Kitties under our deck

[EmeraldHope]

Gertrudes, that is so great to hear. I am so glad you saved them. I am sorry for the other baby though.

 

[Windmill knight]

That was a touching story! Thanks for sharing. I'm glad it ended at least 2/3rds well. You two saved those kittens, so you are kitten-heros. As for the third poor little one, at least he got some love and attention before it passed away.

Many years ago I was walking down my street and I saw a baby chick that had obviously fallen off a tree, from quite high. It didn't have any feathers yet and its eyes hadn't open. It was still alive and I remember how my heart felt like being squeezed at the sight. I took it home, built a nest out of tissue and cotton and tried to feed it, without much success. But it calmed down and fell asleep, and then died. My consolation was that it died peacefully and feeling all was alright.

 

[Gertrudes]

(...) at least he got some love and attention before it passed away.
(...)
My consolation was that it died peacefully and feeling all was alright.

I think so too, at least they didn't just die alone on their own.

 

[Al Today]

Thank you for sharing. 'Tis good to see you full of heart & empathy. Sad and happy. Our neighbors have many, many cats. They all get one bowl of food a day for many. They are not fixed and babies everywhere. Grandpa comes over and scoops some up to take to the barn. Lot's of neglect and road kill tragedy. We saved one a few years back and he's a real good guy.

Few months back a few kittens used to come over to visit regularly. We'd feed & pet the poor things. Then a few weeks back, one of the kittens came over and had ninners. Then had babes. We feed the kitten so she can make milk for her babies. Makes me sad to see kittens having kittens. .
:( :( :(

 

[anart]

Thank you for sharing. 'Tis good to see you full of heart & empathy. Sad and happy. Our neighbors have many, many cats. They all get one bowl of food a day for many. They are not fixed and babies everywhere. Grandpa comes over and scoops some up to take to the barn. Lot's of neglect and road kill tragedy. We saved one a few years back and he's a real good guy.

Few months back a few kittens used to come over to visit regularly. We'd feed & pet the poor things. Then a few weeks back, one of the kittens came over and had ninners. Then had babes. We feed the kitten so she can make milk for her babies. Makes me sad to see kittens having kittens. .
:( :( :(

Can you not intervene in some way? Take the cat to the humane society, or, if you have funds, get her spayed? It's just going to continue unless someone does something.

 

[pete02]

That's a heartwarming story Gertrudes. I'm glad the mother picked your deck to hide under and you guys decided to get involved otherwise they all may have died.

 

[Al Today]

Can you not intervene in some way? Take the cat to the humane society, or, if you have funds, get her spayed? It's just going to continue unless someone does something.

Yes, we know this. My wife is going to get momma kitten fixed. If my wife finds the baby kittens are on our property, she will get them fixed also. We have a great cat haven, rescue organization here which we help out, and use. I cannot intervene with the "herd" of cats next door. Our dogs and male cats keep them away for the most part. But since our guys are getting old, more and more cats are infiltrating our perimeter. We have have discussed what can be done, but there is really no hard definition of neglect occurring. The "herd" next door do get fed, although meagerly, and water is everywhere. The "herd" lives outside and roam freely. Almost a situation like feral cats... But there are no mice, moles, and whatnot around... We struggle about starting a "war" with our neighbors who otherwise are nice folk.

edit: The best idea that we came up with is get a couple new puppies that will keep them away. Perhaps our older dogs can teach the puppies. We are thinking...

 

[anart]

Can you not intervene in some way? Take the cat to the humane society, or, if you have funds, get her spayed? It's just going to continue unless someone does something.

Yes, we know this. My wife is going to get momma kitten fixed. If my wife finds the baby kittens are on our property, she will get them fixed also. We have a great cat haven, rescue organization here which we help out, and use. I cannot intervene with the "herd" of cats next door. Our dogs and male cats keep them away for the most part. But since our guys are getting old, more and more cats are infiltrating our perimeter. We have have discussed what can be done, but there is really no hard definition of neglect occurring. The "herd" next door do get fed, although meagerly, and water is everywhere. The "herd" lives outside and roam freely. Almost a situation like feral cats... But there are no mice, moles, and whatnot around... We struggle about starting a "war" with our neighbors who otherwise are nice folk.

edit: The best idea that we came up with is get a couple new puppies that will keep them away. Perhaps our older dogs can teach the puppies. We are thinking...

