Kitten help please..

Ruary--

Welcome to A2K.

If I were you I'd call a local vet and ask. The costs of owning an animal vary widely from country to country--and from any given rural area to any nearby city.

Cats are independent creatures. I wouldn't worry about taking a kitten away from the mother or the siblings. I would worry about financing the pregnancy and trying to tame a kitten with a feral mother.

Even if they did put them down, it's far more humane than allowing them to run free, reproduce some more, starve to death or be killed in some other horrible way.

If you already have a cat, as hard as it is, it really is best to take the entire family to the Humane Society, unless you know a farm home willing to take them all. Vet bills and maintenance can get very costly. I know this very well because I have always had a heart for animals with no home and have offered them mine. I am now 35 years old and still do it but have now learned how to say "no, not this time". I have had everything from injured baby birds to orphaned baby squirrels to baby ducks, kittens, puppies, you name it. They always seem to find me. I have been successful in re-introducing wildlife to the wild but unless you are willing to really be in for the long haul stop now!!!

Nor should a kitten be taken from it's mother before it's weaned -- which I think is at 6 to 8 weeks. Can you afford to care for the litter for that length of time? Actually, there would be little expense at this point because the mother is doubtlessly well equipped to care for the kittens. She will hunt for herself and feed them. All they really need is a protected space.

However, after that the expenses pile up if you want to care for them -- as you've noted. I think, but this is just my opinion, that the kindest thing would be to take the pregnant mother to a no-kill facility where she can give birth. The kittens will be cared for and habituated to humans early, and be very adoptable, more so than if they are allowed to have any time in the wild. I'm sure the facility would be happy for you to adopt one of the litter, after they have been weaned and had their first shots, etc.

The best thing for the mother would be for her to be neutered and released. Again, this is just my own opinion. She, being feral, will probably never make a suitable pet, but it would be humane not to allow her to breed again. There are far too many unwanted cats (and dogs).

But as for your question about separating the family, there is no problem. Cats don't recognize family groups. Once the kittens are able to hunt for themselves, they would be abandonned by the mother and separate anyway.

Google "feral cats" and the name of your city and you should find some good rescources. Here there is a group that does catch/spay or neuter/release of feral cats and I know there are similar organizations in many cities.

They will do this at no cost to you.

Good luck!

The kitty hasn't had the kittens yet, right? You should ABSOLUTELY get her to the Humane Society (or a feral cat group, as Boom suggests) BEFORE she has the litter! She can get pregnant again immediately and you'll end up with two litters on your hands.

This happened to my parents when I was a kid; they wanted to be nice and take care of this cat someone had dropped off, and they figured they'd get her fixed as soon as she had the litter-- and that's how they learned about how quickly cats can get pregnant after having a litter They ended up being in debt to the local vet for years, paying off the bills for fixing both litters and the mama. Don't put it off...

cats are such sluts.

Well, she's a stray not a feral. She's very friendly. I think that's good then. Very adoptable, right? I just feel guilty. She trusted me and now I'm sending her away and abandoning her. I hope it's for the best! Thank you all for giving me advice when I'm SO distraught over this right now.

RuaryX, I'm sorry that you're feeling bad about it, but it is the best thing and it speaks very well of YOU that you care and are willing to take the responsibility for this.

Kudos to you.

Aw, I'm sorry you're feeling bad; I would be upset in your position too. It is really sad and hard to have to do that. And it sucks because it's not your fault; you're just stuck making a tough decision because you're dealing with the results of other people's irresponsibility. *sigh*

At least she's friendly so she should have a good chance of being adopted-- this way she has a chance of a nice home instead of being hungry and unhealthy out on the streets. Did you decide on the Humane Society? Do they have a no-kill policy? does your town have any kind of group that takes strays and keeps them until they gets homes even if it takes a while (like a no-kill shelter type of thing)?

Ooh. I just found a no-kill shelter here. It's called Happy Endings...
I'm waiting for them to reply back. Does anyone know if there is a fee to bring in strays to these kind of things? It doesn't say... and will they accept the cat automatically?

Sometimes there is a fee.
Maybe about 20.00

but if you explain to them that you dont have the money, they might let you for-go the payment.
OR , if you want to help the shelter, volunteer to help clean the cages or something for a day in exchange for the fee.
Really.. the fee is to cover the workers and keeping the place running so your volunteer would be a reasonable offer.

Also, you may have to have the cat in a cage to bring her in.
Do you have one to use?

If not, construct a large box with small breathing holes for her, and see if that will work

Thanks.

try putting an ad in the newspaper FOUND: Cat -(details)

omg im so shocked at this , right ok im in the uk & here if somebody sees what you have some people would help til the kittens are old enough to be homed , if not they are taken to a cat rescue who will neuter the mother cat when litter is born then homes are found , nobody would even think to just kill it , does usa not have these type of cat rehoming places ? i dont know hence im asking so dont all lynch me , but to just say hey kill they cat & babies has shocked me beyond words

A feral, male kitten, immunized and neutered will represent an investment of around $150.00, depending on where you live and which vet you see.

Dizzy Moo, I'm sure none of us were feeling like, "Oh, just kill the kitty!"

Maybe it is easier to find places that will take in any and all cats brought to them in the UK-- here it kind of depends on where you are whether that's an option. Not all communities have that kind of place, sadly.

And, due to how many, many irresponsible people there are, no-kill places don't always have room for every cat brought to them. Then you're stuck with the choice of whether to leave the cat as a stray, or take her to a regular shelter and hope for the best. Obviously no one wants to do that at all, but the life of a stray on the streets is certainly not a happy option either. It's a lesser of two evils thing. And believe me, no one is more upset by that sad reality than I am...

Ruary you can also check to see if there is a TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) Program in your area and contact them. They will trap the cat, have it spayed or neutered and then release it back into the wild.

We have a TNR program here in Louisiana and it is extremely successful. A lot of the cats are also given a round of shots while at the vets. Kudos to you for trying to help!