We have kind of "adopted" (been feeding and cuddling with) a "stray" (owners refuse to spay or care for her properly) cat. We had started feeding this cat because we thought it was a stray as I had seen her wandering around the neighborhood before with no collar (at this time we had a dog that would scare her away, we had to put him down about 8 months ago now) . She was SOOO thin that I was shocked to see our neighbor appeared to be looking/waiting for her while sitting on the curb in front of their house. My mom saw her and asked her if this was their cat, she said yes. The cat had a saggy stomach and appeared to be lactating so my mom asked the woman how many kittens she had and she said she had 3. We had to put our dog down about a month before we saw this cat in front of our house by that time and we were eager to have a creature to care for, so we continued to feed this poor cat because she was so skinny (and overall very small in size, I am no expert with cats, but she appeared and still does appear to be a very adolescent cat) and seemed to still be nursing her babies. We would feed her and she would sleep in our backyard. Over the summer she sometimes wouldn't go home for days at a time even though my mom would put her out on the sidewalk in front of our house and encourage her to go home. Anyway...since this first pregnancy (I assume it was her first since she is so young!) she got pregnant again. My mom asked these neighbors if they were planning to spay her and they basically just said "Nope" and were very standoffish towards her. After she had her second litter she was always coming to our house begging for food and affection (it seemed like she came over just minutes after giving birth since she was still covered in blood and mucus!!!) and we obliged...being the soft hearted little ladies we are. So... now she has just given birth to a third litter at our house...I guess since we have been spoiling her too much so she decided to have her kittens here! Now I have 5 kittens on my hands and I have been researching all I can to be able to care for them properly since I have always been a dog person and have never had a cat let alone kittens!
So I guess my question is how should I be preparing as the kittens get older? The kittens are almost 3 days old now (she had them on Monday [3/28] night until about 1 A.M.) We are thinking of buying a playpen like this one:
for when the kittens get older and start moving around. Do you think this is a good idea?
I also don't know what to do about litter box training. The momma is an outdoor cat and does her business outside so I don't know if she will be able to teach the kittens how to use the litter box when they get older. Would the kittens figure it out on their own if I put a litter box in their playpen?
Also, should I give the momma cat a bath? She stinks a little because I assume the babies are peeing and pooping all over her in the nest right now. And would it be safe to use dog shampoo? Since I have some leftover doggie shampoo from our dearly departed doggy friend...
As for feeding them after they are weaned, is it best to feed them all out of one big bowl? Should I also give them "milk replacement" or some other high calorie supplement?
Any other tips for this new clueless cat parent would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you!
So I guess my question is how should I be preparing as the kittens get older? The kittens are almost 3 days old now (she had them on Monday [3/28] night until about 1 A.M.) We are thinking of buying a playpen like this one:
for when the kittens get older and start moving around. Do you think this is a good idea?
I also don't know what to do about litter box training. The momma is an outdoor cat and does her business outside so I don't know if she will be able to teach the kittens how to use the litter box when they get older. Would the kittens figure it out on their own if I put a litter box in their playpen?
Also, should I give the momma cat a bath? She stinks a little because I assume the babies are peeing and pooping all over her in the nest right now. And would it be safe to use dog shampoo? Since I have some leftover doggie shampoo from our dearly departed doggy friend...
As for feeding them after they are weaned, is it best to feed them all out of one big bowl? Should I also give them "milk replacement" or some other high calorie supplement?
Any other tips for this new clueless cat parent would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you!