Three Feral Mommas

[Sarthur2]

I had a kitten who needed a couple extra weeks to make it to the litter box. I would put her in several times a day and keep her close to the box.

They have tiny bladders at this age and are easily distracted!

Give her time and she should be okay!

 

[SheriB]

Most of the kittens are 8 weeks old now, Here’s Button (for Norachan ).
Below, a lineup of babies, Kawaii, Feather, Snorgle, Timo at the bowl, and Smee at the very back.

Below, Mama Aiko and Tomo.

Good news for the very feral Tabby mamas, they have found a colony for them to go to after they are spayed next week.

 

[Norachan]

Oh that's great news!



Those little kittens all look so sweet. I bet they'll get adopted in no time. Button will be very proud to hear he has a namesake.

So are all the mother cats going to the colony? Does that mean you don't have to worry about housing them in your greenhouse anymore?

I bet you'll be relieved to get your bedroom back. How are all your other cats doing?

 

[Sarthur2]

Who feeds the colony cats?

 

[SheriB]

Oh that's great news!



Those little kittens all look so sweet. I bet they'll get adopted in no time. Button will be very proud to hear he has a namesake.

So are all the mother cats going to the colony? Does that mean you don't have to worry about housing them in your greenhouse anymore?

I bet you'll be relieved to get your bedroom back. How are all your other cats doing?

Thanks! Mama Aiko is coming around and I believe she will be relatively easy to tame. They are going to work with her at the shelter. The other two lovely identical Tabby mamas are truly feral and they will go to the colony. So no cats in the greenhouse at this time. I’m glad, they will be happier living free than being kept in such a small space. And yes, it will be wonderful to have a bedroom again.

 

[SheriB]

Who feeds the colony cats?

The colony has a caretaker. The shelter helps them with food and medical care.

 

[Norachan]

The colony has a caretaker. The shelter helps them with food and medical care.

That really is the best situation for a truly feral cat to be in. They get the best of both worlds.

 

[SheriB]

It’s been too long since I posted here, so much has been happening. It seems like I get out of bed and start working and barely get to sit down till it’s time to go to bed. I would usually spend a little time on this site after I go to bed but these days I fall asleep the minute I lay down.
Anyway, we got everybody spayed and neutered except Snorgle. She still makes a congested sound in her chest. She’s had three different antibiotics and two x-rays to no avail. The x-rays showed that she was eating a lot of the dusty clay litter, so in the last few days I have converted her over to paper hoping that will help. Also we take a steam bath twice a day at the end of which I pat her chest (coupage) to get her to cough and maybe break up the congestion. It comes and goes but doesn’t really seem better. Otherwise she’s active, eating well, and the only one of the kittens to learn to love being petted. So far.

 

[SheriB]

Things didn’t work out for my two Tabby mamas to go to a colony. I don’t know what the shelter director was thinking, she first told me that she had a place for them and then later told me otherwise. So they are in my greenhouse. It’s too small a space to keep them for very long. Some of the other volunteers have offered to help me build on an outdoor enclosure but right now I’m just too exhausted.
Norachan The photos are from when the wind tore up my shade cloth, but give an idea of what the greenhouse looks like. I have layered on much more shade cloth now because its very hot here in the summer.

When I first moved the tabbies out there after their spay surgery, they would not come out of the planter bed, even when the sprinklers came on. But now they are getting bolder. Just yesterday I saw one out briefly and got the a better photograph because she didn’t have time to hide more thoroughly. I can finally tell them apart in daylight, one has a lighter coat than the other

 

[Norachan]

Little Snorgle is so sweet! I wonder what is wrong with her chest? Does the vet want to wait until she is completely better before they spay? She's still young, you have a few months yet before you need to worry about her. One of my rescued cats had her spay surgery canceled and re-scheduled a few times before we finally got her fixed. She's FIV+ and we had to wait until we got her as healthy as possible.

Vibes for a healthy chest little Snorgle!



