Feral foster cat is now a mom

melontine

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So I got a mom cat and three kittens. I'm going to share the backstory first before getting into what issues I've been having today. Bear with me, it's a bit long.

Biscay is a cat who was brought in by animal control. She's a medium-long hair tuxedo cat who's age is unknown.
The shelter staff swears she's not feral, that she's just frightened and shy. They claim that she was so sweet on intake and things like that but- this cat does not want to be in my house.
She's been here for 10 days. She's a small cat, weighing under 7 pounds. I still haven't gotten a good look at her with how avoidant and timid she is. She hisses at me any time I get close and refuses to come out to eat/use litter box/anything else while I'm around.
She's in my bedroom, it's quiet here. I'm usually the only person in here and it's easy to keep other animals out of here. It's a large room, lots of places to hide. I try to keep her in the closet area (no closet door, it's got a good amount of space but not much to hide behind). She got out the first day and I gave up keeping her in the closet, just so long as I know where she's at. She is usually in one of two hiding spots, one under my desk, or the other back in the closet between a cloth dog crate and the wall.
The first day she didn't eat or drink at all. Thankfully she started eating when I'm not around or at least when I'm not looking.
The first few nights she'd wake me up accidentally as she searched for a way out. She would meow and attack my windows and doors, but then I'd sit up in my bed and she'd dart to the nearest hiding spot. She's not very good at being sneaky.
She also meows at cat sounds. I was playing sims and there was a cat in the game meowing, and she gained enough courage to poke her head out to meow back at it.
I've been giving her small treats and maybe a few table scraps to try and earn her trust a bit more. I so far gave her a bit of tuna, a piece of rib, and some scraps of chicken. She enjoys these treats and I thought I was getting somewhere with her when yesterday I'd toss a piece of chicken, and so long as I wasn't directly looking at her she'd crawl out to eat it.

Today has been a mess.
I woke up to the sounds of kitten cries. I wasn't convinced she was pregnant before, let alone that she'd have them this quickly. But there she was, behind the dog crate with kittens. I finally checked on her and them as the crying didn't seem normal. If a newborn kitten is crying continuous and loud while their mom is right there, there's a good chance something isn't right.
I looked and found one kitten a few feet from mom, another about halfway between, and the last was with mom but she wasn't doing much. I pulled the crate away and collected the kittens as mom ran off, the first two were so cold and barely moving. All three still had the placenta and umbilical cords still attached. I carried the kittens around to warm them up while I tried to figure out what to do next.

We asked the shelter for advice and they said to put her in a dog crate with the babies. They said that she's young, it's her first litter, and she likely has no idea what's going on or what to do. But if given the chance she could still take care of the kittens.
We sent someone out for KMR and supplies should we have to feed the babies ourselves. Then when kittens were warm I went to help catch mom.
We found a fourth kitten she'd had after she ran off but sadly the little one didn't make it. This one she hadn't even opened the sac for, instead leaving the kitten to cool off while she hid.
We eventually caught her, it was rough. She bit the person helping me. I would have rather not been so hands-on as I feel this'll damage any trust we were starting to build with her, but I know she doesn't go into traps (I tried before) and we needed to put her in with her babies.

So now she and her kittens are in a dog crate, the one she used to hide behind. I worry about the kitten's lots, but I'm trying to leave her alone so mom cat will feel comfortable enough to learn how to raise them.
I checked in a couple of times already. I put food and water in the crate for mom and when I did I touched one of the kittens to make sure they weren't cold again. So far they're alright, but I don't actually know if she's nursing or doing anything else. But with how quiet things are now, I think maybe there's a good chance she's figured it out. I tell myself that the kittens will cry when they need anything so I should leave them alone until then.


I can't get pictures of Biscay or her kittens now because of how much she does not want me near her. But the three kittens I know of; two are tuxedo like mom. One tuxedo baby has a small dot of white on their face. The last baby is solid black. They were born sometime between 10am-2pm today
(I sleep in really late...)
 

Sarthur2

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I think leaving mom with her kittens for now is best other than to check on her and supply food and water. Is the dog crate big enough for mom to stretch out, stand up, and have a litter pan inside it? If not, she’ll need something bigger.

Mom sounds frightened to death, probably from being on her own and lack of socialization. Hopefully she will calm down and learn to trust you more over the next few weeks and especially as she sees her kittens being handled eventually.

It’s important that you do make sure the kittens are okay, but all new mom cats are very protective against predators and really crave privacy and quiet the first 3 weeks.

Thank you for your patience with this cat! :)
 
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melontine

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I think leaving mom with her kittens for now is best other than to check on her and supply food and water. Is the dog crate big enough for mom to stretch out, stand up, and have a litter pan inside it? If not, she’ll need something bigger.

Mom sounds frightened to death, probably from being on her own and lack of socialization. Hopefully she will calm down and learn to trust you more over the next few weeks and especially as she sees her kittens being handled eventually.

It’s important that you do make sure the kittens are okay, but all new mom cats are very protective against predators and really crave privacy and quiet the first 3 weeks.

Thank you for your patience with this cat! :)
Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful response. I was feeling very panicked warming up the three kittens, sticking them back with her felt unthinkable for me at the time, but I know it's for the best. She's doing her best and even though I can't see her being a happy cuddly house-cat, I think she's still a good kitty.

