Needs spay, but fear she's pregnant

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

I finally - after MONTHS - captured the 5 feral baby kittens. I still haven't caught the mother.
She refuses to go into the trap. I have tried everything. I've even tried tying a string to different dog crates and capturing her that way. (Manually). Nothing has worked.

The shelter told us we can only bring her in to be spayed on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning, so the window we have in catching her is very small. (Then there's the heat we have to contend with. She hides all day long).

I'm guessing she's probably pregnant again by now. I don't know this to be the case, but common sense tells me it's highly likely.
I don't know what to do. She MUST be spayed, but it's too late for that if she's pregnant again.

I'm actually afraid to even take her to the shelter now to be spayed BECAUSE I have no idea if she's pregnant again. I don't know what the shelter's/their vet's protocol is if they discover she is pregnant. Would they actually abort those innocent babies? (If so, I'll take my chances in having to catch her and her new kittens all over again... which was absolutely awful, because of the heat/humidity).

I might have to call the shelter to ask about that, but does anyone here have personal experience with bringing a feral cat in to be spayed, only to discover she was pregnant? What happened?

Thanks for any info. I'm really struggling on what to do. I don't want a feral cat hanging around here forever, having babies all the time because I can't catch her. I know I can stop feeding her, and perhaps she'll move on somewhere else, but that bothers me A LOT because I know she won't even have a chance at all of ever being spayed. I also worry about her having poor nutrition while being pregnant. (If she is pregnant again, at least the babies have a chance at being healthier if the Mom is fed well).

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Check with veterinarians/the shelter but spays can still be done up to a certain timeframe of a pregnancy. You sound as though you may have an issue with this?

Have you tried mackerel, or Kentucky fried chicken?

 

[DorasCats]

I finally - after MONTHS - captured the 5 feral baby kittens. I still haven't caught the mother.
She refuses to go into the trap. I have tried everything. I've even tried tying a string to different dog crates and capturing her that way. (Manually). Nothing has worked.

The shelter told us we can only bring her in to be spayed on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning, so the window we have in catching her is very small. (Then there's the heat we have to contend with. She hides all day long).

I'm guessing she's probably pregnant again by now. I don't know this to be the case, but common sense tells me it's highly likely.
I don't know what to do. She MUST be spayed, but it's too late for that if she's pregnant again.

I'm actually afraid to even take her to the shelter now to be spayed BECAUSE I have no idea if she's pregnant again. I don't know what the shelter's/their vet's protocol is if they discover she is pregnant. Would they actually abort those innocent babies? (If so, I'll take my chances in having to catch her and her new kittens all over again... which was absolutely awful, because of the heat/humidity).

I might have to call the shelter to ask about that, but does anyone here have personal experience with bringing a feral cat in to be spayed, only to discover she was pregnant? What happened?

Thanks for any info. I'm really struggling on what to do. I don't want a feral cat hanging around here forever, having babies all the time because I can't catch her. I know I can stop feeding her, and perhaps she'll move on somewhere else, but that bothers me A LOT because I know she won't even have a chance at all of ever being spayed. I also worry about her having poor nutrition while being pregnant. (If she is pregnant again, at least the babies have a chance at being healthier if the Mom is fed well).

The local shelter that I am supporting is a no-kill shelter. When a cat is brought to the shelter, she will be checked if she is pregnant. If she is pregnant then the shelter waits until she has her kittens. Both she and her kittens will be eventually spayed or neutered and only then after a full check-up and vaccinations, they will be available for adoption.
I hope everything will turn out well for mama cat.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

The shelter told us they would only spay her if we'll agree to keep her. (Because she had the 5 kittens which they agreed to try to adopt out as barn cats. They aren't even taking in any more cats because they currently have over 470! And they are a tiny shelter).

I'll ask the shelter to be certain... and I have to catch that darn cat first... but that's good to know they'll likely check to see if she's pregnant. (I wasn't sure they would do that seeing how there are so many cats brought to them).

 

[kittychick]

As far as trapping - I've by far had the most luck with canned mackerel (it's truly the stinkiest - - but it's yet to let me down!). And as Furballsmom suggested - Kentucky Fried Chicken is also a big draw for many (just make sure there aren't any bones in what you put in the trap - chicken bones can be really deadly). And you mentioned using multiple types of traps - - have you tried a drop trap? I have a little more trouble with those - but lots of people have great luck with them for hard-to-trap kitties. Do you still have the kittens? If so - you can use them to lure her (putting them - covered and supervised! - at the "non-open" end of the trap may lure her in - we've used that tactic too). If you don't still have the kittens - you can actually find recorded sounds of kittens mewing (just google that - many are out there) and place your phone (with the kitten mewing recording turned) in a covered box (again - on the non-opened end of the trap). That's not a technique I've personally used - but I've heard it can work (and it actually did for a friend of mine!). Good luck - you'll get her!

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

All the kittens have been caught and taken to the shelter. (Took FOREVER as they were very feral and hid all day under our storage shed because of the heat. Since then, the shed and the barn's small openings have all been blocked).

I've already tried those suggestions a while back. (Except getting another trap is out of the budget and no shelter around here has any I can borrow. They told us to just buy the one at Tractor Supply, which wasn't even working for a while, but I've since had it fixed). We don't have a KFC out here, but I have tried the mackerel and she ignored it. Tried chicken, her favorite wet food, etc... and she ignored it. I had to download and then play a video of kittens which I placed at the back of the trap... and she didn't care at all. I disguised the trap with foliage, and she ignored it. I used catnip flakes and spray, and she ignored it. I've placed the traps/carriers in several locations at different times, and she just looks at them. I've withheld food from her for a day or two, and then put the food in the trap the next day... and she couldn't care less.

I can't leave the trap outside all night long now either, because we have raccoons and an armadillo on our property. (Which I used to just go outside and chase off all night long, but now we have a new puppy and I can't be keeping her awake all night from going in and out of the house. She is quite the handful, and I have to sleep sometime. Lol!)

I don't know what else to do. I'm finally at the point where I just leave food near the entrance of the trap. (Trying to get her used to it by placing the food further back day by day). All she has to do right now to eat is barely stick her head inside the opening, but she just looks at it and walks away. I watched her do this only last night. The food is, quite literally, only a few inches away but she just will not take the bait.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Maybe one day a miracle will happen???