Young Cat having issues after TNR Spay

havecats

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Hi,

I have another thread where I had been posting about the experiences I have been having taking care of a small feral cat colony and starting to do TNR.

After this last TNR, we trapped three cats. When I went to check the traps one last time in the morning just before they were picked up there was this grey cat in the trap I had never seen before. She looked really young and I remember thinking it was good that we caught her so young. Well, after she was released I didn't see her for awhile. We had been worrying about another female cat that had been having some issues with diarrhea. She went with the ADL rep to get some TLC as she recovered before she was released. She was a young mom but her kittens were a bit older. The other young cat was released the next day. I remember feeling a bit concerned about her because she seemed so young but she looked completely alert and took off when she was released. This was almost two weeks ago.

I kept worrying about her and wishing I had kept her for an extra day. I was talking to my neighbor about the cats and he told me he had seen the cat. I was able to see her also but then he showed me something else. It looks like she must have been chewing on her stitches because she has a small red blob that is sticking out of her stomach. She appears to be handling it fine, but I kinda freaked out. I looked at her paperwork from her spay and it said she recently had a litter in the LAST THREE DAYS. I was shocked - I had no idea! Is it risky for the cat to be spayed after so recently giving birth? Also, in her absence one of the other females (who have all been fixed) took over nursing and helping her with a couple of her kittens. She looks like she could be a kitten herself still - she's fairly small. I was glad to see her again and that she was getting around alright. Also, the big black tom cat she is with has also been fixed. He looks much better. They're still pretty skinny but they appear to be fairly healthy.

I was wondering if anyone else has had to deal with something like this and what you did. We may have to use a drop trap to catch her since she may not go into the other traps. Also, the mothers were showing up when I went to feed them today with a few little kittens. The ADL Rep wants to trap these kittens to get them socialized but there's no way I can take them and she can't at the moment because she has litters she's already socializing now. I wish I could but we have cats inside and no extra space for them. Couldn't believe we came across another mother cat and that she had just had kittens. They did recommend her to be released if alert and stable by the next morning presumably to be able to care for her kittens. This just feels so overwhelming.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Sorry no one has responded to your post yet. I think the cat that was just recently spayed - the one who has a small red blob sticking out of her stomach should be seen by a vet. I don't know what the impact is as far as her having been spayed so close to giving birth - I do know that technically it should not affect her ability to nurse. However, given there is another cat who is helping assume nursing duties, it would seem to be safe to get this other cat looked at. The kittens nursing could have caused an additional issue with the spay incision.

Hopefully, other members with more experience in this area will come along - soon - and offer their input.
 

fionasmom

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I don't actually have more experience in this specific situation but I would get that incision looked at. Given that she is feral and much less under your control....meaning this is not a pet where you can get a good look at the incision....I would err on the side of caution and take her in. Between possibly her own irritation with the incision and the kittens it certainly could be ruptured to some degree.

As for your last sentence....yes, it is overwhelming and you are not speaking out of turn about that. It sounds to me that you are working with a group who does TNR so there is some organization to what is being done and that is a very good thing. However, there is no end to ferals who turn up when you never knew they existed or knew that they were pregnant. You can only do what you and your group can do and you have to begin to think about all the cats who have been helped by you and do the best you can. I think that this cat will be fine in the end despite the beginning of the story.
 
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havecats

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Thanks for your replies and understanding. We are going to trap her and take her in early this week. Hopefully we can trap her right away. Although she is getting around ok, it definitely needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. I'll update as soon as we know. The other two cats fared better, the little calico seemed rested and looked bright eyed when we released her and she is back to her regular eating schedule. The white/black male we had caught, who looked like an offspring of the big white/black tom cat we had fixed last time, took off right away after his adventure. He probably is still coming by but later at night. Although last night the cats only ate half of their food because of fireworks going off late into the night.
 
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havecats

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Just wanted to post an update. I wasn't able to trap the cat. I tried the drop trap and the regular trap but to no avail. :-( It is well over 100 degrees here (110) and I stayed out there as long as I could for the times that I tried. At one point she was nearby, but something spooked her and she took off. I did get a look at the cat when she was there to feed with the other cats and it looked like the blob part was gone - perhaps it fell off? There was a small red part visible but it looked much better. (this was just after I had tried to trap her) The other females show up almost in shifts to help each other with their kittens. I never did see that cat very often, she hides herself pretty well. But the neighbor does so she's probably doing fine. I was so disappointed about not being able to trap her, though. I did want the vet to at least have a look at her.
 

FeebysOwner

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Thanks for the update. Maybe if you continue to try to trap her, you will eventually succeed. She probably still could use to be looked at by a vet, even if you think that area looks better than it did before.
 
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