Mama and her kittens

alana0011

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Some time back, I posted about a feral cat I'd been feeding, and to make a long story short, she is no longer feral, and just when I was thinking that something must have happened to her kittens as I hadn't seen them, BOOM, I saw them today. Well, I saw two.
I took her to the vet a few weeks ago, and the vet said she had a little milk and thought she must have kittens. Over the weeks, there would be days when I wouldn't see her much at all, if any, but in the last week especially, she has been very visible, and she's eating a lot more. She's very sweet. I worry that she is not mothering her babies. They were by themselves when I saw them. I have only had experience with one mama cat, and she was wonderful to her kittens. I ended up bringing all of them inside.
I want to get this one spayed as soon as I can, and I also want to tame the kittens. Right now, I'm feeding in two different places
Any tips would be appreciated!
 
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alana0011

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I hope I find out soon! She is not with them tonight. I just saw and fed her a little more, and they must be in the back of the house. I'll do some investigating tomorrow.
 

Sarthur2

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Your best bet is to bring mom and her 2 kittens inside. How old are the kittens? The fact that mom is eating more may mean that she is already pregnant again. She should probably be spayed as soon as possible to avoid another litter. Hopefully the kittens are ready to eat soft foods soon, but mom should be able to continue nursing for a bit even after being spayed. Do keep us posted.
 
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alana0011

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Thank you for your response!
I did see her nursing this morning and I couldn't see all of the kittens, but there are several! Bringing them inside is not an option. I have a multi-cat household with no extra room, but I will try to find help asap. I may have found a home for the mom.
 

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Thank you for your response!
I did see her nursing this morning and I couldn't see all of the kittens, but there are several! Bringing them inside is not an option. I have a multi-cat household with no extra room, but I will try to find help asap. I may have found a home for the mom.
Depending on how old these kittens are, it may be possible to adopt them out too; although the new owners must be prepared to do some work handfeeding and so on.... On the other hand, they should be rather easy to foster, if young...

In nature, homeless mommas arent always with their kittens, they often must leave them to seek after food. And come back and nurse them a couple three times a day. And its apparently what happened here...
 
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alana0011

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Mama had five kittens and I've cared for them for several weeks now. They are eating solid foods, including dry food. She is due to be spayed in early June. Since Monday, I have only seen 4 kittens, which makes me sad but I don't know what else to do. I just went out to the woods playing an audio clip of a mother cat calling her kittens, and I've looked as much as I could under the porch, where they sleep. It's a crawl space, so it's very hard to see in there. I don't know what happened but wondered if anyone had any ideas.
 

Sarthur2

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This is the problem with outside cats. The kittens are exposed to all sorts of hazards, such as getting lost or picked off and eaten by predators. I’m so sorry that one is missing, but it is time now for you to bring the four other kittens inside to keep them safe, get them spayed and neutered at the earliest possible date, and to find them good homes.

It is also time now that the kittens are weaning to get mom spayed so she does not continue to produce back to back litters, which is not safe or healthy for mom or future kittens. Can you get her spayed before early June?

Can you do this ASAP to prevent the loss of further kittens, to assure them good homes, and to get mom spayed? The time to do this is right now. Please bring mom and kittens inside.

I hope you are willing to take these steps now and not wait, for anything can happen now the kittens are weaning and mom can get pregnant again anytime now.

Please keep us posted!
A alana0011
 
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alana0011

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June 7th is possibly the earliest day for the spay, but I can check on this.

My vet's office is taking two of the kittens to be adopted out, and she said I could bring them on Monday. I thought I had homes for two of them, but the people seem to have backed out. I think they were put off when I told them the kittens were still nursing a little, and they have been.
 

Sarthur2

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That’s good your vet’s office is taking two. Did the missing one show up? Can you bring mom and the kittens inside now?
 
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alana0011

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The missing baby has not shown up, and I am sad. I have hope that one day I will see it. This has happened before. Twice over the last 11 years, cats have come from somewhere and had kittens. All of them are inside with me now, safe and sound except for the two I lost to cancer and one that was adopted. Four years ago when the last mom had kittens here, (and people may dump them off, I don't know) I had gotten four kittens inside after their vet trips when in less than two weeks or so, my neighbors brought a kitten to the door, and I have a feeling he had been with that other bunch and had wandered off. I'm hoping this kitten will show up one day.
I only have one place where I could keep the kittens, and since they've not had any vet work done, I worry about them being with my adult cat. Bringing mom in is not an option, but I may switch a surgery that my dog is supposed to have on Tuesday so that she can be spayed then. One kitten is pretty tame, and I'm working on the others. My hope is to get them eating in a crate like I've done before and then close the door and off to the vet we'll go!
 

Sarthur2

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Sounds good! The sooner mom is spayed the less chance of her getting pregnant again. I hope you can get the kittens vetted quickly for their sake. It sounds like you’ve done your fair share of rescue work over the years!
 
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alana0011

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Sounds good! The sooner mom is spayed the less chance of her getting pregnant again. I hope you can get the kittens vetted quickly for their sake. It sounds like you’ve done your fair share of rescue work over the years!
And I know you have too! I've enjoyed it, but it's a lot of worry and my pocketbook sure takes a beating. lol...I know we all share this in common too.
 
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