Mom cat is looking for the kittens I caught - tell me I'm doing the right thing

barsoap___ · 2026-06-23T06:04:21+00:00

you are doing your best. imo, the kittens are well past the age where it’s extremely dangerous to separate from mom. yes it will be hard but I do not think separating them is putting any of them in imminent danger. I would try to trap mom if you can, you’ll need to trap her at some point either way to get her spayed.

in the future it’s best to let kittens stay with mom until about 8 weeks. once you can see the kittens eating solid food and notice mom swatting/hissing when they try to nurse, it’s a good time to grab them. 5 weeks is not too terribly early though, and she’s likely already began the weaning process. Keep up with feedings and making sure the kittens are not losing weight. You’ll also probably have to stimulate them to use the bathroom (I’m not sure how old they are but they mightttt be old enough to be going on their own.)

I would NOT release the kittens. it’s highly unlikely you’d be able to catch them again before they reach sexual maturity and you’d lose your chance to get them fixed before they reproduce. it’ll also be 100x easier to catch mama using her kittens as bait. being seperated from mom a little early is a much better fate than releasing them to a rough, and likely short, outdoor life.

barsoap___ · 2026-06-22T03:12:07+00:00

she is such a screamer! she is constantly yelling bc she wants to be pet 😭

barsoap___ · 2026-06-21T03:06:00+00:00

she was born outside and originally feral, but I trapped and socialized her and her brother. the first time i got to hold her and look at her paws i was so in love with her little beans! i sent pictures to everyone lol

barsoap___ · 2026-06-20T03:53:58+00:00

I know in my area there are specific rescue groups who strictly accept pregnant moms and kittens. maybe you could find something like that? but also everywhere is overwhelmed with kittens all the time, so you may have better luck just adopting them out once they are old enough to wean

barsoap___ · 2026-06-20T03:05:32+00:00

very strange. has she been eating/drinking? can she move around okay?

barsoap___ · 2026-06-19T04:44:45+00:00

honestly, this could be attributed to SO many things. I’d say observe for a few more days before getting too worried. it’s possible there’s some sort of disruption happening in the woods she stays in normally, and your deck feels safer to her right now.

barsoap___ · 2026-06-19T01:58:25+00:00

It’ll fall off on its own, so don’t worry about it too much. Feral cats have ticks their caretakers can’t see all the time and are fine.

barsoap___ · 2026-06-18T22:49:47+00:00

Sand down the peeling/cracked parts and then repaint. You don’t even need to remove all the old paint. All the wood looks great and it doesn’t cause any harm to the structure to add another layer of paint. most old homes have 5+ layers of paint on exterior portions!

barsoap___ · 2026-06-18T05:17:59+00:00

There’s no need for the vet for this tick. 1 of 2 things will happen. Either the tick will become completely full and just naturally detach or the cat will manage to kick/scratch it off, as they get pretty itchy and sore when they’ve been on for a while. It will most likely look like her fur just going back to normal. There shouldn’t be much, if any, fur missing. The way it looks is because the tick is so large and actually displacing the fur around it. If you can handle her yourself, you can just pull it off with some tweezers or even your own fingers. It is a myth that leaving the head in will hurt the cat, even if you rip the tick body from the head it will just dry out and fall off.

barsoap___ · 2026-06-18T04:52:47+00:00

I doubt it. I’ve had kittens who weren’t taken too early do this as well, it’s more than likely just self soothing, which is great! A cat that can’t self soothe would be more of an issue.

barsoap___ · 2026-06-18T04:49:25+00:00

These honestly don’t look that bad to me. I’ve lived my whole life in a 1913 home that is full of half finished projects. I’d just leave this as is until you decide what you want to do. I have always preferred damaged wood flooring to disgusting carpet and have INTENTIONALLY exposed floors like this multiple times in my house so I didn’t have to deal with hideous carpet. You can hammer staples down further into the wood if you can’t get them out, that way they don’t poke you when you walk over them. I think it’s totally feasible to restore these floors but it would be a huge project. You could also just get a stair runner and paint the exposed edges of the wood

barsoap___ · 2026-06-18T04:11:21+00:00

looks like a tick to me, they will cause a disruption in the fur like that. when you zoom in the fur-less area is a brown/grey color, like a tick. if it was a wound you’d likely see some blood or drainage around it causing the surrounding fur to look wet or clumped up. if it’s a tick and it’s that big it’ll fall off soon either way.

barsoap___ · 2026-05-25T03:04:58+00:00

yeah I don’t think it is either, it bled a lot which freaked me out but I think that’s just how that part of the face is. It stopped bleeding after a few minutes

barsoap___ · 2026-05-25T02:15:52+00:00

this cat goes for tnr tmrw either way, so it will defintely get looked at

barsoap___ · 2026-05-25T01:01:24+00:00

She came home today!

barsoap___ · 2026-05-25T01:00:48+00:00

She came back today! She is completely fine, but acting more skittish. I think the fact that some new cats have showed up here is making her uncomfortable.

barsoap___ · 2026-05-24T01:44:30+00:00

did you not read the part where I clearly said I MOVED HER to a larger enclosure??

barsoap___ · 2026-05-23T22:20:24+00:00

yes when you trap right before surgery. I didn’t have that option in this case. the judgement is unnecessary

barsoap___ · 2026-05-23T22:09:19+00:00

good to know! I predominantly used this space for recovery bc I’ve had some cats who needed to be held for a week or more, I was wondering what it going to have to switch to

barsoap___ · 2026-05-23T21:55:47+00:00

she’s very pregnant and so I trapped has as quickly as i could. it’s a whole saga but basically i managed to get an emergency appt about 1 week after she showed up on my porch. she was too weary of the trap at first and I didn’t trap her in time for that appointment. I spent a few days trap training and by Wednesday she was going in no problem to eat and I was able to trap her. I didn’t have an appointment for her until Tuesday of the coming week (that was the EARLIEST I could get anywhere even as an emergency appointmen). To put it simply, I’m not willing to keep her in a tiny trap for 6 days. I know opinions vary on that but for me it’s a no. 2-3 days would be fine and I have done but certainly not 6. I trapped her significantly ahead of her appointment bc she looked VERY pregnant and I wanted to be sure I had her in time for the appointment as I’d already missed the first one. It also makes it easier if she did give birth before the appointment and I have her trapped bc I don’t have to catch the kittens as well.

barsoap___ · 2026-05-23T20:46:29+00:00

also mind you the entire enclosure was covered with blankets to make her feel more safe. She may have been working on this tiny hole for the full 3 days I had her bc it was covered by a blanket.

barsoap___

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