adopting out mom and 2 babies

[gussy14]

Hi all,

Sorry for the crosspost with Pregnant Cats, but I thought some of the behavior experts would be really helpful here, too.

I have been able to adopt out all my foster kittens - yipee! Of course, now it's mom left. She's a teenaged mom, herself.

One of the adopters of two of the kittens is curious about what it would be like taking mom home, too. Mom is so sweet, I wish we could keep her, and I think that this family is a GREAT cat family and would take great care of two or three. Here are her questions that I'm not sure how to answer:

-She's currently very playful with all her kittens. Will this continue? Will it interfere with the kittens developing their own dynamic?

-Would she add a disciplinary/motherly dynamic that would not otherwise be present? If so, how long would this likely continue?

-She's worried about the kittens bonding to them and sharing lap time - which I think I can answer sufficiently that it will work out fine, but is there anything here I should tell her?

Any other dynamics/caveats that I might be able to tell her about? I would obviously be thrilled if they took all three, but I want to make sure I give her a balanced picture, not just my desire to find mama a great home.

Thanks for your wise advice!

 

[catspaw66]

Yes, she will continue playing with the kittens.  A lot of play is teaching them catly things - hunting, establishing hierarchy, how to manipulate humans.  I don't see any reason that would interfere with developing their own dynamics and personalities.

She will continue to keep them in line as long as they are together. They will probably be more behaved than kittens separated early.

Get a bigger lap, they will form a cat pile everywhere they can find the room.

Let her know that you expect her to have all of them spayed/neutered.  If they are not, there will be more and more kittens. It will leave mama more playful and the kittens will never have to go through what mama did.

 

[gussy14]

Thanks, Catspaw. Just want to make sure you know that I'm fostering through a rescue, and they won't let the adoption happen until everyone has been fixed (they're all girls, I can only imagine 3 cats in heat at once 

). So we're good to go there. 

I love that she will keep teaching them how to manipulate humans ... she is already really good at that. She leaned her head against future adoptive mom's chest and started to purr. 

They are leaning towards taking her, too, which makes me SO happy. I had a goal of getting her adopted out before kitten season was in full swing, and this seems like it will be a great home.

 

[catspaw66]

Wonderful.

  I like to hear that people are thinking ahead when it comes to kittens.

 

[drbobcat]

I hope this adoption works out.  If the kittens haven't been separated from mom too long, they should all get along, and I agree that she will be helpful in introducing the kittens to the world.  Sometimes once she's apart from her kittens, she may regard them as strangers, especially if the new home has different smells.  I recommend that she be isolated from the kittens for a period of time before being reintroduced.  Using a cage for mom that allows her to smell the little guys without interacting is always a good idea.

 

[orientalslave]

Some cats are happy to keep living with their kittens, others hate it and you have no way of knowing what will happen in advance.

 

[gussy14]

Thanks, all, for the helpful information. They did decide to take all three! 

 They have all been together for the kittens' entire lives. Poor things are being separated for their longest time ever as we speak since they are all getting spayed today. Mom is a really nice cat - sweet to anyone and loves to wrestle with her kids - so I'm hoping they will continue to get along as the kittens grow. 

 

[Willowy]

With tame cats, I've only kept a mother/son pair, and they got along fine until I moved out and took the son with me, left the mother with my parents. I think he was 3. But I do have an entire family of indoor ferals---a mama cat and her litter of 3 daughters and 1 son---and no problems with them either. Although I don't know if that's because of them being "captive" or not. But all of them being spayed definitely helps matters, because usually the troubles pop up when the kittens go into heat and become a rival for resources. I suspect they have about the same chances of continuing to get along as any 3 cats who are currently friends.