Rescuing Feral Kitten In Bangkok

[dahli6]

It looks like you are ready.

 

[Norachan]

They all look like they are in great condition, really sleek and shiny.

I hate trapping too. I've done over 40 cats now and I still hate it, but it is the best thing for them.

She won't associate you with the trap. You're going to be the person who collects her from the clinic, brings her back home and sets her free again. She'll remember that.

 

[di and bob]

I will pray for you to be successful. I know mama is going to be terrified and panicked, just talk soothingly and tell her she is such a good girl. The only other thing I can think of is to make sure the crate has FERAL CATS, on it and everyone knows this when you bring them in. You don't want them euthanized or held for weeks if they bite someone. I think everything will go fine, the unknown is so scary. Please know I'll be thinking of you and those sweet little ones!

 

[Norachan]

If you have a humane trap weigh the trap before you use it and then write the trap weight in permanent marker somewhere obvious. Our vet gives feral cats their anesthetic before he takes them out of the trap and if they know how much the cat weighs they can work out the correct amount of anesthetic for them.

Remember to cover the trap with a blanket once the cat is inside. They're much calmer if they can't see out.

Good luck.

 

[BangkokKittens]

I have a bit of a strange update on the Bangkok Kittens.

This morning when I woke up I heard an insistent meowing and looked out to see one of the kitten looking out of my yard and calling. This went on for 30 minutes and I thought the others had left her. But then I saw it with a second cat. Finally art around 11am, I saw all four as they left the house together and headed toward the apartment building that they seemed to stay in back where the one kitty was stuck under the house.

Then at a bout 1:30pm, Mom came back from the same general direction that cats went in. She popped into the trap room briefly and ate most of a small dish of food that I had left out for the kittens, then she vanished.

It is now 5pm and I haven't seen any of them since. This is the first time in the week or so they have been here that they have been gone for more than a few hours.

I am just going to be patient, assume they will come back some time tonight and will feed them and spring the trap then. It is possible that they can find some food elsewhere, but I still expect that they depend on me for the bulk of their calories.

I did spend some more time in the room today during which time I put plastic liners over (or otherwise covered) all of the windows and also replaced the ramp that they use to come in with a single chair that I have tied a cord to so that I can pull it away. She will still be able to get back top to the window, but won't have a great position and so shouldn't be able to do much.

It will start getting dark soon. I hope that brings them back. I have a very nice dinner prepared for them in five little bowls. So, I hope they show up hungry!

Any advise or insights welcome!

 

[dahli6]

The mother is probably taking them to explore and hunt. Your home is a known food source so they may return every day as long as you make food available.
You might want to contact PAWS for advice or assistance at this point because you don't know where they are the rest of the time.
They will have a daily routine that usually starts at the closest dependable food and water source and then takes them to places where they can play and hunt. Mom returned for food around 1:30 so they sre staying close.

 

[BangkokKittens]

So, it is now 11pm and I am going to sleep. No sign of any of the cat family since my last post. It seems so strange as they have been on my porch almost full time now for over week. It seems so quiet.

Oh well. I left a bit of food out, but not much. I now guess that someone else must be feeding them too.

I'll just wait and see - and will report back

 

[BangkokKittens]

One more update, now at Noon. This morning I woke up to no cats at all, then at around 9am, the mother cat walked right past my porch door and headed into the trap room. She went over to some food that I have left and seemed to eat pretty eagerly, but then she left and kept moving. I haven't seen here since.

Then at 10am the entire kitten gang (4) showed up, with the bolder two stepping out on the porch and the others holding back. I fed them a packet of kitten food, which they ate eagerly, but still hung around at some distance. After. while, they came back to the porch, so I fed them another packet. They all ate that, then played about 30 feet away. At some point they disappeared.

So, I am going to wait for tonight and see what happens. My goal is still to catch the whole family, but I think that if all four kittens enter the room, I will just trap them and then see what to do about Mom.

