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Long story--please bear with me.
We live in a rural area with farms around us. There are a lot of ferals in our area. Some come to our yard and stay. When they make our yard their territory, I try to keep the others away.
Snowball has been with us for about six years. She appeared one day and as I used to feed some ferals, she sneaked in to get some food. Eventually, I had three ferals who came regularly--two girls and a tom cat. One of the girls had already been trapped, neutered and released. Tiny has been with us for 8 years or longer.
I have winter huts for them etc. Neither of them will enter a trap after the one time I caught them to be neutered.
The tom cat disappeared /died in Dec. 2022. Now I have Snowball and Tiny and they hate each other and live on opposite ends of the yard. LOL.
I had Snowball neutered after she birthed our current pet--Truffles in 2019. Once Snowball was fixed, I thought we were good. However, the vet who did her surgery didn't do a complete job. I didn't know that until recently.
Since the last five years, Snowball has been gifting me with kittens and I always assumed they were stolen from other cat moms in the area since she was fixed. We took another one of her kittens after we lost our old cat, Biscuit in 2020. But she kept bringing kittens every year. Usually, it was one kitten per year but last Dec. she brought two.
I usually trap the kitten and take them to our local animal shelter where there is a wonderful lady who takes in cats and rehomes them after they have had all their medical taken care of. Some were taken into vets' offices and they rehomed them through charities. But the conditions for rehoming are very strict and I have to make sure that the kittens are really young--usually 8 weeks--3 months and no older. This is very traumatic for mother and kitten and for me but I console myself that the kitten would have a loving home.
Last year, my soulmate, Oyster, was dying with CKD, Snowball was seen with a 2 week old kitten. I was completely overwhelmed with Oyster's care and now had a possibly stolen newborn kitten in my yard. So, while Oyster was at the hospital, I took the 2 week old and transferred her to the cat lady who reared her. Well, as it turns out now, that kitten may not have been stolen and was probably Snowball's own kitten! I always assumed that all her kittens were stolen but apparently, she could have a complete pregnancy as I have just found it.
Last month, Snowball turned up with another young one after being missing for weeks. We assumed she was hunting for another kitten somewhere in the neighborhood. Well, this kitten looks exactly like her! I got such a shock because there is no doubt that this kitten is Snowball's very own.
Now, I am filled with remorse and guilt for having taken away all her kittens so young, including the recent one. She must be so very sad.
She had an eye infection 2 weeks ago and I had just started giving her antibiotics when I was able to trap her kitten and send her to the lady who is looking after him. Now, Snowball has stopped coming to my yard and I call for her but she is nowhere to be seen. She has not completed her course of antibiotics. I have no idea how her eye is and now I am so worried and feel awful.
I have gotten two different traps from the animal shelter but I can't trap a cat who is not coming to me anymore. I wanted to trap her so her eye can be seen and she can get a proper neutering which the local animal shelter vet has generously offered to do.
If you made it this far, phew! I have to wait for her obviously, but do you have thoughts and suggestions as to what I can do if she never gets trapped and brings another kitten? Should I just leave them be?
We live in a rural area with farms around us. There are a lot of ferals in our area. Some come to our yard and stay. When they make our yard their territory, I try to keep the others away.
Snowball has been with us for about six years. She appeared one day and as I used to feed some ferals, she sneaked in to get some food. Eventually, I had three ferals who came regularly--two girls and a tom cat. One of the girls had already been trapped, neutered and released. Tiny has been with us for 8 years or longer.
I have winter huts for them etc. Neither of them will enter a trap after the one time I caught them to be neutered.
The tom cat disappeared /died in Dec. 2022. Now I have Snowball and Tiny and they hate each other and live on opposite ends of the yard. LOL.
I had Snowball neutered after she birthed our current pet--Truffles in 2019. Once Snowball was fixed, I thought we were good. However, the vet who did her surgery didn't do a complete job. I didn't know that until recently.
Since the last five years, Snowball has been gifting me with kittens and I always assumed they were stolen from other cat moms in the area since she was fixed. We took another one of her kittens after we lost our old cat, Biscuit in 2020. But she kept bringing kittens every year. Usually, it was one kitten per year but last Dec. she brought two.
I usually trap the kitten and take them to our local animal shelter where there is a wonderful lady who takes in cats and rehomes them after they have had all their medical taken care of. Some were taken into vets' offices and they rehomed them through charities. But the conditions for rehoming are very strict and I have to make sure that the kittens are really young--usually 8 weeks--3 months and no older. This is very traumatic for mother and kitten and for me but I console myself that the kitten would have a loving home.
Last year, my soulmate, Oyster, was dying with CKD, Snowball was seen with a 2 week old kitten. I was completely overwhelmed with Oyster's care and now had a possibly stolen newborn kitten in my yard. So, while Oyster was at the hospital, I took the 2 week old and transferred her to the cat lady who reared her. Well, as it turns out now, that kitten may not have been stolen and was probably Snowball's own kitten! I always assumed that all her kittens were stolen but apparently, she could have a complete pregnancy as I have just found it.
Last month, Snowball turned up with another young one after being missing for weeks. We assumed she was hunting for another kitten somewhere in the neighborhood. Well, this kitten looks exactly like her! I got such a shock because there is no doubt that this kitten is Snowball's very own.
Now, I am filled with remorse and guilt for having taken away all her kittens so young, including the recent one. She must be so very sad.
She had an eye infection 2 weeks ago and I had just started giving her antibiotics when I was able to trap her kitten and send her to the lady who is looking after him. Now, Snowball has stopped coming to my yard and I call for her but she is nowhere to be seen. She has not completed her course of antibiotics. I have no idea how her eye is and now I am so worried and feel awful.
I have gotten two different traps from the animal shelter but I can't trap a cat who is not coming to me anymore. I wanted to trap her so her eye can be seen and she can get a proper neutering which the local animal shelter vet has generously offered to do.
If you made it this far, phew! I have to wait for her obviously, but do you have thoughts and suggestions as to what I can do if she never gets trapped and brings another kitten? Should I just leave them be?
