Pregnant Non-Feral with the Ferals

[pjb755]

Hi!  New to this site and I'm amazed at the wealth of knowledge here.  I would like to run something by you all and get some advice.  

I started feeding some feral cats/kittens in my neighborhood about six months ago.  So far, I have had four of them spayed and have another in a crate right now that I can hopefully have fixed next week.  After that, I'll have two more to go, and maybe some stragglers after that.  Several weeks ago (or maybe 3-4 weeks ago) a cat showed up that was wearing a flea collar.  At first she wasn't very friendly, but after about a week and some canned food, she is now a love bug.  She shows up around dusk and probably hangs around all night because she is there when I go out the next morning.  I don't see her during the day though.  

Well, it makes me so mad because as hard as I am trying to get the feral cats fixed so that we are not overrun with cats (at which point neighbors will probably start calling animal control or take it upon themselves to try to control the population), this cat that is so friendly is pregnant.  I might have taken her to be spayed weeks ago, before I was sure she was pg, but since she obviously belonged to someone, I didn't want to do that.  I am now worried about where she is going to have her kittens.  I don't want her to have them at my house because I don't want to deal with them, but I don't want her to have them in the dirt somewhere and have those kittens also become feral.  We have a little storage area, and I suggested putting her in there to my husband, but he's not having it.  However, if she just somehow got in there and had her kittens, I'm sure he wouldn't kick them out.  

I hope she will just go home and have them, but if she shows up one day un-pregnant, how do I find out where the kittens are?  I guess that is my basic question.  Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

 

[ondine]

She may not have a home. She certainly doesn't have a responsible owner. I would take her in. That way, you will know the kittens are safe and you can work on finding them homes.

You could first put up flyers, asking if anyone owns her. Talk to the neighbors, too.

 

[pjb755]

Thank you for your reply.  I think I have good news.  I contacted one of the rescue groups in my area and they are going to try to find space for her.  I fully expected that they would say they don't have room.  They are going to let me know for sure tomorrow.  My husband said "what about the owners."  So I told him if anyone asks, the last time we saw her she was running away from a coyote.

 

[ondine]

 
Thank you for your reply.  I think I have good news.  I contacted one of the rescue groups in my area and they are going to try to find space for her.  I fully expected that they would say they don't have room.  They are going to let me know for sure tomorrow.  My husband said "what about the owners."  So I told him if anyone asks, the last time we saw her she was running away from a coyote.

Great!  I like your thinking!  Fingers crossed they have room.

 

[sunnykew]

Now that you are feeding her, she will keep coming back and if she does disappear for a few days or may be weeks, it could be because of the newly born kittens.. there is a high chance that she will show up again and so will her kittens once they are old enough to get out of their hide out. 

But I do agree the previous suggestion, considering that the owners are a little irresponsible, contacting the rescue team is a good idea.

 

[di and bob]

I agree with the above, I feed two cats here that are obviously someone's in the neighborhood, they are too clean and friendly to be feral. But when I see them like I do this morning, sitting in snow and ice and 20 degree weather it makes me angry that they are left outside to fend for themselves. The feral toms don't make their life easy either, but it is remarkable how everyone seems to call a truce at suppertime! I, too, am slowly getting everyone neutered and spayed, did my last female last fall, yeah, no more kittens! I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring for these sweet babies, it's so often heard, "oh, they're cats, they'll survive on their own", but I've seen too many out here who end up skin and bones or lying in the street to ignore them. I want you to know you will be blessed for making their lives a little more comfortable and for providing them with care and love in a world that is so cold and cruel, you have a big heart, (and an understanding husband!) 

 

[pjb755]

Thank you all for your replies! I knew that if she disappeared for a while it would probably be because of having the kittens. I sure didn't want to go knocking on people's doors asking if I could look in their back yards. The rescue did take her in and I dropped her off today. She'll get whatever medical care she needs and will have the babies in a safe and cozy space. And those will be the last babies that she ever has. I will actually miss seeing her, but it's also a big relief knowing she's safe.

 

[ondine]

Good news.  Thank you so much for the update.