# Hello there



## rand

Hello everyone! I just registered for this account and here I am introducing myself...

I don't actually have a cat yet, but there's a feral cat who gave birth on our door step (in an apartment building) a few weeks ago and my wife and I have been taking care of her and her 2 beautiful baby kittens ever since. My wife has resisted getting a cat for a while for various reasons, but now the baby kittens have gotten to her and we might take that step and adopt the whole family. The cat is very friendly and not afraid of people at all, and she's practically been living in our building for the last month or so. She gets up and starts purring whenever she sees me or my wife, and when we pet her she's always very happy about it and she starts rubbing her body against our clothes and acts all sweet and lovely.

Naturally I don't expect her transition to domestic life will be as smooth. I let her into the house and she sniffed around a bit but always had an eye on the door and always got back out after a short while. If I take her in I will have to take her and the kittens to the vet and get them all cleaned up, so I don't think I will be able to let her go outside again without risking her getting sick (of course I'm hoping she won't already have any diseases, but it won't change anything even if she did). All in all, I expect there will be some inevitable trauma with the transition, but hopefully she will overcome it quickly.

I don't have much past experience with cats. We used to have one when I was a little kid, and recently my younger brothers got one at the family home, but I have never been a cat's primary caretaker before. I thought I would create an account and hang out around here with fellow cat caretakers and get their valuable advice.

I wish you all well, and I'll see you around.


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## rand

Here are some photos of the family:


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## LadyK

What beautiful cats! Thank you for caring for them. And I bet they will transition indoors just fine. 

Keep us updated!


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## rand

Thanks! They really are beautiful, lovely, and quite playful 

I will call the vet today and probably start the transition process tonight. I will post updates on our experience, hopefully that will help anyone else that comes along later on.

P.S.: Many thanks to the moderator for moving this post to the Feral Cats forum. I realized that my post might have been a little too long for a new member post, and I was planning on posting the updates to the Feral Cats forum. Thanks for helping with that


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## Marcia

They will transistion to the indoors just fine! Lots of people have strictly indoor cats - I have 5! Yes, most definitely get them all fixed as soon as practical. You live in Cairo, Egypt??!! Wow! Do you have a feral problem there? This momma is most likely a stray not truly feral. If she is this friendly she was someone's pet at some time. The kittenss are adorable and momma is very pretty.


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## rand

Well, we don't have an organized TNR society, and animal control isn't that active or effective around here. Many people volunteer to take care of them like we do, though, and some vets treat injured ferals and strays for free if you take them to their clinics. The conditions are less than ideal, of course, but we don't have a shortage of kind people who do whatever they can to help.

I don't know if she was someone's pet before or not, but she might have been since she's generally very skinny and doesn't seem like she was doing very well on her own. Maybe someone else was taking care of her in their garden or on their door step like we currently are.


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## rand

*Progress update*

Here's an update on our progress with this beautiful family of cats:

We finally got them all inside the apartment this morning and closed the door. The mommy is still a bit uneasy as she keeps sniffing at the door every now and then, but generally they seem to be adjusting fine. The babies seem to like it here and they have warmed up to us quite a bit. The black and white one is a very brave and naughty boy, and the other one is a girl and is still a little shy but she's starting to get some courage to explore and play around freely.

Right now we have them contained in the vicinity of the apartment door, with the guest bathroom and some room to move about. We made a makeshift baby gate with two low cardboard boxes, just so the babies wouldn't run around in the apartment while they're still so small. The mommy can hop over it easily and has done so and explored a bit before hopping back inside. I put a litter box for the mommy in the guest bathroom and got her some of the sand from a construction site across the street, where she used to do her business before. Hopefully she would start using the litter box soon, and after a day or two I will start gradually swapping out the sand with the clean odorless stuff.

I would love to get comments about how well I'm doing so far, and anything I might be doing wrong or that could be done better. I also have a few questions that I would appreciate any help with:

* Do I need to make a separate litter box for the babies? And how do I train them to use it since they've never been to the street before? (I don't even know where they've been doing it so far since I haven't seen any of their droppings when they were outside. The porter may have been cleaning up after them, though, so I'm not really sure.)
* Do I make a separate litter box for each one, or just one for the two of them?
* The boy is starting to eat some of his mother's food. Yesterday and today he just pulled some of the food from her plate and devoured it. Should we start making food for him? And what about his sister? Do we try to feed her or let her come to it herself? Also, what kind of food is best for them? Same stuff the mommy eats or something special? I think they're about 5 weeks old by now.