 

[Norachan]

It sounds to me as if the kittens might be a bit older than we originally thought. When they get to around 3-4 months old they start going off on their own to explore without Mum. Sadly a lot of feral kittens die between 4 and 6 months old as they are very vulnerable at this time. Curious about the world, but not big enough to defend themselves or smart enough to know what is dangerous yet.

This is also the time that Mum will start looking for a mate again. She may already be pregnant. The best thing to do is trap her the next time she comes to eat and take her to be spayed right away. A spay in the early days of pregnancy is fairly straight forward and won't take her any longer to recover from than a regular spay would.

Can you try trapping the kittens in the room you've prepared? They can get pregnant at 5 months old. They will need to be spayed and neutered as soon as possible too. This usually stops them wandering further away if you do plan to let them outside again.

Personally I don't like the idea of cats being allowed to roam, having lost so many of the feral cats I care for to traffic accidents, but if they are all fixed and vaccinated they will stand a better chance of surviving.

Good luck!

 

[BangkokKittens]

Thanks again for this good set of information. I think I need to act fairly quickly and want to make the right decisions.

I do agree they may be a bit older than we had thought. I have seen that Tom around 2-3 times (and I probably see less than 5% of what happens out there, so he is around) and wouldn't be surprised if she is pregnant. I haven't heard any of the sounds I usually associate with cat breeding, but who knows.

I do think that I will move to trap as soon as I can. The kittens seems willing to roam on their own, but usually as a pack and I don't think they get far. All day today, they have been hanging around in an area about 30 feet from my porch, although they have haunts a little further away as well. And they do seem to look here for food.

However, as of the last 36 hours or so, a big change has clearly occurred and the the mother does seem to be "separating" a bit. Oddly, she never comes to my door calling for food, or really pays much attention to me, which she used to do.

I have gotten the kittens back to my porch several times today. Over the last few days, I have left food in the Havaheart trap several times and noticed it vanished. I put some fairly deep in the trap today and watched the kittens walk right in, which is good. I was also in a meeting today at 2pm and showed the camera feed to a colleague. And surprise, the Mom was in there with one kitten and the food was all gone. I don't know if they were all there earlier or not. I haven't seen the kittens going in alone, but do just smear some cat treat paste around the window and in the room.

My plan then is to stop feeding them until trapping (They got a small can at 3pm - and I have only given them snack sized portions since the morning). I then plan to put a big meal in the trap room after nightfall, probably in little jars and cups that delay consumption. If I get the mother and all the kittens, or just all of the kittens, I will spring the trap. I have a pretty high level of confidence that I can get them all in there. However, I don't think I would do with with a partial kitty role call (say trap Mom and two kittens, then try to get the others.

I do think that the ideal trapping moment has passed, but I am still in good shape. I have been doing little tests today. I left some cat treat creme in the trap room and watched a kitten sit at the window staring in for 20 minutes before Mom came around and gobbled it all down. Then I saw another kitten go in there just for the litter!

Right now (5pm) they are back up on the porch being very active and looking hungry. They go into the empty trap just to try to lick where food was and when one sniffs and empty bowl the others rush over.

I'll post a few more photos that help tell the story below. Then plan to trap in two hours out so. I have been very grateful for all the advice from commenters and will keep reading. Any guidance on what to do if I don't get one of the optimal trapping groups (Mom + 4 kittens or just 4 kittens in there at once would be great.

 

[dahli6]

The good news is that the kittens seem to be socializing to you and your home. If you can catch them even one at a time to take to the spay and neuter clinic then do it that way.
Sometimes I am lucky to trap a pregnant cat and provide her and her children refuge. I can get them all socialized and then spay and neuter with little stress. Other times I have to work harder.

 

[BangkokKittens]

The good news is that the kittens seem to be socializing to you and your home. If you can catch them even one at a time to take to the spay and neuter clinic then do it that way.
Sometimes I am lucky to trap a pregnant cat and provide her and her children refuge. I can get them all socialized and then spay and neuter with little stress. Other times I have to work harder.

I may have to try to catch them separately. I have a Havaheart trap and a cat carrier, so I could trap them and move then and try to trap others.

