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Pregnant stray cat...tips!

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,597 ✭✭✭anniehoo


    Well the little missy (maybe thats a better name for her lol) is back :D She seems absolutely fine, very very vocal,but really relaxed. So heres to attempt number " god knows what" to keep her in,try get her a bit more socialised and eventually neutered in a few weeks time. Thanks a mill for all the comments folks...animals eh, never a dull moment with them ;) Such a shame the end of the story wasnt what was expected.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 261 ✭✭SophieSakura


    That great that she's back though. :) At least now she knows where her home is, if she does get out again, she'll probably come home :) And good thing she's not gone off getting pregnant again


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    Well now you can work on socialising her.

    :)

    The best thing about cats like that is never to move too quickly - both physically and in terms of her timeframe.

    Be prepared to spend a LOT of time sitting on the floor at her level with smelly, yummy treats. It's a bit like slow motion yoga - all your movements should be fluid and unrushed, and limbs should be curled - curled arms, fingers curled under, so on. Contact, if you do make it, should be firm - so for instance if you reach out a hand to gently stroke her side, run the backs of your fingers slowly and firmly along her side. However if you go to stroke her back, and she ducks under your hand, don't make the mistake of increasing your pressure to stop her running away (I saw a family member one day practically squash a cat to the ground as it was ducking under his hand - it refused to come near him again for a week).

    Never pick the cat up until she's comfortable being near you to be stroked - and then if you do pick her up, it needs to be a short trip - you sitting on the floor, lift her onto your lap and immediately let go of your lifting grip but keep hand contact in terms of stroking her. The first few times you do it may literally be lifting the cat onto your lap and letting go to have her dart off your lap - and that's fine if that's what she does.

    Also use food - smelly treats, dried fish, dried liver (the dried liver treats they make for dogs are great for cats - for some reason they mix the cat-specific ones with flour and oil to make chewy pellets, where I find my cats far prefer the dog liver, which is just dried and pressed beef or pork liver - the really thin stuff so they can chew it up easily).

    Also go to play some games with her - you'll never tempt her over to you if she's hiding by flicking a bit of string at her - you're more likely to scare her off. Wait until she's at your knee and has been stroked a few times and had a treat, then introduce a shoelace with, for instance, a piece of a pair of old tights tied in a knot at the end of it (cheaper than store-bought mice!)

    If you go to lift an anxious cat up off the ground into your arms in a standing position, they'll often accelerate up and over your shoulder and they can rip you to bits trying to get away. You also need to be relaxed with a sort of 'lift and let go' attitude, as grabbing a very anxious cat more tightly to stop them jumping away can break their trust. (There's a complicated flip side to this where 'hugging' a nervy cat can actually cause them to relax in your arms, but you need to know the cat and judge the situation.)

    Finally, take any scratches or bites you're unfortunate enough to get very seriously, always clean them and use antiseptic, and if you've got a deep puncture bite seek medical assistance and antibiotics.

    Good luck with her!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,772 ✭✭✭✭Whispered


    That's great news Anniehoo. She knows where home is. You must have been delighted to see her turn up again.:D

    The sweeper; your posts are amazing! So full of info. Fair play to you for taking the time for such long and detailed responses. Learning so much!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,597 ✭✭✭anniehoo


    Be prepared to spend a LOT of time sitting on the floor at her level with smelly, yummy treats.
    I was at this last night with some tuna and James Wellbeloved dry food! She certainly knows how to get what she wants and show what she doesnt want i tell ya. She is a cat in every sense of the word and has me falling over backwards for her :o Shes the best fed stray in Dublin and my own cat is looking at me wondering why im putting up with this cantankerous manipulator who growls and robs his food!!:D
    wrote:
    Also go to play some games with her - you'll never tempt her over to you if she's hiding by flicking a bit of string at her - you're more likely to scare her off. Wait until she's at your knee and has been stroked a few times and had a treat, then introduce a shoelace with, for instance, a piece of a pair of old tights tied in a knot at the end of it (cheaper than store-bought mice!)
    Will give this a go tonight ;) Thanks for that post...loads of tips in it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,597 ✭✭✭anniehoo


    Didnt want to start a new thread about the same cat...but shes driving me mad folks :eek: She has cried non stop all week and i wondering how im going to last another 3 weeks before neutering. Shes not in pain...but dying to get out to the tom whos been floating around out the back. Now i need tips to calm her down and stop the incessant all night howling!!! :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37 Nollipop


    It doesn't work for all individual cats, but sometimes a plug-in scent can help.

    There's one called Feliway. It's supposed to give out feline pheromones to calm down stressful situations. You can get bottle of the spray too, I think.

    I have also heard of cat owners using Rescue Remedy, but I would research this very carefully if you are going to try it. Its meant for humans and has alcohol in it. I've never used it myself, so another person might be able to supply more details.

    You poor thing! Having all this stress yourself. I hope she calms down for you and lets you sleep.

