At least I think she left with them and a some other animal didn't get them. Here is the story, I am desperate need of advice as I am really nervous.
About a month ago this very small black cat appeared on our 2nd story balcony which has open railing. We (my fiance and I) live in a high turnover apartment complex where people sadly leave their pets when they move. We have two adopted male indoor cats that are our family and will never leave our side no matter what. Anyway, I felt bad for this black cat and I set some food and water out for her. I noticed a small bulge on her sides but she was so small herself I didn't really believe she could be pregnant. I set a box with a towel on the balcony anyway.
So yesterday out of the blue she appears with 3 kittens about 1-2 weeks old and she is very timid and the kittens of course are feral and hiss. I called my local Petsmart adoption lady who said it's the season and no one can help me foster and I should tame the kittens ASAP and try to find them safe homes. So my fiance and I quickly avoided the hissing, gained mommy cats trust through warm food and kitten proofing the patio so only mommy could get in and out and the kittens couldn't fall through the railing. We handled the kittens until they hissed no more and were starting to play around us and get curious. We cleaned their eyes which were pretty gooey (I think they have colds, we washed up very well and changed clothes before we came back inside to our indoor cats).
So later that night, mommy cat left the kittens on the patio to make her rounds and a male cat came around. I went out side to defend the kittens. I recently read male cats will kill kittens to put mothers back in heat. Anyway, mommy cat came back before we went to bed and soundly fell asleep with her kittens suckling. We made sure to remove any food so that it wouldn't attract any other animals.
We woke up early this morning to find mommy and kitties gone!
Why would she leave?
Do you think it was the male cat she smelled?
Do you think she will bring them back?
Do you think it is because we handled the kitties? (she seemed happy we were cleaning their eyes and was purring as we were doing it)
We searched all the bushes and can't find her or the kittens. We are scared because we don't want them getting killed be male cats or birds. Please advise!
Thanks so much!
About a month ago this very small black cat appeared on our 2nd story balcony which has open railing. We (my fiance and I) live in a high turnover apartment complex where people sadly leave their pets when they move. We have two adopted male indoor cats that are our family and will never leave our side no matter what. Anyway, I felt bad for this black cat and I set some food and water out for her. I noticed a small bulge on her sides but she was so small herself I didn't really believe she could be pregnant. I set a box with a towel on the balcony anyway.
So yesterday out of the blue she appears with 3 kittens about 1-2 weeks old and she is very timid and the kittens of course are feral and hiss. I called my local Petsmart adoption lady who said it's the season and no one can help me foster and I should tame the kittens ASAP and try to find them safe homes. So my fiance and I quickly avoided the hissing, gained mommy cats trust through warm food and kitten proofing the patio so only mommy could get in and out and the kittens couldn't fall through the railing. We handled the kittens until they hissed no more and were starting to play around us and get curious. We cleaned their eyes which were pretty gooey (I think they have colds, we washed up very well and changed clothes before we came back inside to our indoor cats).
So later that night, mommy cat left the kittens on the patio to make her rounds and a male cat came around. I went out side to defend the kittens. I recently read male cats will kill kittens to put mothers back in heat. Anyway, mommy cat came back before we went to bed and soundly fell asleep with her kittens suckling. We made sure to remove any food so that it wouldn't attract any other animals.
We woke up early this morning to find mommy and kitties gone!
Why would she leave?
Do you think it was the male cat she smelled?
Do you think she will bring them back?
Do you think it is because we handled the kitties? (she seemed happy we were cleaning their eyes and was purring as we were doing it)
We searched all the bushes and can't find her or the kittens. We are scared because we don't want them getting killed be male cats or birds. Please advise!
Thanks so much!