PREGNANT STRAY I ADOPTED

[Sarthur2]

nikki4526

The simple solution is to get her spayed NOW.

Her hormones and the lack of space/close proximity to your male cats are causing her stress and anxiety, which then stresses you when she attacks.

She will calm down within a week of being spayed. There is no reason for you to live like this. She also deserves to live without her hormones driving her, poor gal.

If you then still feel like she needs re-homing, you'll know you tried your best.

Please get her in for her spay immediately, and let us know how it goes.

 

[raina21]

So, kitties are 9 weeks old and I'm still having issues with Momma Mini Mhysa. Kittens are out in the house all day with Mini while my male is in a separated room with a tall baby gate but unfortunately, Mini still jumps over the gate and has been attacking my male Sid and only my male who is neutered, at least 3 times a week since the kittens were 4 weeks old. I put her in the bathroom with her babies at night so I can sleep. She went into heat on July 5th and seems to still be in heat (today is the 21st) and goes through spurts of loving Sid and viciously attacking him which I cannot have anymore. I'm kind of losing my mind, I won't lie and this whole experience has been half nightmare, half rewarding/wonderful/amazing. Learning how to care for Momma, kittens AND my two adult cats for the first time all together as I go is tough and I feel hopeless at times. I don't really have anyone to ask questions any time of the day (since you can't have the vet answering questions 24/7 obviously) who's experienced in raising kittens with their mother and other cats in the house so I come here to vent and request advice. I apologize if I keep blowing up everyone's feeds I'm just trying to keep calm and kitten on. The baby gates worked until the kittens learned how to climb them and escape. So now the kittens have free roam of the downstairs while my poor male hides upstairs until Mini jumps the gate and attacks him while he's sleeping, using his litter box, eating or just moving around. Luckily, this baby gate is tall and the kittens don't attempt it. I'm trying to take this one day at a time but I'm completely stressed and riddled with anxiety and sadness knowing I can't just keep them all together in one, big, happy cat family. It's come to the point where I don't think I can keep Mini anymore. The kittens are 9 weeks old, healthy, happy and going to their new homes on August 6th, the day after Mini is set to be spayed but this situation with Mini is no longer acceptable. Sid wants nothing to do with her or the kittens so I'm not understanding why she would want to attack him. My other female cat adores the kittens, cares for them, teaches them, plays with them and mothers them more then Mini does and Mini has absolutely no issue with her. This is all new to me and I've never had an issue like this so I'm at a complete loss. Having to rehome her is devastating but I think that's the only thing that will make all of my cats happy. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it more then you know. I've done the pheromone therapy, spoken to vets/vet employees, rescue/shelter owners and employees, cat behavioralists and fellow cat lovers and they all recommend getting her spayed and see how she is after the kittens are gone but I can't deal with this another month or two until she acclimates. It's breaking my heart to even think of having to get rid of her but im not sure what else I could possibly do to bring peace back into my home. Thank you for listening and for any advice you may have for my situation. It's appreciated SO very much....

I also recommend getting her spayed, you would be surprised how much she will calm down after all the hormones leave her system. She has been in hormonal overdrive from being pregnant and having kittens as well as being in heat. Pregnant women are VERY hormonal and pregnant cats are no different. The reason she is attcking Sid is likely a dominance issue (females are almost always the Alpha/dominant sex among feral cat colonies) that will likely go away after she is spayed.

I understand you are frustrated. I would be too. But I urge you to just wait for a while (a month or so) after she is spayed before giving up on her. You need to see what she will be like without all the crazy hormones that are driving her behavior right now.

 

[handsome kitty]

Sounds like you are between a rock and a hard place.  I have no advice, waiting for her hormones to subside is difficult.  Even if you need to rehome her please wait until her hormones have leveled out.  The family she goes to may not make an effort if she is difficult at first. 

Be sure both 'mom' cats see the kittens leave so they are not looking all over for them.

 

[catpack]

nikki4526 I quickly read through your thread and totally think Mini's behavior is hormonal. The timing of her going from sweet and loving to aggressive correlates to her going into heat (typically happens 4-6 weeks after giving birth.)

I highly suspect that once she is spayed and the hormones are out of her system (45-60 days) she will be back to the sweet kitty she was. Honestly, I suspect you should see some improvement in her demeanor within 1-2 weeks.

 

[nikki4526]

Thank you all for the advice! Sadly, not one clinic would spay her without money up front and I ran into a little trouble this month and couldn't get her spayed so I've been dealing with this craziness. I am definitely not resorting to rehoming unless she cannot adapt after her spay (she gets spayed August 5th by the way). I always try and do everything in my power to allow the cats to adapt to one another before even thinking of rehoming. Luckily, I've never had an issue like this until now. I'm going to give Mini a good month or two to ease back into her normal self and let you all know how she's doing. You guys have been so helpful during this experience! Thanks again!

 

[Sarthur2]

Thank you for the update! Let us know how the spay goes next week. And thanks for hanging in there with her! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

 

[nikki4526]

She's being much kinder to Sid as Sid has begun to bathe and snuggle with some of the kittens but still fears the other kittens a bit. Here's a photo of one of the girls I took today. Her name is Magpie and she is absolutely stunning. I'll fill you guys in next week on how they do with their spays and adoptions! [emoji]9786[/emoji]️

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• nikki4526
• Aug 2, 2016

 

[nikki4526]

And here's little Pearl-Girl. She's all black with the smallest most faint white patch on her belly. She's the rebel out of the bunch and enjoys a good trouble making session. Magpie in the previous post is very independent and prefers to sleep by herself or with her sisters. She enjoys watching them and observing and not participating in too much rough housing. I call her my 'old soul'. She's very wild looking and is definitely the most unique looking. But Pearl is a cuddle monster at its finest!

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• nikki4526
• Aug 2, 2016

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• nikki4526
• Aug 2, 2016

 

[nikki4526]

And here we have Sweet Pea on the left and Nymeria (who I'm hoping to keep if things settle down with Mini) on the right. These two are the smallest of the bunch and both resemble their momma most where as Sweet Pea has her skinny, long and lanky body type with a tiny white patch on her chest and Nymeria is a little fuller but not by much with almost identical markings of white on her body as Mini's. Nymeria also has her mommas emotional attachment to me and cries to be picked up and cuddled as she follows me around wherever I go. A true little lover. Sweet Pea, as her name implies, is absolutely adoring just as Nym is. They both love to sleep with me at night if not too rowdy from playing. Pearl also sleeps not with me, but by me at times during the day on the couch when we're just relaxing. I was blessed with a very charismatic, beautiful bunch of little black girl cats and I couldn't be any more happy with how they turned out. They're 12 weeks today and very ready to see their new homes this weekend. It's sad to see them go but I'm happy that other families will be able to know the love and fun they bring into my life. They're all going (with the exception of Nymeria) to two of my very good friends. One is taking Magpie and Sweet Pea and the other is taking Pearl. They grow up too fast...[emoji]128575[/emoji][emoji]10084[/emoji]️

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• nikki4526
• Aug 2, 2016

 

[Sarthur2]

They are just beautiful! I love black cats, and have one myself. Mine is sleek, handsome, and well-mannered. I'm so glad to hear that yours are going to good homes. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[ashade1]

How is Mini doing since her spay?