    Good luck with her, you sound so kind.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    anniehoo wrote: »
    Didnt want to start a new thread about the same cat...but shes driving me mad folks :eek: She has cried non stop all week and i wondering how im going to last another 3 weeks before neutering. Shes not in pain...but dying to get out to the tom whos been floating around out the back. Now i need tips to calm her down and stop the incessant all night howling!!! :D

    Earplugs. :(

    Just be happy that once she's neutered neither you nor she will have to go through it again!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 637 ✭✭✭Wisco


    +1 on the Feliway and also +1 on the earplugs! I used earplugs for one or two nights after my kitty had gotten into the habit of whinging at 3.30am to be let out and it worked great- I slept and she gave up on asking to go out. Good luck!


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,597 ✭✭✭anniehoo


    Earplugs. :(
    Will definitely be investing in these tomorrow.The wailing is becoming unbearable tbh, non stop again this evening since i got home. How can something sooo loud come out of a tiny cat? If this is what the next 3 weeks are going to be like ive realised my tolerance level is waaay lower than i thought.Will the heat subside at all? My neighbours are going to kill me :o


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,597 ✭✭✭anniehoo


    Update for anyone who followed Mollys story in March. Its been 5 looooooong long weeks but FINALLY (big relieved sigh from me) she has decided she wants to be "owned"..or at least try anyway. My poor other cat Beanie has been through the mill with her aswell i tell ya (hes been a trooper) but so much progress has been made.So,

    Week 1-2: constant wailing at all hours of the day and night. Completely hand shy and wanting to get out all the time.No windows can be fully opened either.Basically in a nutshell, she was a pyschopath, as a result of just sheer wildness,nervousness and just not knowing how to behave as a domestic cat.
    Week 3: wailing calmed down but she then started to bully Beanie (cat bite infection to him resulted) and continually robbing his food while he was eating.She dominated everything he did...even when he slept.Poor Beanie! Very slight improvement in her demeanour towards me though so i could see light at the end of the tunnel.
    Week 4: wooohoooo she finally lets me pet her only when shes "high" on the hormones from seeing the stray tom cat outside. I take full advantage every evening and make sure she gets 10 mins hand contact continuously when hes on the opposite side of the window.She also dealt spectacularly well with 2 little dogs i had for the weekend.One "hiss" from her and they knew she meant business.She was surprisingly relaxed other than that.

    Week 5: im so delighted!!!!She has turned a major corner and has finally given in. She now no longer runs from me, has being playing chasing with Beanie (hes having great fun with her now) and yesterday and this morning shes acting like a "proper" cat...head rubs, purring when petted, standing and waiting for her food beside me. My god the satisfaction is UNREAL :D


    So, anyone in the same boat, my tips are PATIENCE, ENDURANCE,PERSISTANCE & more PATIENCE lol! She was meant to be getting neutered this week now but im waiting a few more weeks (we've gone this far,i can wait a bit more). I want her a bit more "hand savvy" and i havent tried picking her up yet, never mind crating her.

    So, thats it folks.Its been a fun few weeks to say the least but this week just made it so soooo worth it. I honestly thought she was never going to come round..i may just have a lovely cat on my hands in a few more weeks time fingers crossed.

    Heres a pic of her and Beanie chillin on my bed before the "bite" wink.gif

    080hp.jpg

    The infected bite she gave Beanie :o

    002vpa.jpg

    Finally....the ice is beginning to thaw :D

    095h.jpg


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 304 ✭✭Bubs99


    BUT...shes way too shy and doesnt go in to my home.

    Mainly, I live in a small complex of apartments and theres 3 feral cats here, two black and white and one tabby/tortoise shell.
    Ive been living here for just over 2 years and they come to me daily to be fed. I cant resist as they're so cute.

    The tabby is only a year old and one of the black and white ones has impregnated her so shes due VERY soon and shes still so small and young.
    Im fairly worried about where she'll have the kittens and how she'll be because shes so young and still just a kitten herself.

    Last year, i tried to sort things by spaying them and i rang the KSPCA, Im based just outside Maynooth. They would'nt answer the phone, I emailed and got no reply.

    I rang a cattery in Naas and they said to get a cat trap myself and spay them but the local vet said she doesn't have one (I dont understand how she doesn't!) and I cant afford to pay for the surgery either.

    Any suggestions?! I also spoke to a Dublin lady who catches ferals and neutars but shes only based in Dublin and Co. Dublin.

    Im moving in a few months and Im worried about the cat population increasing annually.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1 poptart1980


    Annihoo, I had a similar experience to yours with the stray cat 'adopting' you! Our one had 3 kittens in October, after hanging around our back garden since August. She had the kittens in a little cat house in the garden, but when the snow arrived we brought them all inside - she was quite anxious at first but has adjusted to house living very well indeed! One of the kittens died unfortunately, we found a home for another one, and kept the third. The mammy and kitten bullied our 'original' cat a lot at the start and it was quite stressful, but they all get on grand now. I also found the feliway plug in great for keeping them all happy!

    In terms of neutering her, we got her done at about 7 weeks, it was a bit of a job to get her into the carrier - we borrowed a top opening one from the vets.


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