Finally, I need to take them to the vet on Saturday to get them all checked up and vaccinated, etc... Any tips for doing this without traumatizing the mommy? The kids I guess will be fine, right now they're fascinated by every single thing so I think they might be more excited than scared. I just don't know how I can transport her in the car all the way to the vet with as little trauma as possible. All tips are welcome!

Thanks, and sorry for the long post


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## Whenthecatsaway

What a lovely story! If she is anything like my boy she may not be keen on a cat carrier, I'm no expert but watching animal planet all the time (tad too much) they almost always put mum in one carrier and babies in another but make sure they are next to each other and have a great view of each other (others will probably give a better idea for travel though!) there's lots of little recipes online for kitten food, almost always has baby food in and it's like a thick creamy meal for them, it certainly sounds like you're doing great and should be very proud  


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## Saly

I think you are doing really, really great!!! I'm not an "expert", but I think one litter box right now for all of them will be ok, as they get bigger you will probably need one more. I would also let the kittens come to the soft food on there own, at 5 weeks, I think it is ok for them to start eating this, can you get any canned kitten food? They are beautiful!!!


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## rand

Thanks everyone for your sweet words  We're still trying to find our way together, but so far it's going well. Mommy seems to have found her way to the litter box; I woke up this morning to find she had used it at night. It took a few adjustments to get to that result, and we had to leave the bathroom door half-closed so she would feel it's private enough. The babies, however, were urinating in a corner near where they play, so when we found that out I dried it up with a tissue and put it near the litter box, then wiped the place very well with disinfectant to make sure they don't go there again. I think they're starting to find their way to the litter box too, but maybe they're still too little to understand the concept. Some people say their mommy will help with that once she herself starts using the litter box, so there's hoping.

The babies are still mostly on breast milk, but whenever we put food for the mommy they sniff at it and sometimes try a bite or two. I put some food on my fingers today and tried to give it to them, but they just sniffed at it and went on playing. By the way, the are the most adorable thing in the world when they're playing together! And when I walk in near them they just start climbing my pants legs  But today I started teaching them not to do that anymore because they tried to climb my wife's leg and ended up scratching her skin 

We will take them to the vet tomorrow, hopefully that trip would go smoothly and wouldn't be traumatic to anyone.

Thanks again everyone, and I hope everyone else is having as splendid time with their furry friends as we are


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## NebraskaCat

I'm not a member of any other web forums, so I just find it amazing to be communicating with someone in Cairo, Egypt about the kittens a feral cat just had. So many of the issues cat lovers have are universal. I would like to ask a lot more about the treatment of cats, and the acceptance of them there (having been treated as Gods in the ancient history of that region), but that will have to be another thread. I've already wandered too far off topic.


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## rand

NebraskaCat said:


> I'm not a member of any other web forums, so I just find it amazing to be communicating with someone in Cairo, Egypt about the kittens a feral cat just had. So many of the issues cat lovers have are universal. I would like to ask a lot more about the treatment of cats, and the acceptance of them there (having been treated as Gods in the ancient history of that region), but that will have to be another thread. I've already wandered too far off topic.


Indeed, cat lovers are quite universal. However, that ancient history stuff is just that; ancient history. Nowadays it's mostly just like anywhere else in the world.

Perhaps we could start a thread where people from around the world can discuss what it's like for feral cats in their country


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## rand

Just a quick update on our experience with this lovely family so far:

We didn't go to the vet last Saturday because the mommy freaked out and wouldn't stay in the box even long enough for me to close it on her. Thankfully she wasn't traumatized and she just went out and sat next to me with a slightly puzzled look on her face, like she doesn't understand what I was trying to do exactly. We decided she needs more time to get used to us, and we will try again next Saturday.
Meanwhile, the kittens have grown quite used to us and the house. They run around and play together all the time, and they are the most adorable thing ever! They're very easily excited, and of course I have quite a few scratches on my hands as a result...
The whole family is using the litter box without much trouble. The kittens peed on the floor a couple of times, but I cleaned it up with disinfectant so they won't do it again in the same place. I replaced the smelly sand completely now, and we're using the odorless stuff. So far I've been cleaning it daily to make sure they don't have an excuse for going outside the box.
We got a few recipes for cat food and we've been feeding her a few times a day until she's done nursing the babies. As for the babies themselves, it seems the only thing they eat with a fierce appetite right now is boiled eggs, and usually they just eat the yellow part and leave the egg whites. The other stuff they just sniff at or take a small bite then run away to play.