I desperately wanted to get all four at once, and it has looked like it would be easy. But just now, I put food out and only two went into the room. I waited to see if they rest would come, but the first ones came and went.

I am now considering two options as backup plans:

1) Put the Havaheart trap in the room and only put food in it. Then try to trap the Mom and use her to lure the others in. Will they all come if Mom is trapped in there? Or would that make it worse?

2) Start to try to trap them one by one. However, I think I would have to trap them, then transfer to another room and hope to be able to store them in there. Bangkok is a big crowded city and although my time us fairly flexible making 10 runs to a vet and back at unplanned times may not be practical.

Unfortunately, although the house is quite big, there are limited places to store cats. Downstairs is basically all open and they could hide anywhere and probably escape again. There are two other perfect rooms upstairs, but I have let someone stay with me and they are occupying a pair of rooms (although they just said they won't be back for a while!).

If I do trap just the Mom, I guess I will have to line up a vet who can take her right away. I don't want to leave her in the trap overnight, even if it is covered.

 

[dahli6]

The second plan is the most viable I believe. You are right, if you catch mom get her to a vet for spay right away.
If you can trap the kittens 1 or 2 at a time and move them to a bedroom or a bathroom would be an excellent idea. Once they are brought indoors and are unable to get out kittens accept it pretty readily. At first they might hide or be mad at you but they love tv's, computers and phones or tablets as well as comfy blankets and beds. Getting all 4 might be easier and less time consuming because you would be focusing on one at a time instead of all at once.

 

[BangkokKittens]

I may have to try to catch them separately. I have a Havaheart trap and a cat carrier, so I could trap them and move then and try to trap others.

I desperately wanted to get all four at once, and it has looked like it would be easy. But just now, I put food out and only two went into the room. I waited to see if they rest would come, but the first ones came and went.

I am now considering two options as backup plans:

1) Put the Havaheart trap in the room and only put food in it. Then try to trap the Mom and use her to lure the others in. Will they all come if Mom is trapped in there? Or would that make it worse?

2) Start to try to trap them one by one. However, I think I would have to trap them, then transfer to another room and hope to be able to store them in there. Bangkok is a big crowded city and although my time us fairly flexible making 10 runs to a vet and back at unplanned times may not be practical.

Unfortunately, although the house is quite big, there are limited places to store cats. Downstairs is basically all open and they could hide anywhere and probably escape again. There are two other perfect rooms upstairs, but I have let someone stay with me and they are occupying a pair of rooms (although they just said they won't be back for a while!).

If I do trap just the Mom, I guess I will have to line up a vet who can take her right away. I don't want to leave her in the trap overnight, even if it is covered.

The second plan is the most viable I believe. You are right, if you catch mom get her to a vet for spay right away.
If you can trap the kittens 1 or 2 at a time and move them to a bedroom or a bathroom would be an excellent idea. Once they are brought indoors and are unable to get out kittens accept it pretty readily. At first they might hide or be mad at you but they love tv's, computers and phones or tablets as well as comfy blankets and beds. Getting all 4 might be easier and less time consuming because you would be focusing on one at a time instead of all at once.

That's very helpful. They now really do seem to be developing some independence. I think all four kittens stick together in a general area, but now move and act independently. I suspect that some are afraid to enter the trap room without Mom. I am now sitting downstairs, right under their route into the house and can see and hear them running back and forth - maybe 10-15 times now. So, I think they want the food but are scared. I've only seen them all in there when Mom is around.

My plan now is to try to get them all in there tonight, which I think can happen if Mom comes back. If not, I will take all the food at by 9pm or so (I don't want to trap them too late because I want to be there for the first few hours), then try one more time late morning, which is when they showed up today.

If that doesn't work, I will prepare a second cat room, which will require a few more tarps and another kitty litter box. I have attached photos of the new room. The bed in there is small, light and fairly hight (unlike the king size bed which is near immovable and has a 2-3" crawlspace. The picture and other junk were moved out of the trap room, so I can move them again. I have an 11am meeting so may not do much trapping in the morning as I would have to keep them in the trap or carrier until I can go buy more supplies.

