Mother cat has abandoned her weaned kittens?

My mother is very concerned for a stray cat that has been hanging around her
house.

She had babies, and now recently, she has moved the babies underneath mom's
breezeway.

The babies are right at weaning age.

But what has concerned mom is that the mother cat has not shown up for the
last 2 days.

She has ALWAYS shown up for feedings. Mom has not seen her, at any time of
day.

She is concerned that the babies, who are still kind of feral (wild), will
get injured or not be taught what they need to survive in the wild.

Mom would call rescue, but the other cat, Tom Tom, is one that's been around
for about 5 years, and if he's out there when they take the kittens, they'll
take him, too.

What can we do? There is a possibility that she belonged a few houses up the
street and perhaps they've put her inside their home, but that is a slim
possibility...but yet, we've not seen any dead cats on the roads (mom lives
very near busy streets) lately, so we're clueless.

Is something like this normal?

Thanks in advance!!!

Kristi

Is Tom Tom neutered? If he is and your Mom is taking responsibility for him,
the rescue group won't bother picking him up. If he's not neutered then your
Mom should have that done if she can catch him or with the assistance of a
rescue group if he needs to be trapped. There is no good reason to leave Tom
Tom run around out there making more kittens.

W



"akcskye" u21503@uwe wrote in message news:5fba61e35d9fb@uwe...
My mother is very concerned for a stray cat that has been hanging around
her
house.

She had babies, and now recently, she has moved the babies underneath
mom's
breezeway.

The babies are right at weaning age.

But what has concerned mom is that the mother cat has not shown up for the
last 2 days.

She has ALWAYS shown up for feedings. Mom has not seen her, at any time
of
day.

She is concerned that the babies, who are still kind of feral (wild), will
get injured or not be taught what they need to survive in the wild.

Mom would call rescue, but the other cat, Tom Tom, is one that's been
around
for about 5 years, and if he's out there when they take the kittens,
they'll
take him, too.

What can we do? There is a possibility that she belonged a few houses up
the
street and perhaps they've put her inside their home, but that is a slim
possibility...but yet, we've not seen any dead cats on the roads (mom
lives
very near busy streets) lately, so we're clueless.

Is something like this normal?

Thanks in advance!!!

Kristi

Can't you give them some kitten food and water for a few days and
wait&see if the mother does show up?

Unfortunately, no he isn't.

He'll come up to you and rub on you when feeding him, but you cannot catch
him. Trust me, we've tried...haha

Mom is very responsible that way, it's just Tom Tom is the one she cannot
catch. His sister, Cuddles, was more "tame" toward us, and mom did spay her,
even though she was an "outside stray", so we know what ya mean.

Kristi

Wendy wrote:
Is Tom Tom neutered? If he is and your Mom is taking responsibility for him,
the rescue group won't bother picking him up. If he's not neutered then your
Mom should have that done if she can catch him or with the assistance of a
rescue group if he needs to be trapped. There is no good reason to leave Tom
Tom run around out there making more kittens.

W

My mother is very concerned for a stray cat that has been hanging around
her
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]

Kristi

--
Mom to 4 felines and 1 canine.
Support Animal Welfare!!!

Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

Oh yeah, she's doing that...and they do come out to eat...it's just worrying
us SO bad what could happen to the babies if their mom doesn't teach them how
to hunt, etc.

Kristi

Kiran wrote:
Can't you give them some kitten food and water for a few days and
wait&see if the mother does show up?

--
Mom to 4 felines and 1 canine.
Support Animal Welfare!!!

Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

If you can call a rescue group or a non kill shelter that would be good.
Cats surviving on their own do not live long. It is a terrible life for them
with hunger and disease. The kittens would be better socialized and with
homes.
Gail
"akcskye via CatKB.com" u21503@uwe wrote in message
news:5fc003f36270d@uwe...
Oh yeah, she's doing that...and they do come out to eat...it's just
worrying
us SO bad what could happen to the babies if their mom doesn't teach them
how
to hunt, etc.

Kristi

Kiran wrote:
Can't you give them some kitten food and water for a few days and
wait&see if the mother does show up?

--
Mom to 4 felines and 1 canine.
Support Animal Welfare!!!

Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

Contact a rescue group of a no kill shelter and have them come for the
kittens. They would lead a terrible life in the wild, even if the mother
came back for them. They will be better off socialized and adopted.
Gail
"akcskye via CatKB.com" u21503@uwe wrote in message
news:5fc0027a615d5@uwe...
Unfortunately, no he isn't.

He'll come up to you and rub on you when feeding him, but you cannot catch
him. Trust me, we've tried...haha

Mom is very responsible that way, it's just Tom Tom is the one she cannot
catch. His sister, Cuddles, was more "tame" toward us, and mom did spay
her,
even though she was an "outside stray", so we know what ya mean.

Kristi

Wendy wrote:
Is Tom Tom neutered? If he is and your Mom is taking responsibility for
him,
the rescue group won't bother picking him up. If he's not neutered then
your
Mom should have that done if she can catch him or with the assistance of a
rescue group if he needs to be trapped. There is no good reason to leave
Tom
Tom run around out there making more kittens.

W

My mother is very concerned for a stray cat that has been hanging around
her
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]

Kristi

--
Mom to 4 felines and 1 canine.
Support Animal Welfare!!!

Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

This can often be a problem with nursing cats.

Cats, it seems, are fickle about their new litters. If a cat (Queen) is
absent for whatever reason from its litter for any longer than an hour
or two it looses all maternal instincts towards the kittens.

They want the sex but not the kids! lol.

Kittens are weaned by about the 8th week and shouldn't really be taken
from the mother before then. It might be possible to feed an abandoned
or rejected kitten with baby formula. Avoid Cows milk, cats don't get
along with too much lactose. Gives them the Virtical Squirts!

Some cats two-time their owners by visiting a neighbouring house. It
doesn't help that the other person puts food out for it out of
misguided kindness. These are probably the bloody daft old women who
throw bread to the ferrel pigeons. (I'd sooner the pigeons were thrown
to the cats!) This can be a pain in the but in circumstances where the
cat is on a special veterinary prescribed diet or fasting ahead of an
operation.

A collar makes it obvious that a cat belongs to someone and a disk with
your name and number means that it is possible to trace the owner.

I find that my own cat has turned removing a collar in to an art from!
Don't they all, the little buggers! So much so that she has been
identi-chipped. Still, how many households do you know who have a
scanner?

Good luck, anyway!