So far it's been a wonderful experience, and we're glad we did it.


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## Shaftell

You're amazing for taking them in. Please keep us updated! I'd really like to know how they're doing. And of course, please post pictures if you can! 

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## Jacq

I don't have anything to add other then that you're a great storyteller and I look forward to hearing more about your new additions 

(And pictures!! More pictures!)


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## rand

Thanks! It's been quite a rewarding experience overall. I will take some more photos today and upload them; it's amazing how the babies have grown just in the past week!

They are getting more confident every day. Tonight we actually went out to find them sleeping on an armchair instead of the floor. Mommy started to move about more confidently, and actually last night I think she was even playing around and enjoying her time, which is something I haven't seen her do since she came in. She was running across the place, hiding under some of the furniture for a few seconds, then running across in the opposite direction! I was happy she started moving around and exercising; I was worried she wasn't getting enough exercise since she was used to running in the street before and now she only walks around from one place to another, and most of the day she's nursing the babies.

We want to make another attempt at taking them to the vet this Saturday. Hopefully it will go better than the last one now that she's more used to us.


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## Lovemychanel

Shaftell said:


> You're amazing for taking them in. Please keep us updated! I'd really like to know how they're doing. And of course, please post pictures if you can!
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Agreeeeee))


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## howsefrau32

It is wonderful to follow your progress with mom and the kittens. You are an angel to take this family in, and they are the luckiest cats in the world to have you, and they will never forget it. Can you possibly get a cage or crate that closes to get the momma cat into? I would not think it would be possible to take her in a box, she will get out of that in 2 seconds. I think you were right to wait a bit before taking her in though, and she sounds like she is adjusting well. I have no idea about caring for kittens that little, from birth, but maybe you could call the vet and speak to someone in the office about how old they have to be before they are de wormed and given shots? Sounds like they are thriving in a nice safe environment now, who knows, they might not even have survived this far if they were still outside. You are amazing for doing this for this family. Can't wait to hear more progress with this special little family. Any ideas for names yet? Didn't you say the little black and white one was the naughty one? I have a black kitten, he is approximately 9 months old, but still very much in "kitten mode", and he just climbed the curtains for the second time this morning. He is a troublemaker! His brother is the complete opposite, sedate and calm.


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## rand

*Photo time!*

Photo time! As for names, we named the mommy "Basbousa", which is the name of a very sweet eastern dessert (see here). The girl is Cinnamon (for her fur color) and the boy is Silvester (for his fur color and naughty attitude).


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## LadyK

Oh my! So much cuteness!


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## Lovemychanel

Oh my meow heaven...,.they are sooooo adorable!!! The one with mom cuddling babies is so sweeeet.....babies are toooo cute! ) 


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## howsefrau32

Love the new pictures! And the names are perfect. Little Silverster definitely has a naughty streak....you can already tell. And the mom, I didn't notice before, a blue eye and a green eye, she is beautiful! You are such an angel taking on this family


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## rand

*Question about the mother*

Is it normal that the mother suddenly started getting jumpy today and hiding in places where we can't see her? She wouldn't come out when I called on her, but when I found her (and she saw me) I left her alone and she got out on her own after that.

Later at night, she was sitting on her favorite armchair, and Cinnamon couldn't get up to where she was. I carried Cinnamon and put her up there, but then the mother got off the chair and stood next to me. I tried carrying her to put her back on the chair next to her kittens and the weirdest thing happened! She resisted a lot and jumped out of my hands very quickly. Nothing like this had happened in any of my previous attempts at carrying her. She wasn't happy about it, but she let me carry her and got off when she could. This time she was clearly upset for some reason. I patted her a little to calm her down, and when I felt she was calm I thought I would try again, but the second time she really got upset and she hissed at me, then she went and hid under the furniture and wouldn't come out at all!

I guess it was a mistake to try and carry her again after she got upset the first time, but I hadn't had such trouble with her before so I didn't think she would react like that. Is it normal for her to get that upset all of a sudden, or is she maybe a little under the weather or sick or something? I think she's weaning her kittens now, so could it be making her cranky because of all the milk that's not going anywhere? Or should I be worried something else might be wrong with her?

