Andy And The Feral Cat Shelter

[Q2U]

How is everyone in the colony? Have you found the latest litter?

The vet who spayed Midnight told us that she wasn't pregnant and she wasn't lactating...so we no longer believe that Midnight has a litter hidden away.

The vet also said that Midnight was in heat.

 

[Q2U]

Here is Ms. Midnight resting comfortably while contemplating tearing my face apart and...YES...there is a steel cage between ‘ol Midnight and me (I stuck my camera between the bars)...

 

[Norachan]

That's great news about Midnight, I'm glad she's on the mend.



So, you've got almost all members of the colony fixed now? How many cats are there still to be TNR'd?

What about Ms Tyger, did her kittens ever show up? Hopefully they'll start following Mum to the food soon. They might even be young enough to socialise and rehome.

 

[Q2U]

...So, you've got almost all members of the colony fixed now? How many cats are there still to be TNR'd...

Two (2) still need to be fixed: "Fluff" and "TreyTrey" (one of Midnight's kittens).

...What about Ms Tyger, did her kittens ever show up? Hopefully they'll start following Mum to the food soon. They might even be young enough to socialise and rehome...

Her head wound is all healed and we're hoping that her fur grows back eventually.

As you may remember, the vet who spayed her told us that "she's lactating...you'll want to get her right back out there." But here's the deal, TygerGirl was always hanging around our yard before we trapped her...I mean like hanging around ALL DAY...sleeping in the gazebo, sleeping on the garden bench...sleeping on our chaise lounges...eating 3-4 times a day...like she NEVER WENT HOME. After her spay she's acting much the same way...it's as if our yard is her home. So how could she be taking care of a litter if she never ever (or seldom) leaves?

Here she is this morning, waiting for food bowl #1...she'll probably eat 3 or 4 bowls today (which is usual)...we believe that TygerGirl may be loaded with worms...

 

[shadowsrescue]

I am so happy to hear that all the kitties are doing so well.

I had pretty good luck using a product called Wrm clear for felines. It's a homeopathic remedy in liquid drop form. I would just add it to my cats daily wet food. It can take 2-3 weeks of daily treatment, but one bottle lasted a pretty long time.

I also used a product from Little City Dogs I used the one for tapeworms.
They make tiny capsules that are chicken flavored that you can wrap in a pill pocket or pill masker or open the capsule and mix into wet food.

 

[Q2U]

...I had pretty good luck using a product called Wrm clear for felines...

Deworming Feral Cats

We've done a some reading on this subject. As I see it there are several problems with worming feral colonies, the first and foremost being "dosage control."

I spoke with my neighbor today who advised me that she is also feeding these colony cats. I am also convinced that others in our neighborhood are feeding colony members. As a result of these multiple food sources, we only see 3 or 4 members every single day; other colony members will disappear for days at a time. So unless there is a coordinated neighborhood/community-wide effort with regards to feeding and getting correct dosages of wormer into colony members there seems to be little hope that the result of Mrs. Q and my singular effort will result in effective worming of our neighborhood colony.

Here are a couple of ideas we stumbled upon...

1. Deworming Feral Cat Colonies (Ivomec one percent in a milk replacer)
2. Worming with Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth

The food grade diatomaceous earth sounds good, but I'm not reading a lot of research on it...I'm mostly reading anecdotal stories which are...unfortunately...anecdotal stories.

 

[Norachan]

Just two to go? That's fantastic. You did such a good job with them, it took me over 2 years to get all the cats in my first colony fixed. I was a bit clueless when I started out though. The second colony I helped TNR were all done within a few months.

As you may remember, the vet who spayed her told us that "she's lactating...you'll want to get her right back out there." But here's the deal, TygerGirl was always hanging around our yard before we trapped her...I mean like hanging around ALL DAY...sleeping in the gazebo, sleeping on the garden bench...sleeping on our chaise lounges...eating 3-4 times a day...like she NEVER WENT HOME. After her spay she's acting much the same way...it's as if our yard is her home. So how could she be taking care of a litter if she never ever (or seldom) leaves?

That is strange. I wonder if she had a litter at one time, or was helping feed other kittens in the colony? Cats can have false pregnancies as well, although I don't have any experience of this.

Can Cats Produce Milk Even Though They Are Not Pregnant?

How close can you get to her? Some of my cats are a bit too wild to hold down and apply the liquid wormers to the back of their necks. I've managed to get it on them by offering some treats, waiting until their head is bowed and the fur parts at the back of their neck and squeezing the liquid from my standing height.

You have to be able to stand right next to the cat while they eat though. Tyger might not tolerate that.

 

[Q2U]

...How close can you get to her? Some of my cats are a bit too wild to hold down and apply the liquid wormers to the back of their necks. I've managed to get it on them by offering some treats, waiting until their head is bowed and the fur parts at the back of their neck and squeezing the liquid from my standing height...You have to be able to stand right next to the cat while they eat though. Tyger might not tolerate that.

I don’t believe that any of our colony members will allow us to get close enough to pour medication on them. As a result, we trying the (anecdotal) diatomaceous earth (in the food) method. And the only way we’re going to have any idea if this method is successful is to subjectively judge weight gain (Tyger and Otie are very, very, scrawny...and we believe the reason may be worms). So it’s all tenuous and not very scientific.

 

[white shadow]

.
on the worming.........

Perhaps, if they were asked, some of the very experienced folks at the rescue org (which provided the spay/neuter vouchers) would be able to share their worming practices/procedures with you.....? No reason to 'reinvent a wheel', I would think.

Midnight appeared quite 'settled' in that last pic........how has she been doing since ?

