More Feral Kittens

[Tambrey]

Well...sad news...I came home today and found two gone

I lifted them from the box and set them aside...one was not stiff yet, but very cold, so I tired for about a half hour to get anything from it...but no responses...

It was the two gray and white ones...she still ahs three black adn white ones...we will just have to keep an eye on them and see how she does with them...

It has been VERY cold here this past weekend...we had snow flurries Sat and Sun...and these babies are soooo little

[Tambrey]

More sad news today I went to check and there was one dead one in the box and the other two gone...not sure if momma moved them, and this one was dead when she got back, or what...but there is blood in the box too, so not sure if she did it or another critter...

I wish she would let us near her...I came home from taking DS to his friend's to go to school and she was sitting on the corner of the porch just looking at me, but as soon as she saw that I noticed her, she ran...

[Ash]

I'm so sorry!! Whatever could have happened? Could another animal have gotten in?

[Tambrey]

I am not sure...we do have other feral cats who come eat on the porch...but I noticed yesterday, the momma was out playing too much instead of snuggling with her babies...my DH thinks she was too young and just did not know how to care for them...

and I would have if I had taken them from her sooner...but lastnight they were still active and mouthy and seemed to be doing fine, and every time I did peek out the window, she was either curled up with them, or not far away getting something to eat or drink... so I left them be, thinking maybe during that afternoon when I saw her rolling in the dirt, she just needed some alone time away to have some fun...

Now I wish I had taken them from her...but it is too late now I just pray they did not suffer too long...and who knows...maybe the other two are fine...maybe she got nervous with other cats coming up, and moved them...and while she was moving them, this one I found passed over, so she left it there...

I don't know...I will just watch her and see...

[Ash]

Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. Let's hope she moved the other two!

[FromBeyond138]

Sorry to hear that Tam.

[Traci]

Tambrey, is there a coincidence between the kitten losses and that of your dog's trying to find something on your porch today? Please, check that out.

If you find the others, please just grab them, take them inside and rear them, obviously it is unsafe for both mother and babies.

Perhaps it's time to get that have-a-heart trap and capture her, at the very least, for an exam.

[Tambrey]

I would not think so...these babies were just a few days old...and the momma is still around the front...if she somehow took her babies back there, the dogs would have gotten her too...

But I will check and see if I can find anything on the porch...

I am thinking I am going to invest in one of the safe traps and talk to our vet...I cannot afford to spay all these cats, but now we have two mommas with babies for sure...one has four and not sure how many the other has, she keeps hers across the street under the grainery...and now this momma has either moved or lost hers, so possibly two there...and it looks like her sibling is ready to deliver soon too...
I do not what that many ferals running around...plus, the lady next to us has who knows HOW many cats breeding over there...
Like I told our neighbor...if we even each just caught and took ONE cat in to be spayed or neutered...that would cut down ALOT on the cats...

For quite a few years, we just had 3 or 4 that wandered between our three places, so they were "managable"...but now, we are getting toms coming down from across town, and they are causing an overpopulation to begin to happen...

[Ash]

Sounds like here in India.

[Tambrey]

Its a rat on the porch...UUGGHHH....DH went out this evening with a rake and pulled out most of the insulation from the back porch..we wondered where that went to!!...
He still could not see anything, so he pulled the cabinet away from the corner a bit, and it came running out...now it is under the freezer out there...and that is too hevy to move...AARRRGGHHH...at least the dogs are not whining like they were before, so maybe there is a hole in the floor under the freezer somewhere and it escaped to the ground below!!

As for momma kitty...I think she has lost them all...judging from the way she has been laying around the side of the yard today...I wish I could do something for her...for the loss she is feeling...I do know her pain of losing a baby...
I will see if I can talk to our vet, or find a vet who will spay ferals for cheap or free...we have a $300 vet bill to pay for all the vaccines our own cats and dogs got...he did give us a discount, but we still have that to pay...*sighs*...but I guess for 13 rabies shots, 10 feline shots and 3 canine shots, I cannot complain too much...that averages to not even $12 per shot...