Further adventures of the feral Cats…

[Whyismycatanasshat]

Recap: feral cat had 7 kittens under our shed. Mother cat went AWOL. We rehomed 6 and kept the runt. Mother cat turned up.

Mother cat has now been spayed - our vet slotted her in a week earlier so she was sorted on Friday and I kept her caged for 24 hours before letting her out as she was going mad. She did come back for her breakfast which was good as she needed the pain meds the Vet supplied. She has now naffed off again. Vet follow up was meant to be today if I could find her but no joy.

Runt Kitten isn’t doing so well. She’s not putting on weight and we see no signs of her eating anything other than what we give her. Her coat is quite dull. The vet who spayed the mother cat thought the runt might be a bit “special needs” is how he described her, despite the other practice vet saying she was ok. He also said the mother cat won’t let the kitten share her catches forever - I think they eat a lot of pigeon and rabbit - is that about right?
The kitten has eaten much more whilst in the cage and has been returning to and sitting in the open cage since Saturday! She also continues to use the litter box we put in for her and the Mother cat.

I need to know if this is ok; we’re thinking of bringing the Kitten in but… we’re about to start a ground floor extension- next Monday is start day so our garage is out of bounds and the conservatory they’ve lived in preciously is about to be torn down. The house is in quite a state as we’re losing two rooms to the builders to gain a lot more.
Would it be ok the keep the kitten in an XXL dog cage over night or when we’re not about to keep an eye on her?
it would be lined with carpet and have her bed and litter tray in? I am worried about her roaming and getting hurt. She is tiny and I suspect, under nourished.

My old boy cat has relocated to upstairs since we stored prepping for the builders so I’m not worried about him - he did this at our last house too when we had work done!

Thanks, the reluctant kitten owner.

Usually mum cats kick them out after 4 months or so. The cage is fine while you pop out etc but kittens get wise at about a year or so.

@Fluffycloudland77 Thanks; she’s a week to 10 days off being 4 months.
When you say get wise at about a year or so what do you mean? That she won’t go in the cage any more?
That would be fine as once the house renovation is done she can have free roaming rights like old boy does.
The cage is to keep her safe when we can’t until she’s bigger and got more sense!
I doubt I could crate train a cat the way my MIL does with her spaniels!

Our kittens were in the same sort of crate with the contents you describe from 8 weeks to 6-7 months. We closed them in it overnight and (when they were smaller) when we went out for a couple of hours or having work done. They were completely fine and happy and it reassured us. If anything they really liked it - we have 2 boys and they treated it like an arena for cage-based play fights!! 😂😂

@ChampiSkips Oh thank you that’s reassuring! I’ve only ever had older cats, the boys that get left at shelters, that’s who I take on! So the kitten is a totally new learning experience.

if she returns to the cage willingly then she feels safe with it. Sounds like you have a good plan considering the turmoil. I hope she starts fattening up soon though