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orange&white

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Those kittens are around 3 months old now. They will be fertile in another 1-3 months. You said the Humane Society only schedules spay/neuter once a month and you missed May. Do you have them on the schedule for June? Time is running out. ;)
 

daisyd

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Oh been reading this thread ! I hope you get all of them inside soon !
 

Norachan

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alphagrrl alphagrrl Such cute kittens!

I've been a similar situation to you several times before. Now that the kittens are starting to venture further from their mother they are at their most vulnerable. You really need to act now to make sure the family survive.

Mother cat is going to have another litter very soon if she isn't spayed. Even if you have to take her to a regular vet to get her spayed it would be much better in the long run than letting her have another lot of kittens.

Can you bring them all inside now? You could keep them confined to one room and work on socialising the kittens while waiting for the next spay and neuter slot with the Humane Society.

I think you can buy a humane trap quite cheaply from Tractor Supply.

I know it's a lot to ask of you, but this family really need your help.
 

wingwalker

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Good tip from an old trapper: Get a trap NOW, either find a friend who has one, Craigslist, CoOp, or even mail order if nothing else. And then start trap-feeding asap! Find a sturdy stick, f.e. plant stake, long cooking spoon, anything that is skinny and longer than the trap is wide. Open the trap door and slide the stick across through the screen to hold the door open. Now you start feeding in the trap and it wont spring. If momma cat is cautious, start feeding in front, and move the food towards the far end of the trap each day a few inches. This way you prepare your trapping success on day X minus one. Good luck!
 
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alphagrrl

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Those kittens are around 3 months old now. They will be fertile in another 1-3 months. You said the Humane Society only schedules spay/neuter once a month and you missed May. Do you have them on the schedule for June? Time is running out. ;)
Yes, my contact at the HS has them scheduled. I will be talking to her again soon.
 
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alphagrrl

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alphagrrl alphagrrl Such cute kittens!

Even if you have to take her to a regular vet to get her spayed it would be much better in the long run than letting her have another lot of kittens. Can you bring them all inside now?
I can't bring them inside because I don't have anywhere to keep them. I have my own shelter rescue, Maximus, and he's strictly an inside cat. I don't know how he would react, but I cannot risk getting them together and something bad happening. :(
 
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alphagrrl

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Good tip from an old trapper: Get a trap NOW, either find a friend who has one, Craigslist, CoOp, or even mail order if nothing else. And then start trap-feeding asap!
No one I know has a trap, and I can't afford to buy one, so I have to wait on the HS lady. I hope she can loan me one or two in the next week so I can get started with them.
 

msaimee

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Most Humane Societies will lend or cheaply rent out a humane trap. Have you asked them? If you trapped the feral kittens and placed them together in a spare room, they would pose no danger to your resident cat. Since they are familiar with you, your voice, and the fact that you feed them, you could easily socialize them in a few weeks or less. By that time they will be ready for their appointment for spay and neuter, and would be adoptable. My neighbor and I trapped three 3 month old feral kittens four years ago--she took two and I took one. I already had three other cats and she had six other cats. We socialized then in our spare rooms in our houses. I socialized mine completely in 3 days, and he had the run of my house and the nurturing love of my other cats within 2 weeks. My neighbor and her family successfully socialized the othet two kittens fairly quickly as well. A month later, we both got the kittens neutered. We had the same advantage that you have- the kittens' familiarity with us a few weeks before they were trapped. They can much more easily be socialized within a home than in a shelter. Shelters are very stressful environments. Perhaps your neighbor could take one or two directly into her home so they can bond with her. As long as they are kept indoors, it's perfectly fine to wait until they are four or five months old to get them fixed. Many vets won't even spay or neuter prior to that age. Right now the most important thing is to get them indoors where they can be successfully socialized and kept safe. Good luck and thanks for all you are doing to help them. I almost forgot to add that I hope you or the HS are able to trap, spay and release back to your care the mama cat. You can continue to love and care for her as your porch kitty.
 
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alphagrrl

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The goal is to get the cats fixed and returned to me and my neighbor to rehome instead of leaving them with the HS. Our HS is completely overwhelmed with cat rescue and tells me they have no traps to loan out right now.

As much as I want to help these babies, I am terrified of bringing them in my house even semi-permanently. They need to be tested for FeLv etc first. I feel that I lost my Black Kitty indirectly due to FeLv, and if Max gets it from these ferals because of my actions, I will never forgive myself.