I just cleaned the litter box today and replaced all the old dirty litter because it was getting smelly. I will monitor her "output" tomorrow to make sure her bowels are moving fine. Is there anything else I need to be looking out for?

By the way, we weren't sure exactly how old the kittens were before, but today we went back to the photos and found the first one we took when they were just born was on March 3rd. So that makes them 6 weeks old now. They are eating on their own, and even starting to bite and nibble on chicken bones that we put for their mommy, and I think tonight the mommy was intentionally leaving bone parts for them after breaking them down to smaller bits. They are quite energetic and always running after each other and playing wrestling, and they are growing quite nicely.

P.S.: Thanks everyone for the sweet replies. And thank you in advance for any advice on this little road bump.


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## howsefrau32

I don't have any experiences with newborn kittens and mommies, but I would think that she probably is trying to wean them at this point, and she is also still adjusting to being inside. It sounds like normal behavior for her to not be so comfortable in the house after she has lived outside her whole life. She is probably very, very thankful to be inside, but at the same time, her wild instincts are to be outside, so I think she is just adjusting. I don't think she is sick, but I would be very concerned about her getting outside before you can get her in to be spayed, or she will end up pregnant again and you will have more kittens to have to find a home for. I think you should ask around, I'm not sure where you are if there is any place that will help you trap a feral cat and get them into the vet to be fixed, I know we have such places here, but not sure where you are. If not, could you maybe start asking around, and find someone who is passionate about feral kitties, and helping them, and maybe you could find that person who is experienced at how to trap a feral cat. I think the reason she doesn't want to let you hold her is that she is afraid you are going to try to trap her and she does not understand that you are just trying to help her. She is going to have to be trapped in a trap, or a crate that is solid and will lock, and I think she is too smart to just walk right into it for some food.....it is going to take an experienced person. I don't know that I could do it. I would work on that, getting her trapped and into the vet to get spayed before she ends up pregnant again. Also, I think this will cut down on some of her anxiousness to get outside again. She probably will still always want to go out there, but not as badly as she wants to now. I think once she is spayed, she will be much easier to make stay indoors....if that is your goal. And I would also find out about when you can get the kittens fixed also...I know some places, here, if there is a chance that the kittens can get outside at an early age, they will go ahead and do an "early spay or neuter", to prevent them from getting out and getting pregnant, or from making more babies. Mom is probably jumpy for a variety of reasons. She is probably tired from her babies, maybe ready to wean them, unsure of her surroundings, because it has not been that long since she has been inside, and afraid that she is going to be trapped by you. Hopefully you can find someone to help you trap her and get her to the vet ASAP before she ends up with more kitties. You are an angel to help this girl and her babies.....I am so happy to hear your reports on them


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## rand

@howsefrau32:
Thanks for the helpful post! I just thought of a vet I know who has experience with feral cats in particular. I will call him today and see if he has any tips for me on how to deal with her.

As for why she's been acting weird, I had a suspicion last night that was confirmed today. At first I thought maybe she has too much milk that's why she's cranky, but I also had a suspicion she might have been injured somewhere in her underside. This suspicion was confirmed today, she has a wound near one of her nipples. It might have been caused by one of her kids, maybe one of them got startled for any reason while feeding, and scratched her too deep in that soft area.

The weird thing is, my wife was petting her today while she was lying on her side and feeding Cinnamon, then Sylvester came to feed and put his hand on where the wound is. Suddenly she scratched my wife and hissed at her, as if she was the one who hurt her! I guess it's because we're the strangers, she thought we're the ones behind her pain. It might also be that my attempt to carry her last night made her associate us with the pain since it must have hurt when I tried to carry her. I don't know about the psychological side of things, but right now I am more concerned about helping that wound heal as fast as possible.

Any tips on how to help that wound heal without getting infected or causing her any more pain? I know it has much better chances of healing inside the clean apartment than it would have had if she was out in the street. Still, I would like to help her heal fast and get back to her old sweet self. This is already an unfortunate set back, especially that she somehow blames us for it 

Also, should I separate her from the kids to prevent any more pain? And should I mix some medicine with her food? Maybe one of the pain killers that have an anti-inflammatory component?


