I have a feral cat that we brought into our house in early September when she surprised us by having a litter of kittens on our deck. We kept everyone safe and healthy and finally got mama and the 5 kittens speutered and vaccinated last week. Kittens will be adopted out, but mama will go back outside. She is part of a small colony we have been working to catch and neuter/release for a couple of years now.
When we brought her inside it was still summer weather, and now it’s below freezing at night and only in the mid 30’s or low 40’s during the day. Usually these cats are very hardy in the cold, but as she’s been inside for 4 months, she has not built up a ‘winter’ coat. Is putting her back outside now a bad idea? Or will she get her winter coat quickly?
We have many warmed houses and safe spots to get food and warm up by a fireplace for the ferals, but as she has been away for 4 months, I don’t know if she will get spooked by seeing her old colony members, and be less likely to hang out on our property?
Also, she is still nursing these kittens! We have had a horrible time getting them to eat kitten food. They will all pick at it and snack, but they never eat with the gusto that 13 week old kittens should. And that’s bc they still seek her out for milk and she hasn’t pushed them away yet. I had held off a couple of weeks on getting everyone spayed as I hoped that process would kick in, but nope! Even after getting spayed she’s still letting them nurse. So, is putting her outside going to cause her pain if she’s still producing milk?
Thanks!
When we brought her inside it was still summer weather, and now it’s below freezing at night and only in the mid 30’s or low 40’s during the day. Usually these cats are very hardy in the cold, but as she’s been inside for 4 months, she has not built up a ‘winter’ coat. Is putting her back outside now a bad idea? Or will she get her winter coat quickly?
We have many warmed houses and safe spots to get food and warm up by a fireplace for the ferals, but as she has been away for 4 months, I don’t know if she will get spooked by seeing her old colony members, and be less likely to hang out on our property?
Also, she is still nursing these kittens! We have had a horrible time getting them to eat kitten food. They will all pick at it and snack, but they never eat with the gusto that 13 week old kittens should. And that’s bc they still seek her out for milk and she hasn’t pushed them away yet. I had held off a couple of weeks on getting everyone spayed as I hoped that process would kick in, but nope! Even after getting spayed she’s still letting them nurse. So, is putting her outside going to cause her pain if she’s still producing milk?
Thanks!