Emotional roller coaster ride. If there is anything that did not go wrong it our attempts to rescue a cat family, I can not think what it could be.

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CatJ

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I understand regarding the two dead kittens. You wouldn't have needed their actual moms cry, any mother cat's cry from YouTube videos or similar will likely work, for future if you ever should need to know. I just mentioned it since you were not 100 percent absolutely sure whether you were hearing a kitten amidst all the noise and distractions that day.


She is still stressed on the one hand, trying to understand her surroundings on the other hand, and exhausted. Hang in there with her, be patient and quiet and calm, and move slowly. I believe you know more about all this than you thought :)
The mother’, father’s too, actually, calls to their family are unlike any sound I have ever heard a cat make. Our second childhood cat had two litters before we got her fixed. She never made any such sound. I will see if I can find similar online. Very well might, u as it was so uniqu, I did not think to look. Food and water had been working well enough.
 
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How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home – TheCatSite Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

You certainly have been on a roller coaster! Your family's determination to help that mother cat and her kittens is very admirable. A lot of people would not go so far.

From what I understand, they are in the bathroom or another room? The best thing is to leave them there as they begin to adjust and calm down. It sounds as if you are managing the feeding with the medications...and really great that you did get those for them. The kittens will probably become friendly in a fairly short amount of time. The mother may as well, especially given that she was walking into your house at the beginning of this situation. It won't happen over night though, so continue to exercise caution with her. Wear heavy gloves, at least like rose pruning gloves, and do not bring her near your face or body. Make sure your wife follows all medical instructions and finishes all antibiotics/medications.

One technique that may help with touching the mother cat is to get a cat wand toy, or a stick on which you attach a soft piece of material like a wash cloth and use that to gently touch the cat. It gets her used to being touched and protects you.

I have not had a lot of luck with diffusers like Feliway, but others have.

I am sorry about the two kittens who were lost. This is so common in situations with feral cats and you were heroic to have saved the mom and the other two.
Thanks for the links. Will be implementing some of the info there in soon.
 

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If something like a predator is near, it might not be such a good idea to lead him back but you may see him looking for the others. You could let him snifff something that carries the scent of the others just to let him understand that they are inside with you. The scent of kitties and indoors will be something he should recognize since he has been there before. Better that he stays close to his home if he has one. Hopefully his owners will keep him inside from now on. Possibly he had just slipped out because of hormones and a chance to mate. Hoping for everything to be better from now on.
 
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Small update.
The white kitten‘s strength is returning. It is now climbing and jumping a bit. Mews a lot. Might now understand why Mia meows non stop. She was the runt of the litter and barely survived. The white kitten also puts when nursing. Bet it makes mom less stressed. Wished the black kitten would mimmic it. The only mimicking I see so far is that first the white kitten and now the mother hiss at me, following the black kitten’s lead. The black kitten hisses, the mews and let me scratch its chin.

Foo and Mia are jealous of the canned foos the visiting cats get. Gave Foo a treat tonight and will give the same to Mia when she comes down.

My son really wants a kitten badly and we want to allow him to have one, but there are complications. One big one really.

All go to the vet to see how they are progressing and possibly shots for the first two rescued. Hoping I can bathe them all.
 

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When you're there at the vets, ask if kitten glop would've something beneficial for Mother Cat and also for Foo :)

Would the vet's assistants be able to help regarding cleaning up Mother Cat?
 
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When you're there at the vets, ask if kitten glop would've something beneficial for Mother Cat and also for Foo :)

Would the vet's assistants be able to help regarding cleaning up Mother Cat?
When I brought them in before I asked for recommendations for food. I am in Japan and while a lot of the pet food, especially specialty food, is from the States, we do not have all that is available elsewhere. I will see if I can find it online and then translate it to Japanese and see if the vet knows it.
 

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Oh by the way, (sorry for the double post) are you giving Foo something to help ease her joint issues?
 