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## howsefrau32

Oh gosh, I don't have any ideas about the wound, and separating her. I would not probably do anything until you at least talk to a vet or someone who might have experience with this....hopefully someone here will give some insight on that. What I would do is just take it very slowly with her. She hissed and scratched at your wife...my first thought was maybe she was just being protective of her kitten? Since the kitten walked up and she was petting her? I would not try to be too hands on with her right now. If you think of all the trauma this poor girl has been through and is still going through....this is a big adjustment for her, just to be inside. And you and your wife know that you are only trying to give her love and help her, but she still has those feral instincts and behavior that makes her not really trust human hands so much. It took me almost 6 months before my feral cat even let me lightly pet her tail as she was walking away, and almost a year before I could pet her face, head and back. It is a very long process, usually, to gain their trust. In your case, this cat has actually given you a great deal of trust already, just being in your house and letting you handle and be near her kittens....that is huge for her, and not something that most feral cats would do so easily. So, I'd say she is probably not ready for too much handling just yet. I have a feeling, the fact that she has come so far already, that one day she will likely be a cat who will let you pet her and handle her, but she may never want to be picked up. As much as my feral lets me scratch her chin and pet her....she does not want me to pick her up and she has made that quite clear. She will not bite me, but she will start to bat at me the minute I try. I would just let her come to you when she wants affection. Don't be angry at her for hissing at you, I think she is just overwhelmed at the moment, adjusting to being inside a humans house, and she isn't quite sure if she can trust you at the moment. It will take time and a lot of patience. I would sit outside for hours with my feral cat, just sit in the chair reading a book, or on my laptop, and just hang out there with her, and get her used to my presence before she would come close to me, and then she did. It started with her rubbing her head against my leg, and now she knows she can trust me. I always let it be on her terms...the affection, I don't go trying to give it to her. There have been times she has gotten panicky with me and batted at me, or retreated away from me a bit, and I try to not take it personally. I have to realize she is like a little wild animal. Her natural instincts are to distrust humans, and she has been out on the streets and probably had things thrown at her, been run out of peoples yards, chased by dogs and her survival instincts tell her to not trust people. But she is learning to trust you, and the love with eventually come. She will learn to associate you with not just food, but safety and comfort, but it takes a while. Just be patient with her, let her initiate the contact, and try not to rush things. It will pay off in the long run. Arwen, my feral, for months used to come up to my door, happy to see me, but she would hiss at me every single time, as I put out her food. I just stayed in the chair, gave her the distance she needed, and eventually, a couple of months later, she stopped hissing at me. And then time went by and no hissing, and out of the blue she hissed again a few times. She no longer hisses at me, but she will occasionally bat at my pants if she is feeling al little panicked. Sometimes I forget she was a completely feral cat, and those times she acts that way reminds me that she still is and I have to respect that. You and your wife are so awesome for taking care of them! Hopefully someone will answer your questions about her wound. I wouldn't mess with it, you could end up getting hurt if you did. If it looks like it really needs attention, you wil have to get someone to help you trap her, but cats are pretty resilient, especially feral ones, hopefully it is not too bad and will heal.


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## rand

*Update on the wound*

It seems that wound wasn't what I expected at all. Tonight I came back from outside and immediately noticed the area near her armpit looked weird. Upon closer inspection (eyes only, no hands) it seems it's not a simple cut from one of her babies, it was an open abscess!  

I remembered seeing a red streaked hair back before we took her in, so maybe she hurt herself on something rusty in the street or in a fight with another street cat, and apparently the wound got infected and made an abscess. Now it seems this abscess was opened while we were outside, so I don't know whether she did this while cleaning herself or one of the kids did it playing with her. Either way, I found 2 tiny drops of blood near the food and water, a little less than a foot apart.  :dis

Obviously this is now a priority situation. My wife sent a message to the vet and I'm calling him first thing tomorrow, and even if I couldn't get her to him myself I will see if I can pay him for a house call and maybe he can sedate her and take her to the clinic for treatment. She will probably need to get sedated so the wound would get cleaned properly anyway, and I think it will be less traumatic for her since it'll be just like falling asleep.

On the bright side, she's eating normally and her output is normal, so hopefully it's healing well and she's not in any immediate danger. We will see what the vet says tomorrow, and keep 2 sets of eyes on her meanwhile.


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## Lovemychanel

Y'all are so sweet house call sounds good and they can probably treat it there...I had a mobile vet before and they treated on site keep us posted and hope she feels better soon!


