How to Care for a Very Scared Pregnant Feral?

[SadCat3820]

Hi,
I have been feeding feral cats around my area for a while. A few months ago I saw a kitten that was separated from all of the other ferals. I trapped it to check the gender but found it difficult to see and thought it was a male. I thought it may be lost as it was so far from the other cats that I returned it. The kitten returned to where I caught it from a while later and I noticed that the belly had grown a lot. It’s a girl and I am 99% sure she is pregnant. I moved units in my complex and could bring her into my home. I have two fixed males so I put them away and lured her in then shut the door with a rope. I got her into a closet where I set up a nest, food, water, blankets, scratching post, litter box, and toys. It’s been 3 days and she has been wailing and crying all night long. My roommate and I are struggling to sleep at all and my male cats are freaking out. Has anyone expirenced anything like this? Any advice? My heart hurts so bad to hear her cry all night like this and I don’t know how to make it better. I’ve tried Felix’s way, music, adjusting lights, letting her into a larger space, taking soft and gentle, sitting silent with her, and sleeping on the floor with her. All vets tell me to bring her in but I can’t for the life of my catch her and I can’t trap her she is scare shitless of any cages now.

 

[Norachan]

Hi, welcome to TCS.

Thank you so much for trying to help this girl. 3 days is nothing for a scared feral cat. It can take a month or more before they settle down and relax indoors.

A closet is a very good place to keep her. Small spaces make cats feel more secure. I wouldn`t let her move into the rest of the room or your apartment until she is totally comfortable in the closet. I`ve had cats stay in a closet for more than a month, you just have to wait until they are ready to come out.

Are you able to get close to her? What I would suggest is that you only let her eat while you are there. This will mean taking her some warmed canned food, which will smell more tempting to her, and putting the bowl down near her while you sit in the closet or just outside the door. You need to get her to associate you with positive things, so getting her to see you as her feeder is the first step.

What are your plans? Do you want to try and spay her before she gives birth? Are you able to care for her and rehome kittens, or is spay-abort a better option?

 

[Annasaurus Wrecks]

Hi,
I have been feeding feral cats around my area for a while. A few months ago I saw a kitten that was separated from all of the other ferals. I trapped it to check the gender but found it difficult to see and thought it was a male. I thought it may be lost as it was so far from the other cats that I returned it. The kitten returned to where I caught it from a while later and I noticed that the belly had grown a lot. It’s a girl and I am 99% sure she is pregnant. I moved units in my complex and could bring her into my home. I have two fixed males so I put them away and lured her in then shut the door with a rope. I got her into a closet where I set up a nest, food, water, blankets, scratching post, litter box, and toys. It’s been 3 days and she has been wailing and crying all night long. My roommate and I are struggling to sleep at all and my male cats are freaking out. Has anyone expirenced anything like this? Any advice? My heart hurts so bad to hear her cry all night like this and I don’t know how to make it better. I’ve tried Felix’s way, music, adjusting lights, letting her into a larger space, taking soft and gentle, sitting silent with her, and sleeping on the floor with her. All vets tell me to bring her in but I can’t for the life of my catch her and I can’t trap her she is scare shitless of any cages now.

Hey, hey! Literally just joined this stop in the universe, but being a full time pet sitter and neonatal kitten foster, but I do have to say that I am not a substitute true veterinary care, but the can make suggestions and support you when I can.

I once pet sat from someone who had 12 newborn puppies I (shouldn’t have said no to) so i definitely understand the constant stress you’re going through.

 

[SadCat3820]

Hi, welcome to TCS.

Thank you so much for trying to help this girl. 3 days is nothing for a scared feral cat. It can take a month or more before they settle down and relax indoors.

A closet is a very good place to keep her. Small spaces make cats feel more secure. I wouldn`t let her move into the rest of the room or your apartment until she is totally comfortable in the closet. I`ve had cats stay in a closet for more than a month, you just have to wait until they are ready to come out.

