Something wrong with TNR case

[SunshineKitten00]

Hello, I am new to the forum. I just recently got into cat care for a TNR. There’s seems to be problems with her now please advice me on how to handle it.

A few months back there’s this one cat who always went inside my house and long story short I got attached to her. I didn’t want to keep her or anything but I kind of fed her regularly (my fault). I felt bad for her because she kept getting pregnant, so I decided that I’m going to TNR her. Before I got to spay her, she got pregnant and I waited for her to give birth. After she birthed I thought that the kittens didn’t make is since I never really saw them and her mammary glands shows no signs of feeding (vet’s opinion). I then got her spayed. A day after she got spayed a relative of mine found her kittens (my second mistake) and I reunited them when the mother is back. I had to keep them caged for 2 weeks since the vet advice me to do so and I released all of them back to like a neutral location in my neighbourhood (it’s like a community area for cats, some neighbours feed them there). Since then the mother keeps going back to my house and she never brings her kittens with them. She’s like almost 24 hours in my house, only gone for maybe 1-2 hours a day. I don’t know if she’s still feeding her kittens but her mammary gland got swollen, like really swollen. I stopped feeding her for 3 days now because I don’t want her to full stay in my house (I live with my parents and they are not the kindest to cats). I noticed that she lost a significant amount of weight (her body got so skinny since I returned her), so I assumed she is not eating from the community area. I finally relented yesterday and fed her again.

To summarise there’s 3 problems
- she may not be feeding her kittens and I don’t know where they are now (she will go out of my house for 1-2 hours a day though)
- her mammary glands are swollen
- she most likely won’t eat unless I feed her

My main goal is still to TNR her so I need to know how to make her stay a way from my house (I’m okay with like her sneaking sometimes but as of now she kind of lives fully in my place). I also don’t know the whereabouts of her kittens. Please advice me on what to do. I acknowledge my mistakes in this whole process and I would like to fix them somehow. Thank you!

 

[StefanZ]

What is the timetable? Its fully possible she is pregnant anew, highpreg, and now dropped. - ie looks less pregnat "suddenly skinnier". IF so, she will deliver now any hour...

What do do? Best is if you this time let her live inside and foster her new kittens; and this time spay her properly...

The alternative, as you dont know how its with her kittens; you do feed her every time she comes, and hope for the best....
And after a while do spay her... Let her rest one full day, and release her back to nurse her new batch of kittens... Because they wont make it alone on their own much more than 24 hours (healthy kittens do often manage more, but whom wants to take risks??).

Why this hurry with spaying although she nurses kittens?? Because cats arent protected by nursing, unlike humans.... And living free she may easily get preg mated and preg already a week or two after delivery....

To summarize: please keep feeding her, till you manage to tidy up the situation....

Of course, once she is TNR properly, and no more kittens to take care off, you may end with the feeding, if you so wish...
Spayed and with no kittens she should manage OK on her own, because she is used to live as homeless.

S SunshineKitten00

 

[SunshineKitten00]

Hi, thank you for replying. My description mighe be a little bit confusing so I’ll give the a list in chronological order.

- she became pregnant
- she gave birth and I thought her kittens didn’t make it so I spayed her
- she got spayed
- my relative found her kittens which I believed ‘didn’t make it’
- i reunited her with the kittens and put them in a cage for 2 weeks so that she can heal
- i released her with her kittens after two weeks
- directly after she kept coming back to my house with no kittens
- her mammary glands got swollen
- she now stays in my house almost 24/7 with no kittens

sorry if it’s confusing. So after she got spayed she didn’t give birth again, it was her kittens before the spay

 

[StefanZ]

OK, so its not THAT chaotic as I feared. Good.

A little pity you didnt tried to find adoptive homes for the kittens when you had them inside, but done is done...

So the real problem now is the swollen mammary glands... Which they shouldnt be if she was properly spayed.
If you worry and wish a vet to check them up which is wise; I suppose you dont afford to just go to a vet nearby...
Is there any shelter or rescue group nearby? With a little luck, they may let you use their vet.

You yourself can try with mammary balm, the same as for human women.
Or even put on olive or cocoa oil... Preferably coldpressed organic style.... What you dont use as mammary or paw blam, you may of course consume yourself.

This with her leaving her kittens in some safe place, and herself go search for food, is quite common among free living cats... Its not optimal, but so it is. The kittens whom survive tends to be the toughest ones...

A side note; if she stays in hour house almost 24/7, it must mean she accepts you and your house, and doesnt mind too much your non cat friendly parents...
Perhaps you can work out some solution, when you adopt her for real?

If you manage to find her kittens again, perhaps there may be someone willing to foster them? Kittens are usually fairly easy to adopt, as long they are handleable.

 

[SunshineKitten00]

Thank you for your advices! Is it okay for her to spend so much time away from her kids? I am scared she is not feeding them (her mammary glands is a strong proof of that too).

I actually tried finding adoption homes or even foster homes for all of them but no one wanted them They were potty trained too:’

Sadly I don’t think my parents will ever allow me to fully adopt them. I am scared if my mom spots them she will strand them in an unknown location. The cat currently only goes to the balcony so she is safe because my mom never goes there.

 

[SunshineKitten00]

I think I’ll try putting olive oil on her for now. If it doesn’t get better in the next 7 days I’ll try to bring her to a vet.

 

[Sarthur2]

You can use warm, damp compresses on her mammary glands to give comfort and reduce swelling.

She is likely no longer feeding her kittens and now her milk must dry up. This usually results in engorgement, then it slowly reduces over about 2 weeks.

If you suspect mastitis, she would need antibiotics. That is an emergency and she would have fever and one or more glands would appear red, inflamed, and extra sore.