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## howsefrau32

I am so amazed at the treatment you are giving to this cat, you and your wife are so kind to take care of her like this. She will never forget it. Sedating probably will be for the best, then maybe they can do what they need to do, shots and whatever else needs to be done, while she is sedated. Again, I am amazed at your kindness, and I completely believe that you get back how you treat others, and for me, pets count as "others" too. I hope it's something that can be healed quickly and easily treated. Looking forward to her progress.


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## rand

I took some photos of her wound in case someone has experience with this sort of thing before. They are somewhat gross, so I will put them as links instead of embedding them. Please don't click if you are sensitive to this sort of thing.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36873537/cat wound 1.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36873537/cat wound 2.jpg

The vet responded to the message my wife sent him last night saying we should put a big towel over her and put her in a box. This seems too harsh in my opinion and I feel it might traumatize her badly. What does everyone think about that? Should I just do that to get her to the vet, since it's for her own good? Or wait a while and see if the wound starts healing on its own?


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## Saly

Is there any way this vet can come to your house? I am lucky, my vet does come to my house to treat my feral that I have brought inside. She is afraid of the vet and the vet tech she runs and hides in her room, but once they get her, she freezes and they can do anything with her, even clip her claws. I cannot pick her up, but they know exactly how to do it! After they leave she is fine! The vet could probably give her a shot of antibiotics. She is beautiful, keep us posted!
Sally


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## JungliBillis

In my opiion, you should try and take her to the vet, even if you have to use the towel. All cats hate going in the crate and to the vet, and yes, she might get upset, but she will get over it. You need to have the wound looked at before it gets potentially worse.

My Aloo gets so scared of being transported to the vet in the box, and she poos diarrhea poo in the box. Poor thing. I have to wash her every time afterwards, but I do it because it's for her own good, and she gets over it after a while.

I leave the pet carrier on the livingroom floor at all times, so they are not really afraid of going in.

Good luck! And I think you are doing a wonderful job. And you and your wife are so sweet for taking them in.


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## howsefrau32

Oh my....this poor momma cat  It looks worse than I thought, although it's not dirty, which is good. I have a feeling, if you get her into a crate, she IS going to poop all over herself and not only that, she is going to go crazy trying to get out. You would need to make sure it is a good, solid closing crate that she cannot bust out of. Poor momma. My sister's cat had a very similar wound, it was actually a little worse than this one, and they did have to put stitches on her cat, but he refused to keep the cone on his neck, but he didn't really mess with it. He did heal pretty quickly. I wonder if you can ask the vet about sedating this cat? I do not know the first thing about how to go about that, and I know she is nursing kittens, so I'm just not sure if this is wise, but I wonder if that is an option? Not even totally knocked out, but drowsy? Or, I do know people who are very savvy at getting a cat in a crate and they do literally throw a towel over the cat and quickly get it in the crate. Yes, she will be traumatized, but I am not seeing a great way how to take care of her otherwise. I would definitely make sure she is not getting outside right now, with that open wound. I so feel for you right now, and am just not sure what I would do in your position.


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## rand

Thanks for the positive thoughts everyone, we really appreciate all your help.

We hadn't bought an actual cat carrier yet, so we were trying to get her into a cardboard box, but failing miserably. I called the vet again today and he said I should take her to the clinic as soon as possible. There aren't many good vets around here, so the good ones are usually too busy to do house calls. We actually drove all the way to the clinic today and talked to the vet assistant there, and he told us were we can buy a sturdy cat carrier. We went and bought it and we put it in the room with them, and I actually put her food inside it and she went all the way inside to eat. It was late at night, though, so we didn't go out again after that. I just left it there with the door wide open so they can see that it doesn't hurt them, and the kittens actually went inside to explore it.

Tomorrow I will repeat the same routine of putting her food inside, then when she goes inside to eat I will close the door and we will take her to the vet. Knowing her, I don't expect she will be passive aggressive, I think she will try to claw her way out. I just hope she doesn't hurt herself more than she already is. I will make sure to keep her babies somewhere she can see them at all times.

Also on the topic of her children, I think she is finally starting to wean them off completely. Tonight Sylvester was trying to eat and she held him with both hands and kept his head away from her until he gave up and went back to playing.


