I have never had the pleasure of dealing with such a mischievous cat as my Matuse. I have to give Drinkwell Pet Fountains props though- their latest fountain has lasted four years before falling to the evildoings of Matuse. He jumped on the fountain this morning and it toppled over killing the motor. He is such a twit-nose!
Feral Cat Behavior
Blogging about feral cats and life in general
I was so sorry to read about the poor kittens found in a burlap bag. My neighbor recently found 2 kittens in a woodpile in her yard, about 2 days old, she took them to the Humane society. Yesterday I believe the mother cat was in my yard, I fed her immediately and she was hungry. I fear that she is a stray and I would gladly take care of her. I have cats of my own and have been fostering and have also recently rescued a feral who lives with us now. I am not sure if this cat will return here, I would love to buy her an enclosure to keep her safe and warm and I will keep her fed daily, but how do I keep her coming back. I do not think she belongs to anyone in the neighborhood although I have seen her a few times over the last year. I wish I would have known about the kittens sooner. Is there any advice anyone can give me to help this kitty? I would surely appreciate it. Thanks in advance
Hi Kim-
Contact a local feed store, humane society, animal shelter, even a pest control company and see if you can borrow a humane trap to trap this mom. She needs to be spayed immediately so I pray you can do this. Once she has been spayed, keep her confined 24 hours then let her go. To keep her coming back, just keep putting out food and water for her daily. Try and do this on a schedule, she will adapt to your timing and appear right before the food does.
If you think you can socialize her and keep her indoors, I would be happy to help you with this process. You can email me off this website, or visit my other website http://www.felinexpress.com and send me a message through the forum. I’m currently working on a book about working with ferals and strays and have a lot of tips and experience to share.
Thank you so much for the quick reply. I also have your feline express website on my favorites and I read them alot. You have given me great advice in the past. A few years ago a cat showed up at the office park where my husband works. She had 3 kittens and we fed her daily. She then left and we took care of the kittens. 2 of the kittens stayed around all the time and 1 would come and go every few days. It was early fall when I decided to catch them, I only could get 2, but I got them and took them to the vet and had them spayed and found them a wonderful home with one of the secretaries. A few days later the mom showed up again and went into a trap we had set up for the third kitten. She was very wild but I could not put her out in the cold weather. She was spayed and taken care of at my vets’ and then I brought her to my home. Now after a year and a half, she is letting me pet her and she purrs and meows whenever I walk in the room. I am so glad I brought her in and I think she is too. She never goes near the door or tries to stratch to get out. I don’t have any problem taking this mom cat in too, but I am concerned because I have 2 dogs. One is always on a leash but the other loves to run in my yard. She is cat friendly and would never hurt a cat, but I am not sure this stray is willing to come close. I just called a few neighbors to see if they had any information about her, no one knows anything except for the 2 small kittens that have been taken to the Humane Society and I don’t want to even think about what has happened to them. I just want so badly to help this cat. I just ordered a cat shelter to put in my yard and I will trap her and get her to the vet. I am just not sure she will come back because of the dogs. I can keep them in the house when I want to feed her, but I am afraid she might not come back. It is so sad thinking of her, I hope I can help her. She is a beautiful orange tabby, she may have had a home at one time, but I would love to care for her now. And she would be welcome to come in and join the rest if she wanted too. Thanks for all of your advice and for all of the love and care that you give to cats and kittens. God bless you.
Kim-
Provide her food in a safe secure area- behind clumps of bushes is a good feeding place- and she will come back. While she is confined and using the litter pan, save the soiled litter and sprinkle that in your yard before you release her. That will also draw her back-
Thank you so much, I will keep you posted. I am praying that I will be able to help her. I am actually heart sick thinking about her today. I am wondering if she is looking for her kittens or if there are any others around. Thanks again.