I need some help from my blogging audience! So, if you know anything about cats, please continue reading and leave me your advice/opinion.
So, first things first. Our 16 year old niece, Breanne, is living with us for a couple/few weeks. She has been so great and we sure love her!!! She uses our bathroom that is in the basement and this morning, while getting ready for school, she heard some noises in the window. This window is located under our backyard deck. Anyway, she looked in it to find a black mother cat and 4 little tiny kittens. Breanne told me about it and I've spent nearly the entire day wondering what to do.
The kittens are old enough to open their eyes and nurse from the mom and she has them all cleaned off. That mother cat hasn't moved at all. She is laying there with the kittens crawling all over her. So, we have no idea how long ago the kittens were born.
I first called our neighbors to find out if anyone was missing a black cat. Nope. Then, I called the Humane Society and they said to call the Animal Control. I did that. They asked me if it was a "feral" cat. Now, I have no cat experience and I didn't have a clue what that meant. My first thought was "A ferrell cat? Like Will Ferrell? A cat that looks like Will Ferrell?" She had to explain to me that it meant a stray cat.
I told her that it was nearly impossible to reach the mother & kittens unless you just opened the bathroom window. She said that Animal Control doesn't go into homes, nor would they be willing to crawl under a deck. My option was to come and get a cat trap (with a refundable $60 deposit), try to catch the mother, then get the kittens and bring mom and the kittens to the Center.
I came home and set up the trap. But, then I talked with my next door neighbor and he mentioned that he's seen that black cat around the neighborhood for years and he thinks that she helps keep mice away (our backyard backs up to a large empty field). And, my sister-in-law, wants one of the kittens. So, here are my questions:
1. Will this cat be able to get those kittens out of the window well on her own? (It's a pretty deep well). If we leave her alone, will she just teach them how to survive on their own as well?
2. If we take one of the kittens (while the mother is out looking for food), will she get angry and hurt the other kittens?
3. Is it wrong to keep letting this cat have more and more litters, just so she can catch mice?
4. If we catch her in the trap, take her to Animal Control and have her neutered (or spade - whatever it is for cats?), will she be so mad about it that if we still brought her back to this area, will she still stay and catch mice?
5. Don't you think a cat that looked like Will Ferrell would be funny?
Anyway, thank you all of my dear friends! I love you, I love you, I love you!!!
5 comments:
I won't be much help because I am not a cat person AT ALL, but...
In response to #4, we have SEVERAL stray cats that seem to like our house (a little too much). Our neighbor always takes any new ones that come along to have them fixed and we've never had a "problem" with them leaving.
I am not a big fan of stray cats but I will say that we have never, ever had a mouse problem and there are several people in our neighborhood who constantly have mice problems.
There you have my two cents....
wow! well i wouldn't try catching them myself...if it is feral...it might attack you and those claws are sharp!
the mom should be able to remove the kittens when she needs to. i will have to email this to my friend...she used to help spy/neuter feral cats. i'm sure one cat being gone isn't going to increase the mice. animals should not be loose that is why we have dog catchers and pounds. dogs/cats that don't see a vet on a regular basis can carry parasites and worms that can be transmitted to humans (esp kids that play outside and could find their fecal matter). so i would not feel bad if it was put to sleep. there should be many local groups that might come take care of this problem for you....i would call some vet offices or pet stores and ask them. there are lots of organizations that are animal crazy and there are many feral cat rescue ones.
there is a "gang" of ferel cats that live in my parents neighborhood. One of the neighbors feeds them and then they wander. ALL of the neighbors except the one who feeds them HATE having them there. I wouldn't mess with her. They can be mean and you don't know where they have been. She might kill the other kittens if she smells you on them. I will keep my eyes out. One of the houses on route to the kid's school had free kittens a couple of weeks ago. I would go that route rather than take one of her kittens, even though I am sure they are cute.
Cats need to be 3 months old before they can leave their moms. It sounds like the kittens are NOT ready to leave their mother yet. When they begin to explore on their own, you will know you can take one.
The mother will be able to get the kittens out of there. They're not inclined to hurt their own young, but if you wait until the kitten is old enough, you definitely won't have an issue. The mother will teach the kittens how to live on their own. It's instinct.
The humane society will spay cats for about $15. It probably won't affect the mother cat's willingness to catch mice, unless you make her a pet (b/c then she has other sources of food and catching mice will be a game, so she may not catch as many). You may need to keep watch on her for 24 hours post-spaying though, to make sure she comes out of the anesthesia ok. You could set up a blanket in your garage for this.
Don't give her or the kittens milk.
The word verification for this is "thicat" hahaha.
Let me know if you have other questions.
Ha ha - you're funny Jace. I agree, a cat that looked like Will Ferrell would be funny. Those kittens are so cute! Would you ever try and get the kittens and mom out yourself from the bathroom window?! Just wear thick gloves!! ;)
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