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## howsefrau32

Oh, very good! I am so glad that you got the cat carrier, and so smart to put it out where she can begin to get used to it. That's half the battle. She has now walked into it on her own, and she sees that it won't hurt her. She will be good now. Once she is in there, and you get her to the vet where she can be looked at....it will all be good


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## JungliBillis

That's great! It might help during the trip to put a towel or a blanket inside the crate that has her scent, so she might feel a bit safer in there. I usually cover the crate with a towel during the trip, so the cats can't see much of outside and get scared. I feel that the less stimulation, the better.

I am taking my Billi to the vet on Saturday, and I have to take a subway and get off at a busy stop. He will have to be brave!

I hope mommy cat will get the wound taken care of and have clean bill of health otherwise! Stay strong


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## rand

Well, we finally took them to the vet on Monday. It was traumatic for all of us, with the drama the mommy did. But thankfully it went well overall, the vet said the wound is clean and healing quite nicely, and he put disinfectant on it and started her on antibiotics to help things along. He checked the kittens and they are both fine and healthy, so everything is ok. Of course mommy Basbousa is treating us with mistrust, and she actually hissed at me yesterday just because I spent a little too long petting her, but I think she's starting to forgive and forget, and hopefully once her wound heals she will be back to her sweet old self.

Oh, and by the way, "Cinnamon" turned out to be a boy! The vet carried him up for the examination and said "and who's this cute little boy" and my wife and I were both like "Huh?! :yikes"  It was hilarious, because I suspected it a while back but I wasn't sure until the vet confirmed it. So now he's "Sesame", because my wife thinks "Cinnamon" is a girl's name


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## Carmel

rand said:


> Oh, and by the way, "Cinnamon" turned out to be a boy! The vet carried him up for the examination and said "and who's this cute little boy" and my wife and I were both like "Huh?! :yikes"  It was hilarious, because I suspected it a while back but I wasn't sure until the vet confirmed it. So now he's "Sesame", because my wife thinks "Cinnamon" is a girl's name


I just read over this thread now, the kittens are adorable and have a gorgeous mom, and I'm glad they got to the vet! I hope the momma starts feeling better soon.  For future reference, orange cats are about 75% likely to be males due to genetics (and in practice the percentage seems higher, since I've rarely met a female orange cat).


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## rand

Carmel said:


> I just read over this thread now, the kittens are adorable and have a gorgeous mom, and I'm glad they got to the vet! I hope the momma starts feeling better soon.


Thanks 



Carmel said:


> For future reference, orange cats are about 75% likely to be males due to the genetics.


Upon reading this, I actually remembered my brother saying something like this a while back. But I guess it just didn't stick, plus as you can clearly tell I'm completely new at this . So new, in fact, that I couldn't tell for sure if it was a boy or a girl  It was a nice surprise, though!


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## LadyK

Glad to hear they all had a good vet check up! And I have two ferals who have been visiting my front porch for a year and I still don't know if they are male or female. 

Keep us posted on how everyone adjusts. They are lucky cats to have found you!


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## JungliBillis

Oh that's so awesome! Glad they were seen by the vet, and the wound is taken care of. I am sure mommy will get over it very soon, and she won't have to go back for a while 

I bet the kittens are growing rapidly. You have to post some more pics again soon! We all go ga ga over kitten pics here


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## howsefrau32

I was wondering how mom and kitties were doing. Nice surprise....it's a boy! Ha, ha, I don't know, that may be a good thing, my boy kitties have always been a little sweeter than my girl kitties. This cat family is so lucky to have found you and your wife, they may not even still be alive if you had not taken them in. So you are my hero of the day


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## rand

*Kitten photos!*


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## rand

*Updates on the whole family*

Sorry it's been a while since I posted any updates, life has been a bit hectic...

Mommy is fine, we finished the antibiotic course and the wound has healed nicely. She is still a little apprehensive but I guess that's one part of her nature that will take a long time to overcome, if ever.

The kittens are growing really fast! Photos in the previous post were from a few days ago, and I feel they have grown since then! We removed the barrier and are now letting them explore the house at will. They mostly come and play in the living room when we're sitting there, but after a while they run back to their place. Today we finally let them into the other room to see our guineapigs (from behind a sturdy cage, of course) and they sniffed around them then freaked out and ran away when they saw them move 

The mommy went into the room to explore, and didn't even seem to notice the guineapigs. She just took a quick glance around and turned and left the room.

