# I caught two kittens..



## Melissaandcats (Aug 18, 2004)

i got a call the other day that there was a mom and three kittens living under a porch at a daycare center.. Well, I saw the mom the other day after i staked out the place for 2 hours and then, the next day i saw her again, and there they were... all three babies with her!!

Well, as it went, I didn't have any traps with me, because i figured i wouldnt see these guys.. 
They kept running every time i saw them.. After about 20 minutes i just went for it, i grabbed one.. and this is soo bad ( i still fell awful).. as i was bent down with him in my hand , he jumped and fell, and got up and ran...  I really feel horrible about this still... But i managed to get the other two.. 

I talked to the shelter and they said that it is good ( for right now) that i left one with the mom because she is probably very distraught now..  But.. we are going to go back hopefully tomorrow to trap mom and baby.. 

Thing is, i got these two friday and i am afraid she may have moved now with the remaining baby...?? And i feel awful taking her other babies!!!! I know it's the best thing to do, but the mom herself looked soo young..
At least we can get her and fix her, but i still have that sad horrible feeling. I mean how can i not, She watched me take her babies!!  

The kittens are about 8 weeks now, so i have to get this last one soon so we can socialize them and adopt them out.. but i feel as though i went about it the wrong way.

Now i am also worried because they want me to foster these guys for 2 weeks, and i really can't. ( I have 4 of my own cats in a small apartment) and i dont know if these two are carrying anything or not... they are isolated too...
They said we will talk tomorrow and they should have another foster home for them..

So, even though i saved two kittens lives, i just hate this guilty feeling i am having now.. I just think how that poor mum must have gone looking for her babies after i left with them. And now how i didn't get over there today to even look or put food out for her!  
I am going over tomorrow with some really good food and treats now!! I just want to go cuddle their poor mum so much, which is soo impossible!! 
I am truly heartbroken over this cat! 

Someone just tell me that i am doing the right thing... even if i am not.

This is such heartbreaking work. I had a tough time when i was trying to catch Daisy ( and eventually i did) but this involves babies and stealing and a mom that has no chance now of being back with her babies...  

I am a jerk.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Melissa, you totally did the right thing and you should NOT feel guilty at all!!! :thumb Feral cats in the wild are terrified and in danger all the time. The odds of the kittens even surviving are so much lower than when they're rescued. It's more likely that the mom cat would seen some of her babies actually die if you hadn't saved them, and that would have been so much worse.

I know it's difficult when they seem so frightened. They might cry or trill for their mom for a couple of days, and that can be hard to take. But feral kittens are tough little things emotionally, and they'll adjust faster than you would think. Think about which is worse, having them be afraid for a little while while they get used to domestic living, or having them be afraid for their entire, much shorter and crueler lives?

It might seem mean in the short term to take them away from mom, but it will be much better for them in the long run because otherwise she would probably fight to keep you from getting near them, and would continue to reinforce their feral behaviors. At any rate, in the wild, once they reach a certain age (a couple of months? cat experts please chime in here), kittens are old enough to be on their own and wander away from mom permanently anyway. After awhile, they don't remember each others' smells and become strangers. This is nature's plan whether or not you intervene, so you haven't done anything harmful, you've only helped. 

I don't know of any way of catching feral kittens that's easy or non-traumatic, but that part has to be done if they're going to get the help that they desperately need. Few people would be brave enough to try catching them by hand. You did _great!_ :thumb :thumb :thumb


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## Melissaandcats (Aug 18, 2004)

Oh Thanks Jet Green! I needed that, and you put it perfectly.

I know deep down it's right, and i am new to trapping and working with a shelter, so it's tough... I just get too "involved" in it still.

Of course my heart goes out to all the ferals, but i can still see their mom peaking through the cracks of the porch watching me.  

It sounds odd that i am more worried for the mother in this situation than i am the kittens... I just really hope i can trap her and prevent her from going through this again. At these times, i wish there were more people and resources willing to work with ferals.. she is such a beautiful girl. 

Socializing a feral has to be the best experience. Everyday, when I look at my Daisy, i swear i could cry thinking about what would have happened had i not done anything... ( i found her in my parking lot everynight eating out of a dumpster and she was dying) and to have saved her life, and been able to keep her and help her through her fear of us humans and to be able to give her a warm home and food and family has been the most rewarding thing to me. 
Of course i love all my cats equally, but there was/ is such a special bonding with her that i never would have imagined was going to happen when i first brought her in.

Sorry for rambling!!!! I am in one of those moods tonight!!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

How are the kitties (and you) doing?  

I'm sure the mom kitty will be OK too. Like their babies, feral moms are tough little things too, probably even more so. And right now she knows that two of her kittens are somewhere away from her, that's all. Three kittens is pretty small for a litter, so I would guess that she's already lost at least one before this. At least this way she knows that there's a chance that the others will be all right.



Melissaandcats said:


> At these times, i wish there were more people and resources willing to work with ferals


I agree 100%. Especially since so many other people seem determined to keep making more of them, by refusing to fix their cats and abandoning them. :evil: What kind of shelter are you working with? Are there any other volunteer rescue groups in your area who might be willing to take them in?