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When you're there at the vets, ask if kitten glop would've something beneficial for Mother Cat and also for Foo :)

Would the vet's assistants be able to help regarding cleaning up Mother Cat?
I washed the mother cat before. It is the white kitten I want to bath. I asked the vet if they could recommend a shampoo as I rescued from the sewer. They said it was still too weak to be bathed.
When I brought them in before I asked for recommendations for food. I am in Japan and while a lot of the pet food, especially specialty food, is from the States, we do not have all that is available elsewhere. I will see if I can find it online and then translate it to Japanese and see if the vet knows it.
 

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The best ingredient combination to look for in a product is chondroitin, glucosamine and msm, which is methylsulfonylmethane.
 
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Major Update

Yesterday morning did not go as planned, at least not as I had planned. I hoped to leave in time to get to the vet just before they opened. Many things transpired to prevent this. One bit of great news, the white kitten that was so weak that it could not climb or jumped, escaped the travel cage I left opened. The cats hate the noise of the zipper and if not needed, why use it. He was found and returned to the main cage as he had finished his breakfast. Took time though. After in the cage, he proceeded to climb the wall to his mother instead of using the stairs. He is getting his strength back.

Another was Mia vomiting on the window sill. A note on Japanese windows. Windows in Japanese homes are usually like sliding glass doors, only smaller. Thus each window and screen has its own track. Mia managed to fill three tracks with vomit. This took some time to clean, as it always does.

Leaving the house much later than planned by myself, I close the door behind me with the mother and her two kittens in the car cary cage, I see right there at the angle of our approach is the gray kitten! Whatever it was that I heard and later saw, it didn’t involve “our” gray kitten. As soon as I see it, it looks at me a meows and her siblings answer. They are now meowing back in forth. At first I seems like it will let me catch it, but it runs away just before I get within arms length. I grab the butterfly net I caught its brother with and chase but she goes through the fence and around the neighbors house. I run to the front of their hoping to at least see it. Nope. I return to the cage and the gray kitten is quite near, again it flees as I approach. This time behind the fence where I can not catch it, but I determined to get it if I have to run through the neighbors yard. She has found her lost family and with her siblings meowing at her, Mom is silent but agitated in the net bag in the cage. Eventually, being malnutritioned as it is, it stops for a rest allowing me to sneak up on it. Knowing the path it will take once it realizes I am near, I place the net there. It sees me and rockets right into the net! I got her. She manages to bite me through as I try to pet her in the cage. The leather work gloves make this so minor that I can not see where she got me once I take the gloves off.

The vet is shocked at the greatly improved condition of the white kitten. She confirms what I suspected, he was not expected to survive. 600 grams when I brought him in on Monday, 900 today. His eyes are no longer swollen mostly shut and most of the inflammation around them is gone. The nurse could not believe it was the same kitten she fed Monday. When I asked if I could bathe the white kitten, the vet happily answered, ‘Yes’. His still much smaller than his healthier sister, but much improved.

Despite being on its own for a week longer, the gray kitten was not in as bad condition, through plenty bad. It has diarrhea very bad. The white kitten was between her and the litter box and got shat upon by his sister just after he got his bath. Can’t give him another so soon. Luckily my wife found wet wipes for pets and that helped a lot, but his still stinks…again. The block kitten has taken to long in the litter box as her mother did I for a couple of days. Never seen this behavior in cats before.

No vaccines for the mom nor black kitten yet. Mom is still under weights and dehydrated, The black kitten has diarrhea as does its sister, the gray kitten. All have different medications they need mixed with their food and the 3 kittens have several meds they have to take, some twice a day for quite a while. Not out of the woods, this family, but they are now getting regular meals, clean water and medication.

If I left as planned, I would have missed the gray kitten. If I saw it without its family with me, it would have just run away. Not having a reason to return, it would not have, at least again and again in such a short time allowing me to catch it. Been cleaning, feeding, medicating and washing cats and cat stuff all day. Exhausted. It is after 2am here.
 