All in all, it's been a very nice experience. There are some behavior issues with the kittens that we need to address (mostly claw related; my wife is losing her mind over what they do to the carpets and the furniture!), but other than that they are all extremely sweet.


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## JungliBillis

OMG they are soooooo cuuuuute! They have definitely grown! And they will keep growing really fast, I tell you. Mine doubled in size over the course of 4 months.

The kitten years are precious and fun, but at the same time a lot of running around and getting into things! Don't worry, they will eventually mellow out. But you have a while to go in their kittenhood. 

As for the furniture/carpet scratching, you can try getting them used to having their nails clipped (just the tips with the special nail clipper, not the human one), and put some scratch pads or posts in the rooms and put them close to where the kittens seem to like to scratch.

Thank you for posting those adorable photos. I love them!


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## howsefrau32

I was wondering how the kittens and mom were doing, I had to go in search and find your post. They are so cute! And getting big. Kittens will be kittens. I know they will drive you nuts, they are really, really bad at this age. They get better as they get older, but they are just little monsters at this age. They climb the curtains, claw furniture, get into everything. The best thing you can do, I think, is put them up at night, in a closed room, so they don't drive you crazy. Then you set a routine, of bed time, mealtimes, and they can learn when they are supposed to sleep. It's not too early to teach them NO, a firm NO, when they are being naughty. A clap of the hands and NO. My 10 month old kitten loves the inexpensive cardboard scratcher that I got him, in fact we have two. He loves them! My other cats don't touch them, but the kitten loves the cardboard ones, and it cost about $10, very cheap. I dont' know if you can get something like that where you are, but they are sold even at the local grocery store here. When they start scratching the couch, NO, clap of hands, and show them the card board scratcher, and show them how to do it. Our little boy has learned the couch is off limits. Now, sometimes he runs and takes a flying leap off of it and scratches it in the process, but he does not go up to it and scratch his nails on it any longer. 

Sounds like you are doing a great job with them. THey are beautiful! And you and your wife are wonderful people to take in this family  Love hearing updates about them and seeing pics of them growing. And that's great that you are being patient with mom, it will take her a long time to come around, but I have no doubt she is grateful to you for saving her life and her babies too.


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## rand

They're all fine, thanks for asking  Things are going smoothly, but yeah the little ones are always finding new ways to drive us crazy! 

I did a good job of teaching them to stop scratching me when I'm playing with them, and now they just run and play on my lap and all around me with no nails. It was relatively easy, I just told them a stern NO, and if they kept at it I would get up and stop playing with them instantly. They are pretty smart so they learn quickly when they want to. They have a few makeshift toys that they exercise their claws on, so thankfully the times they do that on the furniture or the carpets are rare and they stop when we tell them to. We also went and bought some rugs that I will use to make them a few scratching poles as soon as I have some free time.

They just have those episodes when they both go crazy and start running after each other all over the place (and all over us), but if they get too crazy we just put them out of the room and close the door so they can play outside without driving us crazy.

Things are all better with the mommy, she's back to her sweet cuddly self. However, she started a heat cycle and now she's extra cuddly and does her mating cries a couple of times every day. We were hoping we could do the operation before that happens, but unfortunately it was complicated since she is still breastfeeding (I don't know how exactly, the kids are 8 weeks old!) and last time the vet said we should wait until her wound had healed off completely and she's done breastfeeding. Now we will also need to wait until she's done with the current heat cycle, but after that we will need to take her to the vet to get the operation. We're dreading having to put her through the car trip again so soon, so we're thinking of talking to the vet to see if he could give us a shot or some medicine that would make her sleep through it. We still haven't made that call yet, but I hope the vet will say that's Ok because I'm really not looking forward to another episode like the last one 

That's about all the updates I have so far. Sorry it took me so long; I've been incredibly busy!


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## howsefrau32

Yeah! Sounds like all is well! So happy to hear. I know you are dreading another trip to the vet for her surgery, but she will be so much more pleasant to be around after she is spayed. She will probably be sweeter too, and no more babies to ever deal with again! Yeah!


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## JungliBillis

SO awesome they are all doing well. What a great job you guys are doing! Mommy will definitely won't LOVE another vet visit, but she will get over it and be much more mellow, I think. Then you hopefully won't have to take her again for quite a while. Good luck!


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## howsefrau32

Hoping mom and kitties are doing well  I'm addicted to your rescue story and how they are doing


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