# What to do with mom and four beautiful kittens?



## furfaceluvr (Mar 27, 2012)

About a year and half ago, I felt obligated to feed a tiny calico kitten that started following around a stray male cat that I had been taking care of for years.
It is as if my male cat had adopted her.

Tragically, my male stray was multilated on June 9 2012, and I was left to feed the calico, although I never bonded with her, and she was not people friendly.

She is an average looking cat, but she managed to give birth to four beautiful fluffy furballs that I estimate to be about six weeks old, and they now hang out upstairs outside my apartment.
I am not allowed pets, and my apartment is tiny, so I cannot technically adopt them, and I could not afford to feed five cats regardless.

Last week, I spoke to a local pet store owner who was willing to take two kittens, but this was before I discovered that there were four.

These kittens are so beautiful that it should be easy to find homes for them, but I do not know how to go about it.

I also would feel guilty taking them away from mom, so I would like to know the emotional affect taking away her youngsters would have on her. I might not have a choice, however.

Mom is no longer afraid of me, and no longer struggles when I pick her up to pet her, but she is definitely not a people lover, nor is she nearly as beautiful as her offspring. I therefore will continue to care for mom

I live about 20 miles East of Los Angeles.

If anyone can suggest how to find a home for them, please offer suggestions.


----------



## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

First of all, don't separate them until at least 8 weeks. Since you have a few weeks here, I'd take the time to snap some good pictures of the kittens and list them on Craigslist. Have a list of requirements that must be met, spaying/neutering, no declawing, ensure the people are allowed to own pets and have them drop by at least once before the final decision. List them at a nominal fee, maybe 50 dollars (or the ideal of getting the spaying and neutering done yourself and making that the adoption fee). Free kittens can attract irresponsible owners and people with bad intentions for the kittens.

Try not to feel bad about separating them, it enevitably happens, momma cat often tires of the kittens or the kittens start bossing her around away, it's the natural order of things for the mom to get the kittens out and away on their own, away from her. You especially don't want any inbreeding.

What type of pet store owner is this guy? Does he seem like he'd be looking out for the kittens best interest or just trying to make a quick buck? Most pet stores either only sell BYB kittens at exorbitant prices or are working with the local shelter and don't accept random cats off the street, so I'd be leery.

There's a great thread in the cats in need section on how to post cat listings online, it's quite useful advise. I'd go into more detail but I'm on my phone.


----------



## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

There are no kill shelter in LA area. Contact them to see if they would take them. Or look for a TNR group in your area. Offer a donation to help with the spay/neuter and vaccinations which helps out tremendously with rescues budgets. 

Be handling the kittens or they will become feral. Play with them too. Sit by the food bowls and touch them while they are eating, I agree to remove them between 6 to 8 weeks from the mother.

It is very important to take this mother to a vet and get her spayed or you will have the same problem with more kittens soon. Bless you for feeding her. Leave water out for her also. And if possible a shelter for her.


----------



## grrawritsjordi (Dec 29, 2012)

furfaceluvr said:


> I live about 20 miles East of Los Angeles.
> 
> If anyone can suggest how to find a home for them, please offer suggestions.


Oh My gosh, I am so glad I read this post, as I almost didn't. I live in LA and just two blocks down is the best shelter I could ever imagine. They have about 40 cats on average, and adopt out at least 3-5 a week, if not more. The people there are truly passionate about animals.

Definitely check out their website Sante D'Or and give them a call (323) 898-8889. They are located in my neighborhood in Atwater Village, which is in East LA, right on the border of Glendale. If you are not able to drive them to the shelter, they may have contact information for a TNR program or a foster in your area.

They usually don't answer the phone, but are great about getting back to you. Let me know if you don't hear from them for a few days, and I will call my contact over there on her cell. (I don't want to give her personal cell # out)

I adopted Miss Moose and my roommate got Ziggy from there. They are a really great organization.


----------



## furfaceluvr (Mar 27, 2012)

Thanks for the information.

I failed to mention that the kittens' home base is actually in the small apartment complex next door behind a wall, but they have appeared upstairs where I feed mom outside my apartment.
This evening I tried to move mom's food closer to her kittens home base, but this seemed to confuse her and she did not follow me there.
I am also amazed at how much she eats. She can easily down three cans a day. 
Unfortunately, she is pregnant again.
I tried working with a local cat lady a few months ago in an attempt to trap her to be taken away for spading, but the limitations made this difficult. I was forced to use her trap, which was cumbersome, and they were only available for this spading excursion one day a week.
I briefly trapped her at midnight one evening, but she was screaming out loud and escaped. I also tried once on my own with my cat carrier, but she backed out once she heard my door squeak. Sadly she has lost two litters already.

Somehow this latest litter has survived.

The kittens are old enough to climb my stairs, and, unfortunately, I also discovered they can survive a 12 foot drop.
Two nights ago in the pouring rain, there were two kittens by my door. One of them backed up from fear when it saw me, and tumbled 12 feet over the edge. I briefly saw it scamper away as I breathed a sigh of relief.

The shelter posted above is about 25-30 miles away. I would love to find a home for mom as well, but transporting her this distance might be problematic.


----------



## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

furfaceluvr said:


> The shelter posted above is about 25-30 miles away. I would love to find a home for mom as well, but transporting her this distance might be problematic.


Regardless, I think it would be a good idea to contact them. I don't personally know anything about the shelter, but it has been my experience that the members of this forum are generally very knowledgable, consciencious cat lovers; and if grrawritsjordi thinks that they may be able to help solve your problem, what harm could contacting them do? Maybe the shelter will be able to hook you up with someone who can help with the trapping, or connect you with an organization practicing TNR in your immediate area, or have someone who is willing to come get the cats. You won't know unless you call. Believe me, I know how stressful your situation is, and I understand that there are a lot of obstacles and logistical considerations involved in resolving the problem, but don't get discouraged! It's obvious you care about these kitties and are doing what you can to help them, which is wonderful and admirable!


----------

