So many questions - but how can I entertain a feral kitten?

Jcatbird

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I’m sorry I am so late to this thread but you have done an amazing job with these kitties. Pumpkin deserves to win. It is my personal experience that cats do come where they sense they can trust, love and are needed. I have many kitties here and have adopted out many. All began as ferals. I read your description of the bond between Pumpkin and Midnight. I have seen the same bonds here between ferals. It is a beautiful thing and we are privileged to see it. As for the swatting of the hand, I suspect Pumpkin came to watch you sleep and was startled to see a hand reach out. Cats like to observe us when we pose no threat and no pursuit or pressure. If Pumpkin is not used to being petted, she has made her advance towards being closer. I hate to say I have not read your whole thread. I have been dealing with much here but just keep doing all you have been doing. It’s obvious that you are doing it all right. I hope Pumpkin is always inside only but if you must have an outdoor space, a catio is the safe way to go.
Beautiful Pumpkin! A winner in my opinion ,no matter what!
 
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anticus

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I was JUST about to ask for an update! So glad you got two of the babies into a forever home together! How are Pumpkin and Midnight and the other three doing?
Everyone is currently sick. Pumpkin is the only one we took to the vet, but Midnight may have to go if he doesn't get better soon. All of them contracted something that caused a vomit & poop-apalooza through the house. It doesn't make sense that it is a virus. We thought maybe a bad batch of food, but we have changed that and it is still happening. A vet tech suggested that they might have been picking up on our stress - and also Dr Wifey went out of state to visit a dying family member, leaving suddenly, and that could have upset them. I wish we knew! The vet found nothing significantly wrong with Pumpkin.

Otherwise, she has learned to play! She must have learned from watching her kittens. I demonstrated a toy for her and she wasn't at all interested - until I walked away then I heard her playing with it. Now she will participate in all sorts of play, which is a big relief. The remaining girl, Peanut Butter Cup, is confused. She reacts to every little sound thinking that it is her sisters.
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anticus

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Friends - today is the last day to vote in the World's Best Cat competition sponsored by World's Best Cat Litter. Pumpkin is among the 25 Semi-Finalists! We would certainly appreciate your support - and for each vote World's Best donates one pound of litter to a needy shelter! There's no registration, no personal info to give, just click and vote. And share with your network if you can. Thank you!

VOTE FOR PUMPKIN

 
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xsie

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I stumbled across this thread and binge read the whole thing. Pumpkin is so adorable, I just want to smush her face! How are she, Midnight and SweetPea(nut)ButterCup doing?

Much love to you and Dr Wifey for providing so wonderfully for them all! And thank you for regaling us with your journey. I love how you went from not really a cat person to diving head first into crazy cat daddy in no time at all. Almost as impressive as Pumpkins swift transformation from skittish feral to member of your loving family! Sorry to see that she didn’t win the contest. She would’ve had my vote x1000!

Hope everyone is well and please update if you can!
<3
 
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anticus

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A lot has happened in the past six weeks. The best parts of it include Pumpkin playing a lot both with the other cats and with us, and sleeping on our bed - either with or without us. I had the luxury of napping with the orange contingent quite a bit for a while. Peanut Butter Cup would often only come to sleep in the bed with me at night. All of that has been pleasant.

I have had to go out of town for work for a week. I was a wreck yesterday before leaving. You would think I was going to my grave. I explained to them all that I would be gone but was coming back and that Dr Wifey would be home (when she wasn't at work) to feed them and that everything would be okay. They totally picked up on my angst though - and they probably think the worst.

I left a batch of worn, unwashed clothes on my side of the bed. Dr. Wifey told me she saw Pumpkin scratching at my closed office door, so she let Pumpkin in to see I wasn't in there. I don't want them to think I'm never coming back. Does anyone have any advice to give? Does Facetime work with cats? I know they can't see close things very well - and would it confuse them to hear my voice but not smell me?

Is there anything I can instruct Dr. Wifey to do to help ease their anxiety about my disappearance?
 

