What Should I Do About Pregnant Stray Cat?

[myfamily]

She was dumped here about 3 months ago. I live in a large apartment community. She was very afraid and hid for the first month. But I finally gained her trust, and from there she gained the friendship of others. She now lives, more or less, on the patio of one of the apartments. The occupants, a very young couple, feed her. They do not take her inside to the best of my knowledge. I was walking by today and noticed that she is pregnant. So now i am faced with a dilemma. What should I do? She will need a safe place to give birth right? Right now she presumably leaves in the bushes. What bothers me is that she seems very happy now. She is very friendly, and loving to everybody who walks down the sidewalk. She is always out on the sidewalk relaxing watching the goings on. If I take her to the shelter, she will be very stressed out. I live in an apartment myself. I am already way over my limit because I take care of 3 stray cats in my garage in addition to my own 3 cats. Plus I have a new roommate who isn't exactly a cat lover. He is indifferent to them, doesn't dislike them. But doesn't particularly care about them, either. What should I do? I will first ask the couple if they intend on taking the mother-to-be inside their unit, but if they say, no, which I suspect they will, what should be my next step?

 

[Sarthur2]

myfamily

Best case scenario is that the couple will take her in and assume responsibility for her and her kittens.

The next best scenario is to find a friendly, no-kill shelter that may have a foster family that could care for her.

Perhaps the couple could become the foster family for a shelter. In this way vet expenses are paid by the shelter, which will also work to rehome the kittens and mom when the time comes.

Otherwise, do you know any friends or relatives who might be willing to foster the cat for a few months?

I agree the cat needs to give birth inside where she and her kittens will be sheltered and safe.

I hope you are able to figure something out as soon as possible. She sounds like a very sweet kitty who deserves a home.

Thank you for caring!

 

[myfamily]

myfamily

Best case scenario is that the couple will take her in and assume responsibility for her and her kittens.

The next best scenario is to find a friendly, no-kill shelter that may have a foster family that could care for her.

Perhaps the couple could become the foster family for a shelter. In this way vet expenses are paid by the shelter, which will also work to rehome the kittens and mom when the time comes.

Otherwise, do you know any friends or relatives who might be willing to foster the cat for a few months?

I agree the cat needs to give birth inside where she and her kittens will be sheltered and safe.

I hope you are able to figure something out as soon as possible. She sounds like a very sweet kitty who deserves a home.

Thank you for caring!

Hi, how could my neighbors be a foster family through the shelter for the homeless pregnant cat who lives outside in our apartment community? I read the Idaho Humane Society's information, and they only foster out cats that have been submitted to the shelter. So that does not seem like a viable option.

 

[Sarthur2]

Here's how it works:

A discussion would need to be had with a shelter to see if the willingness to help you or your neighbor to foster the cat is there.

If so, the cat would be brought to the shelter where it would be vetted for a day or two.

Then the cat goes home with the foster, but the shelter now helps supply food, litter, and vet care, and will help with adoptions later.

If a shelter says no, try another one.

It's an option if you or your neighbor is willing to make phone calls and ask.

 

[myfamily]

Here's how it works:

A discussion would need to be had with a shelter to see if the willingness to help you or your neighbor to foster the cat is there.

If so, the cat would be brought to the shelter where it would be vetted for a day or two.

Then the cat goes home with the foster, but the shelter now helps supply food, litter, and vet care, and will help with adoptions later.

If a shelter says no, try another one.

It's an option if you or your neighbor is willing to make phone calls and ask. [/QUO

 

[myfamily]

Thanks for your suggestion. There are two shelters in my area. Neither one of them are close. So I was hoping they would respond to my email request. So far they haven't. Most likely this will have to be done in person, and even then I will probably being talking to an intake person, and not management. But I am going to take off work today and see if I can get their help with a foster program. My neighbor is willing to take the cat in, in fact she wants to. But on the other hand, she is very obsessive about her apartment, and it is my impression that she intends to keep the cat in a kennel from the moment she gets it. This worries me. I dont know how a cat used to her freedom is going to feel about being inside a kennel inside someone's apartment. She works all day, too, so the cat will be alone all day. So this is making me pause. On the other hand, she won't be in a shelter cage so I guess it's the best I can hope for.

 

[Sarthur2]

How big would the crate be? The cat would need to be let out for at least a couple of hours a day.

It's not ideal, but if the kennel is large enough for the cat, plus food, water, and litter box, it is certanly better for the mama ktty than having her babies outside in the bushes.

Let us know how all of this works out.

 

[myfamily]

I went to the Humane Society today and told them about the pregnant stray. I said I read about the foster program and how the program only fosters out animals that are already with the Humane Society. I asked them if I brought in the stray pregnant cat would it be possible that they could do a quick turnaround so that I could become a foster so the mama could have her babies at my apartment. Surprisingly, she said yes no problem without any hesitation. she said yes, bring her in, and we will check her out, and if she is healthy, we will sign you up to be the foster parent in about 2 days from when you bring her in. So that was surprisingly easy. I was quite stressed out about I might be able to convince them to do a quick turn around, but there was no resistance whatsoever. I didn't bring up my neighbor actually being the one who will care for the cat. There is only a wall that separates our apartments so while the cat might be in my neighbors apartment I will be the one who will be signing the contract and doing the leg work. The kennel I have is suited for a medium sized dog so it's not large, but it's not small. I do hope she intends to let the cat out a couple of hours each day.

 

[Sarthur2]

I'm so glad it went well! Shelters love fosters!

You will be the responsible party, so you and your neighbor will need to stay in good communication.

Is there any chance the neighbor has a spare bedroom for the kitty?

Please discuss with her that the cat will need to be out of the crate each day for socialization and exercise.