Feral mom/kitten

[starrynight123]

There is a feral mom cat in my neighborhood and she has 2 litters each year with multiple kittens. We have 3 ourselves and our neighbor has 4.

Anyhow, we ended up feeding the feral mama and she had a litter 2 months ago. We caught 1 kitten who we adopted and the mama kept 1 kitten with her and brought her to our house and they hung out in front of the house at nights. They are so sweet together - mom rested while the kitten would climb all over her and they looked like they were watching the moon.

We trapped them both yesterday. The mom stayed in the trap and did not eat for 24 hours. The kitten was freed to roam and she tried to get close to her mom all day by sleeping near her and even sleeping on the top of the trap. The mom was frozen in fear yesterday and this morning she finally put out her paw out of the trap and the kitten was able to touch her mom. The mom went with a rescuer this morning to be spayed and will go with my neighbor to recover while the kitten stays here.

Anyhow, I am feeling really heartbroken the way they separated and the kitten is crying. The mama cat stays with her kitten in the winter and it feels harsh just letting her free to be alone in the winter. What should we do? Should we ask for the mom back and try to socialize her and hope that they can be adopted together?

I should clarify that the plan is to release the mama cat after her recovery (with our neighbor) and for us to foster the kitten short term. The winter is harsh here and it's all suburbs. We will continue to feed the mom cat if she comes around but maybe we should give her a chance to be socialized. But I don't know how she will get along with our cats (who are all her babies) and if she can be socialized. She is a calm cat and maybe she will enjoy the indoors. Don't know what the right thing to do is.

 

[fionasmom]

I am not sure if I am reading this correctly, but the kitten in question is 2 months old and is outside alone? If that is correct, the first thing would be to get the kitten to a safe place and start to work on socialization. A kitten that young is a good candidate for adoption and continued life as a pet.

If you feel that the mom is at all likely to be socialized, I agree that you might want to work with both of them. How friendly is the mom to you? With ferals though, that question is not entirely fair as the usual feral is wary and on guard, even those who have the potential to become pets, at least on some level.

The kitten probably does feel abandoned and frightened. She is not really able to be on her own and now has lost her only protection. I think that you need to proceed with this in order to see what outcome you might have. If you can put the mom and kitten together in a safe room, or your neighbors can, that is the place to start. You can then start socialization with both of them.

How to Socialize Feral Kittens<br/> — Kitten Lady
Socializing Kittens

 

[starrynight123]

Thank you. Sorry about the confusion. Both are in our home. Mom was in a room inside the trap and kitten was in the room free-roaming. Originally, the mom was supposed to recover at my neighbor's house after her spay and my neighbor was going to release her back outside and we were going to foster the kitten until she is ready for her spay at 14 weeks old (which seems very early). But I was getting emotional about it as they only had each other and abruptly separating them like that seemed cruel especially to the mom as it's nearing winter.

I made the decision to take back the mom cat after her spay. The kitten was thrilled that her mom came back and she started eating once the mom returned. The mom is recovering inside a crate now which she likes more than the trap.

We are going to try to socialize the mom and the kitten as she has not hissed, squatted or growled at us but we haven't tried petting her yet. She just seems defeated - apparently she is only 3 and kept having babies since she was 6 months old. Originally, we didn't want to try to socialize her as it seemed like a huge task for us to handle and reading about how feral cats are happy outdoors. We just adopted her other kitten 2 weeks old and adopted her other baby (grown feral cat) 5 months ago so we have 3 cats and now we have 2 more - kitten and mom. Anyhow, thanks for letting me express my concerns here.

 

[dahlia]

I am so glad you took the mom back. I think it sounds like you can socialize her and it is great she will get to stay with her kittens. I think you made the right choice.

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for replying. The fact that they were inside all the time makes a huge difference. You are doing the right thing to give this a try. Please remember you can come here for advice, or to discuss problems if they arise, or just to talk. You have done the mom a huge favor by spaying her and right now she is in shock. This will take time. Give them a little space and then start to try to socialize them. Just sit in the room, read out loud, offer treats, touch with a wand type toy with a soft end on it as opposed to your hands at first.

 

[starrynight123]

Thank you. The mom is still in shock and will only eat when no one is in the room. The kitten is still hissing and growling but is coming around.

Unfortunately, I don't think the mom can be adopted with the kitten. She will need a lot more socialization and she is a crate so she can heal. We will have to start separating them a little by little so when the kitten has to leave, the mom and kitten won't be so sad.

Does anyone work with a rescue? So, I am not in directly in contact with the rescue but it's through my neighbor who is in contact with the rescue. The rescue can take the kitten to a foster or we can foster the kitten until she is 14 months old when she will be spayed. The thing is she doesn't have any vet care until then and my kitten (who is the brother of this kitten) has already had his FVRCP Vaccine and dewormer. Should I deworm the kitten myself?