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Sarthur2

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They will be confused to hear your voice but not be able to find you. Since your wife is there, they will be fine until you return. It sounds like it will be a wonderful reunion! In the meantime, try to relax and not worry too much.
 

xsie

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Your cats will be fine in your absence. I went away for a week recently, the first time I’ve left for more than a day or two since I became a cat parent 3 years ago. I had a neighbor come feed them twice a day and a friend come play with them a couple times. I was so anxious leaving them but they were totally fine when I came back. The younger of the two didn’t even come out to say hello until maybe an hour after I returned. Probably napping in a hidden spot and wasn’t as eager to see me as I was him!

Thank you for the update. Glad everyone is doing well! Are all them ok staying inside now?
 
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anticus

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Yes, thank you - they are all still inside-only. The trip came and went with no ill effects. They had no problem with my absence. Yet - I have another issue I'd like to hear your opinions on:

Midnight, the daddy, is bored and frustrated. He has gained about 8 pounds since he joined us in April. He used to run, run, run outside and he misses the exercise. It is impossible to play with him or Pumpkin because the kittens will immediately intervene. Having 5 cats in a small-ish house wasn't the greatest decision of ours. Midnight desperately wants to play. I will shut the kittens up in a room but they start to cry and that distracts Midnight. But even so - we can only exercise so much indoors. Our house is 120 years old - and all of the rooms are tiny. There is just nowhere to really run to/from. And I definitely do not want to let him outdoors again. What would you suggest?

I have been wondering if there are places to take him - indoors - with a wide open space to run and play? Like a dog park - only for cats. And indoors.
 

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danteshuman

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Do you have an extra human to distract/play with the kittens while you play with midnight? Can you give him a couple of windows to look out of?
 
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anticus

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danteshuman danteshuman Here's the family in the windows. Things have been going well for the most part. Pumpkin's spay appointment is the Friday and I'm a nervous wreck about it. It's not really possible to isolate her from the kittens during her recovery and I fear the worst for her wound. We won't be able to keep an eye on her a lot because we're trying to get the house ready for my mother's visit for Christmas week - and there is a lot to do.

Besides the physical recovery issues, I worry that Pumpkin will think that this is a punishment. She has only been to the vet when really sick - and we're confident that she understood that we took her (which was super traumatic) in order to help her. I also really don't want her to be in pain. I'm a nervous cat dad.


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Midnight (sire), Pumpkin (queen), Ginger Boy (kitten)
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The kittens: Ginger Boy (again), Tanguy, Peanut Butter Cup
 

danteshuman

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Awwwwwww! They are precious and it is beautiful to see them all together!

A few things. You can try a cat onsie so she has more movement, no cone & it is protected from kittens touching it. (Just measure her before hand!)

If needed you can stick her or the kittens in the bathroom for a couple hours. You could stick her in the bathroom while you have to work if you absolutely have to. Just put a litter box, food, water, bed & a couple of toys in there. Cats view the bathroom more like solitary confinement but you probably won’t have to use it. You can also keep her in your bedroom with the dad (assuming he is calm) to keep her from the kittens for the first few days.

The vet trip. Call your vet and ask if you can have a light sedative for her. Then you give her the pill 30-60 minutes before it is time to leave. It should help keep her calm.

⭐place a dab of pure vanilla extract on the back of each cat’s neck when she comes back from the vet. That way all the cats will smell the same; it should help with non recognition issue cats often get when 1 goes yo
 
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anticus

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I like the vanilla extract tip! Tanguy already smells a little like cake and Ginger Boy smells like cinnamon. Thanks for the tip about the sedative as well. They eat breakfast early (6am) and it is going to be painful to not feed them before Pumpkin leaves - so she will probably happily devour a sedative pill! I'll feed them dinner at 11:30pm tomorrow night just so she will not starve.

I think we have a onesie for her but I can't imagine how much damage she will cause as we try to put it on her. :D

Midnight didn't have an issue with his neuter, the kittens didn't either - in fact they were rough with each other afterward and were fine - but Pumpkin is my girl.
 

