WTH Do I Do With These Little Fellas?

[crabcake]

Sooooo yesterday, the cat B keeps around as a mouser was chomping at the bit to come inside, so I let the puppies out, her in, and as I have the door open, I hear the unmistakable sound of kittens meowing. I peek around the corner and sure enough, there are 3 little cream/white and 1 all gray kittens. We thought the mouser cat had been prego, then about 3 weeks ago, her tummy was gone and we've seen no sign of kittens since. Looked in the barns, under the porch, everywhere, but nada. :shrug:

So I bring 'em in, put them in the bathtub with a couple towels to snuggle up on and their momma, and we head off to dinner. Come home later and find a 5th cream/white kitten on the front porch meowing her little head off (entire litter is females.) So we add her to the group and let her get a pull off her mom and head to bed.

I now have 5 kittens in the bathtub, momma in the house (which fluff is not too keen on, mind you ) 3 grown dogs in the house (one of which is healing up from being spayed) and 3 - 14 week old puppies outside who want to come back in.

I have no clue how to care for kittens b/c I've never had them this young ... their momma is mostly an outside cat ... hanging out in the barns and playing with the puppies, and she's a VERY tiny cat herself. B thinks she may not have been able to feed the kittens enough and that's why she brought them to the house. She's had a litter or two die before, he said, so I don't know if she's just a psycho cat that won't care for her young, or just incapable or what.

I'm guessing they're about 3 weeks old. Would it be best to just take them to a shelter or something now so they can be properly cared for? I can't see having 5 kittens running around the house (as a matter of looking out for their own safety with the other animals), and I don't know what to do with them. I don't know where their "home" was outside to take them back to, and I don't know that they'd survive if I did. :shrug:

One things for sure ... momma cat is next on the list to get fixed!

 

[huntr1]

Dayum CC, next thing you know, YOU are gonna come up preggers. I suggest drinking bottled, store bought water and avoiding the local pregnancy inducing water at all costs.

 

[Chasey_Lane]

Make momma kitty stay inside and nurse her babies. Otherwise, you'll be the one feeding all of them every 2-3 hours. Next, make an appointment and have her fixed. You'll be doing her a favor.

 

[crabcake]

I'm sticking to coffee!

 

[vraiblonde]

CC, seriously: take the kittens back where you found them.
Caring for one abandoned kitten is enormous work - caring for five would just drive you insane. Mama will either feed them or they'll die. If she feeds them, now you have to worry about what do do with 5 cats. If she doesn't feed them, nature takes its course and problem solved.

There are enough unwanted kittens in the world.

 

[vraiblonde]

Next, make an appointment and have her fixed.

And, PS,

 

[Chasey_Lane]

CC, seriously: take the kittens back where you found them.
Caring for one abandoned kitten is enormous work - caring for five would just drive you insane. Mama will either feed them or they'll die. If she feeds them, now you have to worry about what do do with 5 cats. If she doesn't feed them, nature takes its course and problem solved.

There are enough unwanted kittens in the world.

Geeze, Vrai - why don't you just tell her to throw them off a bridge...

But then, you do have a good point. Sad, bad true.

 

[crabcake]

Make momma kitty stay inside and nurse her babies. Otherwise, you'll be the one feeding all of them every 2-3 hours. Next, make an appointment and have her fixed. You'll be doing her a favor.

We're doing that for the most part now. Emmitt is also being the dutiful stand-in dad, just like he did with the pups when they were only a couple weeks old, and standing guard over the kittens to make sure no harm comes to them.

I don't mean to sound uncaring, I just don't think it's a good idea (for the kittens' safety) to keep them inside for very long b/c of all the other animals we have, AND it's not a very big house. They can't just live in the bathtub for the next 3-4 weeks.

 

[crabcake]

CC, seriously: take the kittens back where you found them.
Caring for one abandoned kitten is enormous work - caring for five would just drive you insane. Mama will either feed them or they'll die. If she feeds them, now you have to worry about what do do with 5 cats. If she doesn't feed them, nature takes its course and problem solved.

There are enough unwanted kittens in the world.