 

[fionasmom]

Did they say 4 months or 14 months? Usually a cat can be spayed at 4 months.

 

[starrynight123]

Sorry. That was a typo. It's 14 weeks.

 

[fionasmom]

It is best if a dewormer is given to you from the vet. Some rescues will help with that, so maybe your neighbor can ask on your behalf. You are planning on keeping the kitten for a while so that she can be with the mom?

 

[starrynight123]

Thank you for your reply!

Here is an update - we still have the mom and kitten but the mom has been very stressed and trying to escape so we are planning to release her back as soon as possible. The kitten and the mom cat are not as attached anymore as the kitten now sleeps with her brother litter mate).

Unfortunately, the mom is throwing up worms so she will need to be dewormed and we have taken your advice. We are planning to take her to the vet to get dewormed and make sure she is okay to be released but the thing is that we can't catch her. She is loose in a room but she keeps hiding underneath the dressers.

 

[fionasmom]

I have seen kittens bond to siblings as you describe as they get a little older. While I don't know the set up of your room, blocking off all under furniture areas like dressers and beds will help. You might have to use a trap. If you try to catch her, protect yourself with a jacket, heavy gloves, long pants, etc.

If you need to bring her in to the vet in a trap, let them know unless you are sure that they will work with ferals. Thank you for helping this family.

 

[starrynight123]

Thank you! We will have to move the furniture around and try to trap her again. I'm glad that the mama and kitten have been able to naturally drift apart but I feel so bad that the mom cat is so stressed inside. Hopefully we can catch and release her tomorrow. When we trapped her 2 weeks ago, it wasn't that cold. Now, it's cold. Do you think the mama cat will be able to acclimate quickly and do you think she will come back to our house to eat? We might have to get meds for her

 

[fionasmom]

The mom has definitely stayed in your neighborhood with her past litters, so she probably sees this as her home and source of food. Does she have, or will she use any kind of a shelter? There are very inexpensive ones you can make.
Cold Weather Tips for Cats

Neighborhood Cats | How to TNR | Feral Cat Winter Shelter

Did she eat specifically at your house before, or nearby? I have had ferals who were trapped bolt and leave for a couple of days once they were released, but most returned as they realized that their food source was at my property.

 

[starrynight123]

Thank you! Yes, she has had like 5 litters and she has been eating at our house for the past 4 months but my neighbor also has been feeding her from time to time for years.

She is actually very docile. The vet was able to examine her without sedatives. Unfortunately, she has fluid in her stomach from either worms or cancer so she was dewormed but now we have to wait and see about her condition.

About her kitten, she is still hiding from people and still doesn't want human contact. She even scratched me today which she has never done. She is a typical kitten with her littermate and her brother is the one who we adopted as we found him 2-3 weeks before we got the mom & kitten. Her kitten brother is always purring around humans so we hoped it would rub off on her. We also have her older sister and brother and they also love being around us. We have introduced her to the other parts of the house (whereas the mom is in one room). The vet suggested we keep the kitten away from the mama as she might be more stressed with her around.

 

[fionasmom]

You haven't had the kitten for very long, so don't give up. The brother may become a social bridge cat once she realizes that you are safe. Just go slowly and let her set her own schedule. Wear gloves if it is safest around her.

Where is the mom right now?

 

[starrynight123]

The mom is in a room in our home and she is yowling more often and loudly. We're at loss on what to do about her. I'm so sad for her. She seems very stressed and unhappy. If she has cancer, I hate to think about her being alone outside in the cold but on the other hand, I would hate her to be spending her last days in a place that she hates. The vet said that is no treatment if is cancer and if it cancer, we can't afford the vet bills for her. What would you do?

 

[fionasmom]

What time frame are you looking at with the deworming? Did the vet use a dewormer? What cancer does he suspect? Intestinal lymphoma? Can you get any more of a determination from the vet of what they think might be going on? Releasing a cat with serious cancer means that she will ultimately go off to die alone outside.

 

[dahlia]

I know some people will not agree with this but, if it was me and it is definitely cancer, I would have her euthanized. It is kinder than letting her back out to die alone and probably in pain. Don't feel bad that you can't afford treatments. At best, you would probably just be buying her time and, if she is miserable, that isn't doing her any favors.

 

[starrynight123]

The good news is that the wormer is working. She looks so much better so it was probably worms and not cancer but there is no way to know for sure but she is moving around fine, eating and drinking with normal bowel movements.
The vet was thinking she something like the corona virus in cats (something mutating) and it has no treatment. We weren't allowed in there with her so had to speak on the phone.
We keep going back and forth about releasing her. I think it will make her happier but I don't know want her to be cold outdoors. We do have an outdoor enclosure with straw for her but we have a dog who barks are everything so she probably won't stay on our property.

 

[fionasmom]

Unless she is used to your dog and is not afraid of him, she won't stay at your place. Is her stress level getting any better now that she feels better?