Newborn Kitten Tips / Helping Them Grow Up To Be Independent!

[danw]

OK, so I inadvertently adopted a feral cat when I moved to my rented house in Samui 8 months ago, there were a number of young (3 or 4 months at a guess) kittens hanging round the house, and I felt sorry for the skinniest / most fragile and started to pet her (and consequently feed her on occasion) - she went from being very afraid of humans to being extremely affectionate. Not just toward me however, also to the local toms... So about 3 months ago I suspected she was pregnant, and she was, she started hanging around my balcony more and as she got bigger I placed a box on my balcony where the local dogs can't access as an option for her to give birth in - she didn't even go in it, until 2 weeks ago on the day she gave birth to 4 healthy kittens, I had to help untangle the last kitten, and was a bit worried about interfering, but once I got the umbilical cord unwrapped from around mother cats leg she began to clean and mother the last one - no abandoned/rejected kittens :-) three are grey like their mother and one is pure white (am a bit worried on that as I have read that white fur / blue eyes has an increased risk of deafness)

It's now two weeks later, and they seem healthy, she's feeding them regularly, and keeps them clean (i change bedding every 1 or 2 days) - they rarely cry or mew. However - they have naturally got bigger, and this evening I found they had discovered that the mum sized door to their box is now reachable, with a little climbing on top of each other. Basically they had grown too big for their home. I have hastily (at 2am) constructed a bigger box with a higher entry door, however I need some advice on a number of points from any people with experience in these matters:

- At some point they will get big enough again to get out of this new home, my balcony is raised about 1 - 1.5m from the ground, ie// if they get out of the box they could conceivably fall down to ground level, but they wouldn't be able to get back up again, which might injure them and if not will expose them to the dogs running round - If it was up to me I'd move the box inside the house until the kittens are able to jump high enough!, however my landlord wont allow this, and additionally I want these kittens to be able to look after themselves once they get older - I don't know how long I will stay in this country, and whilst I am happy to feed the mom at the moment whilst she is weaning, I don't want 5 dependent cats - any suggestions as to what to do? I could line the bottom 12" of the balcony with some kind of board to stop them being able to jump or fall down, is this a sensible solution or am I being overconcerned / should be leaving mother cat to keep her kittens safe.

- I was intending to wait for a few months and get all the cats spayed (including mom) however I just read that this will lead them to be more homely, which (as I cant have them inside and don't want to be carting 5 cats round the world with me) and goes against my intention of being just a partial owner whilst they are growing - should I get them spayed?

- I read that kittens copy their mother in terms of using litter trays - mother cat doesn't use a litter tray. I bought one, and put her in it and moved her back paws in a 'bury it' motion, she mewed appreciatively and then she lay down sunbathing in it. Any suggestions on how to train her (unlikely) or her kittens to use the tray for its intended purpose?

Basically any useful advice for kitten care from 2 weeks -> big enough to jump 1m is appreciated - I know I'm being slack and a little standoffish towards responsibilty, but if anyone has good advice for caring for them whilst encouragng them to be independent when older would be useful. I was trying to do the right thing by feeding the mother in the first place, maybe it's backfired. I think once they are a few months old I will look for people to adopt them, but don't hold out too much hope as there are so many cats out here already.

Thanks for any advice!

Dan

PS - here's the family @ 2 days

Edited July 25, 2008 by danw

[Sheryl]

First of all, as soon as the kittens are taking supplemental food (probably in 2-4 weeks from now) and thus able to stop nursing for a day, get the Mom to the vet and have her spayed...or your problems may well multiply even further. ("Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats"...)

Secondly, from what you describe Mom is already no longer a feral cat and given how readily she adapted to trusting you I doubt she was really feral to begin with, more likely she had at some point in the past had human owners (or at least humans whom she lived near to and who sometimes fed her) then got lost or abandoned.

This being the case I don't think there is realistic scope for these kittens adopting a feral life style. Face it, what you have on your hands is a family of domestic cats, and you are going to need to find homes for them. Start aggressively advertising now and be persistant. The white one sounds like a "Khao Manee", a type of Siamese cat which is quite popular (and believed by Thais to bring good luck) so that one should be theb easiest of the lot to home.

In a worse case scenario contact SCAD. Do not just let them loose or at a temple.

Have the Mom and kittens vaccinated at the same time you take Mom in to be spayed. It will help adoption if you spay/neuter the kittens also but this can't be done until they are at least 5 months old. Do not worry about this making them more "homely"..'.the alternative is much worse and the "homely"issue is already a lost cause anyhow.

For the balcony issue, yes, put up a barrier of some type, at least until they are big enough to be able to jump back up onto it on their own (which may happen sooner than you'd think).

For the litter box issue, the Mom is probably not using it because she has another preferred place to go. If you çan seal up the balcony so that she can't get out (or alternately keep her inside for at least a day or two), she'll probably start to use the litter box and the kittens will follow suit. Keep the litter box as far away from their food and sleeping spot as possible, that will help. Cats prefer to defecate/urinate far away from where they live and eat and this may be a factor in the Mom preferring to go elsewhere.

If you find any of their feces about, put it into the litter box as that will help convey the idea.

I dont know how large your balcony is, but as these kittens grow and get more active (and as the Mom is no longer occupied 24/7 with their care) keeping the menagerie confined to the balcony is going to get progressively harder. Would your landlord really know if you had them inside? usualy no pets policies mainly refer to dogs because of the barking aspect which disturbs other tenants. Otherwise your only recourse is to allow the whole troupe to go on and off the balcony at will once the kittens are large enough to be able to jump onto it.

Good luck. You are gaining much merit by helping these cats!!! It may take time but I'm sure you will eventually find homes for them.

[danw]

Sheryl thank you very much for taking the time to reply!

The day after i posted this the mother moved all the kittens, I don't know where to.. I'd read she might do this, and I don't know where she has taken them - am a bit worried for their health (and sad they have gone) but I guess she knows best - she has been coming back for food, hope she has them somewhere safe and is looking after them.

I will see what develops over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully I will see them again - they were nearly able to walk on their back legs when she moved them (probably why she moved them) - there's not much I can do as I don't know where she has put them :-(

Anyway, thanks again Sheryl,

[khun_j]

...just wanted to tell how great i think of what you did! cat mom looks veeeery relaxed

[girlx]

just a note, i think the answer to "should i get them spayed?" is always a resounding YES!

[danw]

:-( they were all found dead by my landlord in the grounds yesterday. Apparently some kind, devout buddhist soul has decided there are too many cats in the area. All these cats and 3 or 4 others have been found dead in the last fortnight in the area. Frankly I wish I knew who it was to give them the same treatment - there are too many hideous excuses for human beings in this place. Really very sad, and extremely ANGRY.

Edited August 7, 2008 by danw

[Patsycat]

That is HORRIBLE and so sad. I am so sorry.

[khun_j]

how sad ((