Help with feral cat and kittens please!!!!!! Need advice.

Hi folks,
I am in need of advice,
To start, I should say that I live in rural Ecuador, we don't have the same
shelters, or animal control departments as in the states or other western countries.

About 5 wks ago I started getting a visit from what appeared to be a pregnant cat.
Turned out she was nursing.
She was getting into my garbage, and eating anything that was left on the counter.
I should also mention that I have an outdoor kitchen.

I dealt with garbage placement and decided to leave out food for her, she would eat my
Chihuahua mutts food anyway.

A week later she moved her litter into my bedroom closet when I was gone. They were about 2-3 wks old.
I set them up with a safe and comfortable bed inside and outside, and have cared for all of them.
Healthy food, love, vet visit etc....

About a week ago, I accidentally stepped on a flattened cardboard box that had a kitten underneath,
There was a lot of screaming and blood from the kitty. It was a traumatic scene at my little house.
The mother cat, who didn't witness the accident, came in and attacked my dog. And since then has moments of
stalking and attacking "Chica". Who is living stressed and in fear of momma cat. She wont cross her path and momma cat is always on guard. With me she is warm and affectionate, and she trained her kittens to use the litterbox so I can assume she had human owners in her life.

I am working on finding homes for the 7wk old kittens, there are 3.
I want to keep the one that I squished, which has healed nicely but still may have health issues
down the line from such a dramatic head injury.
Now what do I do with the momma cat? I can't keep her because of all this.
Not fair to my primary pet.
How can I send momma away, and keep her kitten?
It sounds cruel, but keeping her and finding her a new home here will be near impossible. Also.... Cats here are almost always outdoor pets.
No shelters here that offer these services. I'm at a loss.
I can't have this cat running my household and abusing my dog.
I wont do anything till the kittens are ready to separate from the momma, which is soon.

So, can I realistically "shoo" away a cat that I have fed for the last 5 wks? Can I do something to help the relationship btwn her and my dog? I wasn't looking for a cat to own, yet I feel responsible for the one I injured.

I'm at a loss and would love some input.
I Want to do right by all the animals that have adopted me. Especially my Chihuahua mutt.

Thanks in advance
Muttly

 

I'm sorry I don't really have any advice for you, but I hope you get something sorted soon, it is always more difficult with feral cats and I really admire what you are doing. Good luck

 

Hi Muttly,
This is probably very late advise, but I had to comment. Thank you for helping feral cats. Socializing the kittens will make them so much more adoptable. I do understand that you feel responsible for the injured kitten, but sometimes things like that happen. You can't make a home perfectly safe 100% of the time.
We had an abandoned pregnant Abyssinian take up residence in our outdoor laundry room. Wow, to say the least, she would either die or kill to protect her kittens. She chased a full-grown German Shepherd out of our yard (the dog was just minding his own business, wandering down the street). She ran through two inches of flood irrigation water in our back yard and tore into this poor dog.
I think it might be the same with Chica. Your dog is just a 'threat' no matter how nice she really is. Maybe if you spay the mom and the kittens grow up and are no longer dependent on her, things may settle down, and mom may be an ok outdoor cat. Good luck, sure would like to know what happened.

 

If you are going to find a home for most of the kittens why can't you find a good home for the mother cat as well. I mean do you have a family member who could offer the mother cat a good home. I understand you dilemma I had a similar one with my mother cat Pepper. Pepper use to be feral but she became attached to us and unfortunately she became pregnant not once but twice. We have since more or less adopted Pepper and her four kittens, two of which were girls. We had to have all three fixed "Spade" in order to keep from more kittens being born.

Also I have to ask has the mother cat been outdoors since having her kittens. You believe she could of had a home at one point, is it possible she still does, and she was just coming to your house for more food, but then had her babies there, because this does happen. I know that Pepper and her kittens go elsewhere for more food because they are outdoor cats, but this is their home now. Maybe if the mother cat hasn't been outside put her out see if she leaves. Also, you say there are no shelters in your area, but you have the Internet, which means you have social media, perhaps you could create your own type of online way to find homes for these cats in your area. I hope some of my advice was helpful to you. By the way one more thing is the kitten you are keeping a boy or a girl, either way it too will have to fixed within six months of being born because for girl cats this is when the heat cycle usually begins.

 

I just realized how old this post is and can't help but wonder how things turned out. I would hate for the mother cat to be left behind, abandoned or worse. I think Pafjlh raised some interesting questions and made some useful suggestions.

I saw some cats a few weeks ago. I am guessing there are feral cats as well but they are not living close to me. I have gone back to visit them but only saw one or two on my last visit. I went to feed them what was left of my cat's food. My Twinkle has passed. Sadly I have not gone recently to see how they are going. It can be very stressful, trying to decide how far to go with "strays". You want to help but also have your limitations. Sad really.

Whatever happened in this poster's case, I hope this story had a happy ending.