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- Aug 22, 2012
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I captured a feral Mama cat and her 4 or 5 week old kitten, and kept her in a cage for a few weeks until the single kitten was old enough to be taken away from her and she could be spayed (vet wanted kitten weaned 2 weeks before the spay). My brother adopted the tamed feral kitten.
I brought her to be spayed, and the vet discovered she was already pregnant again, apparently just a couple days before I caught her, so I have kept her in a bigger cage with perches in one of my outbuildings. Now she's had her single kitten, a real cutie tiger tabby with white face and socks. So that's another little feral kitten, but my brother wants it, too, so that's great it has a home already. Mama cat seems to be a single kitten mama.
Now I won't be able to get her spayed and let her go until the middle of October, in central Minnesota, and it's getting cold then. How can I get her to stick around my property when I let her go?
I've been taming her up somewhat, but still can't pet her without a lot of hissing and spitting and swatting. I would like her to live in an outbuilding with an insulated box. There is no friendly farm within about a mile of here, so if she leaves, she'll probably die. Lots of predators around here. I've tamed a feral before, and I do not have the facilities or resources to do that again, right now. I can use a good mouser and I have nice wood outbuildings.
Will she just take to the insulated cat shelter? Or do I have to feed her in it? Do I put a litter box in the outbuilding? Or only when there is a lot of snow?
I hate keeping her in a cage all this time. It's a very nice, large cage, but not big like a dog kennel. But I don't have a safe room to put her in. She would just take off with her kitten if I let her loose in my granary.
Thanks for advice!!
I brought her to be spayed, and the vet discovered she was already pregnant again, apparently just a couple days before I caught her, so I have kept her in a bigger cage with perches in one of my outbuildings. Now she's had her single kitten, a real cutie tiger tabby with white face and socks. So that's another little feral kitten, but my brother wants it, too, so that's great it has a home already. Mama cat seems to be a single kitten mama.
Now I won't be able to get her spayed and let her go until the middle of October, in central Minnesota, and it's getting cold then. How can I get her to stick around my property when I let her go?
I've been taming her up somewhat, but still can't pet her without a lot of hissing and spitting and swatting. I would like her to live in an outbuilding with an insulated box. There is no friendly farm within about a mile of here, so if she leaves, she'll probably die. Lots of predators around here. I've tamed a feral before, and I do not have the facilities or resources to do that again, right now. I can use a good mouser and I have nice wood outbuildings.
Will she just take to the insulated cat shelter? Or do I have to feed her in it? Do I put a litter box in the outbuilding? Or only when there is a lot of snow?
I hate keeping her in a cage all this time. It's a very nice, large cage, but not big like a dog kennel. But I don't have a safe room to put her in. She would just take off with her kitten if I let her loose in my granary.
Thanks for advice!!