It sounds like she may have been a house cat before, as she is so friendly and wants to be in your home. If you cannot keep her, your best bet is to take her to a no-kill shelter or pet store to be adopted. True ferals are not this tame or friendly.

As for the kittens, if you see them, get them to a cat shelter. It’s a tough life for kittens in the wild with no steady food, no spaying or neutering, no vaccines, no shelter, and predators. If you never see them again, they’ve likely been picked up by a good samaritan, or picked off by predators.

Good on you for trying to help! You are learning!

S SunshineKitten00

 

[SunshineKitten00]

Hi! Sorry I just replied now. The mother cat’s swollen tissue deflated a bit not fully but it’s a visible change. Unfortunately I haven’t spotted the kitten as of now. Will try to get the to shelter or adoption houses if I do.

 

[SunshineKitten00]

Hi! I have an update on the supposedly TNR cat.. I KEPT HER!! My mom is still semi against the cat but she allows me to keep her in the kitchen (my kitchen is attached to the garage so it’s quite a big space). She always go out on the day time since the door is always open then but she sleeps every night in there. There’s a mat that she sleeps on every night. I’ve bought her cat food and also am in the process of making a litter box for her.

There’s small problem though. Sometimes other cats also come inside my house. The deal that I made with my mom only pertains her and no other cat is allowed in except for her. Do you guys have any solution for this? I’ve thought about those cat repellant spray but I’m scared my cat will be affected too.

Btw her name is is Kitten and here’s a picture of her.

 

[cmshap]

Please explain the "other cats sometimes come inside your house" part. Like, how is it possible that you can't prevent this? That will explain much more for everyone to help you.

But thanks for helping this cat! She is beautiful.

 

[mani]

Hi! I have an update on the supposedly TNR cat.. I KEPT HER!! My mom is still semi against the cat but she allows me to keep her in the kitchen (my kitchen is attached to the garage so it’s quite a big space). She always go out on the day time since the door is always open then but she sleeps every night in there. There’s a mat that she sleeps on every night. I’ve bought her cat food and also am in the process of making a litter box for her.

There’s small problem though. Sometimes other cats also come inside my house. The deal that I made with my mom only pertains her and no other cat is allowed in except for her. Do you guys have any solution for this? I’ve thought about those cat repellant spray but I’m scared my cat will be affected too.

Btw her name is is Kitten and here’s a picture of her.

Really the best answer is to make her an indoor cat. Then she's safe and you'll have no more other cats.
The other option, if you Mom would be in it, is to have a cat door that is activated by only your cat.
So glad she's looked after and loved.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes, there are collars with some magnetic in it, and so it opens the cat door which too have a corresponding magnetic; in practice only to your cats

 

[StefanZ]

ps, you prettie to cat, blue and white.... She has greenish eyes... Torties have often green eyes...
Does she have some creme somewhere? Ie is a diluted tortie with white?

 

[SunshineKitten00]

Please explain the "other cats sometimes come inside your house" part. Like, how is it possible that you can't prevent this? That will explain much more for everyone to help you.

But thanks for helping this cat! She is beautiful.

My house has always been an open space, there’s like windows open usually at night. That’s one of the reason how I came to care for Kitten. She enters through those windows at night and in the morning. Usually it’s just her who comes in but last night a random stray also went inside.

 

[SunshineKitten00]

Really the best answer is to make her an indoor cat. Then she's safe and you'll have no more other cats.
The other option, if you Mom would be in it, is to have a cat door that is activated by only your cat.
So glad she's looked after and loved.

Sadly this is still a long way to go. My mom wont allow her to enter the main part of the house, only the garage and kitchen (which is an open space).

 

[SunshineKitten00]

ps, you prettie to cat, blue and white.... She has greenish eyes... Torties have often green eyes...
Does she have some creme somewhere? Ie is a diluted tortie with white?

Honestly I dont know that much about cat colourings but she has a grey somewhat blue coat with darker stripes. Her belly up to her chin is white. No other colours.

 

[cmshap]

Sadly this is still a long way to go. My mom wont allow her to enter the main part of the house, only the garage and kitchen (which is an open space).

Okay... But how come you can allow some cats but not others?

I'm not trying to pass judgement, just wondering. I truly don't understand all the intricacies.

 

[mani]

Okay... But how come you can allow some cats but not others?

I'm not trying to pass judgement, just wondering. I truly don't understand all the intricacies.

cmshap I think she's explained that the kitchen has open areas and cats can come and go as they like. S SunshineKitten00 is not in a position to say that all cats are welcome as it's her mother's house and she makes those decisions.

 

[cmshap]

cmshap I think she's explained that the kitchen has open areas and cats can come and go as they like. S SunshineKitten00 is not in a position to say that all cats are welcome as it's her mother's house and she makes those decisions.

Sorry, I may not have totally comprehended this.

I don't know where you are from or what your environment is like, but I had a hard time understanding why a particular home can't close off access to cats. But I now understand that your kitchen is an open space and you can't control who enters. I guess I just can't imagine that scenario, although I'm not trying to judge it. I just don't understand the reasons from my particular perspective. I'd love for it to be explained just for my understanding.

 

[AbbysMom]

Sorry, I may not have totally comprehended this.

I don't know where you are from or what your environment is like, but I had a hard time understanding why a particular home can't close off access to cats. But I now understand that your kitchen is an open space and you can't control who enters. I guess I just can't imagine that scenario, although I'm not trying to judge it. I just don't understand the reasons from my particular perspective. I'd love for it to be explained just for my understanding.

Not all houses have screens in the windows, particularly in other countries. It is her mother's home and she doesn't have a say on whether the windows are open or closed or have screens or not.