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?

No one is admitting to owning Fat Sam. He owns/roams a huge area - often seen purposefully walking up to a mile and a half away from us - he seems a patrol to a schedule. He operates on a time share basis. I know at least one other person who’s boat he likes to sleep on if it’s raining ! He seems fairly old - but that might be his lifestyle and he is quite war torn. He has a lovely purr so I can see why Mrs cat fell for him.

I'm not sure the vet is wrong in the spaying. I understand no spaying is taking place at all atm. We got a kitten recently and jabs have been fine but no neutering or spaying happening at all atm

They are all just gorgeous. Good on you for looking after them. Is there a branch of the PDSA near you or the Cats' Protection League? They often have a voucher scheme for help towards spaying and neutering and will likely be able to recommend a vet.

We have a once feral teenage mum cat. We had one of her kittens too, but very sadly she had kidney failure and had to be pts. Not sure whether it was related to her being spayed and the pain relief meds she was given. Anyway, mum cat is happily snoozing on the kitchen windowsill after coming in from marauding outside in the early hours and sitting in my head pillow.

Oh they're adorable!

Love the pics 😻

@AwkwardPaws27 No need for quite so much sackcloth and ashes . It's a very common misconception. We recently took on a new receptionist, who had many years experience as a vet receptionist, we were all horrified to hear her telling someone one the phone that they couldn't book their cat in for spaying yet as it would dry up her milk. I think everyone turned round at once and shouted 'Nooooooo!!'

@IndiaMay Routine spaying is very much back again in the majority of vets. And emergency spaying never stopped - and a feral cat that might get pregnant again and end up starting a feral colony is very much an emergency. Our rescue has been spaying feral/stray cats all the way through this and we have been spaying clients' cats for some weeks now. And the only thing stopping us doing males atm is the shortage of vets we are experiencing, which is indirectly related to Covid, so we are having to prioritise females.

Routine vaccinations are still not happening though.

@AwkwardPaws27 That's an interesting point about kittens born by c section. I'm sure we have had some and I think the mum cats have been able to feed, but I'm not one hundred per cent sure about this. What about humans that have c sections? Can they breast feed? Do they need some medical intervention to get the milk supply going? I will have to investigate this.

Today’s antics!

Kitteny fabulousness

Gorgeous kittens!! Please explain bananas in pictures !!

They are catnip filled kitten toys from Amazon! They like to drag them around and then fall asleep on them.

Yes I was just going to ask about the bananas😂😂

Is one a tortie? They are gorgeous and look massive.

TCN a C section will delay human milk by a day or two.

Tango is a tortie and is much bigger then cash and Alfa. Cash is a smokey tabby - or black with pale black/dark grey tortie strips.
Alfa is pure black and half the size of the other two. As far as I’ve been able to tell they are three girls. But I expect to be corrected as they get bigger and easier to see the ‘bits’!

DH is feeling guilty - he went shopping and came back with a laser pen toy and a bunch of stuffed mice, a cat fleece bed, a cat chair and one of those tunnels.

Genius!! I think my dcats would like a catnip banana!!

I’m also back to admire the new photos - and glad someone else has mentioned the bananas! I saw them yesterday and wasn’t sure whether to mention them or not! Off to Amazon!

Thanks for the pictures! They are so gorgeous!

You’re amazing!!! More people like you this world needs x

@Bargebill19

DH is feeling guilty - he went shopping and came back with a laser pen toy and a bunch of stuffed mice, a cat fleece bed, a cat chair and one of those tunnels.

I guess MrsCat would call that a result. She got a bit of time away from the kittens and now they have got lots of new toys and feline furniture. Are you sure this wasn't something they fixed up together? Photos are lovely by the way - MrsCat and Fat Sam may not be Cat Parents of the Year but they have produced a lovely litter.

I am biased but they are gorgeous kittens with big wide eyes.
Mrs cat has now spent the day behind a storage bin whilst kittens have batted toys at her...... the ‘plan’ may, just may have backfired on her.
Fat Sam however has slept on a bench and stuffed his face with some cat food .... looks like the entire family decided that up to a point, I’ll do as a slave.
Now I just need to convince them that our home is nicer than the shed.....and the vet And cat basket isn’t scary ...

Lucky for mother cat she ended up at your house. Poor thing sounds like a very good mother; cleaning and feeding her babies. Just that it is hard to find a safe place when you don't have a home. How frightening to be giving birth under a car. She may have been inexperienced the other time and it went wrong. Also, no kind person came to her rescue then, either.

They've landed on their paws! You sound lovely, op. A really decent person.

They just need to learn about sofas, duvets, fleece blankets you bought for yourself, heated throws & central heating.

Mrs cat is booked in tomorrow to be spayed.
DH is now feeling guilty as although the kittens are eating solid food and drinking water ..... they are still ‘topping’ up with mums milk . Argh!!!

But didn't Thecatneuterer post upthread that it will not affect milk supply? I think Mrs Cat has just told your DH that so he goes out feeling guilty and buys lots more toys and cat furniture. Hope the op goes well.

Yes she did and I’ve shown it to DH to stop the pair of us feeling guilty!
He has been out and bought several dozen mice (felt rattling ones) plus yet another cat litter tray and some new cat bowls this week.!