Are you able to get close to her? What I would suggest is that you only let her eat while you are there. This will mean taking her some warmed canned food, which will smell more tempting to her, and putting the bowl down near her while you sit in the closet or just outside the door. You need to get her to associate you with positive things, so getting her to see you as her feeder is the first step.

What are your plans? Do you want to try and spay her before she gives birth? Are you able to care for her and rehome kittens, or is spay-abort a better option?

I can get within about a foot of her. I plan on letting her have the kittens and rehoming them then spaying her and rehoming her too.
a month seems like a long time, even with her giving birth it would take that long?

 

[Norachan]

It depends on the cat. There are really no set rules for how long anything will take. The more time you have to hang out with her and reinforce positive human interactions the better. But there`s no guarantee that she will ever be sociable enough to rehome. A lot of my feral rescues are/were only comfortable around me and weren`t ever suitable for rehoming.

But a lot of them were and a lot of them did go on to nice forever homes, so don`t be discouraged.

Do you have a shelter that will work with you to help rehome the kittens when the time comes? Even rehoming sweet, friendly little kittens can be very difficult. There are a lot more kittens than there are good homes. If you can`t find anyone to help and are going to do this yourself you`ll need to set aside a lot of extra cash. It`s much easier to rehome kittens that have been blood tested, vaccinated, chipped and spayed/neutered. You can charge a rehoming fee to cover your costs, but you will need to have the money to pay for all of this before rehoming. And kittens eat a lot in the first 12 weeks of their lives. Their calorie requirements are as high as adult cats and kitten food tends to be expensive. You need to look at how much kitten food and kitten litter costs and calculate for around 4 kittens (average litter size) times 12 weeks (youngest age they can be rehomed) plus all the veterinary care they will need. And keep in mind that you might end up with the mother cat and a few of her kittens for longer than planned.

Have a look at a few videos and call around to see if there are any shelters that can help you.

 

[di and bob]

You might rig something up so it isn't so dark in the closet, like some sort of gate or a cheap screen door that can be attached and then removed when it is no longer needed. Maek sure to reenforce the bottom of any screen door or she'll rip her way out. She most likely feels like she is in a trap. she must not be feral or she would be silent and not letting you anywhere near. She is a very scared stray. Or a kitten born to a stray and never socialized. Just keep being nearby as often as possible, reading aloud from your phone. She will calm down. Is it possible to let her have access to a small room so she won't feel so trapped? Or get a large wire dog kennel and provide a box to hide in? There may be away to put a kennel inside the closet to get her used to it, with a place provided to hide. be careful, always close the door to the room when you are in there, she could dart out!

 

[SadCat3820]

It depends on the cat. There are really no set rules for how long anything will take. The more time you have to hang out with her and reinforce positive human interactions the better. But there`s no guarantee that she will ever be sociable enough to rehome. A lot of my feral rescues are/were only comfortable around me and weren`t ever suitable for rehoming.

But a lot of them were and a lot of them did go on to nice forever homes, so don`t be discouraged.

Do you have a shelter that will work with you to help rehome the kittens when the time comes? Even rehoming sweet, friendly little kittens can be very difficult. There are a lot more kittens than there are good homes. If you can`t find anyone to help and are going to do this yourself you`ll need to set aside a lot of extra cash. It`s much easier to rehome kittens that have been blood tested, vaccinated, chipped and spayed/neutered. You can charge a rehoming fee to cover your costs, but you will need to have the money to pay for all of this before rehoming. And kittens eat a lot in the first 12 weeks of their lives. Their calorie requirements are as high as adult cats and kitten food tends to be expensive. You need to look at how much kitten food and kitten litter costs and calculate for around 4 kittens (average litter size) times 12 weeks (youngest age they can be rehomed) plus all the veterinary care they will need. And keep in mind that you might end up with the mother cat and a few of her kittens for longer than planned.

Have a look at a few videos and call around to see if there are any shelters that can help you.

Thank you for all of this amazing information! Money is no issue, I planned on that. I haven't reached out to any shelters yet, but I will!