Ever since our cat Hal died this plump black and white cat has been hanging around our place, climbing up to the balcony that is outside out bedroom and somehow managing to squeeze under the small crack of our storage shed door (shed is on the back balcony). I thought she was someone's pet (she was so chubby, so must have been well-fed I thought). And I thought she was just curious about checking out our place now that our "guard cat" was gone.
Boy was I wrong.
Turns out the chubbiness was actually three little kittens in her belly. And the scouting out of our property was looking for the perfect birthing place.
We got back from two weeks of vacation and there she was, nursing her little ones on the balcony. We've been leaving out food (poor thing was starving... I know how much nursing takes out of you!), but besides that I'm wondering what to do. First of all, we can't keep any of them because dh is allergic to cats (Hal was with me before we lived together, and dh developed a tolerance to him, but definitely doesn't want any more cats now that Hal is gone). So we want to find homes for the kittens and the cat. To that end my thought now is to try to spend time with them on the balcony to try to get them used to being around people (right now the kittens are totally afraid of me, but will come out after a while if I fill up the food bowl and sit stock still for several minutes). Should I be trying to pet them and pick them up? I'm worried I'll make mama cat freaked out and she'll try to move them (to somewhere that might end up being much less hospitable than our place). On the flip side, if they are totally afraid of people, I'm worried that no one will want to take them.
I'm also worried about what to do with mama cat. She's pretty sweet, but also a little ragged around the edges (ears a little chewed up, the white of her white-and-black fur isn't so clean). It seems much more difficult to find a home for her than a cute cuddly little kitten. My plan is to find a home for all of them, but if that fails I'm left with:
a) trying to find homes for the kittens and just do nothing but continue to put out food for the mama. But then I don't know what would happen to her during winter (it gets desperately cold here). And also if she's not spayed I imagine she'll just continue to have litters of kittens in our comfy shed.
b) bring her to the SPCA. But I'm worried that there are already so many older (ie. not kitten) cats there and the chances of her being adopted are slim, and she might end up being put down.
Poor mama cat.
I don't know what to do. What can I do to give all of them the best life possible? Any thoughts appreciated...
p.s. if anyone reading this lives in Montreal and is looking to adopt a nice black and white cat and/or a cute black and white kitten PM me!!!
Boy was I wrong.
Turns out the chubbiness was actually three little kittens in her belly. And the scouting out of our property was looking for the perfect birthing place.
We got back from two weeks of vacation and there she was, nursing her little ones on the balcony. We've been leaving out food (poor thing was starving... I know how much nursing takes out of you!), but besides that I'm wondering what to do. First of all, we can't keep any of them because dh is allergic to cats (Hal was with me before we lived together, and dh developed a tolerance to him, but definitely doesn't want any more cats now that Hal is gone). So we want to find homes for the kittens and the cat. To that end my thought now is to try to spend time with them on the balcony to try to get them used to being around people (right now the kittens are totally afraid of me, but will come out after a while if I fill up the food bowl and sit stock still for several minutes). Should I be trying to pet them and pick them up? I'm worried I'll make mama cat freaked out and she'll try to move them (to somewhere that might end up being much less hospitable than our place). On the flip side, if they are totally afraid of people, I'm worried that no one will want to take them.
I'm also worried about what to do with mama cat. She's pretty sweet, but also a little ragged around the edges (ears a little chewed up, the white of her white-and-black fur isn't so clean). It seems much more difficult to find a home for her than a cute cuddly little kitten. My plan is to find a home for all of them, but if that fails I'm left with:
a) trying to find homes for the kittens and just do nothing but continue to put out food for the mama. But then I don't know what would happen to her during winter (it gets desperately cold here). And also if she's not spayed I imagine she'll just continue to have litters of kittens in our comfy shed.
b) bring her to the SPCA. But I'm worried that there are already so many older (ie. not kitten) cats there and the chances of her being adopted are slim, and she might end up being put down.
Poor mama cat. I don't know what to do. What can I do to give all of them the best life possible? Any thoughts appreciated...
p.s. if anyone reading this lives in Montreal and is looking to adopt a nice black and white cat and/or a cute black and white kitten PM me!!!
