Another Pregnant mom showed up

[daones]

Hi Guys,

So my neighborhood is crawling with cats, here in Thailand people around here do little to control the spread of stray cats.. Another mom showed up at my door, at first i thought she was nursing but after observing longer i can pretty much figure out shes pregnant could be a few weeks left till she gives birth.

I think i was going to make some shelter with an old box, but then I thought I actually have old litter boxes that would make good shelter (but ill buy a new one same model) i was wondering if these would be any good for that if i add bedding inside?

I cant take her inside my house because I have 5 cats already as it is, also I wouldnt want to bring her in anyway without checking for diseases that could spread. The weird thing is she resembles one of my cats who passed away earlier this year, might be related somehow.

Anyway if i dont use a litter box I might make up a shelter box out of cardboard cutting a whole on the side the is elevated so kittens cant crawl out until they are grown some. My only worry is all of the male cats around here may come to bother her, I am not sure how those cats behavior will be with kittens around. I have seen kittens around here quite a few times and dont seem to be issues until the males start to grow up.

 

[Norachan]

Hi daones

The trouble with using any kind of plastic box as a shelter/bed is that they get damp. Even if it isn't raining heat from the cat's body causes condensation, which leads to damp bedding. Even lining the box with cardboard doesn't help.

You need a box made from wood or some other material that "breathes". Straw makes the best bedding, it's absorbent and drys out quickly.

It would be pretty cheap to buy some wood and knock a box together yourself. Make sure the box is stood up on a couple of bricks. You need some space under the box to keep it warmer and dry. If you want to splash out a wooden dog house can also be modified for cats. Use some wood to block the bottom part of the entrance so the kittens can't fall out of the shelter.

 

[Norachan]

I did a quick google search for cat rescues in Thailand. Maybe this group could help you get some of the cats fixed?

Home - Rescue Paws Thailand

 

[daones]

Hi daones

The trouble with using any kind of plastic box as a shelter/bed is that they get damp. Even if it isn't raining heat from the cat's body causes condensation, which leads to damp bedding. Even lining the box with cardboard doesn't help.

You need a box made from wood or some other material that "breathes". Straw makes the best bedding, it's absorbent and drys out quickly.

It would be pretty cheap to buy some wood and knock a box together yourself. Make sure the box is stood up on a couple of bricks. You need some space under the box to keep it warmer and dry. If you want to splash out a wooden dog house can also be modified for cats. Use some wood to block the bottom part of the entrance so the kittens can't fall out of the shelter.

That's a good point, i forgot to think about that... Anyway in the mean time I did use a cardboard box and I lined all the inside it with those pee Pad's for cats which might help some absorbent... Also I have a pack of about 20 of them so I can always change them out after a few days. Still have to see if she will use it... I cut a hole elevated from the bottom of the box so kittens cant climb out and also placed the box on a small elevated shelf (only about 10 inches off the ground) so any bugs or what not wont be able to go inside easily.

 

[Norachan]

That sounds good. Is the box somewhere sheltered? I guess you're going to get the monsoon pretty soon. I'm bracing myself for it in Japan.

If you can find some mint or basil in pots you could place those near her box. They keep the bugs away. A few more suggestions here, but check to see if they are toxic to cats before buying any.

11 Garden Plants to Help Keep Bugs Away! - TruGreen Midsouth

 

[daones]

That sounds good. Is the box somewhere sheltered? I guess you're going to get the monsoon pretty soon. I'm bracing myself for it in Japan.

If you can find some mint or basil in pots you could place those near her box. They keep the bugs away. A few more suggestions here, but check to see if they are toxic to cats before buying any.

11 Garden Plants to Help Keep Bugs Away! - TruGreen Midsouth

Good idea, I never knew basil would help but we have plenty of that here ill check though if its okay for cats... I have one of my cats who is strange and always eat's leafy greens when we buy them at the market if we kept unchecked on the table.

Yes, for the most part it is sheltered.. It's hard to explain it is outside the house but under a roof area.. Although its near the edge of the roof but luckily a long time ago we put up a large tarp from the side of the house because the neighbors house gutters leak right into our yard... We actually had rain last night and it was wet in the area but not where the cat is at... Going to modify the tarp today as there is a small space at the top which let's rain come in slightly.

We do get rain this time of the year but generally around September/Oct is where we get the most rain and flooding but at least this time of the year its not cool/cold at all even at night it only gets down to 26c unless theres rain.

Only thing is I havent seen her use the box at all yet, we put another doormat under a chair near the box and she has been sleeping there.. So far in the past I think about 3 pregnant cat's I took care of havent had one yet not use the box I made (but all of those were in the house).. Feel sorry for her as she has already tried coming into the house even knowing other cats are in here.

 

[daones]

Ill see how things go, she still is staying outside the house most of the time lately... I just dont think she will feel comfortable in that area because a lot of cats come by around here at night time especially because I put food out for her... She is territorial and already seen her chase a few cats off, there is two boys who must be her mating partners because she doesnt seem bothered by them.

