Semi-feral pregnant cat -- catch her now or wait?

Sarthur2 · Apr 27, 2016

Watch the eye. If it comes back, you'll need to get terramycin ointment from the vet. It will clear infection quickly.

Your cream kitten just has a quirky personality and a mind of his own. He probably doesn't mean to be a bully, but is just very focused on his needs. He may be shy, and therefore slightly anti-social in terms of being picked up and cuddled. That may change some as he matures and learns to trust more. I don't think there's anything wrong with him. He sounds like a kitten who just does his own thing! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

beth0612 · Apr 27, 2016

I just discovered this thread and had so much fun reading it from the beginning. It was like binging a whole season of a show, going from thinking about capturing Camo to all the little kittens with their eyes open. Thank you for sharing!

I have two kittens that are now about 4.5 months old. I got to meet them when they were still with their mom and siblings and they were all so sweet together--I wish I could have taken them all and kept the family in tact. I'm glad that this might be a possibility for you. Seeing how bonded my two are makes me sad to think I originally was only interested in one kitten. You're doing a wonderful thing!

Mamanyt1953 · Apr 28, 2016

Sarthur2 has it. Just keep an eye on the eye. And as for you bully...once they're a bit older, mama will start putting him in his place very quickly, as will his brothers and sisters.

kskatt · Apr 30, 2016

Rolling kitten piles! Thank you for sharing videos! You are right to keep an eye on that eye (that sounds funny!). Tiny kittens seem to pick up Upper Respiratory Infections. Your babies will most likely not have problems since they're being so well cared for.

You are doing a great job, keeping such a good watch over the babies.
I wish all babies had such wonderful, loving caretakers.

Cataria · Apr 30, 2016

Kitten update! So far everything has been good with the eye, the crustiness never came back and I don't see any weepiness. Kittens have started to explore a little bit when I am up there with them, and the little brown tabby kitten has started to run out and greet me when I go upstairs.

I have plans this weekend to move all the kittens down to the guest bedroom which requires a good detail of rearranging -- 5 months after moving in, and I'm still not anywhere close to be unpacked! I have actually been sleeping in the guest bedroom instead of my actual bedroom because it hasn't been set up yet, but today and tomorrow I am going to unpack/organize my bedroom, kitten-proof the guest bedroom, and move them all down there where the temperature is steadier and my cats would be able to interact better through some baby gates. I really hope I can get this finished up tomorrow.

Sarthur2 · May 1, 2016

I hope you get it done too, because it's a very cat-friendly plan! They need both the steady temperature and the social interaction! [emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128077[/emoji]

Mamanyt1953 · May 1, 2016

Gracious...you do have your hands full. Somehow, in all the excitement of having the kittens, I had forgotten that you were in the middle of moving when all of this started! Well, now you have a immediate goal, which can be an excellent spur for getting stuff done!

Cataria · May 1, 2016

Got them all downstairs! They have adjusted very quickly to the new room and seem content. The baby gates I bought aren't going to come in until Wednesday, so I'm going to keep the door to the bedroom closed until then.

I was petting/rubbing Camo's tummy just now, and I'm concerned. I feel something like a hard mass or masses that are just under her skin, maybe several inches long but about a cm depth. The placement of the mass isn't directly correlated with the nipples, it's sort of diagonal and in the middle so it is under one or two nipples, but mostly has nothing to do with it. I palpitated it quite a bit and it didn't seem to cause her pain.

Is there any reason why a nursing mother should have a mass like that, or should I make a vet appointment? Anyone have any idea what it might be?

Sarthur2 · May 1, 2016

I think you should consult your vet.

Cataria · May 2, 2016

Just got back from the vet. They are pretty sure that is is not mastitis, and their opinion is that mammary tissue is just unevenly developed, hence the odd shaped lumps. I'm glad to know it is not anything immediately important like an infection, but I am still paranoid about it being mammary tumors (not sure if I could mentally go through a third bout of feline mammary cancer, :/). I am inclined to think it is more my paranoia than anything -- she's only 2 years old so the chances of anything showing up this early is really unlikely, but I will feel so much better after she is spayed!

I finally got the check-up on her that I wanted, so she's gotten all her shots, etc., and we verified that she is negative for FIV and FeLV. They also took a quick look at the kittens, and they think they are all girls except for the cream one, like I originally thought. I might post another kitten butt picture, assuming I can actually get a decent picture this time, to get another opinion to verify.

Sarthur2 · May 2, 2016

Glad it's nothing serious!

