# We caught Gladys! And a kitten! :D



## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Finally, some good news!  Last night our next door neighbors knocked on the door and handed over a very small kitten they had found. She's a girl, very docile, weighing in at a heartmelting 13.6 ounces, and we estimate about 3-4 weeks old. We named her Sally.









:luv :luv :luv 

There's no doubt that she belongs to Gladys, the uncatchable little feral cat whose belly I'd been watching nervously for weeks. She was just a tiny bit plump for awhile, and then a few weeks ago, she was just a tiny bit thinner. We weren't even positive she'd really been pregnant. But when we showed her that we had the kitten, she became _murderously _upset.

So, mean evil humans that we are, we used the kitten as bait to lure and catch the mom. :twisted: She hates us now. But she's back with her baby, well-fed and safe.


















The cage is a mess -- typical ferals! It was a lot neater when we put them in it.

We've all been scouring the area, looking for other kittens, but we haven't found any. Gladys definitely seems to have been based in that area for several days, so we don't think she was in the middle of moving her litter. And her belly never got very big. So we are hopeful that this is the only kitten.


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

If looks could kill you would be long gone after pic #2.

SO glad you captured the both of them.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Just curious but how did you use the kitten to capture the mom? Maybe I could use it for future reference!


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Just curious but how did you use the kitten to capture the mom? Maybe I could use it for future reference!


Actually it is the best way of catching a feral mama. You need 2 cages. Put the kittens in a closed cage with it completely covered except for the back end. Then set a humane trap and have it's back end touching the back of the closed trap with the kitten. The mom will hear and smell the kitten but the only way to get close to the kitten is inside the open trap.

BTW Good job Jet!!!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

How wonderful! Look at that beautiful pair! :thumb


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

We did basically what Gina described, only instead of a real trap, we used a big dog crate and stood several feet away with a broom, which we used to slam the door after she was in. This happened after about a 45-minute standoff. We put the baby in after mom had calmed down.

The new baby looks almost identical to one from Gladys' last litter, the one in the back:










...so we were wondering if they could have had the same father. If I'm right about the age, Sally was conceived at least a week too late to be Greg's daughter. But she could be Stephen's.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Sweetvegan74 said:


> Mitts & Tess said:
> 
> 
> > Just curious but how did you use the kitten to capture the mom? Maybe I could use it for future reference!
> ...


Ahhhhhh... thank you! :idea:


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

The kitten appears to be fully weaned already.  When and how should I separate her from mom? Would it be kindest to just take her away one day and never bring her back? Or should I do it more gradually?

The baby is happy and curious with no feral tendencies. She often lays at the front of the cage, so I can easily reach in and get her while mom hisses in the back. I've been taking her out and carrying her around for about an hour every day. But when they're separated, the mom makes the most mournful cries, and I feel like a monster. :evil: 

I just want to make this as easy on the mom as I can. (The baby doesn't seem to care all that much.) I hope to get her spayed next week -- will that help diffuse her maternal instincts? Should I wait until then to take the baby for good?


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I don't think spaying her will diffuse her maternal instincts. The kitten's eyes are still blue, so she's quite young. Mother cat will lie down on her tummy when she doesn't want the baby to nurse. Of course, if they weren't caged, and were loose in a home, mother cat would be teaching the baby to be a cat, through play, using the litter box, etc. As long as the kitten is being socialized, I would like to see them stay together for a while. If they were pets, I would want them to be together (with litter mates and mom) for 12 weeks. However, the public likes kittens very young--too young in my opinion, so that wouldn't be wise. I'd still wait a while..perhaps two weeks.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks Jeanie! I'll leave them together for now, then. I'm no longer 100% positive about the kitten being fully weaned now. She eats canned food readily, and I haven't seen her nursing even once. But I (briefly and under extremely paranoid supervision) introduced her to Greg, and she immediately started examining his belly as if looking for a nipple. 8O 

When would you recommend spaying the mom, then?


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Well, mother's tummy will be sore after spaying, so as soon as she rejects the kittens attempt to nurse, I'd have her spayed.


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## Janice (Jan 12, 2007)

Her milk has to be dried up before they will spay her. You must seperate the mother from the kittens...as long as they continue or try to nurse, she will produce milk. I've had the same situation ton's of times, and the answer is to separate the mother. It takes about 2 weeks (or less) after that for her milk to dry up....

The kittens are just beautiful... thanks so much for caring and giving them a chance at life!! (((HUGS)))


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

I know in the UK they go a "Flank Spay" where the incision is done on the side rather the tummy so nothing interurpts the mom and kittens being together. You could ask around I am sure a vet will do that if you want.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks everybody. We are keeping them together for now, and when it comes time to separate them, my mom has offered to take over fostering the kitten. (By "offered," I mean, "all but wrestled the kitten out of my hands in anticipation." :lol 

But actually we already had to separate them briefly, because we can't be drama-free for long...On Sunday I noticed that the mother cat had abruptly started panting and trembling, and was barely eating. She was acting just like Greg when he had his abscess. She was also laying on the front part of her stomach a lot, only letting the kitten nurse from the back. I know mastitis can have those symptoms, and is really common, so I whisked her off to the vet...

She's in heat.  There's nothing else wrong. And for that, I got in trouble because I had to take emergency time off work. :roll: But at least she's not sick! I'll take what I can get.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

At one time I had one of the meanest possible bosses. He never passed up the opportunity to try to make me look foolish. But even he _suggested_ that I take extra time for lunch to visit my very ill cat at the animal hospital. And when she died and the vet called at work to let me know, he suggested I take an extra long lunch. So, your boss is truly unkind. When an animal is ill, it's our responsibility to care for it. 

Of course, what you are doing is above and beyond the call of duty. Regardless....  

I'm glad she's all right!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Jeanie said:


> So, your boss is truly unkind. When an animal is ill, it's our responsibility to care for it.


It was odd, because he's always been very easygoing about this sort of thing. It's never even been hinted that it was a problem. I was especially angry at the words he chose: "You need to start making decisions about what's important." If it's not important to _you_, fine; and if I have to do what you tell me, fine; but don't ever try to tell me what _my _ethical priorities should be. :evil: :evil: :evil: 

Of course, I didn't tell him what the diagnosis was. :lol:


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)




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