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That I posted this early Saturday morning as I awaited the last kitten to stop nursing. No wonder there were no comments.
All are doing very well, better than could be hoped.
 

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I see right there at the angle of our approach is the gray kitten!
I got her.
YESYESYES!!!

The leather work gloves make this so minor that I can not see where she got me once I take the gloves off.
oohh, nicely done!

If I left as planned, I would have missed the gray kitten. If I saw it without its family with me, it would have just run away.
Isn't that the way of it sometimes? wow.

All are doing very well, better than could be hoped.
What an absolutely fantastic update, this really made my day --as it very likely did yours :)
 

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You have done an incredible job for this family. Your new story about catching the gray kitten was exciting enough to be a TV show. I was holding my breath that you would be able to get it. Your instincts were right, you somehow suspected all along that the gray kitten might be alive even though it seemed against all odds. I have seen kittens survive like that as well. It is always interesting that they manage to get enough to eat and drink, somehow, to keep going even if not in great condition. You must be so relieved at this outcome.

I have sliding glass doors in my house, and a couple of windows which are on tracks, too. I empathize that you had to clean the vomit out of the tracks.

Please keep us updated on this story! 719 members of The Cat Site have read your story. Not everyone replies, but please don't feel that a lot of others are not following what you are posting.
 
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CatJ

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YESYESYES!!!


oohh, nicely done!


Isn't that the way of it sometimes? wow.


What an absolutely fantastic update, this really made my day --as it very likely did yours :)
Made more than just my day, I can assure you that. Unbelievable. She was missing, no sightings by us nor our neighbors, now sounds for 2 weeks. She came back at just the right time, and I left at just the right time.
 
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You have done an incredible job for this family. Your new story about catching the gray kitten was exciting enough to be a TV show. I was holding my breath that you would be able to get it. Your instincts were right, you somehow suspected all along that the gray kitten might be alive even though it seemed against all odds. I have seen kittens survive like that as well. It is always interesting that they manage to get enough to eat and drink, somehow, to keep going even if not in great condition. You must be so relieved at this outcome.

I have sliding glass doors in my house, and a couple of windows which are on tracks, too. I empathize that you had to clean the vomit out of the tracks.

Please keep us updated on this story! 719 members of The Cat Site have read your story. Not everyone replies, but please don't feel that a lot of others are not following what you are posting.
Thanks for the encouragement. I have some phots of the areas involved, Taken when I thought the gray kitten (Hano) was lost. Will try to get some good shots of the cats individually for a full compliment to the story.

With all we went through, many details not yet reported, I thought I could write a book. That was BEFORE we caught the gray kitten.
 

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You are doing a great job. Please do not be discouraged if we are quiet. We are supporting you but did not want to add to your stress or put any extra burden upon you. Finding the other kitten is wonderful! Happy day!
 
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Here are some pics to allow better understanding of the places discussed, and of the cats.

Photos uploaded out of order. Second from the bottom is the view out of our living room sliding door. I first saw 2 kittens, the white and brown, on the blue chair. The cats lived under all the stuff around it. To the right, we see the edge of the “jungle” from which the horrible sounds of the animal attack came from.

From the top down. This is the ditch I rescued the white kitten from. He came towns me where the sunlight is reflecting on the water in the photo. His sibling’s body is very close to that spot. It is not 5 feet deep as I earlier reported. Closer to 3 1/2 feet deep.

Here is the “white” kitten a week ago, followed by a pic from today. My son named them over the week end. Here is Hoki, first sleeping on his mother and today, sitting in front of her. Mom’s name is Sano. When we first found them, Hoki was white with just a little bit of light tan here and there.

The 4th photo is the gray kitten, Hano, whom I stumbled across on the way to the vet and was able to bait with her family and capture.

The last cat photo is Kuno, the first kitten trapped.

Lastly, the entire surviving family.
 

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