Ok. Just a little background. I have 3 cats and a dog (all female and all spayed). Just recently (last 3 months), I have started feeding a stray cat. At first, she didn't trust me. I would set food out for her and she would only eat when I went back in the house. Eventually, she came to trust me and let me pet her and was just generally very affectionate. She was obviously owned by someone in her lifetime.
Now to my first problem - she was very pregnant, so I fixed up the back bedroom for her (to keep her away from my pets and vice versa), so she could have her kittens in a safe, warm, dry place. Yesterday, she had 6 kittens. Realistically, what are my chances of finding them good homes. I know that it is "kitten season", so there are going to be tons of free kittens in the paper. I mentioned to some friends that I was going to charge an adoption fee, and they told me that no one would pay to take one of mine when they could get a free one out of the paper. I don't want to give them to just anyone, but I can't keep 7 more cats in addition to the 3 that I have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The only shelters around here are high kill.
Second problem. She has bitten me 5 times. The first two were warning bites when I was petting her. The other 3 times involved her grabbing my leg and biting it. The first time that she did it was the night before she had her kittens, so I thought that maybe she was just in pain. I could tell she was in labor. She did it when I turned to leave the room. The second time was right after she had her kittens - again when I turned to leave the room. The last time was this morning. I had petted her and she had even rubbed against my legs. I was just looking down at her. The next thing I know, she jumped up on the calf of my leg, dug her claws in and bit my thigh (hard enough to leave a bruise). I shouted no and she just looked up at me like, "What?" Again, any advice?
I have a vet appt. for her for next week (earliest I can get in) even though I can't really afford it. (due to car repairs) Please - any advice that you could offer would be great. Not all of my family and friends understand why I took her in, even though they know I have a great compassion for animals.
Now to my first problem - she was very pregnant, so I fixed up the back bedroom for her (to keep her away from my pets and vice versa), so she could have her kittens in a safe, warm, dry place. Yesterday, she had 6 kittens. Realistically, what are my chances of finding them good homes. I know that it is "kitten season", so there are going to be tons of free kittens in the paper. I mentioned to some friends that I was going to charge an adoption fee, and they told me that no one would pay to take one of mine when they could get a free one out of the paper. I don't want to give them to just anyone, but I can't keep 7 more cats in addition to the 3 that I have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The only shelters around here are high kill.
Second problem. She has bitten me 5 times. The first two were warning bites when I was petting her. The other 3 times involved her grabbing my leg and biting it. The first time that she did it was the night before she had her kittens, so I thought that maybe she was just in pain. I could tell she was in labor. She did it when I turned to leave the room. The second time was right after she had her kittens - again when I turned to leave the room. The last time was this morning. I had petted her and she had even rubbed against my legs. I was just looking down at her. The next thing I know, she jumped up on the calf of my leg, dug her claws in and bit my thigh (hard enough to leave a bruise). I shouted no and she just looked up at me like, "What?" Again, any advice?
I have a vet appt. for her for next week (earliest I can get in) even though I can't really afford it. (due to car repairs) Please - any advice that you could offer would be great. Not all of my family and friends understand why I took her in, even though they know I have a great compassion for animals.