I think the greenhouse looks fine for now. Are you going to make the enclosure about the same size? If you make it a bit less exposed and put in walkways at different levels they'll be able to make the most of the space. I guess being in a glass greenhouse makes them feel they're being watched all the time.

Pretty girls though. Too bad the place in the colony didn't work out for them, but if they're getting more confident with you maybe that's for the best.

 

[Sarthur2]

Have you tried cortisone for her chest? It may help thin the mucus and open up her tubes. Ask the vet.

 

[SheriB]

Have you tried cortisone for her chest? It may help thin the mucus and open up her tubes. Ask the vet.

Thanks! Will do!

 

[SheriB]

They all wanted to know how he got up there. Now a couple of days later, all of them can do it.
Little Snorgle is getting better, we only hear the congestion occasionally now. She’s as active and healthy looking as her siblings. Before her fur was rough and dirty, now she’s soft and sleek and quite a love bug. We’re totally on recycled paper litter now, no dust. I’m sure that’s making a difference.
So sad to say but we are going to lose her brother, little Smee. He started to lose weight after his neuter surgery. Blood test, blood sugar, and fecal test turned up nothing. I had to take him to my own vet because the shelter vet has been ill. Several antibiotics and anti diarrheal meds later he is still failing, even though he eats ravenously. We suspect FIP. steroid shots haven’t really helped either. Poor little love just sits on my lap and purrs. Snorgle, Smee, and the two who died were the first litter to be born in this group. Looks like only one of the four will survive.

 

[Sarthur2]

The picture is precious!

So glad Snorgle is improving. I hope her brother pulls through.

Thanks for all you are doing!

 

[SheriB]

A sad goodbye to our little Smee. So grateful for the time we had with him.

 

[SheriB]

Beautiful Kawaii (in the back) found her forever family last Saturday and tiny Timo (foreground) found his today after waiting almost a week. I feel great about both adoptions! Three spooky kittens; Button, Feather, and Tomo are left, along with little Snorgle. I’m making progress, they will take treats from my fingers, although there is quite a bit of swatting involved (them swatting me), and a couple of times I have petted one or another and got purrs. I persist, hopefully they will continue to come around.

 

[Norachan]

Oh, poor little Smee! I'm so sorry to hear he didn't make it.



Rest In Peace little guy, I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer.

That's great news about Kawaii and Timo. I hope the other kittens find homes too. You're doing a great job with them. They're so lucky, even though they don't know it yet.

 

[SheriB]

Tomo and Button went to adoptions yesterday. It was sort of a trial run to see how they would do. They just crouched together, not moving, so they had very little chance of getting adopted. They and Feather are getting friendlier but have a ways to go yet. I can pet them and am now working on picking them up. Trying to teach them to take treats from my fingers backfired, they began to get very aggressive with me due to the competition. I guess I need to separate them and only work with one at a time.

There’s a three inch strip of windowsill that makes this long narrow gap behind the shelf. It makes a great place for kittens to line up for nap time.

 

[Norachan]

Awww! sweet little things. Have you thought of clicker training the kittens? I've never done it myself, although I think @Columbine is clicker training her horse now.

If the kittens were responding well to treats they might enjoy clicker training. It would make them more adoptable too.

 

[SheriB]

Awww! sweet little things. Have you thought of clicker training the kittens? I've never done it myself, although I think @Columbine is clicker training her horse now.

If the kittens were responding well to treats they might enjoy clicker training. It would make them more adoptable too.

Thanks! I did think about the clicker, but it seems to me that you need three hands, one for the clicker, one for high five, and one to dispense the treats.
I watched some videos and tried to use their method but the kittens were so frantic for the treats they began grabbing me with claws and biting me when they took the treats. Then they started biting when I didn’t have a treat. I think it’s because I tried to do three at once, the smart thing to do will be to remove one kitten at a time for training. I started, but the kittens are so freaked out at being in a strange place that we couldn’t train. So first I have to get them used to being in another room. And I have to untrain the aggressive behavior. But that is good for them too, so it’s all working with them, which is what they need, and a huge learning experience for me.