This is so hard trying to figure out the right thing to do! I appreciate all the advice you guys are giving.

I never had to resort to a DOG help forum!
 

maureen brad

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I have borrowed traps from rescue groups in the past. Find local rescue groups and call them. Also I believe the organization 'Alley Cats' would help you, there are in many areas
 

Norachan

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I understand that you want to be cautious before letting them come into contact with your resident cat. I remember your thread about Black Kitty.

:alright:

It's wonderful that you and your neighbor can take these kittens for a while after they've been fixed. Kittens become socialised much faster in a home environment than they do in a shelter.

Even if you can't trap yet if you keep putting food out for them in the same place they'll stick around. A regular feeding spot/time will make trapping easier.

Please keep us posted. I hope everything works out.

:crossfingers:
 
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alphagrrl

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So I just haven't had the time to post an update (or do much of anything else I want/need to do). I could post pages and pages about all our troubles, but I'll give a short explanation. My dad broke his hip June 15 and went to a nursing home for "a few weeks" of rehab. He's still there, and I honestly feel it is the nursing home's fault. Every time I think we might get him out, something else comes up. I'm the only one who's been dealing with all this, and trust me when I say "overwhelmed" is a huge understatement.

Because of all that with my Dad, and because our humane society and all the local vets are also overwhelmed, I STILL HAVEN'T GOT THE KITTIES FIXED!!! Every time I try to contact someone for help, they just keep saying "next month". I decided I'd just pay for it myself, even though I can't afford it, but I still can't get any vets to help me out. I've even tried to just give the cats away, with no success. So I guess I've turned into the crazy old cat lady.

It's my fault Mama Kitty ended up having a second litter around the end of July. She trusted me enough to bring them to me too. I looked out one morning, and there was a poor dead baby lying on the ground. It had rained a LOT for a few days, so I don't know if he actually drowned or was just sick and died. My daughter said sometimes cats will kill their own babies if they know they won't survive. I felt so bad! A few days later, Mama showed me two surviving babies. I took care of them for a few weeks, but one disappeared around the first of September, and I haven't seen him since. I pray he wandered off with the family, lost his way, and someone found him and gave him a wonderful home. I'll never know. So now there's just one baby left.

All the cats are doing pretty well really. They have gotten very used to me and will call for me or scratch the back door if they think it's past their feeding time. I've been giving them mostly dry food with wet food occasionally, and I've decided I'm definitely overfeeding the older ones, so I'd better cut back.

Mama Kitty had a bad scare several months ago in a dog attack and got bitten right on top of her head. I tried to doctor her, but she was too scared to let me get close. I lost all progress I'd made with her. The wound finally healed, and it's only been in the past few weeks that I've been able to touch her again, but only for a few seconds at a time. She'll talk to me and seems to be trusting me a little more each day.

The biggest black one is HUGE, and he reminds me sooooo much of my Black Kitty. The orange one, Little Badass, is not so little anymore either. I think he loves me the most, even though I've never really cared for orange kitties. The smaller black one tolerates me but isn't the least bit interested in cuddling or playing much with me. The striped one is just like her mama, and she took the longest time before she trusted me as much as the others do. I've just been able to touch her for more than a second in the last few weeks.

The baby of the bunch is the cutest thing, and it's so much fun watching her interact with the rest. She really enjoys attacking them, because she knows they won't hurt her. I feed her separately from the rest, but she still tries to eat all the other food too.

I let them all (except scaredy Mama) come in the house in the morning for a few minutes before I feed them outside. I'll have my cat, Max, shut up in my room, because I don't want a cat fight! So far, the striped one has only run in and out real fast. But the rest of them will run in and look around. They'll let me hold and pet them for a little while but then get impatient because they'd rather eat. I've actually had to force Little Badass to go back out a few times. I think it would be pretty easy to turn them into housecats if I could.

Max and the little baby get along great. I let them meet each other several weeks ago, and Max was actually scared of the baby! She ran right up to him, and he panicked, stood straight up on his back legs, and scrambled backwards to get away. I'll let them play for just a few minutes usually in the evening. He likes to do the cat butt wiggle wiggle POUNCE at her, but then he lets out a squeak and runs away. I've never heard a kitten purr SO loud as she does when Max gets close.

I spent over an hour last weekend making shelter under the house for them. I bought a doghouse but it was too tall, so I made one shelter with the top half and another with the bottom half. They already had a carrier, a cooler, and a laundry basket under the house, so I bought a bale of hay and put that in everything and scattered some around too. I wasn't sure if they'd like it, but Little Badass jumped in before I even got finished.

