So I got a mom cat and three kittens. I'm going to share the backstory first before getting into what issues I've been having today. Bear with me, it's a bit long.
Biscay is a cat who was brought in by animal control. She's a medium-long hair tuxedo cat who's age is unknown.
The shelter staff swears she's not feral, that she's just frightened and shy. They claim that she was so sweet on intake and things like that but- this cat does not want to be in my house.
She's been here for 10 days. She's a small cat, weighing under 7 pounds. I still haven't gotten a good look at her with how avoidant and timid she is. She hisses at me any time I get close and refuses to come out to eat/use litter box/anything else while I'm around.
She's in my bedroom, it's quiet here. I'm usually the only person in here and it's easy to keep other animals out of here. It's a large room, lots of places to hide. I try to keep her in the closet area (no closet door, it's got a good amount of space but not much to hide behind). She got out the first day and I gave up keeping her in the closet, just so long as I know where she's at. She is usually in one of two hiding spots, one under my desk, or the other back in the closet between a cloth dog crate and the wall.
The first day she didn't eat or drink at all. Thankfully she started eating when I'm not around or at least when I'm not looking.
The first few nights she'd wake me up accidentally as she searched for a way out. She would meow and attack my windows and doors, but then I'd sit up in my bed and she'd dart to the nearest hiding spot. She's not very good at being sneaky.
She also meows at cat sounds. I was playing sims and there was a cat in the game meowing, and she gained enough courage to poke her head out to meow back at it.
I've been giving her small treats and maybe a few table scraps to try and earn her trust a bit more. I so far gave her a bit of tuna, a piece of rib, and some scraps of chicken. She enjoys these treats and I thought I was getting somewhere with her when yesterday I'd toss a piece of chicken, and so long as I wasn't directly looking at her she'd crawl out to eat it.
Today has been a mess.
I woke up to the sounds of kitten cries. I wasn't convinced she was pregnant before, let alone that she'd have them this quickly. But there she was, behind the dog crate with kittens. I finally checked on her and them as the crying didn't seem normal. If a newborn kitten is crying continuous and loud while their mom is right there, there's a good chance something isn't right.
I looked and found one kitten a few feet from mom, another about halfway between, and the last was with mom but she wasn't doing much. I pulled the crate away and collected the kittens as mom ran off, the first two were so cold and barely moving. All three still had the placenta and umbilical cords still attached. I carried the kittens around to warm them up while I tried to figure out what to do next.
We asked the shelter for advice and they said to put her in a dog crate with the babies. They said that she's young, it's her first litter, and she likely has no idea what's going on or what to do. But if given the chance she could still take care of the kittens.
We sent someone out for KMR and supplies should we have to feed the babies ourselves. Then when kittens were warm I went to help catch mom.
We found a fourth kitten she'd had after she ran off but sadly the little one didn't make it. This one she hadn't even opened the sac for, instead leaving the kitten to cool off while she hid.
We eventually caught her, it was rough. She bit the person helping me. I would have rather not been so hands-on as I feel this'll damage any trust we were starting to build with her, but I know she doesn't go into traps (I tried before) and we needed to put her in with her babies.
So now she and her kittens are in a dog crate, the one she used to hide behind. I worry about the kitten's lots, but I'm trying to leave her alone so mom cat will feel comfortable enough to learn how to raise them.
I checked in a couple of times already. I put food and water in the crate for mom and when I did I touched one of the kittens to make sure they weren't cold again. So far they're alright, but I don't actually know if she's nursing or doing anything else. But with how quiet things are now, I think maybe there's a good chance she's figured it out. I tell myself that the kittens will cry when they need anything so I should leave them alone until then.
I can't get pictures of Biscay or her kittens now because of how much she does not want me near her. But the three kittens I know of; two are tuxedo like mom. One tuxedo baby has a small dot of white on their face. The last baby is solid black. They were born sometime between 10am-2pm today
(I sleep in really late...)
Biscay is a cat who was brought in by animal control. She's a medium-long hair tuxedo cat who's age is unknown.
The shelter staff swears she's not feral, that she's just frightened and shy. They claim that she was so sweet on intake and things like that but- this cat does not want to be in my house.
She's been here for 10 days. She's a small cat, weighing under 7 pounds. I still haven't gotten a good look at her with how avoidant and timid she is. She hisses at me any time I get close and refuses to come out to eat/use litter box/anything else while I'm around.
She's in my bedroom, it's quiet here. I'm usually the only person in here and it's easy to keep other animals out of here. It's a large room, lots of places to hide. I try to keep her in the closet area (no closet door, it's got a good amount of space but not much to hide behind). She got out the first day and I gave up keeping her in the closet, just so long as I know where she's at. She is usually in one of two hiding spots, one under my desk, or the other back in the closet between a cloth dog crate and the wall.
The first day she didn't eat or drink at all. Thankfully she started eating when I'm not around or at least when I'm not looking.
The first few nights she'd wake me up accidentally as she searched for a way out. She would meow and attack my windows and doors, but then I'd sit up in my bed and she'd dart to the nearest hiding spot. She's not very good at being sneaky.
She also meows at cat sounds. I was playing sims and there was a cat in the game meowing, and she gained enough courage to poke her head out to meow back at it.
I've been giving her small treats and maybe a few table scraps to try and earn her trust a bit more. I so far gave her a bit of tuna, a piece of rib, and some scraps of chicken. She enjoys these treats and I thought I was getting somewhere with her when yesterday I'd toss a piece of chicken, and so long as I wasn't directly looking at her she'd crawl out to eat it.
Today has been a mess.
I woke up to the sounds of kitten cries. I wasn't convinced she was pregnant before, let alone that she'd have them this quickly. But there she was, behind the dog crate with kittens. I finally checked on her and them as the crying didn't seem normal. If a newborn kitten is crying continuous and loud while their mom is right there, there's a good chance something isn't right.
I looked and found one kitten a few feet from mom, another about halfway between, and the last was with mom but she wasn't doing much. I pulled the crate away and collected the kittens as mom ran off, the first two were so cold and barely moving. All three still had the placenta and umbilical cords still attached. I carried the kittens around to warm them up while I tried to figure out what to do next.
We asked the shelter for advice and they said to put her in a dog crate with the babies. They said that she's young, it's her first litter, and she likely has no idea what's going on or what to do. But if given the chance she could still take care of the kittens.
We sent someone out for KMR and supplies should we have to feed the babies ourselves. Then when kittens were warm I went to help catch mom.
We found a fourth kitten she'd had after she ran off but sadly the little one didn't make it. This one she hadn't even opened the sac for, instead leaving the kitten to cool off while she hid.
We eventually caught her, it was rough. She bit the person helping me. I would have rather not been so hands-on as I feel this'll damage any trust we were starting to build with her, but I know she doesn't go into traps (I tried before) and we needed to put her in with her babies.
So now she and her kittens are in a dog crate, the one she used to hide behind. I worry about the kitten's lots, but I'm trying to leave her alone so mom cat will feel comfortable enough to learn how to raise them.
I checked in a couple of times already. I put food and water in the crate for mom and when I did I touched one of the kittens to make sure they weren't cold again. So far they're alright, but I don't actually know if she's nursing or doing anything else. But with how quiet things are now, I think maybe there's a good chance she's figured it out. I tell myself that the kittens will cry when they need anything so I should leave them alone until then.
I can't get pictures of Biscay or her kittens now because of how much she does not want me near her. But the three kittens I know of; two are tuxedo like mom. One tuxedo baby has a small dot of white on their face. The last baby is solid black. They were born sometime between 10am-2pm today
(I sleep in really late...)