Okay, good. I figured that you wouldn't just stand by if there was something you could do. From the way you wrote it, I was unsure - so thanks for the clarification.

 

[Z...]

Great epilogue to the story Gertrudes . It is not uncommon for queens to abandon their litter especially if it is the first one. Maybe you will still see mum around - if you do - it may be wise arranging with local stray cat careers to catch her and neuter her.

 

[Gertrudes]

It is not uncommon for queens to abandon their litter especially if it is the first one.

I can't be sure but I think this was her first litter. Although, would she abandon them after having fed them for one and a half weeks? If she were to do so, wouldn't she have done it from the beginning?

Maybe you will still see mum around - if you do - it may be wise arranging with local stray cat careers to catch her and neuter her.

We haven't seen her yet, she used to be a daily visitor so this is very unusual. But neutering her is indeed the plan, if we see her again. I'm in touch with the lady from the rescue team who would do it.

 

[Z...]

yea its unlikely she would abandon them after a week of feeding - it looks like something happened to her, maybe a car got her- thats most common cause of death in urban cats. If she shows up ever again I would be surprised.

 

[Soluna]

It is possible that when you handled the kittens after finding them - that the mother abandoned them because they had your scent on them. Although not all mother cats react the same way.

I grew up with 3 female cats in our family, that were not spayed until later in their life. They had many litters of kittens, which were great for us 3 kids to grow up loving and playing with. I remember my mum would advertise the litters (once old enough) in the local paper, and we would be inundated by phone calls from families wanting to adopt a kitten.

Thankfully as the cats were part of the family, they didn't mind our scent being upon the kittens. However I do remember that one of the cats had kittens far less frequently than the other two, and her litters were smaller. She would often try to 'steal' the kittens from the other cats, and if she succeeded, the other cats would not take their own kittens back. But the kittens were always cared for one way or another.

I hope the kittens find loving families =)

 

[Al Today]

Can you not intervene in some way? Take the cat to the humane society, or, if you have funds, get her spayed? It's just going to continue unless someone does something.

Yes, we know this. My wife is going to get momma kitten fixed. If my wife finds the baby kittens are on our property, she will get them fixed also. We have a great cat haven, rescue organization here which we help out, and use. I cannot intervene with the "herd" of cats next door. Our dogs and male cats keep them away for the most part. But since our guys are getting old, more and more cats are infiltrating our perimeter. We have have discussed what can be done, but there is really no hard definition of neglect occurring. The "herd" next door do get fed, although meagerly, and water is everywhere. The "herd" lives outside and roam freely. Almost a situation like feral cats... But there are no mice, moles, and whatnot around... We struggle about starting a "war" with our neighbors who otherwise are nice folk.

edit: The best idea that we came up with is get a couple new puppies that will keep them away. Perhaps our older dogs can teach the puppies. We are thinking...

Okay, good. I figured that you wouldn't just stand by if there was something you could do. From the way you wrote it, I was unsure - so thanks for the clarification.

We finally got momma kitten spayed and are treating her well. She visits us every day. Her marking make her look like a chocolate peanut butter candy cup. YUM. We are hoping she bring her babies over (we don't know where they are). And we will fix them too. Momma kitten is kinda feral but is very friendly to her food sources.

 

[Gertrudes]

It is possible that when you handled the kittens after finding them - that the mother abandoned them because they had your scent on them. Although not all mother cats react the same way.

Yes, that also crossed our mind. Although, momma kitten, that gorgeous black and white cat who used to be a regular visitor in our garden has since disappeared. I think that she was either killed, or belonged to our squatter neighbour who was kicked out the same day we found the kittens, and when we last saw her. Poor thing, if she was indeed taken away I can't imagine how frantic she might have been...

I hope the kittens find loving families =)

Me too :)

We finally got momma kitten spayed and are treating her well. She visits us every day.

Good to hear Al. I'm glad that she "has" you.

 

[Al Today]

Good to hear Al. I'm glad that she "has" you.

I just found out that mamma kitten brought her 4 babies to my house. I hear they are cute. Eyes clear, ears clean, looking good, except full of fleas and/or ticks. My wife is current working with them. Looks like we have some more guests...