We have 5 kittens

[Deleted member 26715]

Quite recently at the stables we've been visited by a small cat, she's very friendly no idea how old but clearly quite young, we took some food up & started feeding her when she would turn up (not every day) . Bit wary of adults unless food was around, but she'd happily play with the kids, we did talk about trying to catch her & take her to the vets, in hindsight this is what we should have done as we noticed a few weeks ago she'd started to put on weight around the middle.

Last weekend we put mesh panels up on one of the stables doorways & got one of the grandkids to get her to follow them in to be fed. We've kept her in the stables all week & she seemed happy enough, was still happy to come to the kids & come up us when we took the food in, no running away, no hiding etc.

Daughter went up last night to feed the horse & pony along with the cat, but couldn't see her, when she called out the cat would answer, but wasn't to be seen. After moving a few things she found her between some blocks under the sink (used to feed the horses) with what the daughter thought was 2 kittens, she then watched as 2 more were born.

Daughter just put down the food & left her to it,

This morning I went up, opened the door & the cat came out to greet me, have a stroke & then start to eat the food I'd just put down, I made no attempt to look at the kittens but could hear them.

Daughter went back up today to feed her again, she seemed happy for her & the grandkids to be there, only looking no touching but this time the daughter counted 5 kittens

Homes already found for the 4 we knew about yesterday, the mother will be spayed & can stay or leave as she wants, hopefully stay as pest control officer, I'm sure the 5th will be found a home as well.

 

[Reynard]

Please make sure that the kittens stay with mum for as long as possible, as between 6 and 12 weeks, they get a vital education in "being a cat". Looks like there won't be any problems socialising the wee toots though to humans though, and mum seems amenable enough. I suggest getting a few wand-type toys e.g. a feather tickler or a mouse-on-a-string and getting mum and kits to play at distance to start with. I'll warn you now,they'll turn into timewasters...

Please do get mum spayed as soon as the kittens are weaned (between 5 and 6 weeks) as she can start calling again by then.

Get in touch with your local branch of Cats Protection, as they will have a budget for Trap-Neuter-Release of ferals, and the cost to you will be minimal. They may even early neuter the kittens if any of them will be staying on site.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Quite recently at the stables we've been visited by a small cat, she's very friendly no idea how old but clearly quite young, we took some food up & started feeding her when she would turn up (not every day) . Bit wary of adults unless food was around, but she'd happily play with the kids, we did talk about trying to catch her & take her to the vets, in hindsight this is what we should have done as we noticed a few weeks ago she'd started to put on weight around the middle.

Last weekend we put mesh panels up on one of the stables doorways & got one of the grandkids to get her to follow them in to be fed. We've kept her in the stables all week & she seemed happy enough, was still happy to come to the kids & come up us when we took the food in, no running away, no hiding etc.

Daughter went up last night to feed the horse & pony along with the cat, but couldn't see her, when she called out the cat would answer, but wasn't to be seen. After moving a few things she found her between some blocks under the sink (used to feed the horses) with what the daughter thought was 2 kittens, she then watched as 2 more were born.

View attachment 656043

Daughter just put down the food & left her to it,

This morning I went up, opened the door & the cat came out to greet me, have a stroke & then start to eat the food I'd just put down, I made no attempt to look at the kittens but could hear them.

Daughter went back up today to feed her again, she seemed happy for her & the grandkids to be there, only looking no touching but this time the daughter counted 5 kittens

View attachment 656042

Homes already found for the 4 we knew about yesterday, the mother will be spayed & can stay or leave as she wants, hopefully stay as pest control officer, I'm sure the 5th will be found a home as well.

I will echo everything Reynard says; Cats Protection League are really great at assisting in this sort of situation. The fact that you're happy to keep her on as Chief Pest Protection Officer will hearten them too.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Get in touch with your local branch of Cats Protection, as they will have a budget for Trap-Neuter-Release of ferals, and the cost to you will be minimal. They may even early neuter the kittens if any of them will be staying on site.

Thank you for the advice, but in this instance there's the lady who owns the land, our daughter & ourselves, we'll pay the fees between ourselves, which we should have done a couple of months ago when she first turned up. Certainly the 4 that have already been placed (in the future) have been advised it has to be done & it will be a requirement of whoever takes the 5th.

