pregnant feral

[bierhouse]

I have been taking care of a feral cat and her son for a few months now. she had kittens in behind our garage before i moved in this summer and I think the son was the only one to survive or was not taken. They finally trust me enough to sit on my lap!!I wanted to get them fixed but the foundation that will pay for it needs a landlords signature.My landlords will not sign it, they want them to go to the humane society and get adopted. They obviously don't know that ferals aren't good candidates for adoption.Anyways, I'm a college student and am saving up to pay for it myself.The mom however is now 5 weeks pregnant.She and her son used to live on the porch but since she has gotten pregnant she has moved up the street to another porch.Relations are good with her son still so i don't understand why she'll only come for dinner. I'm also worried about her having kittens where college students who don't know much could do harm. I want to catch the kittens and socialize them for new homes and I want to get the mother and son fixed. What are the chances of her having the kittens in the same place again and do you think she's afraid of what her son may do to the babies?I've informed the people living in the house of her and asked if i could come and check up on her there every once and while. I'm still waiting for a reply from them. What should I do???
Angela

 

[hissy]

Contact them, they get back in short order and usually have a list of people near you that will help, or will give you guidance for the situation. The sad fact is with wild litters, if there is a Tom in the vicinity, he will kill the kittens, bringing the mom back into heat before she is ready, take her and then lay in wait for the next litter and repeat the cycle.

The best thing to do is trap the mom and take her in to get her spayed if the kittens are not to far along. Having babies like this could really put her life in danger. I wish you luck with this, it happens all the time, all over the world because other people are not responsible pet owners and don't spay and neuter their cats.


Alley Cat Allies

 

[bierhouse]

Thank you for your help!
Angela

 

[athad2031]

I am feeding a very pregnant feral kitty. She can't be more than 7 or 8 months herself. I have been feeding for about 6 months and still can't get closer to her than 6 feet. However, I do feel she might have her kittens in my garage. How can I help this little girl? I have 5 cats, all indoors and all spayed or neutered, so this is totally new territory for me. I do know about trap, neuter and release and help support alley cats. This little one has proved difficult to trap but I am hoping I can trap her and the babies. What do I do in the meantime?
Thank you,

 

[hissy]

The best thing you can do is provide this little one with good nutritious food, clean water and hope for the best. If you know someone who has a trap, you can try and trap her, however, depending on how far along she is, the stress factor alone could endanger the birthing process. I would leave her be, and just feed her, put some cardboard boxes in the garage, make holes in them where she can get in and out of and put them into private places where she might feel safe. If you have an old bureau drawer, those are usually good, gets the cats off the damp floor, but chances are she will find a spot that is to her liking and not yours.

One thing you can do, and I have made this suggestion to many before. Is to take an old shirt or sweatshirt that you could care less about, and put it on and do a really sweaty workout. I am talking get that shirt wringing wet! Take the shirt off and put it somewhere that you know she lays and she may lay on it and get used to your scent.

But right now, just gain her trust by feeding her and giving her water and when the babies are here, she will bring them to you in time. Like I said, trapping her depends on how far along she is. Some immature moms have great difficulty giving birth. But if she is just a little bit along and you trap her and she dislikes captivity, her body may absorb the kitties, so it is a hard call. If it were me, I would wait and hope for the best! Good luck and thanks so much for caring!

 

[athad2031]

Thank you for your suggestions about my little feral. I would never dream of trapping her while pregnant. I couldn't even imagine how frightening that would be for her. I was hoping to get her AND the babies after they are weaned. The sweatshirt is a great idea!! I'll try that asap!! I have put many boxes and lots of old sheets, towels and the like in the garage. So....we'll see! I do think nature will have to help her because she is so fearful of people. It breaks my hearts but I'll do whatever I can to help too.
Thank you so much for answering.

 

[bierhouse]

Hey,
I found myself int he same situation.2 weeks ago Cleo gave birth in the box i had put out. it was raining and somehow the box got soaking wet. The kittens were wet and so was she. it was so cold that i knew they wouldn't make it if i didn't do something. so a friend and I got a new box ready in ym room. we caught mom with a towel and then took the babies and put them in the box and then mom. The box was all closed off excpet for a hole for her in the front. this way it was quiet ,dark ,and she could hide.she hid for 2 days.i would put food in there for her.on the 3rd day she came out and even used the litter box. after a few days you wouldn't even know that she was a feral.she feels really comfortable in the house, no predators,food, and me. i was the onl;y one allowed in my bedroom for the first couple of days. she is still a little skittish when others come in and I'm not there but she has come to trust me and seems to be really grateful.last year before I moved in i guess she had a litter. All the kittens but one died of starvation.she could not find enough food to even feed herself. I started taking care of her and her only remaining son and they are the best cats I've ever met. The only time either of them has shown aggression was when i tried to catch her and even ten it was only a hiss. if you can do this that'd be great but your garage seems like a good place too. just sit and let her come to you. it takes a while but eventually she'll come around.
hope this helps, Angela

 

[hissy]

Angela, I caught a feral one time a mom with kits and put her and the kits in a cat carrier overnight as we didn't have the cage set-up, it was when we first moved here. Anyway she stayed in the carrier for 24 hrs and when I let her out she was a calm as toast! I still have two of her 5 kittens, and he was adopted out to another family after the kittens were weaned and she had been spayed. But before that she was so wild you couldn't get close to her!

 

[bierhouse]

I know!!it's so amazing.No one believes me when i say she is a feral.I'm really impressed with her. I've heard that animals calm down when they have babies. I guess their maternal instincts take over their wild ones!I'm planning to let the kittens go to their new home at 12 weeks old. I was wondering how long it took your momma to dry out of milk enough to get spayed or how old the kittens were when she got spayed?
Thanks, Angela

 

[patsy]

Some people doubt that she was feral because there are different degrees of being feral. Most older ferals who have never been touched by humans will never let you touch it. A cat that's been around people all it's life, even if not touched, after spaying/neutering, will in all liklihood calm down enough to be touched. I have 3 feral cats in my yard and they will never let me get close to them. On the other hand I have some ferals that I rescued as kittens and they are very sweet. Of course they don't like to be handled and picked up. but, I'm glad just to be able to touch them.

I have one feral guy that I recused from a wooded area 2 years ago. He's a huge boy with beautiful black and white fur. He geta within 1 foot of me at feeding time and he loves most of the other male cats. We find that a little funny sometime, if you know what I mean. He however will run when I walk too close to him. I've tried sneaking a pet on the back when he's not looking and he freaks out. I think he most probably grew up in the woods and I'm the first human who ever got really close to him.

Congrat's on your efforts.