Natural Birth Control?

I have three strays coming around: a mom and her son and daughter. The mom is not even 2 years old and the kids are about 10 months. I need to get the females taken care of before they multiply. I've looked at a discount clinic and the price would be $56 each for spaying + $16 each for rabies shots + unexpected costs that I'm sure will come up because they always do.


I've barely even touched these cats because I can't get more than a couple of feet from them. I feed them because they have no one else.


I hesitated posting because I know I'll be told no, but has anyone had experience with carrot seed oil as a natural birth control? There's not as much information online as I'd like but it seems to be a possible option? There are lists of safe and unsafe oils for cats and then a list of oils to use with guidance from a professional and carrot seed is on that list.


$20 for a bottle of oil on Amazon vs probably $200 + (that I can't really afford) at a clinic on cats that aren't mine. How would I even catch them? Someone please tell me that they've tried carrot seed oil and it works and is safe.



If anyone's interested here's a backstory on the cats:


I used to throw my cats' uneaten food outside for the birds because apparently birds and squirrels like cat food. One day there was a small grey cat eating the food off the ground. So I fed her and she never left. Of course. About six months later another smaller grey cat shows up. Turned out to be her daughter. So there's Gray#1 and Gray#2. Last spring Gray#1 has babies next door. Shortly after, all four babies make their way to my backyard. Never saw Gray#1 again. I catch them and keep them in a large kennel on the patio and take care of them because I have no other choice. The whole time, I'm really stressed because I don't know what to do with the cats. They grow, my sister takes one, I give two to a woman who fosters and works with pet rescue and I keep one - she's in my lap right now. She's been fixed and is strictly an indoor cat. Great, that's solved. Shortly after that Gray#2 shows up with four babies. I don't see them for a while so I think maybe she took them back to wherever she came from. I feel better. Then they pop back up out of nowhere. Just two of them though. Months later I still have Gray#2 and her two black babies and I need to do something soon.


I've posted on this forum before but it's been a while and I lost my password.


Thanks for reading.

I would not trust this natural birth control idea.

Your best bet is to trap the cats and get them spayed and neutered asap.

Do you have a humane trap, or can you borrow one?

Thank you for caring for these cats!

I think that even if the wild carrot seed oil worked, it would end up costing you more in the long run. The spay clinic would cost $72 each (they're usually pretty good at sticking to the stated cost) for 100% effective birth control (plus other benefits, and protection against rabies). If you use the oil, I'm not sure what the dosage would be but let's say 1 ml per cat per day, at that dosage each $20 2-oz bottle would last 30 days. So in less than 8 months, it would end up costing more than the spays. And it may not be 100% effective, causing more litters to be born.

I think your best bet is the spay clinic. This is the time of year cats get pregnant so it's kind of urgent.

The spay clinic should have some humane traps you can borrow. That's the main way people catch feral cats for TNR.

Welcome back to the forum!! It's a great space to ask this type of question. And how wonderful of you to be not just concerned but actually DOING something about it!

I certainly understand your issue - - no matter how many times you give kitties the lecture on birth control, they just won't listen!

I agree totally with W Willowy - - and I did some digging online about the dosage of the oil. To me there are two issues (which W Willowy nailed) - - even if it did work (and I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it - -I couldn't find any hard evidence that it works), it actually would end up costing you more than a spay or neuter. And chances are about 101% that you'll spend alot on the oil - and still have babies to deal with in a few months. I really do understand your dilemma - - we too have alot of ferals & strays in our neighborhood that only a few of us seem to have the desire to do TNR work. And as self-employed graphic designers, there's little (or no) extra money in our budget to spend fixing and caring for every animal that needs to be TNR'd (trap/neuter/release). One way that we keep the cost down - - - we've talked with several other neighbors that we knew who were very cat -friendly and were also concerned about the growing number of cats without homes in our neighborhood - - and several have chipped in with us when we humanely trap a new one. It certainly does help!

I will say - that's one of the more expensive spays/neuters at a low-cost clinic I've heard of. In our area (midwest) most clinics charge more like $25/30 for the basic spay or neuter. You can certainly start adding other things "a la carte" like rabies vaccines, etc. that start to push the cost up a bit, but you really might double check to see if there is another clinic in your area that's more affordable (most humane societies would be able to point you in another direction - if there is one - in your area). Another thing to double check - - -most of the clinics in our general area charge less for feral/stray cats brought into the clinic in a humane trap than they do for an "owned cat" that is brought into the clinic in a carrier.

Thanks everyone. I knew it would come down to spaying.

I don't have a trap. I thought I'd start feeding them inside one of those large carriers and get them used to going inside. Then when I'm ready to have them spayed I'll try to close the door on them.

The only thing is I'm not sure how this will work. What if I make an appointment and then can't catch them when it's time, or just catch one? What if I catch them and then make the appointment but the appointment is days away. What do I do with them? I have a kennel made for large dogs that I could keep them in in the meantime but what if they escape. I also hate the idea of traumatizing them. They're Skiddish as it is.

The spay/neuter clinic I use allows you to come on a drop in basis as long as the cat is in a humane trap. That really helps to take the pressure off of trapping. You should call around and find a vet that would be flexible.

Same for my local Humane Society. They allow daily feral dropins at a greatly reduced price if they are brought in traps.

Traps are not expensive. Look at your local Home Depot ot Lowe's. Cheapest are about $29. Put a piece of cardboard on the bottom if you get one. It's more comfortable and safer on their paws.