Well, that's all I have time for now. I didn't want everyone to think I'd fallen off the face of the earth. Bottom line is I'm stuck with six stray cats and praying I don't end up with six more. I haven't had happy anything for six months, but I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!














 

orange&white

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Happy Holidays! Thanks for the update. :welcomeback1:

Sorry to hear about your dad. :alright:

You were on the Humane Society schedule to have the kitties spayed/neutered in June, but your dad's fall must have impacted that I guess. Still, they have a monthly schedule you can get on? I'm afraid you are going to end up with 20-30 inbred cats by mid-summer if you don't start prioritizing spays/neuters very soon.

Beautiful photos.

Hope everything bets better for you. Merry Christmas!
 

rubysmama

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Just came here after reading your HOWDY! LONGGGG INTRODUCTION thread.

Sorry that you weren't able to get the mama cat and kittens spayed and neutered. Is the Humane Society still able to help out. Or are there any other no-kill shelters or rescue groups in your area. You are doing so much by feeding and providing shelter for them, but like orange&white orange&white I fear your little family of kitties is going to expand further by next summer.

Also sorry about your Dad. I know how stressful and overwhelming something like that can be. I hope things get better for him, and you, soon. :hugs:
 

Norachan

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Beautiful pictures! I'm sorry to hear about your Dad and all your other troubles. I think you should try and get Mama and the little girl kitten spay ASAP, then work on getting the boys fixed whenever the Humane Society can fit them in. You'll probably have to pay to get the girls fixed, but it will work out much cheaper than another litter. (Says she with 22 plus cats in the house......)

Just call every vet in the area and ask for the first appointment for a spay. You might have to trap Mama if she is still skittish, but now is the time that cats mate to produce those spring litters, so you don't have much time left. The youngest kitten is definitively old enough to have a litter too.
 

Willowy

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Sorry to hear of all the troubles! But, yeah, last thing you need is to end up with a dozen more kittens when Mama and the (2?) female kittens get pregnant. If you can't get them all done right now, at least get the females spayed, before the middle of January. They may even be pregnant by then but shouldn't be too far along at that point. Even if you have to pay for it, I think that'll be cheaper than having more litters!

The males will be happier and healthier once neutered, but males can take 2-3 years to fully mature socially (and boys don't get pregnant!) so it's not quite as time-sensitive. They can wait until the Humane Society people get their act together.

(Haha, Norachan and I posted at the same time with the same idea. Yep, ask the people who have 20+ cats about that!)
 

kittychick

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I'm so sorry to hear about your dad - - I can't imagine the stress that's produced for you. Health issues - whether it's your own or a family member - are about as overwhelming and stress-inducing as possible. And it's good to hear from you again ---and the pics are ADORABLE!!!!!

I don't want you to feel like "I logged in to update and now everyone's lecturing me!" I think it's because we all speak from experience that 2 kittens become 20 cats before you can say "I just went to Pet Supplies Plus and spent $75 on cat food!" :) And I know from experience too how hard it is to get even very socialized cats into a shelter (you're at least more likely to get socialized kittens into one) - - -but it'll be even harder again starting early spring as "kitten season" begins and you're competing against 1,000 other people who are also trying to find a place for their "oops" kittens.

I know in our area - - sometimes vets will help out in doing lower cost spays/neuters if they can. Have you asked your own vet that you use for Max? And again - better to ask now than when everyone and their brother is asking them! Several vets in our area will do a reduced cost spay/neuter if you explain how hard you're trying to do the right thing. It'd be worth asking friends which vet they go to, bc then you can call and say "My friend XXXX - who brings her little Fluffy to you - says you're a compassionate practice - and I don't know where to turn..." I never fear begging when it comes to kitties ;) I can't remember if you'd checked - do you have any options other then your local Humane Society as far as spay/neuter and taking in kitties for adoption? Our town luckily has a low-cost spay neuter clinic (they loan out traps for a refundable deposit) - - even if your town doesn't have one, perhaps a fairly close town? It's worth running an online search if you haven't already. :)

Keep us posted - -- glad you're at least making headway on socializing the younger ones! Happy holidays to you!!
 

ashade1

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Oh wow! What a beautiful family! As everyone else I am worried about your population exploding soon! Are you able to see if any rescue groups would be able to help now that kitten season has died down? Like a TNR group?
 
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