'Been doing some thinking about and talking with one of the resident TNR experts on here about what may have happened 'under the radar' with Midnight's post-surgery and discharge care. She could have been given some l/a analgesics pre-discharge and you simply weren't informed about it. After all, it is the rescue org that brokered the contract with the Vet, and that agreement spells out exactly what is to be provided. It wouldn't have been the Vet's place to, of necessity, detail those services to you. It's clear to me that, if she has not displayed any signs of discomfort from Friday onward, then this was covered off.

Now, if only those rescue folks could take on (just) even the kittens for socialization and adoption..........

Great work !
.

 

[Q2U]

...She could have been given some l/a analgesics pre-discharge and you simply weren't informed about it. After all, it is the rescue org that brokered the contract with the Vet, and that agreement spells out exactly what is to be provided. It wouldn't have been the Vet's place to, of necessity, detail those services to you...

Midnight has shown no signs of discomfort whatsoever. She's ate two (2) bowls of food and drank one (1) bowl of water each day of her recovery (one day she ate 3-bowls of food!). We released her this morning.

I'll be sure to ask the clinic when I drop off kitten "TreyTrey" this week.

Hopefully all goes well for Midnight over the next 2-weeks.

 

[Norachan]

That's great news about Midnight.

I wonder if the vet can give Trey Trey some spot on medication for worms at the same time as the spay/neuter? Looking at the feral cat packages some shelters offer it seems that Profender, a liquid applied to the back of the cats neck, can be bought as an "extra". (The package seems to cover spay/neuter, 24 hour pain killing injection, rabies jab and an ear tip.)

I've used Profender for years with my cats, although not at the same time as any surgeries were performed. I can't find any information about it being unsafe to use at the same time as having a spay or neutered performed.

On the other hand, you do need to reapply the wormer every month so your diatomaceous earth method might work better.

Trey Trey. Hope everything goes well.

 

[Q2U]

Darn!!! There ARE new kittens!

We captured this video last night of a little guy walking through our Feral Qat Shelter. This kitten appears to have the same markings as Andy, Dosie, and TreyTrey (who are all Midnight's kittens from former litters)...and this kitten appears to be approximately 5-weeks old (the same age and size as Andy was when he climbed in my car's engine compartment a year ago). BTW, 5-weeks is how old we were estimating Midnight's new litter might be., so we may have been right that Midnight had a litter hidden away. Alternatively, this may be TygerGirl's litter, but we kind of doubt it as TygerGirl is ALWAYS lounging in our yard 24x7, whereas Midnight would appear, eat, and then quickly disappear for the rest of the day.

 

[Q2U]

Double darn!!! There are at least two. Just saw this video also...

 

[Q2U]

Then again, 15 minutes after these two new kittens leave the Feral Qat Shelter look who peeks in to see what's going on (TygerGirl)...

 

[Norachan]

Oh, I bet they are Tyger's kittens! Didn't the vet say Tyger was lactating and Midnight in heat? She may have been leaving them all day and going back to feed at night, so it seemed like she was in your yard all the time.

They're super cute, and small enough to socialise and re-home if you can catch them within the next few weeks.

My cats were all four months or older when they first started following their Mom to my place to eat. They're a bit skittish with strangers, but fine with me. The youngest kittens I ever took in from a colony and managed to re-home were ten weeks old. So if you think the shelter could help you re-home kittens you still have time to make it work.

I know more kittens are the last thing you want right now, but you're so close to getting the whole colony under control. This is just a minor set back.

 

[Q2U]

Oh, I bet they are Tyger's kittens! Didn't the vet say Tyger was lactating and Midnight in heat? She may have been leaving them all day and going back to feed at night, so it seemed like she was in your yard all the time...

Yes, however (at first glance) they appear to look exactly like Midnight's kittens, Dosie and TreyTrey. Is it not true that, five (5) weeks after giving birth Midnight could have been in heat again?

We don't know how to re-home kittens.

 

[Norachan]

Is it not true that, five (5) weeks after giving birth Midnight could have been in heat again?

She would, yes, but she'd still be lactating if she had five week old kittens. Well I guess whoever the mother is will become apparent now the kittens have shown themselves. They might start turning up to eat with mum soon.

Did you say you were working with a shelter or rescue to get all the cats fixed? They will be able to give you some advice on re-homing.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you think it would work better to get the new kittens fixed when they're old enough and keep providing food and shelter for the colony you could just leave the kittens outside.

If you want to try socialising and re-homing them we could give you some ideas on how to do that.

The first step would be catching the kittens, of course. I guess how soon you can trap them is going to be a deciding factor here.

Please keep us updated.

 

[Q2U]

She would, yes, but she'd still be lactating if she had five week old kittens. Well I guess whoever the mother is will become apparent now the kittens have shown themselves...

Indeed it has become apparent. The kittens have emerged and TygerGirl was seen nursing them under a large hosta plant. A neighbor just told me that his dog killed one several weeks ago so -- at this point in time -- it appears that there were 3 kittens in the litter, but only 2 have survived.

 

[Q2U]

TreyTrey is one of Midnight's 4-6 month old kittens, and he's the last of his litter to be neutered. TreyTrey would simply not go into the spring door (hav-a-heart style) trap, so I borrowed a drop-trap and we had success the first time we tried it on him. Even though TreyTray is a young kitten he is very feral and runs like the wind at the first site of Mrs. Q or me. This video provides ample evidence as to how traumatic being trapped is on these feral cats, and it's difficult to watch TreyTrey struggling after being trapped. But it is all for the best and tomorrow morning 'ol TreyTrey is off to the clinic. Hopefully TreyTrey's life will have a better outcome...

 

[maggiedemi]

Poor baby, he looks so scared. Hopefully things will be better for him now.