Mamanyt1953 · May 2, 2016

Post those pictures when you have them. It's kinda sad to say, but the folks here at TCS probably have more experience with young kittens' genitalia that the vets do. It kinda goes with the "Crazy Cat Person" thing...we have no hesitation about lifting a kitten tail at the drop of a hat. We just wanna know if the cutie is male or female...and, as hard as it can be with kittens, you should try sexing rabbits! I once got a wonderful job at a pet store because I knew a lot about rodents and their kin, and I could sex a rabbit right 9 times out of 10!

Cataria · May 2, 2016

Just had my first official attempt at introducing one of my cats to Camo and the kittens. They have met Camo a couple times without too much drama, but since Camo has had the kittens, she had gotten very upset about any other cat coming up to the attic, and the past two times a cat snuck up without me noticing ended in Camo chasing them down the stairs. :/ I've been extra cautious since then; my experience is that my other cats won't do more than hiss and growl, but they haven't been introduced to a cat that will take the hissing and growling as a challenge, so I don't want to take chances. Shade is especially the one I'm worried about. She actually does quite well with new cats and makes up with them quickly, but she is also a huge diva and vocalizes her slightest discontent. I don't think that will work well with Camo, at least not while she's in mother-mode.

Anyway, this time, I actually planned and prepared for the meeting, and it went quite well!

I opened the door to the bedroom and sat in the doorway, while Kismet sat on the other side of me. Camo stayed pretty far away and just gave a death glare (no hissing or attempts at cat murder), while the kittens rushed over to me. I kept them away from Kismet and Kismet just watched (no hissing), but after about ten minutes, one got a little too close for Kismet's liking and scared her to death. Kismet's first reaction when she's scared is to run to me, so she ran past the scary little kitten, crawled onto my lap, sort of climbed up my chest, and hid her face under my chin so she didn't have to look anymore. After that she wouldn't move, but there was still no hissing or growling, so all and all, went well.

I'm still holding Kismet now, she's alternating being licking and suckling my face. She is ridiculous, LOL.

Sarthur2 · May 2, 2016

Sounds overall like it did not go badly, but the kittens may be a bit too much for Kismet to handle all at once. Just keep going slow. If you are re-homing everyone, no need to conduct introductions really. It's stressful for all. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Cataria · May 5, 2016

I'm definitely keeping Camo, and probably going to keep at least one of the kittens... possibly more, haha. Balancing "but they're so cuuuuuuute" with actually being reasonable is haaaaard, XD. Home-wise, I have one almost definite home lined up already and two strong maybes.

Got my baby gates set up, and the Feliway I ordered literally arrived today and I plugged it into the wall a few minutes ago. Even without the Feliway, everything has been going very well. Kismet has gotten over her kitten fear and spends nearly all her time watching the kittens (when the gate is up) and sniffing them all over (when I take the gates down). A couple of times she tried to work up the nerve to try to play with them, but she would pull back at the last second (I think she was afraid of how they'd react). Shade has started spending a lot of time watching them too, also non-aggressively. She hisses a little when she smells them on objects (like the floor, or on towels, or on my hands), but she doesn't hiss at the actual kittens.

Camo has been doing great too! I have been extra cautious, considering how she reacted before, but she has not made a single attempt to chase any of the cats off since I moved her downstairs. I haven't let them get too close to Camo herself yet, but she does not seem threatened at all by them approaching her kittens.

No reaction at all from Meko or Nenya yet. They are more fascinated by the new boxes the baby gates came in.

I'll have some pictures shortly, working on downloading them off my phone now.

Sarthur2 · May 5, 2016

It sounds like things are going even better than expected! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Cataria · May 5, 2016

Kitten pictures!

First, Camo:

camo55.JPG

Cataria
May 5, 2016

camo552.JPG

Cataria
May 5, 2016

Apparently I am going to need to feed them sooner than I thought! This little thing was legitimately eating Camo's cat food, which is the Royal Canin kitten (not babycat) food. Not even four weeks old, bigger pieces than babycat, and it wasn't even softened! I was going to start giving them canned babycat on Saturday, but I guess I should start today if they are already interested in food!

blackwhite55.JPG

Cataria
May 5, 2016

Question -- what color is this guy? I've been calling him the "cream kitten", but I realized he might actually be red? He is lighter than what I remember red tabbies being, but the cream color is much brighter than the cream on Shade, Meko, and the dilute calico kitten. More of a peach color that the saturated cream.