Good for you, 100x over for wanting to help these and other cats. I'm glad it worked out for you and Daisy. I agree, there is nothing like the gratification that comes from winning the love of a feral cat! :luv


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

You did exatcly would I have done in that situation. Please do not feel gulity! If it was not for you, these fur babies would end up becoming another namless victim of pet overpopulation. Feral kittens do not do well in the wild and have only a 50% survial rate. At 8 weeks the kittens would start becoming loners anyway. Some Mama ferals leave their kittens younger then 3 months due to stress, hunger and mating. Little Tiger Lily was only 7-8 weeks when I trapped her and she was all alone, scared and hungry.

All my cats give you a paw on your back for doing the right thing!!


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

Yes, I agree. Kudos to you for rescuing those babies! Please remember that you are helping them toward living a long, safe, and healthy life, far better than if they were still outdoors. Sometimes you just have to do whatever it takes. You did the right thing, no question. :wink: 

Let us know how you make out with the others.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Melissa, I hope you will be able to get Mother and the other baby--or babies. What a terrible life it would have been for the two kittens you caught if they had to live on the street. You're so kind to ferals. Please don't feel guilty for not being able to care for them all. You're doing so much more than most people.


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

No, you can't save them all. You can't make the problem perfect but you can try to make it better Last fall I caught 3 kittens I kept the youngest and neutered and released the other two. They were fine growing fat and happy, then one got hit by a car. 

It hit me hard, I felt like it was my fault that he died and I kept thinking over and over with the what if's what if I took him and fostered him, what if I put a light in my yard, What if I could of found him a home, what if I kept them all. 

That is the hardest part of feral work, we all have our limits and we must do what we can. If I took in every cat, I would not be able to move. It seems like I take in a cat every year :!: And fostering feral cats is risky, their harder to adopt out and they wind up falling in love with you :wink: 

Let us know how you make out with the little family.


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## Kookiefool (May 18, 2006)

I also agree, you did the absolute right thing. I'm new around here, so you all don't know me very well, but those who do know me, know I am not the type to say things like that when I don't mean them, just to make someone feel good. I absolutely believe you did the right thing.

In addition, you said they were about 8 weeks old. Although in a domestic situation, to ensure the best health and emotional well-being of kittens, it's recommended keeping them with Mom longer, for kittens to be independent from their mother in the wild at that age isn't all that out of the ordinary. Which would also mean that although the mother might be slightly stressed because suddenly they were taken, she will get over it FAST because it's the way of the world, and her world, and what is expected.

If they were that old, I wouldn't doubt there are more than 3, and the others already went out on their own.

One thing you did say that surprised me was that you were concerned about taking the kittens in with your cats because they may have something.

The rescue I'm involved with would never allow that. Any animals they would be involved with would be immediately taken to a vet and at the very minimum tested, if not also vaccinated before they were placed in any foster home whatsoever. They would insist on it. I'm surprised they didn't have the kitten tested before askng you to keep it for a time as long as a weekend. The most I was ever expected to hold an outside was about an hour locked in my bathroom until I could get him over to the vet and tested (not vaccinated yet, but at least tested --- and he was negative -- and just quickly checked for things that might be contagious.

You might consider discussing that with them, because they'd probably have an easier time getting foster homes if people knew their own animals would be safe. Because I do think that is part of the reason they do this. Not only to ensure the well-being of the animals, but by taking that kind of concern seriously for any potential foster homes, that makes makes people much more willing to foster, and continue fostering, and to be willing to kick in when needed in an emergency. So that kind of policy pays for itself in many ways.

For the record, and for a little good news, that little negative guy? He had me at hello, his name is Little Big Man (Little Guy for short) and Iknew the minute I picked him up there was something special, and he was immediately part of the family. The rescue people were really nice too, because I offered them the money back they laid out for his testing and vet visit since I decided to keep him and take the responsibliity for him and they wouldn't take it back. 

Again, it helps them as much as me, because I will go out of my way for them even more. 

Little Big Man was even more special than I thought. He is amazing, almost eerie some of the things that have happened around him and since he's been here, and he has a pesonality and temperament I have never seen in any other cat in my life, and I'm up there and have had a lot of cats.

So much so, that my contact at the rescue feels he would be a perfect therapy cat, and she is going to get up in contact with those who we can work with and use the gift he seems to have been given in the way it should be.

It's so strange. Every person who has ever even as much as lightly pet him on the heat, let alone pick him up, has made a comment that there is something about him that just seemed to bring a sense of calm to them immediately. 

One of the strange things? I found out who is original owner was (someone stupid of course, who thought it was cute to let him out to play with her dogs and he ran off), but she said she had seen him in my window a few times and knew I had him, but he seemed to happy sitting there with my Rocky and seemed so well taken care of, she was happy he had a good home, better than she could have given him (I give her that, that took character). 

But when I asked her what his original name was, because I ended naming him that because I coudln't think of a better name, she said his name was "little cat." How close is that?

I used to sit with him and say, "I wish you could tell me what you name is. I don't know what to name you, it's just not coming to me!" So I called him Little Guy because no other name seemed to fit. 

Someone he told me. LOL Somehow!

I gotta get some good pictures of him and post them. He's amazing, and looks very jungle-like, as if he has a lot of abyssinian or bengal in him. He's gorgeous and sweetest cat you could imagine. And so amazingly smart, he also has become an ambassador for a feral I'm working with. That's another story. LOL

But honest, you done good. Really. And it will work out because it sounds to me like it was all the right thing, and that always works out. The Cat Gods sometimes know what they're doing


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