- Joined
- Oct 11, 2018
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Hi all.
So there’s this feral cat who I have bonded with over the last couple years. She has come to trust me and no other humans. She often comes just inside my door to hang out for hours, but the door is always left open so she can leave whenever she wants. She is even friends with one of my indoor cats.
HISTORY: She has had previous litters. The first 3 were hidden from me because it was before she trusted me. The fourth one was on my patio four months ago. I still have two kittens from that litter living inside with me. I have been unsuccessful at catching her while she was NOT pregnant or nursing to get her spayed, so please don’t respond with comments or questions about that. I do have a plan and will get her spayed as soon as possible. But this post isn’t about this.
NOW...
Yesterday morning, she gave birth to a litter of kittens inside my apartment. While she was in pre-labor, she was VERY insistent on being inside and got very upset whenever I closed the door. I got a box, put some towels in it, and put it on the floor by the door. She went into labor after a couple hours and gave birth inside. But now I don’t know what to do.
She’s feral. She’s not used to being inside. She gets very stressed when inside with the door closed. So she wants to go outside. She had all her previous litters outside, so I know she can do it. The problem is that I can’t keep my door open all the time for her to be able to come and go freely since I need to sleep and work.
As of right now, the new litter is in a cat house inside my apartment and she is staying with them.
But every couple hours, she’ll get up, look around, grab one of the kittens, and start walking toward the patio door like she wants to bring them outside. But as soon as she gets to the door (which I open for her), she stops, turns around, and returns to the cat house where she came from like she just realized she doesn’t know where to take them.
If I try to help her and move the cat house (with the kittens inside) onto the patio (so they’re both outside and in a shelter), she immediately grabs one and runs inside with it.
I don’t want to separate them from their mom, since that’s how they have the best chance of survival. And she’s an excellent mom! And I don’t want to stress her to the point of abandoning them or hiding them because she can’t figure out where to keep them.
So basically...
• mom doesn’t like being inside
• when the kittens are inside, mom wants to bring them outside
• when the kittens are outside, mom wants to bring them inside
• I have no way to let her come and go freely to have the best of both worlds
What should I do? What’s the best way to handle this? I really don’t know.
So there’s this feral cat who I have bonded with over the last couple years. She has come to trust me and no other humans. She often comes just inside my door to hang out for hours, but the door is always left open so she can leave whenever she wants. She is even friends with one of my indoor cats.
HISTORY: She has had previous litters. The first 3 were hidden from me because it was before she trusted me. The fourth one was on my patio four months ago. I still have two kittens from that litter living inside with me. I have been unsuccessful at catching her while she was NOT pregnant or nursing to get her spayed, so please don’t respond with comments or questions about that. I do have a plan and will get her spayed as soon as possible. But this post isn’t about this.
NOW...
Yesterday morning, she gave birth to a litter of kittens inside my apartment. While she was in pre-labor, she was VERY insistent on being inside and got very upset whenever I closed the door. I got a box, put some towels in it, and put it on the floor by the door. She went into labor after a couple hours and gave birth inside. But now I don’t know what to do.
She’s feral. She’s not used to being inside. She gets very stressed when inside with the door closed. So she wants to go outside. She had all her previous litters outside, so I know she can do it. The problem is that I can’t keep my door open all the time for her to be able to come and go freely since I need to sleep and work.
As of right now, the new litter is in a cat house inside my apartment and she is staying with them.
But every couple hours, she’ll get up, look around, grab one of the kittens, and start walking toward the patio door like she wants to bring them outside. But as soon as she gets to the door (which I open for her), she stops, turns around, and returns to the cat house where she came from like she just realized she doesn’t know where to take them.
If I try to help her and move the cat house (with the kittens inside) onto the patio (so they’re both outside and in a shelter), she immediately grabs one and runs inside with it.
I don’t want to separate them from their mom, since that’s how they have the best chance of survival. And she’s an excellent mom! And I don’t want to stress her to the point of abandoning them or hiding them because she can’t figure out where to keep them.
So basically...
• mom doesn’t like being inside
• when the kittens are inside, mom wants to bring them outside
• when the kittens are outside, mom wants to bring them inside
• I have no way to let her come and go freely to have the best of both worlds
What should I do? What’s the best way to handle this? I really don’t know.