Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   Back in March I found a tiny kitten living inside an old washing machine in my basement and TDK helped me a lot during the first few weeks raising her. I just wanted to share that she has been thriving, and is now a very handsome young cat:
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/treether/3665749646/in/set-72157600284231826/

   Thanks for the advice TDK!

   However, our basement feral cat situation has not improved, since our super insists on feeding all the stray animals down there and leaving windows open for them (I live in a city, so you can imagine how many cats pass through).

   Recently we found out that Mina had a sister, who was found by our neighbor and rescued a few days after we found Mina. Her sister is now living happily a few neighborhoods away.

   Recently this same neighbor found another litter, this time living inside an old video game machine (like from a 1980's arcade). She and her friend were able to trap the mom, and now she has feral mom and 4 kittens in a large cage in her apartment. She asked us if we could foster 2 of the kittens, since the mom is very young and she's worried about keeping all 5 animals together in a cage for a week while she waits for her appointment to have mom neutered. Mom is pretty feral (and smart! it took almost 2 weeks to catch her) so she can't let her out.

   The kittens are ridiculously cute and their eyes are open but they don't have all their teeth yet, so I'm guessing they are between 2-3 weeks old.

   So, questions:

   Is it bad or good to separate the kittens from mom at all right now?

   Would it be a good idea if we took the two strongest kittens and hand reared them? Neighbor thinks that we can make them into better pets this way.

   Should we take two and then switch to the other two every few days so all the kittens still get mom milk & mom time?

   We still have our kitten fostering set up from Mina's baby days, and at least one of us is home all day long, so we know we can be with them most of the time.

   After mom is neutered the plan is to release her (unless she magically becomes domesticated over the next week or two).

   Any thoughts/advice?
   Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!

   Posted 4 months ago by treether #

2. 

   Hi Treether!

   Wow, Mina's a big girl now! She's a beauty, which doesn't surprise me since she was so ridiculously cute when you found her.

   I don't have any advice on the fostering question, but there are lots of folks here who foster and will have answers to all your questions. There might not be too many people around today because of the holiday, but we'll keep this bumped up so people see it.

   Smooches for Mina.

   Posted 4 months ago by Kilroy #

3. 

   Mina!!!!! I was wondering how she was doing these days!

   I've never fostered or been around real young kittens like that, so I really don't have any advice, either. Sorry! I'm sure someone else will, though!

   Posted 4 months ago by GreatDane #

4. 

   Great to hear from you Treether. I don't know what advice to give on fostering the kits, but you did such a great job with Mina. What a gorgeous kitty she is. The pictures you took of her are beautiful. Thanks so much for the update and a Happy 4th to the both of you.

   Posted 4 months ago by krazikat #

5. 

   Personally, if it were me, I wouldn't start removing the kittens from the mama until they're weaned (or mama gets fixed & released, whichever comes first). The mother doesn't just provide milk, but licks them, helps teach them to lick themselves, provides warmth and reassurance, and so forth.

   If it's at all possible to give the mother cat & kittens the run of an entire room or closet, rather than just a cage, that would be good. It can be tricky to enter & exit the room, but it's a lot better option than an increasingly cramped cage.

   As long as the kittens start socializing with people by 6 weeks of age, they should wind up pretty friendly. If mama's approached with a shallow dish of plain unsweetened yogurt, she may learn within a few days that fingertips coated with yogurt are Good Things - which may help her overcome some of her fear of people. Heck, just getting all the food she can eat, and learning to associate that with people, will go a long way right now!

   Socializing and handling the kittens right now is good, but they need to be kept quiet and calm. Any alarming squeaks from the kittens will bring the complete and undivided protective attention from the mama. Later, after kittens are weaned and mama released, there will be plenty of time for additional socializing.

   Good luck!

   Posted 4 months ago by anncetera2 #

6. 

   I think Ann's advice is terrific. It does make it hard, with the mum being feral, but one thing you have to consider is that tiny kittens, particularly feral kittens, are very fragile and their best chance of survival is with their mum (unless her milk dries up).

   Posted 4 months ago by jcat #

7. 

   OMG! Mina is SOOOOOO cute! She went and grew up but not out of her cuteness! She is such a pretty young thing now. She was so lucky to have found you! Thanks for updating us on your baby. I started a thread a month ago asking how Mina was but never heard about her. I agree with Ann above on all she has said. I too, have never had kittens that young so I am not sure how to handle the situation. Best of luck, keep bringing those Mina pix to share!

   Posted 4 months ago by mollycat71 #

8. 

   Mina has grown up to be a beautiful young lady. You did a great job.

   So far as the new litter goes, if you are worried that mama doesn't have enough milk for all the kittens, you could augment her nursing with bottle feeding but still leave all the babies with their mama. That way they will get the benefits of mom's milk and mom's lessons as well as getting use to being handled.

   To give them a little more room try making the cage the refuge place but letting them have the room of a single room. Make sure there's nothing they can get under to hid and no places they can wiggle into. Push the cage into a corner or into a closet and drape a blanket over it leaving just a small opening. That way, when mama hears someone coming, she can hid in the cage. If the cage is made into the only 'safe' place, it's more likely she'll go there to hid from humans.

   Posted 4 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

9. 

   Wow, Mina is gorgeous. You have done a great job, thank you.

   Posted 4 months ago by Moonshadow_NZ #

10. 

    Hi Guys, Thanks for the advice!

    The mom and kittens are at my neighbor's house, and unfortunately neither of our apartments are set up in a way that the mom could safely have the run of a room. I am going to tell her that we think it would be best if the kittens can all stay with mom; I think our neighbor is feeling a little overwhelmed though, and if we take a couple for a day or two to relieve her at least we are nearby and can bring them back to the mom.

