Please Tell Me I Did The Right Thing

[Brian K]

All,
I'm so upset and stressed out right now. There is a beautiful female cat that hangs around my neighborhood of townhouses. She is an outdoor cat and I have rescued/rehomed several before. This time though I saw that her belly was bulged and I was worried she was pregnant. So, for the past few months, she has visited me daily. I offer her good quality food, water, and lots of love. She is so affectionate and loving. A really sweet cat.

I live in Florida. It hasn't rained any until this Monday in literally 6 weeks or longer. On my way into my neighborhood on Monday it was raining heavily. As I drove through our front gates I see the female cat distressed. She was soaked, stressed and meowing loudly. I pulled over because she knows me and tried to assess the situation. I heard loud cries coming from the storm drain. There below, hanging on for dear life on a pipe is the smallest kitten getting drenched with incoming rain. I flagged down a motorist who helped me lift the heavy gate. I scooped up the kitten and hurried to my house. I dried her and set her up in a small bed and went back to the scene to make sure there weren't more. The mom was still there distressed thinking the kitten was down there. I scoop up mom (who trusts me enough to let me hold her) and took her to my house. In my head, I wanted to show her that her baby was still alive so she would stop trying to scrunch down into the sewer and end up dying herself. That night they slept for a few hours and then mom tried to carry the baby away. This is where my problems started....

The following morning I bring the kitten to the vet. She is 5 weeks old, has teeth (so thats good) and is in good shape. She would have surely died in that storm it was total luck I happened to pull in right in that moment. The vet recommended I follow mom to see if other kitties were out there. I did at lunch that day. Low and behold I see her hop down into the storm drain. I follow her and I see another tiny kitten down there who scurries into a pipe when she sees me.

It then hits me...The kitty I rescued didn't FALL down the storm drain, the mommy cat actually was nesting them down there. It makes sense it's safe and a little subterranean network within my townhouse community but the problem is it hadn't rained in so long she mistakenly thought it was safe.

That very night the rains were coming heaving. I tried doing EVERYTHING I could. I could not get the other kitten out. So I pried off the metal grate, put a cooler down there with weights in it to act as a perch to get the kitten up off the bottom of the sewer and also act as a step out. It rained so hard I went outside at 1am and my heart broke. There was no way anything could survive what I saw.

Mommy cat showed up the next day as the rains quit, but no kitten. For the past 48 hours she has roamed around the outside of my house, howling to get in, because she knows her other baby is in my house.

Let me just say, I did NOT go kitten hunting. I had no idea she was nesting in our storm drain and I would have never intervened if I hadn't randomly (and luckily) driven by in her moment of distress and was able to rescue her 1 kitten before it got swept away. I feel like her other kitten is surely gone by now. I feel SO guilty. This mom cat lost her other baby, she trusts me so much yet she knows I have her other baby and I just CANT give it back to her because I know she will drag it back down into the storm drain. It's that time of year now, the rain is here to stay. It's a death sentence to let this little one go back to his mom. Yet at the same time, EVERY minute of the day, the mommy cat is outside my house, front door/back patio, meowing with her now hoarse little voice. Begging to get inside to her baby.

Meanwhile I'm working, coming home at lunch, bottle feeding with meal replacement formula, giving kitty wet kitten stage 1 food mixed with formula, helping stimulate her to use the bathroom and giving her lots of affection and love. Kitty seems fine, but this poor mom cat I feel so awful for. Despite me feeling like I did the right thing, I feel also so guilty.

Please tell me I did the right thing. I'm only trying to help. My next plan is over the next few days to stalk out from a distance mom cat and really make sure my suspicions are right and that her kitty is more than likely washed away and gone. (breaks my heart) If I'm pretty sure that's the case, I'm going to take her to get spayed.

At this point, honestly Ideally I'd like to find a home for her baby that I have (after he is of the right age and this is not my first kitty I've raised) He is gorgeous and I will have no problem finding him a home. And honestly I'd like to take in momma cat if I can get her to adjust. I want her to have a life of love, peace and calm. I feel so bad for her and she's so loyal, determined and steadfast. She's out there right now suffering in silence with me being the only one who knows her struggle and loss she must be feeling. I'd like to give her a good life if possible but unfortunately for right now I have to feed her and give her water and that's it because if she keeps smelling her baby on me she is going to keep driving her and me insane.

Any support or advice would be greatly appreciated. I just signed up because I'm so desperate and overwhelmed. I wanted to do the right thing, and I feel like that was my thoughts in everything I've done, but now I just feel awful about her losing her other baby and me feeling like I've ripped her other one from her.