I agree there are enough unwanted kittens out there, and I wanted to smack B in the head for not having her fixed a long time ago, but ya know the "backwoods-farm" stereotype ... there ya have it. Momma getting fixed is not a choice -- it's gonna happen.

As for returning the kittens to where I found them, they were on the front porch of the house, and I know darn good and well they weren't born there. Momma either brought them here or they followed her somehow. And with 6 dogs coming and going (3 of which are puppies who will do god knows what to them), I don't think putting them back on the front porch is safe. I can't see just 'ditching' them back outside which is why I was thinking of taking them to a shelter or SPCA.

 

[vraiblonde]

I don't mean to sound uncaring,

You're not being uncaring - you're being realistic and sensible. If Mama is an outdoor cat, she can't feed kittens she can't get to. But them in a box on the porch and Mama will move them if she wants them somewhere else. Don't care for them and don't get attached unless you want five more cats.

 

[crabcake]

You're not being uncaring - you're being realistic and sensible. If Mama is an outdoor cat, she can't feed kittens she can't get to. But them in a box on the porch and Mama will move them if she wants them somewhere else. Don't care for them and don't get attached unless you want five more cats.

I am trying to be realistic about it ... we definately don't want 5 more cats and I know if we keep them indoors and I get attached, 5 more cats is what we'll have ... we've already got our hands full with the dogs and puppies, and I still have my indoor cat (fat-ass fluff) plus momma cat outside.

Putting them in a box outside now is out of the question ... in this heat, they'll be dead in an hour and I just can't do that.

I think I'll call around to the local shelters and see if they'll take them and get momma cat to the vet STAT for a snippin'.

 

[FromTexas]

Open a Chinese restaraunt.

 

[crabcake]

Open a Chinese restaraunt.

Down here it's Mexican restaurants. B suggested we just renovate one of the barns for all the pets, stick a "Pet Shelter" sign on it, and call it a charity for tax purposes.

This is exactly why I have always gotten my pets neutered/spayed as early as possible ... so I or the community doesn't end up with a bunch of unwanted animals. He's b!tching about how many dogs we have, but it was his b!tch who had 'em, and now it's his cat with the litter of kittens.

 

[morganj614]

I am trying to be realistic about it ... we definately don't want 5 more cats and I know if we keep them indoors and I get attached, 5 more cats is what we'll have ... we've already got our hands full with the dogs and puppies, and I still have my indoor cat (fat-ass fluff) plus momma cat outside.

Putting them in a box outside now is out of the question ... in this heat, they'll be dead in an hour and I just can't do that.

I think I'll call around to the local shelters and see if they'll take them and get momma cat to the vet STAT for a snippin'.

Won't the shelters want momma with the kittens to feed them?

 

[Chasey_Lane]

I think I'll call around to the local shelters and see if they'll take them and get momma cat to the vet STAT for a snippin'.

There has to be a local rescue group that will take them in, give them the appropriate care, shots, worming, etc. and find good, loving homes for them. I got my kitty from a rescue group in St. Mary's and he's microchipped just in case. However, Mommy loves him too much to let him run around outside and get kidnapped or run over.

 

[Chasey_Lane]

Won't the shelters want momma with the kittens to feed them?

Probably, although, they could already have a nursing mother.

 

[404]

Ship them to Dems, isn't she the bring them in and give them a home no matter what lady?

 

[crabcake]

At what age can kittens be separated from their mother (for nursing purposes)? We saw a girl leaving the vet the other day with a kitten a little smaller than these and I was shocked, but afterward, thought maybe it was abandoned or perhaps they just brought it in for a problem exclusive to that kitten (i.e., a broken leg or something).

Would it be unreasonable to expect a 3-4 week old kitten to drink milk off a saucer? :shrug: I have no idea since I've never done this before.

 

[Chasey_Lane]

Would it be unreasonable to expect a 3-4 week old kitten to drink milk off a saucer? :shrug: I have no idea since I've never done this before.

It's not unreasonable, but the mothers milk is always better. Ask Pixie what type of diet she would give them. :shrug:

 

[mAlice]

If the kittens have made it to 3 weeks, then momma is feeding them. She brought them to the house because she feels they'll be safe there. I had a stray cat bring her babies to me once.

Keep the kittens until they're old enough to be given homes. K.I.S.S.