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Pumpkin will do fine! My mama kitty was spayed when her kittens were 8 weeks old. They were back nursing on her the same day - no issues. She was, however, on pain meds for 3 days. Make sure your Pumpkin gets 3 days of pain meds to go home with. She’ll sleep a lot. It’s normal, but she’ll be fine in no time.

Kittens are gorgeous! Keep us posted!
 

danteshuman

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The girls surgery is much more invasive then the neuter is. The vet has to open up the cat’s stomach to get to the uterus.

The pain meds are a must! Cami needed them for a week because she kept picking at her stitches. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It is why after a spay they need a cone or a cat onesies. You can get her a soft collar though. Measure her neck & if you order it from Amazon Prime or pay a bit more for shipping to get it the next day.

Cats are prey animals to; so they hide their pain. Ask your vet what signs you need to look for if she is in pain. With cats, a good rule of thumb when they might be hurting is to give them a dose of pain medication and see if it helps.

Try not to worry to much about her surgery, she will be fine. Spay & neuter surgeries are so easy & common that they sometimes do them assembly lines style (major spay/neuter clinics.) Feral cats are spayed & released after a day of observation. So she will be just fine.

I hope she has a speedy recovery!

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anticus

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Pumpkin will do fine! My mama kitty was spayed when her kittens were 8 weeks old. They were back nursing on her the same day - no issues. She was, however, on pain meds for 3 days. Make sure your Pumpkin gets 3 days of pain meds to go home with. She’ll sleep a lot. It’s normal, but she’ll be fine in no time.

Kittens are gorgeous! Keep us posted!
They won't give me three days of pain meds. They say she will be fine the day after the surgery.
 
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anticus

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The girls surgery is much more invasive then the neuter is. The vet has to open up the cat’s stomach to get to the uterus.

The pain meds are a must! Cami needed them for a week because she kept picking at her stitches. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It is why after a spay they need a cone or a cat onesies. You can get her a soft collar though. Measure her neck & if you order it from Amazon Prime or pay a bit more for shipping to get it the next day.

Cats are prey animals to; so they hide their pain. Ask your vet what signs you need to look for if she is in pain. With cats, a good rule of thumb when they might be hurting is to give them a dose of pain medication and see if it helps.

Try not to worry to much about her surgery, she will be fine. Spay & neuter surgeries are so easy & common that they sometimes do them assembly lines style (major spay/neuter clinics.) Feral cats are spayed & released after a day of observation. So she will be just fine.

I hope she has a speedy recovery!

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Thank you! They won't give me pain meds. They say she will be fine the next day. I don't trust this vet at all - they gave us terrible advice once that led to an emergency hospital visit - but it was arranged by the rescue. I hate this.
 

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I would go to a different vet or flat out tell them you are so concerned you will pay out of pocket for the pain meds...... or your cat will get it done elsewhere. That said when they spay feral cats, they often inject them with a long acting pain meds; that will last a fewdays. You can ask them if this is their plan, what it is & for a copy of her medical records. (That way if she seems in pain you can take her to another vet to get checked out, get some pain meds.)

I’m not sure I would want a vet I didn’t trust doing anything with my cat!!! Like your Dr. you need one you trust.

I’m such an overprotective helicopter cat mom that I would wait 2-3 months to save up the money & get her spayed by a vet I trusted. But again I’m over protective of my little dude, since I raised him (foster fail!)

Something like Care credit might be an option to finance her operation at a different vet,
 

Sarthur2

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Go private for the spay. It’s ridiculous for an adult female cat not to get pain meds.

There is no pain injection that lasts more than 24 hours. They say it holds them for 3 days but it does not.
 
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anticus

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danteshuman danteshuman - they will give a long-acting pain relief injection but I assumed that would only last the day. We have found a vet that we like and trust, but this one isn't her. Hey - maybe she will prescribe pain meds I can pay for! What pain med should I ask for?
 
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