Do you have any cat rescue groups in your area? Local veterinarians or area shelters usually know about these groups/people. If you do have they are usually a great source of help, advice, loaned cages or even help trapping. Also they know where the best prices for spay/neuter are.
Please do some calling. As an example we have a woman in the area who runs a cat rescue and provides vouchers you can take to her vet for reduced spay cost.

Yes I read your history. Sadly that's usually the case, babies having babies. We experienced something similar with a friend who had the cutest Siamese feral. We kept say spay and one day he said she " just disappeared ". Well the downside was she showed up a year later with her, another female (daughter?) and 11 offspring in tow. So now I had to trap, neuter, spay 13 instead of him doing right in the first place.

Thanks for taking care of gray and the babies. Hope it works out well for both you and them

shadowsrescue said:

The spay/neuter clinic I use allows you to come on a drop in basis as long as the cat is in a humane trap. That really helps to take the pressure off of trapping. You should call around and find a vet that would be flexible.

Click to expand...

Drop in would be so great. I haven't come across that so far.

trudy1 said:

Yes I read your history. Sadly that's usually the case, babies having babies. We experienced something similar with a friend who had the cutest Siamese feral. We kept say spay and one day he said she " just disappeared ". Well the downside was she showed up a year later with her, another female (daughter?) and 11 offspring in tow. So now I had to trap, neuter, spay 13 instead of him doing right in the first place.

Thanks for taking care of gray and the babies. Hope it works out well for both you and them

Click to expand...

Wow, 13 to deal with at once? I can't even imagine. What a sinking feeling it must have been to see that .

Well, guess what? Not even a minute after I posted the above I sat my phone down, was walking through the living room and there are 3 kittens outside the window. I'm not even kidding. I'm assuming they're Gray#2's. She was near them. I caught the kittens and put them in the kennel. I gave them a box, warm blanket with a heating pad and some food and water. I've been trying for the last couple of hours to lure Gray#2 into the kennel but can't so far. She takes the bait and runs. I'll try again in the morning. They're about 3 weeks old. Two black/whites and one solid black. I think the black is male.

I thought Gray#2 looked fat a while back but nothing seemed to come of it.

I mean this happened literally after posting.

I have four indoor cats of my own. I can't have and don't need or want these.

Nice.

Are these kittens eating on their own? Three week old kittens usually are not. They need feeding with kitten milk!

They also need their mama still! Can you lure mom inside by showing her her kittens in the crate?

Thank you for caring!

Sarthur2 said:

Are these kittens eating on their own? Three week old kittens usually are not. They need feeding with kitten milk!

They also need their mama still! Can you lure mom inside by showing her her kittens in the crate?

Thank you for caring!

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My mom saw them and said they look older than 3 weeks. I don't know. I've included a photo of the babies.

So last night I put them in the large kennel and when I went to check on them later, one was missing. It must have slipped out between the bars. Then I saw that Gray#2 had put it in the large carrier that I had put out for the strays to sleep in at night. I put the other two in there with her and they all spent the night together. I didn't realize how aggressive Gray#2 is. I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with her. I need to handle the kittens to tame them down but the mama is going to tear me up.

My problem is that I can't leave the cage open for the mom to come
and go. I just caught her trying to move them. But I also can't just pick the mom up and put her in the cage with them because she's impossible. I brought them inside and they're on my lap right now. I think I'll try to feed them something.

Here's another photo from just now. In the left hand corner is their aunt who I rescued back in the spring.

They'll need to be fed lots of wet food, and they need access to dry kitten chow and water 24/7.

They need mom, but more importantly, they need to stay inside and be socialized so they can be adopted. So if you can't get mom, keep them in anyway.

Ferals cats start bringing their kittens around at 5 or 6 weeks, which is prime time to get them socialized. And they look to be about that old. So don't worry about taking them away from their mom; they are too young under normal circumstances but since she's feral it's better for them to be tamed so they can go into good indoor homes instead of living wild. You can add a little KMR to their canned food for extra nutrition.

The mama took them back out of the yard. I had the kennel partly open so try to get her inside but she wouldn't go in as long as I was near. They wanted out and she wanted them out too. I finally let her take them. I tried feeding them and one of them licked the food a little bit. I don't think they really knew what to do.

If she brings them back I'll try again. I wish one of the neighbors would care for once. I always get stuck doing it.

The weather is gradually warming up and is supposed to be in the '70s by Sunday. As long as she has them in a safe place I think they'll be ok as far as the cold goes.

I looked into cat birth control when I had a colony of nine cats. There seems to be research, but nothing brought to market. Here for your information:
Where's Feralstat?
Feline Birth Control?

One-dose contraceptive for cats - Futurity

Willowy said:

I think that even if the wild carrot seed oil worked, it would end up costing you more in the long run. The spay clinic would cost $72 each (they're usually pretty good at sticking to the stated cost) for 100% effective birth control (plus other benefits, and protection against rabies). If you use the oil, I'm not sure what the dosage would be but let's say 1 ml per cat per day, at that dosage each $20 2-oz bottle would last 30 days. So in less than 8 months, it would end up costing more than the spays. And it may not be 100% effective, causing more litters to be born.

I think your best bet is the spay clinic. This is the time of year cats get pregnant so it's kind of urgent.

The spay clinic should have some humane traps you can borrow. That's the main way people catch feral cats for TNR.

Click to expand...

www.wildpantry.com -- the dose is much smaller than 1 mL per day. Although.... not medically researched for kitties. they don't even recommend that the oil be given directly to kitties because it is too strong.

an adult cat is about as big and about as sensitive as a human newborn, in my experience.