 

[Reynard]

The advantage of getting CP involved though, is they will use a trap to catch her - which is probably kinder than have you try and manhandle her into a carrier. And the trap doubles as a carrier and all. It's also easier on you, because you won't know whether you'll get shredded or not. Far better to play it safe in these instances. Plus CP will get full blood work done prior to neutering as part of the TNR scheme, to make sure she's healthy.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The advantage of getting CP involved though, is they will use a trap to catch her - which is probably kinder than have you try and manhandle her into a carrier. And the trap doubles as a carrier and all. It's also easier on you, because you won't know whether you'll get shredded or not. Far better to play it safe in these instances. Plus CP will get full blood work done prior to neutering as part of the TNR scheme, to make sure she's healthy.

Had a quick look & it's mean tested

 

[Reynard]

Had a quick look & it's mean tested

OK... Seems like it varies from branch to branch, then. Or someone at head office is fannying people around with politics, because each branch *should* get a budget from head office to deal with this sort of stuff.

I know ours (Ely & District) does, but then we're a very rural branch with a number of feral colonies on our "books".

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Day 2

Went up again this morning to feed the tribe, fed the horse & the pony & then got the cat food, no sound coming from the stable, she was very vocal last week before the kittens were born. Looked through the mesh & couldn't see her, so went in food in hand, making sure to close the mesh behind me. Looked over to where her 'nest' is & she was watching me, then as I think she realised I was friendly & not foe she came out for a fuss/stroke, I put the food into her dish & just peeked at the kittens, I think they were all still moving, but backed out immediately & left her to her food. She went through 3 sachets yesterday

We're keeping very hands off at this point, pretty sure she will let us know when it's time to go closer.

@Reynard any supplements we should be adding or giving?

 

[Reynard]

Day 2

Went up again this morning to feed the tribe, fed the horse & the pony & then got the cat food, no sound coming from the stable, she was very vocal last week before the kittens were born. Looked through the mesh & couldn't see her, so went in food in hand, making sure to close the mesh behind me. Looked over to where her 'nest' is & she was watching me, then as I think she realised I was friendly & not foe she came out for a fuss/stroke, I put the food into her dish & just peeked at the kittens, I think they were all still moving, but backed out immediately & left her to her food. She went through 3 sachets yesterday

We're keeping very hands off at this point, pretty sure she will let us know when it's time to go closer.

@Reynard any supplements we should be adding or giving?

Yes - feed her kitten food as it's got more calories in it than ordinary pouches. And she will be going through a fair bit at this stage. Might be worth leaving some decent dry down as well.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Kittens appear to have developed sneezes overnight, she's moved them from under the sink into a foam cat bed, since then the sneezes have started, I've not seen/heard them but had a call from the daughter.

If a vet is what is needed, but we didn't intend to move/touch them for a week or so, we're a bit out of our comfort zone here, we've always had dogs not cats.

 

[Reynard]

It could be just the dust or something like that, but it could also be things nastier. I'm of a mind that it's always better to get them checked over and look a fool, than it be something like cat flu (common in ferals) which can be fatal to young kittens if left untreated. Their eyes won't be open yet, but cat flu can lead to nasty eye ulcers which, if not treated, could lead to the loss of an eye.

I'd have a word with your vet and see what he or she suggests.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Just range 5 vets, 3 completely not interested, the 4th advice was to ring the RSPCA, the 5th was interested, receptionist went off to one of the clinicians, if they are just dry sneezes could be environmental, dust etc. if there is discharge (currently not) then it could be cat flu, suggestion is cooled boiled water to wipe eyes & mouth, but if it starts to build up then probably need to bring them in.

Also gave me details of the local Cats Action Trust group, would be good if somebody with a little more experience had a look to see if we're just the usual overcautious first time parents

 

[Reynard]

Sounds like you got some good advice... eventually.

The RSPCA typically won't get involved unless there's publicity in it for them. They're about as useful as the proverbial teapot and a complete waste of time. We (Ely CP) usually end up having to clean up their messes in this neck of the woods.

 

[Slick]

Sounds like you got some good advice... eventually.

The RSPCA typically won't get involved unless there's publicity in it for them. They're about as useful as the proverbial teapot and a complete waste of time. We (Ely CP) usually end up having to clean up their messes in this neck of the woods.

That's disappointing to hear.

 

[fossyant]

Our rescue has cat flu. Its managed, but keep an eye on the kittens. There is no cure. Ours gets a non active vaccine every year, and our other three non infected cats normal vac. The active one can make our Leo a bit rough. That said he's not been ill at all in the 4 years we've had him since sorting out the mouth ulcers and gingivitis (had all his teath out). He's as fit as a fiddle and hasn't passed it onto the three pedigrees we have.

Just keep an eye on them, but as Reynard says, let mum do her stuff.