Young Feral Mom Im Taking In (after Spay N Kittens Weened)-cat Room?

[RLG]

I fed a young cat and got attached after 4 months. She looked chubby, called a wonderful person to help trap her and we got extremely lucky n got her n all 5 babies (2 weeks). She's at the rescuers place and I go visit. They're all well. She's gotten used to the woman caring for her and when I was feeding her (every morn n every eve) we sat near each other but she'd bolt away about 15' if I tried to get too close so I just sat and enjoyed her. The kittens will get weened this week and after her milk dries up she will be spayed, shots (I believe) etc. BIG questions:
Am I going to have a potentially miserable cat that's better off wild? I'm doing all the reading I possibly can to learn the extra TLC she'll need so I don't think I'll personally make her unhappy. She has many predators here and summer is harsh as is winter.
I have a very large walk-in closet (12x12). I'm carpeting shelves for her n giving her some hiding spots and a disguised pet crate that I hope she uses as a den. However, I'm stumped a bit cuz of the tile ceiling...pics enclosed. No money to be fancy but I know I gotta secure it. Any thoughts? Any advice? I want her to have a better life. Returning her is possible but I would like to welcome her even if she isn't a cuddle bug. We had lots of sitting and eye blinking so she's stolen my heart. See pic

 

[RLG]

Here she is...
She's smallish n could be 1 or 2??? Her litter is beautiful
Grey and calico with blue eyes, 2 blacks n one Oreo

 

[tabbytom]

Hello R RLG , thank you for taking up this task in taking in momma cat and her kittens and providing them a warm and loving home and having momma cat spayed

Since you are taking them all in, it's best that you get yourself acquainted with momma and feed her and get her get use to you. And now they are at the rescuers place, one way for them especially momma cat to get use to you is for you to leave two or three unwashed piece of clothings and one or two clean towels with them. This way, your scents will be there and whenever you come see them, they know it's you and not someone unfamiliar.

After awhile, bring home the towels that you left there before you bring them home. Here you have their scents on the towels and it's going to be their familiar scents when they reach your home and they need little adjustments.

Of course TLC is very much needed here and to get momma cat to fully trust you. So love, patience and routine is key. It may take awhile for her to be fully acclimatize to the new home and to you and others in the house.

Make sure the room they are going to be in is cat safe. Also litter box must be away from feeding station.

As for the shelves, are there going to be stuffs placed on them? If yes, make sure they are secured and don't fall off easily just in case momma cat decide to jump up. Otherwise, can leave shelves empty.

For the ceiling, if momma cat don't feel threatened, I don't think she'll try to escape. It's going to be quite a bit of work securing the ceiling boards. One way is use cable ties and secure vulnerable parts so if she jumps and bash through, weak points are secured. But best is to use a net and have cable ties securing the net.

Best wish for you is to keep all of them and have her spayed and have the kittens spayed and neutered when they reached the right age.

But most importantly is that momma cat must trust you fully. So start with the scent exercise.

They are a beautiful family!

Please keep us posted of the progress

 

[RLG]

Thank you. The kittens will get adopted through rescuer. I'm keepin mom. I'm worried she'll be distraught from her babies being weened n spaying but I understand she would ween them anyways. So, she's just coming back to me. Thanks for the scent thing though. I'm going to visit and will take some clothing. Should I still do this with clean articles even while kittens are still with her

 

[tabbytom]

Oh, so you are not keeping the kittens?

You can use both and bring back the ones with her scents and rub the clothings on some of the places in the room and leave it where you want her to rest.

Are you going get her spayed after she come home or spayed before coming home? I ask this question is because you mentioned that you can't get close to her, meaning no chance of touching her or petting her, am I right?
If this is the case, better to arrange to have her spayed the day you bring her home. This way it'll reduce the stress on her so that you don't have to catch her one more time to go to the vet.

Same thing when going to vet and coming back, have your clothings with your scent in the carrier. Once she's back from the surgery, it's a pretty good time for bonding as you look after her.

 

[RLG]

She's with the rescuer waiting for babies to ween, milk to dry up then spayed-then to me. I should have her in two weeks

 

[tabbytom]

Ok, more than enough time to get the room ready. Keep visiting her and let her get use to your voice and presence.

At first I thought that you are the one bringing her for spaying.

Do keep us updated about her progress in acclimatization at your home.

All the best

 

[RLG]

I fed her for 3 months at least and we sat together. She started coming to my sliding glass door and we got in a morning-evening feed schedule which she adjusted to 630 am and I'm not an early riser but for her I set my alarm and was excited to make her happy

 

[orange&white]

I saw your post on Chint's thread and thought I'd come over here to your thread instead of hijacking his.

I'm in a similar situation as you, but I'm going a different route with momma feral. I trapped a pregnant kitten, maybe 9-10 months old, and took her to the county TNR for spay and release. She had 4 kittens four days after I dropped her off, so they are keeping her 6-8 weeks until the kittens are weaned plus 2 weeks for her milk to dry up before spay. I'll go pick her up after she's spayed.

