Safety Tips For Aggressive Behavior - Nursing Mother + 2 Kittens

[Icsk8grrl]

Hi all!

TLDR at the bottom, sorry for all the details

I normally only foster kittens 5+ weeks of age in batches of 2-4 at a time, but my husband and I accepted a nursing mama and her two 2-week-old for a longer-term foster situation since it seemed no one was able to take them.

We were told she was pretty aggressive, but I assumed we'd be able to basically provide food/water/litter, and clean a bit and leave her alone for the first couple of weeks while she gets used to being a mom and dealing with her maternal hormones, etc. We're trying to keep things calm and relaxed for her, she has a large dog kennel set-up in an unused room.

She's more of a handful than expected, so we are trying to find ways to provide her what she needs without rocking the boat too much. We keep her nesting bed and an extra section with blankets at the back of a large dog kennel, and keep the litter box and food/water near the other end at the door for easier access in and out. We have to change everything daily because she also has a habit of getting litter EVERYWHERE, even with a high-sided box, it gets in her food, water and on all the bedding. She is an aggressive digger, and it seems to be on purpose at this point, perhaps spreading her scent around? Despite the fact that we don't try to physically touch her or even get close, she will constantly react aggressively to us replacing her supplies and cleaning anything. I know this is to be expected, but because she has a very long swatting reach and is giving body language that she may actually go for us, we can't really do anything without two people.

We started using a solid piece of cardboard to block her vision while we do the supplies switch, and this gets less reactions overall, and also using thick animal handling gloves to be safe, but I was hoping someone might have more suggestions on safe ways to change her food/water/litter, and clean and change the bedding without us bleeding. Perhaps we should have a different set up? Any advise on creating safe/comfortable spaces and practices and for her and us would be appreciated!

TLDR: Fostering a nursing mama+2 kittens. We need to change her food/water/litter and clean the litter/poop out of the cage floor more often due to messy behavior. She HATES this (fear/maternal aggression), and is a potential physical danger to us currently. Looking for safety tips, creative tricks to make her feel more safe/comfortable, and keep us safe from her scratch attempts.

 

[Icsk8grrl]

Whoops, correction "We have to change everything *twice* daily because she also has a habit of getting litter EVERYWHERE..."

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I saw your post and couldn't help myself but to respond - if only to say I think what you are doing might be your best bet. I have no experience with this at all, but I am sure there are other members who have dealt with similar circumstances and can offer some ideas to you. Sometimes, it just takes a while for them to be able to have time to log on and read through posts. Please be patient, and check back often!!

 

[surya]

I used a plastic lid as a shield, basically like your doing with the cardboard. Sounds like your doing fine. Does she have a covered place to hide? That makes them feel safer.

 

[Icsk8grrl]

Hi. I saw your post and couldn't help myself but to respond - if only to say I think what you are doing might be your best bet. I have no experience with this at all, but I am sure there are other members who have dealt with similar circumstances and can offer some ideas to you. Sometimes, it just takes a while for them to be able to have time to log on and read through posts. Please be patient, and check back often!!

I really appreciate you taking the time to comment this! I know at the very least they are doing better in our home than they might be elsewhere, and that it's freeing up space at the shelter for more cases. We will keep at it, and helpfully discover new ways to make everyone happy along the way Thank you!

 

[Icsk8grrl]

I used a plastic lid as a shield, basically like your doing with the cardboard. Sounds like your doing fine. Does she have a covered place to hide? That makes them feel safer.

It seems like, as long as she can't actually see us doing things, she is less mad about it XD She still is annoyed at the cardboard moving in front of her, but hey, no situation is perfect! You know, I feel like that's what is missing. I have a towel over the corner of the kennel where her bed is, but she may just feel she doesn't have a place to hide when she feels overloaded or threatened. Her crate was a bit much for using in there, but I will look for enclosed cat cave beds, or maybe McGyver a box into a covered cave hidey-hole Thank you!

 

[jcat]

Since the room they're in is unused, can you let them out of the kennel after kitten-proofing the room? We get a fair number of feral or semi-feral pregnant cats or new mothers at the shelter, and they're usually very aggressive while they're in quarantine cages. We have dividers we can use to at least be able to clean half a cage at a time, but they don't calm down until we can move mom and the kittens into an actual room.

That way mom can avoid close contact with you, and once the kittens are mobile you can pick them up to weigh and socialize them while mom goes to a corner to hide. More than one mom has become tame after seeing her babies interact with people, too.

 

[Icsk8grrl]

Since the room they're in is unused, can you let them out of the kennel after kitten-proofing the room? We get a fair number of feral or semi-feral pregnant cats or new mothers at the shelter, and they're usually very aggressive while they're in quarantine cages. We have dividers we can use to at least be able to clean half a cage at a time, but they don't calm down until we can move mom and the kittens into an actual room.

That way mom can avoid close contact with you, and once the kittens are mobile you can pick them up to weigh and socialize them while mom goes to a corner to hide. More than one mom has become tame after seeing her babies interact with people, too.

Thank you for that suggestion!

The room is "kitten proof," but perhaps not creative adult cat proof. I am planning to swap out the couch that we current have in there for one that rests on the ground this month.

I've had a couple rare occasions where really smart kittens realized if they try hard enough they can dig under the couch past the boxes stuffed under there to prevent that from happening XD At the very least, I will see about maybe rigging the zippered play pen so she can go in and out through the side kennel door into that extra space just for her.