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- Oct 25, 2017
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I live in a house in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. I have a mother cat (herself very young and small) with four kitten livings on and under a second floor porch at the back of my house.
The kittens are, I am guessing, about five weeks old. I feed them twice a day and they appear to have a very happy and comfortable life on my porch.
The mother comes to a glass sliding door to call for food and the kitten will come with her. However, when I give food, they have always run away, but Mom sticks around. This was my fourth day of feeding them and the kittens now will finally stay on the porch when I offer food, but as far away as possible. I don't think they have any other sources of food, although it is possible. They can roam on small roofs over a distance of 300 feet or so, but can't at this age go much further.
The mother lets me touch and pet her, and the kittens have seen me do this. I could probably grab her, but prefer not to. I also have a borrowed Havaheart trap. I can't get near the kittens and the porch is a super safe place for them (easy to run and hide). One emerging problem is that they apparently relieve themselves below the porch and a bit of a stench is forming
I also have a spare room with a window near the balcony and have created a bridge there. They are willing to go in that room and have eaten in there several times.
I plan to catch, neuter and then semi-release the whole gang. By semi-release, I mean return them to their home on the porch and fed them regularly, but let them do what they want.
My plan had been to trap the mother in the Havaheart trap. Then to lure all the kittens into the spare room and shut the window, which I think I can do. However, I am now thinking that if all five cats will go into the room, maybe it is best to just shut the window and leave them in there. I have placed a litter box in the room and am hoping they start to use that. There happens to be a bathroom door right by the window, which makes it pretty easy for me to pull the window closed before they can do much.
So my questions concern the best strategy for trapping then and then for getting them all to a doctor and back. Thais are great with animals and the medical service will be easy to do. It seems the least cruel and perhaps best for socialization to trap them all in the room, and then at some point in the future capture the Mom, maybe after two weeks or so.
But I am a bit concerned about what a feral mother cat will do to that room. Last night she got up on the bed and soiled a pillow. I now plan to cover there bed with a plastic tarp and nothing else in the room is as much of a concern - but I do worry about what will happen if she won’t use the litterbox. If I trap her in the cage and use her to lure them in, I would be able to take her to the vet right away, which would be easier on the house, but maybe not on the kittens.
Then, after her surgery, do I put the Mom back in the room with them? Or leave her outside? Will she look in the window and pine for the kittens, or forget them and move on?
That's a lot of questions. I will be grateful for any help you can provide. I have lots of photos (and one piece of historical information) that I will post separately.
The kittens are, I am guessing, about five weeks old. I feed them twice a day and they appear to have a very happy and comfortable life on my porch.
The mother comes to a glass sliding door to call for food and the kitten will come with her. However, when I give food, they have always run away, but Mom sticks around. This was my fourth day of feeding them and the kittens now will finally stay on the porch when I offer food, but as far away as possible. I don't think they have any other sources of food, although it is possible. They can roam on small roofs over a distance of 300 feet or so, but can't at this age go much further.
The mother lets me touch and pet her, and the kittens have seen me do this. I could probably grab her, but prefer not to. I also have a borrowed Havaheart trap. I can't get near the kittens and the porch is a super safe place for them (easy to run and hide). One emerging problem is that they apparently relieve themselves below the porch and a bit of a stench is forming
I also have a spare room with a window near the balcony and have created a bridge there. They are willing to go in that room and have eaten in there several times.
I plan to catch, neuter and then semi-release the whole gang. By semi-release, I mean return them to their home on the porch and fed them regularly, but let them do what they want.
My plan had been to trap the mother in the Havaheart trap. Then to lure all the kittens into the spare room and shut the window, which I think I can do. However, I am now thinking that if all five cats will go into the room, maybe it is best to just shut the window and leave them in there. I have placed a litter box in the room and am hoping they start to use that. There happens to be a bathroom door right by the window, which makes it pretty easy for me to pull the window closed before they can do much.
So my questions concern the best strategy for trapping then and then for getting them all to a doctor and back. Thais are great with animals and the medical service will be easy to do. It seems the least cruel and perhaps best for socialization to trap them all in the room, and then at some point in the future capture the Mom, maybe after two weeks or so.
But I am a bit concerned about what a feral mother cat will do to that room. Last night she got up on the bed and soiled a pillow. I now plan to cover there bed with a plastic tarp and nothing else in the room is as much of a concern - but I do worry about what will happen if she won’t use the litterbox. If I trap her in the cage and use her to lure them in, I would be able to take her to the vet right away, which would be easier on the house, but maybe not on the kittens.
Then, after her surgery, do I put the Mom back in the room with them? Or leave her outside? Will she look in the window and pine for the kittens, or forget them and move on?
That's a lot of questions. I will be grateful for any help you can provide. I have lots of photos (and one piece of historical information) that I will post separately.