Fostering stray cat with newborns

[Sarthur2]

If all the kittens are eating soft food, you can go ahead and get mom in for a spay in the morning, and have her back home the same day when you decide to do it. She will definitely calm down shortly after spaying.

 

[orange&white]

I wouldn't think that you would want the kittens nursing on her right after spay surgery. She will have drugs in her system from the anesthesia plus pain killers that would get into her milk. That could impact the kittens' health, possibly for life. She also might reject nursing after the surgery.

If a veterinarian told you it's all right, they hopefully they know more than I know, and more my county shelter knows. It just seems like the kittens best shot at a long healthy life with strong immune systems would be for them to nurse for 8 weeks, uninterrupted by momma cat having surgery.

 

[Sarthur2]

Cats nurse after surgery all the time with vet approval. Mine did with no ill effects to herself or her kittens.

 

[orange&white]

As with all things, opinions vary:
How soon after birth can momma get spayed?
How soon can a female be spayed after having kittens?

I tend to err on the side of what is best/safest for the cat and kittens first, and place convenience for the human as a secondary consideration.

 

[mlaumuse]

I took mama cat to be spayed this morning and the kittens seem to be adjusting fine without her today. They are all eating and drinking water and defacating in their litter box so I think they should be alright. I have mom in a humane trap and she is situated right outside the door to the kitten house. The humane society told me that she is good to be released tomorrow morning as that's when the drugs will have exited her system. They told me she is likely to prevent the kittens from nursing on her for a bit. I will probably trim their nails tonight just to be safe, but so far all the clinics I've asked told me it's fine to spay her when the kittens are this age. The only negative thing im noticing right now is she will attenpt to get out of the trap whenever I am checking up on her so I will probably try to keep my visits brief and minimal.
Sarthur2 when did you reintroduce the kittens to mama cat and did you deal with any issues in the mom trying to get out of the cage? I have spayed two ferals prior to this but this is the first time I'm dealing with a lactating mom. The ferals (1 male and 1 female) were very qyiet and did not attempt to scratch out of the cage. Thanks in advance!

 

[Sarthur2]

M mlaumuse

You can let her be with the kittens now. If she does not want them nursing, believe me, she will let them know!

I let my mama kitty out of her carrier as soon as we returned home. She immediately went upstairs and nursed her then 8-week-old kittens (who were already weaned to wet and dry food also).

I continued giving her pain meds for 3 days, and she had internal stitches. We never had any problems at all.

 

[mlaumuse]

Oh thanks! Yeah they gave me pain meds for Friday and told me the ones they administered should last thru tomorrow. She seems so much more alert than the other ferals at this time, which was surprising. I fed her some canned food and she ate it all too. Right now she isn't scratching so I'm gonna leave her in until the morning. The kittens are already sleeping anyhow. Thanks again!

 

[mlaumuse]

Hey all, I'm back again with some tough questions. So I've adopted out 2 of the kittens and have decided to keep both the mom and the other two kittens. The problem I'm facing right now is 2 out of 3 of my Chihuahuas are behaving very aggressively towards the kittens. So far I've done one formal introduction between one of my Chihuahuas and one of the kittens. During this introduction I had the kitten in my lap, treats on hand and my dog free roaming. I instructed my dog to sit and everytime she did so I gave her a treat. The problem arose when I let the kitten out of my lap and smell my chihuahua. At that point my chihuahua got angry and started the aggressive behavior but then they both started growling with legs kicking the cat hopping hair raised and stiff. I removed my dog right away. I have read online about slowly integrating the cats into the household by putting their foods on opposite sides of the door to begin but I free feed the kittens as they are so tiny and my dogs. The dogs and the kittens should both know each others scent since I am the one that fostered the kittens since they were born and have been intermingling their scents. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for my particular circumstance seeing as I am attempting to incorporate 3 new cats with 3 resident dogs. Should I do each encounter with each animal separately? How should I go about this. I am also particularly concerned with the mom cat. For further reference I am planning on doing the leash crate method next but I am just wondering how to integrate all the animals seeing as it's not just one dog and one cat like articles interpret. Any advice is appreciated although I would particularly like to hear from people with first hand experience.

 

[Sarthur2]

I hope someone with experience will be along to help you before too long. I do not own dogs, just cats, so am not able to advise.