It is really lucky that I now have this big house. I have lived in one half of a semi-detached house for 17 years and had the same neighbors for that whole time. But they moved about three months ago and I took over the house and made a door between them. So, I have a lot of empty space!

 

[dahli6]

There have been times when one or two kittens were the current feeding room and you could have closed the window. I think that with a second room for the cats you may be able to take advantage of those opportunities and you should take advantage of them.
If you see a kitten enter the room you could close the window, get it into the trap, open the window back up and move the trapped kitten to the new room. During that time another kitten might enter the feeding room ready to be trapped.
Also do not worry if there is a day or two between trapping and reuniting with siblings. These times can provide an opportunity for socialization and put newly trapped kittens at ease once they enter an unfamiliar space.
I like the new room.

 

[BangkokKittens]

Thanks. That makes sense. Tonight was the first time that I had any of the kittens in the food room, when I could have pulled the trigger. I was hoping that I could get them all, so blew it!

I have taken back the food so am hoping they will be starving tomorrow morning. I haven't withheld food from them yet and am not really doing that now, just cutting off their last feed a bit early. They are used to overnighting with no food and then getting a big breakfast, so I will spring the trap on who ever I can get tomorrow.

If it is just kittens, I will probably go in myself afterwards and catch them by hand. I bought elbow length leather gloves and think I can scoop them up. I guess I could also set the trap up in the room, but that might take a lot of time and would stop me from catching others. Maybe I could just go ahead and try to trap as I do have a meeting at 11am and won't be able to get back here with supplies to outfit the new room before 2pm.

If I catch the Mom and less than four kittens, I think I will leave them in there and pick off the others one by one using the trap and the bottle method. I do know that they happily go into the trap.

 

[BangkokKittens]

Personally I don't like the idea of cats being allowed to roam, having lost so many of the feral cats I care for to traffic accidents, but if they are all fixed and vaccinated they will stand a better chance of surviving.

This also concerns me, but it isn't going to be easy to take on four semi-socialized indoor cats!

On the bright side, they really are second floor cats. Aside from the one that fell off the roof several weeks ago, none of them has ever touched the ground! They can cover a huge distance by going from rooftop to wall to rooftop, etc. At very least, they can go for a couple hundred yards in several directions without leaving the second floor.

The area here is also very low traffic. In the attached map, Navin court is the apartment building next to see with the long second floor roof. I am in a group of houses just above the pin. The only two way street they can get to is Soi Ruam Rudee and that is 300 meters away on the other side of my house.

I do think they may eventually travel quite far, but for now, they are in a very safe area. I had outdoor cats at another house who were tormented by the neighborhood cats (I move soon after that and they were fine in the new location), but there was quite a gang there. In the group of houses that I live in there are now several outside cast that do fine and there have been many, man others for many years.

So, if the limit their roaming to a quarter mile in any direction, they aren't going to bump up against much danger.

 

[BangkokKittens]

Here is a slightly improved map. My house is the blue block just Northeast of the pin. The cats are on the second floor on the East side of the house. The walls to the east are quite high and I have never seem cats go that direction. There is a great run of roofs that go from North to South. There is a circuitous way for them to get to get around to the from of my house, which is a very safe little community with other cats (one neighbor is worried these little guys will harass her cat, which is also a rescue).

So, while I do realize that life can be dangerous for outside cats, they are in a pretty good spot.

 

[dahli6]

Of the ferals I have spayed and neutered only one disappeared. But I have neighbors who trap cats and take them elsewhere so he may have been rehomed. The rest don't even leave the yard anymore. Usually they hang out on the front step or the swing. Yesterday three of them slept in the truck because outside is cold but inside the truck was comfy warm.

 

[Norachan]

Oh, that's good! Fixed cats don't usually roam that far. They tend to establish a little territory for themselves and only leave if they feel threatened or if the food source disappears. If your cats can roam around without touching the floor they'll be a lot safer.