I did buy this just the other day for my own cats ill see how things go if worst case scenario maybe can move her and the litter in this cage.. I havent yet seen her even go in the box but it is kind of hot here lately.

 

[daones]

Just an update to this, its been a few months. Well the pregnant mom was around the house during her pregnancy outside.. But the day when she was about to give birth i stepped inside the house real quick to open the room where i was going to put her... just like that she was gone already.

Did not see her until 2 days later, come to find out we asked a neighbor a week later she said she gave birth upstairs in the attic of their house (its not a typical attic and not easily accessible). Apparently she gave birth to 5 kittens! I think this is the house she is originally from, but I can tell these owners dont really take care of the cats well, they let them roam free and kind of wonder why they come to my house to eat all the time probably means they dont feed them enough... none of them are spayed.

Anyway just 3-4 days ago the mom cat brought 1 of her kittens here, but after time she didnt bring any more so all I could think was to take it back, I didnt want to keep them separated.. then just last night very early in the morning I hear a cry outside from a kitten she dropped off 1 kitten, and mom was gone already just a few minutes later she comes up with another kitten in her mouth.. Only issue then I think once mom seen us she didnt go back for the rest... I stayed awake another hour to keep an eye on her to see if she would return but she never did.

Next day in the afternoon she seemed comfortable and did not seem to care about her other 3 cats at the other house, so I found a youtube video of kittens call for mom... I played that outside while she was in the house to encourage her to get some more. It actually worked she went outside looked around a bit then jumped over the wall to get another white kitten.. she couldnt make it up the wall though and the kitten was at the other side of the wall crying for help, also mom asking me to help... We got that kitten, so now we have 3 of the 5 currently.

So still 2 left, although we dont know for sure how many are left or if any may have perished, the neighbors have no clue even though its in their attic, when we first took back the one kitten she was surprised to see it and acted like she havent seen the kittens since mom gave birth. Right now will try to attempt to persuade mom to go back for the remaining.

Eventually with these, most likely will find new homes for them after a few more weeks... Right now their at 5 weeks and seen one already eating food and their starting to play... When is a good time to put up for adoption? I was thinking about 2 months which would be 3 weeks from now.

We already have a total of 5 cats, and if we end up getting all of these it will be 5 of ours then 6 will we take care of until we can find a home.

Here is some pics of the first few

 

[Willowy]

Ideal age for rehoming kittens is 12-14 weeks. . .they learn a lot from their mother and littermates. If their current living situation is dangerous, it may be necessary to get them to new homes sooner, but at least try to wait until 10 weeks if possible. They really are better adjusted pets if they learn all their lessons from mama .

 

[daones]

1 more she just brought so 1 left to go.

 

[Willowy]

Aww! Do they all look like that? I think that one is a flame point.

 

[daones]

Aww! Do they all look like that? I think that one is a flame point.

It wouldnt surprise me, the mom cats boyfriend which I know because he sleeps outside near her sometimes looks like a flamepoint but dont have a lot of experience with them.. but I am in thailand after all and their probably a bit more common here.
I forgot to post one
This one is white/grayish color... Also no luck yet getting mom to go back... We are not sure if she even still has 5. But had played kitten sound outside for 10 minutes but didnt seem to care or she needs a break.

 

[daones]

Wondering is it possible the mother cat can forget one of the kittens when moving the litter? It just seems unlikely because if she had a 5th she should of seen it when going to get the last white one she brought in the evening... Since then i gave her a few attempts to go outside to see if she would go back to get it, but both times she would go over the wall just a few minutes then come back.

Only thing i can think of is she saw people there or another cat, or she doesnt have a 5th one. Only worried because its almost been a full day since she brought the first one here.. and scared there might be one left she didnt get.

 

[Sylvia Jones]

Can u ask the neighbor if they can hear any crying?

 

[Norachan]

It's possible that she had five and one passed away, but it's best to make sure. Could you or the neighbours take a look in the attic? If you play the kitten crying sounds into the attic any remaining kittens will call back.

I'm glad they rest of them are all safe with you now.

 

[daones]

Yeah we had thought about that, the problem with these neighbors is she is very protective of "her cats" like I said she doesnt take care of them that well and dont want to give her the impression we took the kittens, scared she might want them back... We did give 1 kitten back the other day but the mom cat just brought it back again.

Anyway ill see if the girlfriend can go ask them, as it is now seems like mom is content with these 4 and even again this morning she went out a few times but didnt go back towards the old house.

 

[daones]

Also yes I think where we are keeping them is much better then where they were at, we have a spare room we have used twice already for stray queens showing up at our door.. Just cleaned the room today and layed down those wet pads and I closed up all the small holes so they cant go in them. The mom seems much more comfortable here, she was actually spending a lot more time here the past week showing up 4-5 hours a day which is probably why she thought to bring them here.