral that's half tame and we mean to confine her for her due date which I expect is around 4/6 thru 4/8. So...two weeks tops, to decide. Any thoughts or comments (even those advising against this plan) are welcome, as nothing has been decided finally. Thank you all!
John