I'm seeking input on a problem. 2 months ago a pregnant, starved cat arrived here and that night had 6 kittens. I fixed up a box and put it upstairs, then we blocked off the stairs, so the kittens have been upstairs the whole time. The mama cat has fought almost continuously with our 4 cats who are 8, 8, 3, and 2 years old, keeping them from coming upstairs, and chasing them at other times both in house and out. Things started to calm down significantly, but now the kittens are venturing downstairs. Now mama won't even tolerate our cats being on the couch when the kittens are downstairs, a truce we'd negotiated.
I am trying to decide what to do. We love and adore our original cats. They are being displaced, and it's now the rainy season and will soon be very cold, which means that it will be more and more of a hardship on them that they don't come into the house much. I had hoped as the kittens got older that mama would calm down, but I see we're just moving into a new phase. Our original cats haven't been upstairs in their accustomed places for two months, and they are not real happy with things. I'm at wit's end with this.
We had planned to keep her and the kittens. My husband loves mama and wants badly to keep her, and I'm very attached to all the kits. We have a potential home for 2 of them, and we're wondering if fewer kittens in the mob would help our original cats feel less displaced. Mama is getting spayed on Monday. Any chance this might help things? Any other ideas? (I'm angry with mama and wish she could miraculously find a home, not very likely but I'm not going to put her in a shelter.)
Thanks for your time.
--Victoria
I am trying to decide what to do. We love and adore our original cats. They are being displaced, and it's now the rainy season and will soon be very cold, which means that it will be more and more of a hardship on them that they don't come into the house much. I had hoped as the kittens got older that mama would calm down, but I see we're just moving into a new phase. Our original cats haven't been upstairs in their accustomed places for two months, and they are not real happy with things. I'm at wit's end with this.
We had planned to keep her and the kittens. My husband loves mama and wants badly to keep her, and I'm very attached to all the kits. We have a potential home for 2 of them, and we're wondering if fewer kittens in the mob would help our original cats feel less displaced. Mama is getting spayed on Monday. Any chance this might help things? Any other ideas? (I'm angry with mama and wish she could miraculously find a home, not very likely but I'm not going to put her in a shelter.)
Thanks for your time.
--Victoria