6 week old kittens.

[Bargebill19]

I’m furious with hubby and he knows it.

6 weeks ago a feral cat I’d been feeding for several months, decided to give birth under my car. On vets advice mum and 3 kittens were transferred to a box in our shed.
Kittens only just weaned this week but are still wanting mums milk as top up. As such the vets have refused to neuter mum until kittens are no longer wanting mums milk.

I returned from work tonight to find hubby has deliberately let Mrs cat out of the shed for ‘fresh air’. Predictably she has run off. I doubt she will come back. He is convinced she will return and somehow I will ‘sort this out’. Mrs cat has and does refuse to come anywhere near us, even in the shed she likes to sit under the wheelbarrow out of reach. I can’t magic this ‘better’!

We have always intended to neuter and home the kittens with us - once they no longer needed mum. Sorry, but I don’t trust other people to look after them responsibly. I always though Mrs cat would likely return to the wild but AFTER she had been neutered.

So my question - what do I do now? Do I bring the kittens in from the shed immediately or hope that Mrs cat somehow plucks up enough courage to return and allow me to open the shed door for her?

After spaying her priorities might change or a rescue could rehome her as a farm cat which would be regular food and all the mice she can eat.

🤞she would like to stay.

Cat slave! Ahhh warms my cockles reading this

@Bargebill

What a lovely person you are.

Have you been interacting with the kittens op? I have a feeling there is a short window where the kittens have to be played with/picked up etc by humans if they're ever going to be domesticated, my understanding was between 4-6 weeks old.

Mum cats are very maternal and it's very unlikely she would abandon her kittens.

I’ve been fussing the kittens since they were born. - no choice as I had to rescue them from under my car and having sat with mum whilst two were born (hubby was sent to phone vets for advice!) and then in the shed whilst the last one was born.
I go in a fuss and now play with them several times a day. I make sure Mrs cat is ok and eating etc. Litter tray is changed three times a day (kittens are learning to use it). Their bedding is changed daily - kittens have little accidents! They have toys galore. The three are now called Tango, Cash and Alfa. (C.A.T)
I also stand at the window and just peek in to make sure they are ok. Mrs cat sits under the wheelbarrow and watches me whilst I talk to her. She never hisses or goes to defend her kittens. The kittens seem happy to be stroked and generally fussed and played with. They all sleep in the kitten pen together.

AFAIK it's trickier to spay a cat that's nursing. I wouldn't ask a vet to do it.
She will return until the kittens are fully weaned. I'd be chucking her some liver or mashed sardines to build her strength up. You might find she'll look at you with new eyes.

So pleased she came back! Please can we have a picture???

AFAIK it's trickier to spay a cat that's nursing. I wouldn't ask a vet to do it.

All our vets do this routinely. It doesn't affect milk supply or make any difference to anything. We normally spay the cat a couple of days after giving birth, before they go into foster. The only time we would wait would be if the kittens are somewhere outside and can't be located, in which case we can't remove the mother, even for one night, as she needs to defend them from foxes.

Spaying is likely to dry up her milk now Please don't post nonsense on the internet! Spaying does NOT affect milk supply.

Can we see pictures?

(You might need to rehome dh ;))

From two weeks ago!

With mum. I’ll take some up to date ones tomorrow 😊

This is the dad ... and he is huge.

@Bargebill19 - or should I say Sherlock. How do you know he’s the Dad. Great detective skills.

The cat that had kittens behind my shed was neutered while still feeding the surviving kitten and continued to feed him till he was 19 ish weeks old so I think it is okay to neuter.

OMG! Dad looks like BastardCat!!!

He's massive, almost 9kgs but he's been Neutered, honest .

We had two visiting toms - Fat Sam as in the picture and a pure ginger Tom (not seem since Fat Sam beat him in a fight)
Kittens aren’t ginger. No other roaming toms up this end of our village. Fat Sam makes sure of that. Also Fat Sam has been seen ‘in the act’ more than once with Mrs cat including just before she decided giving birth under my car was a fabulous idea.
He has been happily visiting our garden daily since his family have been in our shed. Absolutely zero chance of getting him in a cat basket and off to the vets. (I like having hands and a face!)

The kittens seem very big.

They take after daddy.

I'm glad MrsCat came back Bargebill19 and think you have been doing a fantastic job helping her. The kittens look so sweet - even if their dad is a bruiser If this were Catsnet, I'd be telling MrsCat to leave Fat Sam (and Ginger Tom) and go and live in Bargebill19's house with her kittens.

Yes Mrs Cat should LTB(ruiser) and stay with her new family - even if that's just in the garden.

Do you know if anyone owns Fat Sam to be able to get him neutered? This thread has given me warm feels

Could a rescue help you trap dad do you think? If only to stop him having a life of scrapping and fathering more kittens.

He’s done his bit for the cat population now.

@thecatneuterer I'm really sorry, I honestly thought it was true, as when I worked at a vets around 8 years ago they didn't like to spay until kittens were weaned. My apologies, I wasn't trying to spread misinformation.
We had a stray we took in who ended up having an emergency caesarian, and she was unable to feed her kittens, but I realise now that established milk supply won't be affected.

I've reported my post to MNHQ and asked them to remove it so as not to perpetuate incorrect information.