In November of 2011, I said goodbye to my 17 year old cat who eventually succoumbed to kidney disease. For 2 1/2 years I took her to the vet twice a week for sub Q fluids. I take my role as a pet owner very seriously and after having put so much emotional and financial investment into her, I couldn't imagine having the Strength to go through that again. Then, I found out my elderly neighbor was in the hospital and had some outdoor cats which needed to be fed and watered. So.....since November, I have stopped everyday and fed and watered these cats as well as made sure they were well cared for. Recently, the mother cat had three kittens. This past Saturday I saw all of the kittens (who appear to be about 3-4 weeks old). On Sunday when I arrived, I couldn't find two of them and then discovered the tail of one :( I'm guessing a raccoon or coyote got ahold of them....my heart was broken and I started bawling as the mother would go up to the tail and smell it and then search for her kittens. It still brings me to tears.
Last night I was able to close the mother and her kitten as well as another sweet cat in the outdoor sun room with food and water and today when I stopped all was well. I will continue to do so. After yesterday, I decided that I want to give this kitten the life it's siblings never had. But, I have lots of questions....
I have never adopted an outdoor cat who is used to peeing whereever it wants, how do I get him to use the litter box before he comes into my house? How old should he be before he uses it?
How old should I let him get before taking him from his mother?
When can he start eating kitten food?
I'm nervous because I want to make this as least stressful for him and for me and my family as possible. Any and all advice is appreciated!
On Wednesday morning of this week I stopped at my neighbor's house to let mama kitty and her kitten out of the sunroom. All appeared fine. I fed the cats, gave them water and then left. When I returned that night to shut them back in, I couldn't find the kitten or the mama. I am pretty sure I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night. I looked everywhere. When I returned Thursday morning, there was the mama there, but no kitten. Such was the same last night and this morning. There is a slim chance that she has hidden the kitten, but the kitten was definitely old enough to walk away. So....i'm not sure if I should hold out hope or just come to the realization that she is indeed gone. In the past couple of days I have also noticed more tom cats around the place as well. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach. I was definitely attached to that kitten and losing it brought back feelings of when I said goodbye to my cat in November. Ugh....Thank you everyone for the advice!
Edited by gumby74 - 5/18/12 at 2:54pm
but if it is not possible the general rule is that they need to be 2lbs., somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks, to be weaned totally. Since you won't be able to keep momma, I'd try to get a minimum of 8 weeks in there and make sure kitten is on solids before seperation or otherwise you could look into supplementing if that doesn't work out.
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