    Two of the kittens are noticeably weaker than the other two, so I think our neighbor felt that having us foster the two stronger ones would help the weaker ones get more milk/strength.

    We're going to see them again in a few hours, and we'll see if things have improved / if the mom is acting a little less wild.

    Hi Mollycat, thanks for remembering Mina! Sorry I missed your message, Mina is doing great.

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

11. 

    OK, just talked to our neighbor -- she's agreed to try to keep the kittens with the Mom for another week until she gets neutered. I'm going to take photos or them tomorrow!

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

12. 

    If two of the babies are weaker than the others, it would probably do them good to have some additional nourishment from a bottle. The more human contact they get the better. Mama doesn't sound like she will ever be tamed, but there's no reason the babies should have to live their lives as ferals.

    If there's no way to give them the run of a room, can you maybe add another cage and put the two together so they have a little more room to run in? You could probably find a cheap one on Craig's List or maybe even borrow/rent one from a breeder or shelter. Even though mama cat can't be allowed the whole room, as long as the babies are use to humans you can give them time out of their little home.

    Posted 4 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

13. 

    I know nothing about fostering, but I just had to comment about how big and adorable she is! I can't believe it. What a fantastic job! :)

    Posted 4 months ago by libbykate09 #

14. 

    I finally got the chance to take photos of the babies!

    This is my favorite:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/treether/3696718362/in/set-72157620933117539/

    They are all doing great! Their mom is a great mom, she's very small and timid and looks a lot like the little black and white girl. The cage they are in is big enough that she can escape the kittens and sit on the second level, so far she hasn't been aggressive, but she won't let you come near her.

    We are starting to look for homes! They are staying with their Mom until next week when she gets spayed. Then we will take two (they should be 5-6 weeks old) and foster them for a couple of weeks so they'll be trained for their new homes.

    Although, the tiny gray boy reminds me of Mina when we first found her. Maybe Mina needs a little brother to keep her occupied?

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

15. 

    My husband says thank goodness you live in NY. If you were within a day's drive of me, the little grey one with the white blaze would be mine, mine, all mine.

    You take really good photos.

    Since he is too far away for me to grab, I definitely think he should become Mina's brother. Cats are usually much happier with a friend and Blaze is as handsome as Mina is beautiful.

    Posted 4 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

16. 

    Thanks Cheetaboysmommy, I have a dream of some day quitting my day job and becoming a full time cat photographer. I have been wondering if I can volunteer to take pics of cats waiting to be adopted at shelters...

    Hopefully we'll have the chance to get some shot of the kittens poking out of teapots before they get too big!

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

17. 

    Oh what a wonderful photo! I want them all! :) And I agree, you take great pictures, Treether.

    Posted 4 months ago by Kilroy #

18. 

    I'm in love! Welcome to the wonderful world of multiple cat ownership Treether, I think it's a done deal that Mina's getting a little brother :o)

    Posted 4 months ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #

19. 

    Haha, of course daily kitten chat would encourage me to get more kittens! Actually, I have an 18-year-old cat as well, and she is still not too happy about Mina. Best case scenario is a little brother will distract Mina from bothering our old cat, Vesper. Worse case is Vesper is 2x as annoyed as she is now :(

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

20. 

    What a great idea, taking pictures of animals that need homes. If you could get the local paper to run them and maybe get some posted in grocery stores, etc., some fur babies may get homes who might have otherwise been lost.

    I bet Vesper would be happier if Mina had someone her own age to pester. Then Vesper could get some rest.

    Posted 4 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

21. 

    That IS a great idea about taking pics of shelter animals needing homes (let's not forget about dogs and bunnies too!)

    And Mina is gorgeous! and the baby kittehs are so snorgleable!!!

    Posted 4 months ago by linda #

22. 

    I just posted photos of the two kittens we are fostering in a new thread. Unfortunately, it seems like the little gray kitten with the white nose is probably blind! Poor little guy, I guess that's why he looks so dazed. Hopefully that's the extent of his health problems, I'm sure we can still find him a good home (or keep him ourselves!)

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

23. 

    Those are beautiful picturea, Treether. I like the idea of you volunteering to take pictures for adoption for shelters.
    Poor little grey kitty!

    Posted 4 months ago by GreatDane #

24. 

    Blaze's little eyes do look different than the others. He doesn't have nearly as much blue showing. What other symptoms does he have to make you think he's blind?

    I really feel a connection to the little guy and would take him in a heartbeat if you don't and if he wasn't so far away. I wish you could just pop him into the transporter and he would materialize in front of me.

    Posted 4 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

25. 

    Now my neighbor things the gray boy isn't blind -- just very listless and less developed than the others :( She did say that he is improving a lot since we took the bigger two kittens.

    The brown tabby literally bulldozes his sister down when it's her turn with the bottle, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was stealing all their mom's milk!

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

26. 

    I want ALL OF THEM! Where can I find a kitten bouquet????

    Posted 4 months ago by mollycat71 #

27. 

    Any more thoughts as to whether Mina's getting a playmate (and Vesper's getting some peace & quiet!)?

    Posted 4 months ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #

28. 

    Mollycat -- my kitten bouquet is dinky compared to this one!
    http://www.funnies.com/July06pics/kittenbouquet.jpg

    Madcatwoman -- We want the little gray sick one!!! I hope his health is ok. But if someone else wants to take him and a sibling, we will let him go :(

    Posted 4 months ago by treether #

29. 

    I love that picture, I have seen it before! All those kittens!

    Posted 4 months ago by mollycat71 #

30. 

    Awwww, I hope you can get little grey one, Treether!

    Love the bouquet pic!

    Posted 4 months ago by GreatDane #

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