Even though she was the most docile of the ferals created by the neighboring apartment complex's "Feed and Breed Program" (no one is TNR'ing any cats, but plenty are feeding them), she is extremely wild. She let me get 5-6 feet from her when she was coming up on my patio to drink rain water out of a bucket, but she showed signs of being quite aggressive, willing to claw and bite, after being trapped. The shelter says she is "extremely protective" of the kittens, which I also assume means that she is having none of the humans reaching into her private suite at the shelters "Feral Hilton Hotel".

Anyway, after she is neutered, I'm happy to offer her some food if she wants to hang out in the yard, and if she ever indicates that she is tamable, then maybe I'll bring her in as an indoor cat. She's just too wild and I think she would be miserable.

So, I guess the thing to ask with your feral momma is whether she is an aggressive, or non-aggressive feral? From what I've read on the feral rescue sites, the aggressive ones are unlikely to ever be really happy indoors. If she's non-aggressive, then I think you have a good plan.

 

[RLG]

Thank you. Frankly, she was smaller 3-4 months ago which made me think she was under a year.
She never showed any aggression toward me. She'd runaway until I was at least 6' from her and I could sit with her. She showed aggression upon entrapment and being placed in a room. She is in a large, double crate with kitties. My second visit she did hiss at me if I sat too close to her in her cage but she let me touch babies, she took a piece of turkey from me...I think she's more fearful but sure she can be aggressive. During our initial outdoor time together before trapping, she never showed any aggression. She showed up regularly, depended on me for food (cuz she could), when I opened my glass door to bring out food she'd dart away 15' but come right up when it was down, she'd eat n we'd sit sometimes for awhile then she was off. I, too am awaiting weening-spaying. That's my worst fear: that she'll be miserable. She won't survive too long or maybe she will, outside but I'm going to see what happens. The woman taking care of her said she's aggressive but now, after two weeks, momma is used to her and doesn't hiss at all with her. That is my biggest issue-am I taking her freedom for selfish reasons (yes, somewhat) or am I sparing her from Owls, dogs, asshole homeowners, bobcats, coyotes, weather...etc.?? Someone gave me a suggestion about swapping scents in the thread. Thanks for posting

 

[RLG]

I know I've done some good for her and I'll accept, sadly if my wanting her indoors cannot be. I've learned hard lessons on wanting something that I should not have

 

[orange&white]

You're doing a good thing either way it goes. A feral kitten (different one) got into our warehouse at work last winter and I took her for TNR, but she's mine now. I didn't release her. The difference between the one I brought inside and the one I'll be picking up and releasing is that the one I kept was not at all aggressive, even when trapped. I was able to pick her up and hold her for a minute the same day I picked her up from TNR, and she purred for a second before struggling to get down. No biting or swatting. Plus, she was only 4 months old. People say 4 months is to old for most ferals to adjust, but she's doing great. She was an "easy one". She'll always be shy and skittish, but she likes petting and is a real snuggle-bug at night.

 

[RLG]

Oh, happy for you with kitty. That sure was good sign. I may have (will) a tough road ahead but I'm learning a lot, however, the emotional part is tough and I find myself dedicated but torn up about doing what's best or right.

 

[RLG]

I was thinking that she watched us get her babies from the porch and she wanted to come for them but she was scared of us so I just kept talking to her calmly. We only managed to trap her with using a baby-we had no choice. We tried using meow recording etc. and needed her in trap. She went right in after baby, we pulled baby out the back and mom got pissed so her reactions were very appropriate. She hurt her nose on trap but all were ok. I was relieved but cried as I walked away. I think (possibly) if I had trapped her 3 months earlier it might of been a little less stressful.

 

[orange&white]

the emotional part is tough and I find myself dedicated but torn up about doing what's best or right.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer. Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts.

She went right in after baby, we pulled baby out the back and mom got pissed so her reactions were very appropriate. She hurt her nose on trap but all were ok. I was relieved but cried as I walked away. I think (possibly) if I had trapped her 3 months earlier it might of been a little less stressful.

Well, if I hadn't trapped the feral who is currently at the county nursing her kittens, she would have had them outside four days later. I thought she was pregnant, but had no idea she was that far along. I sort of expected the shelter was going to terminate the pregnancy and spay her. Everything works the way it does for a reason. We just aren't always supposed to know the reason.

My kitty (the one I kept) also skinned her face trying to get out of the trap, and broke several claws.

 

[RLG]

Thank you. What does she eat now if you don't mind me asking

 

[orange&white]

Thank you. What does she eat now if you don't mind me asking

I'm raising her on a homemade raw diet with a recipe similar to the one here: Recipe: Feline Nutrition's Easy Raw Cat Food - Feline Nutrition

 

[di and bob]

She will act miserable for a few months no matter what, most cats take quite a while, even tame ones, to get used to a new environment. I think you have a VERY good chance of eventually making her happy indoors, and if not, you can make her life outdoors very comfortable with a private little dog house up on a table close to your house to keep invaders away, and have a heated cat pad inside. My ferals use theirs every winter and seem very content. I store them away in the summer and provide bath carpets then for them to lie on. Thank you for taking her in, you are her angel here on earth! PS look at older threads here under Caring for Strays and Ferals, there are a LOT of good advise there, but I know the number one bit of advise is lots of time and patience!

 

[RLG]

Thank you for your response, time and thoughtfulness.