 

[Antonio65]

Brian, you DID the right thing, you have saved a life, if you hadn't intervened now the lost kittens were two. As you say, one is most likely to cats' heaven now, but the other one is safe and sound in your hands and will live a happy life because of you.
Mother cat will put her mind to rest sooner or later.
I help feral cats myself, I've often found myself in the same terrible situation.
Will I help them or leave them to the nature's plans?
As often as possible I prefer to act and put at risk part of the litter rather than do nothing and risk the whole litter.
I know that mother nature has its plans and we shouldn't interfere with them, but I feel that I wouldn't live with my conscience if I turn my back to them.
Sometimes I feel like it's the butterfly effect, a small action of mine, though done in good faith, might have disastrous effects on the planet.
I have rescued and split from their mothers several kittens. Most of them were safe later and were rehomed to wonderful families, a few of them died because I was late, but at least they died in the caring hands of a vet or in my home, they didn't die after a long agony in a drain pipe or under a bush from disease, fever or parasites.
This thing comforts me a lot and tells me that after all I've always done the right thing. Should I have even thought not to intervene they could have all died. Or they could be still alive, but struggling to get a meal, fighting for a shelter and living a short and troubled life, probably victims of abuse or incidents.
Probably I'm totally wrong, but until someone proves me that I'm doing wrong, I will do the same for all my life.
So, you DID the right thing, be proud if that!

 

[Brian K]

Brian, you DID the right thing, you have saved a life, if you hadn't intervened now the lost kittens were two. As you say, one is most likely to cats' heaven now, but the other one is safe and sound in your hands and will live a happy life because of you.
Mother cat will put her mind to rest sooner or later.
I help feral cats myself, I've often found myself in the same terrible situation.
Will I help them or leave them to the nature's plans?
As often as possible I prefer to act and put at risk part of the litter rather than do nothing and risk the whole litter.
I know that mother nature has its plans and we shouldn't interfere with them, but I feel that I wouldn't live with my conscience if I turn my back to them.
Sometimes I feel like it's the butterfly effect, a small action of mine, though done in good faith, might have disastrous effects on the planet.
I have rescued and split from their mothers several kittens. Most of them were safe later and were rehomed to wonderful families, a few of them died because I was late, but at least they died in the caring hands of a vet or in my home, they didn't die after a long agony in a drain pipe or under a bush from disease, fever or parasites.
This thing comforts me a lot and tells me that after all I've always done the right thing. Should I have even thought not to intervene they could have all died. Or they could be still alive, but struggling to get a meal, fighting for a shelter and living a short and troubled life, probably victims of abuse or incidents.
Probably I'm totally wrong, but until someone proves me that I'm doing wrong, I will do the same for all my life.
So, you DID the right thing, be proud if that!

Thank you. Your words are very comforting. I will keep the forum updated. The kitten is doing good. I felt like a parent, I was so happy, he is eating, playing, peeing, pooping, and is beautiful. My plan for this weekend is to follow mama cat and try to determine as best I can if she is all alone or if there are any more babies. If she is alone, I'm going to get her examined and spayed. If I can somehow someway pull it off, I want to keep mama cat. She deserves it. Her baby is so beautiful, I will have no problem finding it a home. I'll post updates for anyone who cares to read. I haven't told anyone about any of this stuff. I don't feel like the judgement. Most people don't understand and just think you are a "crazy" cat person. So I appreciate this forum already for your response and giving me a place to communicate with like minded people and sort of vent about all this. All the best to you all. Thank you for reading this and for taking the time to respond. It really means a lot to me.

 

[kittens mom]

You have made one less cat breeding feral babies who stand a good chance of ending up in a storm drain. Remind yourself you did not make the mess you are just trying to cope with the negligence that someone else made. Your stray is friendly enough to pick up so she isn't feral. She was a pet when she was a cute little kitten.

 

[Brian K]

Wow, I didn't even think about that. You are totally right. I always say that she is WAY to sweet to be wild. She is more social than my own cat that I own who was, as you say, a true "feral" when I got her. You are right, I bet she was someone's pet who just "dumped" her for some reason. Poor thing.

 

[Leomc123]

Brian i commend you for doing all that you can to save the other kittens in the drain. I am glad the kitten you have withyou is doing well. If the mother cat is still around your house, is it possible for you to let her stay with you inside to be with her kitten. Its a shame that she has lost the others. Are you sure the other kittens are not there in the drain ? I think if this mother cat is sweet and lets you hold her , i think she will be able to adjust nicely at your place, just let her hang around her kitten and be free o roam in a safe area at your house. My two cats which passed away this year were semi feral as in they had owners before and i can tell you they were the sweetest cats i ever met in my life. Build trust with the mother cat and her kitten, feed them, pat them when they ask for it.

 

[mani]

Leomc123 this thread was revived with a new question from another member, which we moved, and Brian's question is now two years old.
You never know.. he might pop in to let us know what happened.

 

[Leomc123]

oh i didnt even realize the date the thread was started