The dog crate is large enough. So far I just have food, water, and a small pet bed I left the kittens on in there with them, but I'll be opening the top up to try and get a litter box in there soon. I just gotta figure out if I should get my smaller litter pan from storage or try to squeeze in the large pan she's more used to now. She's not gonna be very happy with me putting it in either way.

I hear the kittens squeaking and fussing every now and then, but I don't think it's out of the ordinary and it's accompanied by shifting and then quiet again soon after. I think mom cat is getting the hang of things, is keeping them warm and fed even if I can't actually go see for myself. Or at least I'm hoping she is.

I'll try to resecure the netting over the doorway so she can no longer escape, that way in a couple of days I can let her into the closet area again and she can get used to that area a bit better. She'd still have the crate in there with her of course, but I don't like the idea of keeping her cooped up for weeks if I can help it.

From there I'll try to give her her space and continue to work on gaining her trust again.
 
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melontine

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No no no no no

I opened the top to see about adding that litter pan. Two kittens are on the bed still, I see them moving a bit. I see the third on the ground of the crate, away from mom but squirming towards her. She's not happy because I'm there. But most distressing I see another kitten in the corner who doesn't seem to be moving. The umbilical cord is still attached but it looks like mom cleaned that baby up a bit like the first three at least.
My instinct keeps shouting at me to take the kittens and bottle feed them because I don't know if I can rely on their stressed-out mother to take care of them. I don't like that she isn't keeping the kittens together where she can feed/clean them all at once but is instead leaving them wherever inside the crate. I don't like that every time I look in, she's in a corner away from the kittens.

But maybe I'm overreacting? I don't know.

I didn't manage to get the litter pan in, there's no room for it now without rearranging things as kittens and mom are all spaced out. But tossed the mom a few pieces of beef as a bribe.
 
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melontine

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5th one is dead
I took the first three out. They're cold. I think the one out of the bed climbed out trying to find mom. She's not taking care of them.
 

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5th one is dead
I took the first three out. They're cold. I think the one out of the bed climbed out trying to find mom. She's not taking care of them.
So you will handraise them? Probably the wisest considering. If the mom calms herself, she will prob take them back, or take them as new ones.

But for now you must fight on your own. Do you have the gears and kmr / goats milk?
Hopefully you can use a bottle, as they arent yet used to a momma. Bottle is easier to handle than a little syringe.
 

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For the cold or very weak ones, you can always begin with some water with a little karo syrup in, or pedialyte, before you begin with the kmr proper.
They will use the sugars in it even if too cold to digest properly.
 
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melontine

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I started the three on KMR, I'm glad we thought to pick some up. They took to the bottle really well. I have to adjust the nipple between kittens because the larger one is too fast for one kitten, but the other two can't get anything from the smaller nipple.
I took weights on each too. The largest, a tuxedo girl, weighs 3.1 oz. The other two are both boys weighing 2.9oz. The boys are a bit livelier but so far the three are doing good since I took on feeding by hand.
Mom cat is hiding in her corner and isn't showing any interest in them currently but I'll still keep hoping she'll take them back in a day or two. In the meantime I'll be feeding and tending to them every 1-2 hours.
 

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How are things today? You made a wise decision to begin feeding the kittens. They need feeding every 2 hours around the clock right now.

I am thinking that you need to let mom out of the crate. She will need to use the litter pan and may be calmer out of the crate. Do you have a room with a door to put mom and kittens in? This way, mom may settle in with her kittens. If not, you can still feed the kittens and mom will be less stressed.
 
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melontine

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How are things today? You made a wise decision to begin feeding the kittens. They need feeding every 2 hours around the clock right now.

I am thinking that you need to let mom out of the crate. She will need to use the litter pan and may be calmer out of the crate. Do you have a room with a door to put mom and kittens in? This way, mom may settle in with her kittens. If not, you can still feed the kittens and mom will be less stressed.
I let mom out of the crate last night for that very reason. She's in the closet area with a mosquito net keeping her contained there. Right now she's huddled in her litter pan, she's had a rough time of it all. Still shows no interest in the kittens.
I'll start working on a schedule with my family to see if they can pitch in for the feedings every now and then. I've done it before on my own and it wasn't fun. But it seems the kittens are taking well to the KMR, they look like three healthy strong little newborns and hopefully they'll thrive.
 

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I guess I’m not understanding why mom has to be contained in a closet. Is there no door to the room so that she is contained within the room but still has access to her kittens? A lot of moms will settle under a bed to nurse kittens. She’s probably feeling trapped and cornered. Feeding the kittens one way or another is definitely the priority, but I wonder if mom has really had a chance to bond with her kittens yet?

Also, if family members help you, make sure they know the proper way to feed the kittens - tummy down only and not too fast as they need to breathe and swallow and always stay warm.
 
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melontine

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I guess I’m not understanding why mom has to be contained in a closet. Is there no door to the room so that she is contained within the room but still has access to her kittens? A lot of moms will settle under a bed to nurse kittens. She’s probably feeling trapped and cornered. Feeding the kittens one way or another is definitely the priority, but I wonder if mom has really had a chance to bond with her kittens yet?

Also, if family members help you, make sure they know the proper way to feed the kittens - tummy down only and not too fast as they need to breathe and swallow and always stay warm.
Keeping mom contained was the shelter’s idea, they said that giving her less room to get away would be better for her to adjust.
She still has access to her kittens, they’re in a carrier so I can move them in and out if the closet more easily.
 
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