Mother Cat and Kittens Vanished after death of one kitten

popebenny16

We have two adult cats, one male and one female. The female gave birth at the end of may to four healthy kittens who have been thriving. Sadly, on saturday one of the kittens was killed by a car.

Yesterday the mother and the three surviving kittens vanished. Despite searching for them I cannot find them anywhere. Is this normal behaviour and will she come back with them?

We live in the country, worried that something might find them a tasty meal

the male adult is still around by the way

animalcrazy

Ok, if you had these spayed/neuterued then you wouldn't be in this postion. You also shouldn't have let the kittens and mammy cat be outdoors. They should be kept indoors or at least in a safe shed. Foxes do find kittens tasty meals. I would think mammy took the kittens to a safe place since the other kitten was killed. She might show up to get some food, I would recommend if she does to follow her to the place and take her and the kittens indoors or to a secure shed, other then that the kittens will never be socialised and very hard to catch, that would be a big problem finding homes. While your doing this, make an appointment asap to get him neuteured and get her done when the kittens are rehomed.

boomerang

Gosh, this thread makes me so sad. Not only was momma cat allowed to have a litter of kittens, but one of the kittens was outdoors at just six to eight weeks old or so and hit by a car. :eek: :eek:

At eight weeks old, a kitten is defenceless and has little sense of danger. Even with supervision and a kitty harness, it shouldn't be outside until a week after its second vaccination, at approx 11-12 weeks as it is vulnerable to infection otherwise.

Would you have anything against having the adult cats spayed/neutered? It's not that expensive, has great health benefits and they will stay closer to home and will therefore be less at risk of going missing/getting hit by traffic/getting into fights with other cats, etc.

Were you planning on rehoming the kittens?

kerrysgold

have you tried leaving something smelly out to attract them? i.e. a tin of tuna or strong smelling catfood etc.

also, please get them all neutered when they come back! there is already thousands of unwanted cats without breeding more.

BlackCat2008

Oh Dear you really have found your self in a spot of trouble, dead kittie, missing mammy and babies and the boards folk giving you grief, and I don't blame them male and female you should have known they would breath ?
Get them neutered no buts. thats my 2cents worth.

Now lets find kitties. If the male was close to mammy and kitties follow him he'll hang around were ever they are. If mammy comes home then follow her. Two adult cats that have lived together will stay close together so the male will know were they are.

It is very normal for her to take the kittens to a safer place you were lucky mammy wasn't killed either she would have checked the kitten after it was killed on the road.

She may lead them back when there older but you'll find it hard to catch them and that might frighten them away altogether.

Have your male neutered now, then he is in no danger of wanting to kill the kittens to get to mammy either.

All I can say is follow him I nearly always find Daddy hanging around mammy and the babies when ever I rescue them so that's probably your best bet.

Kittens shouldn't be free to roam until they are about 6 months and have had some one around to teach them were is safe and were is not. Even at that if you are near a road either build an enclosed space for them, keep them in or rehome them but what ever you do neuter them, there's no excuses, not even I'm from the country, thats warn of most people at present, me especially.

Good luck in finding them and keep them safe.

popebenny16

thanks for the replies folks, just want to reply to a few things.

firstly, both adults have since been spayed/neutered.

secondly, we live in the middle of the country. any families that have cats around here allow them to stay outside, they never come inside and indeed with kittens they are likewise allowed to only live outside. I'm not saying i agree with it, i let them in when i can get away with it but thats how it is locally, cats are looked upon as farm workers more than pets which is how i look at them.

thirdly, there had never been any intention of giving these kittens away or anything like it. they are going to be spayed/neutered when they are old enough and i intended that they all live here. my last cat lived till 17. they have been handled since birth and are very sociable. i fully intend to live here until i'm carted out in a box so there's no chance they'll be left stranded.

They have never gone beyond the boundaries of our property as we keep the gates shut and besides they have never gone beyond the area between the shed where they live and the patio behind the house. the accident happened inside the boundaries.

neighbours have told me that their cats take their kittens away at about this age and return a few days or a week later. indeed one neighbour was quite patronising about it, saying that her cat and kittens has vanished the other day as well. I dont have their hard-headedness about it though, so i'll do what advided here and let you all know.

ashlingm

popebenny16 wrote: »

firstly, both adults have since been spayed/neutered.

well thats a lie, vets wont spay a cat if its had kitten recently as she has to be well enough to look after them and when their weened they will give her a few weeks to let her body recover to blood vessels to tighten so she dosent lose loads of blood during the operation

carwash_2006

Hmm, pretty strong words there.

Actually in my experience most vets are quite happy to spay the mother when the kittens are 8 weeks old - which they would be by now.

popebenny16

ashlingm wrote: »

well thats a lie, vets wont spay a cat if its had kitten recently as she has to be well enough to look after them and when their weened they will give her a few weeks to let her body recover to blood vessels to tighten so she dosent lose loads of blood during the operation

I take strong exception to being called a liar by some anonymous poster on the internet. Do you want to speak to my vet?

Jesus, I am so sorry I posted here.

LisaO

Hi OP. Any sign of the mother cat yet? Is she coming back to usual place for food do you know?

Whispered

As far as I know mother cats often move their kittes if they feel like they might be in danger. She will take good care of them. I have been told by very wise animal forum regulars that cats are very good mothers

Any sign of her returning?

popebenny16

popebenny16 wrote: »

cats are looked upon as farm workers more than pets which is how i look at them.

I'm a muck savage.
It is far fetched to say that people look at cats as farm workers.
Most farmers don't like having cats around, because if they wee on fodder it can cause abortions.

I keep my cats outside, because I feel that it is more fulfilling for them, as it is more natural.

Our man in Havana

ashlingm wrote: »

well thats a lie, vets wont spay a cat if its had kitten recently as she has to be well enough to look after them and when their weened they will give her a few weeks to let her body recover to blood vessels to tighten so she dosent lose loads of blood during the operation

You are the proud winner of a 1 week holiday from this forum. Please comeback with a better attitude.

To the rest of yee, calm it down a bit. The OP came here for help and advice, not a lecture from the moral majority. If you can't be civil you can also take a break from the forum.

BlackCat2008

I'll be the first to apologise if I was too harsh on you, just that I've had it up to my eyeballs with country folk and there lack of compassion with the animals their meant to be caring for (but I have also met some really nice people to)

On a recent trip to wexford my mother spotted a kitten on the side of the road it tuck me time to pull in with traffic behind me and when I ran back I couldn't see her, I searched in the long grass and two teenage girls came over to offer help until I told them I was looking for a kitten, there response was your bound to find at leased one there's loads around here and walked of into a farm house, I was lucky someone on the other side of the road had spotted her and beeped the horn and pointed to were she had gone, she's safe and sound now and thats all that matters. But on the way back two cars a head of me nearly hit a young cat so I stopped and went into the owner to inform her her cat was nearly killed twice and that I didn't think it could see properly, I was shocked to hear her say were use to having the cats killed on the road sure we've more kittens out back were he came from, it just makes your blood boil, I told her the cat needed to be seen by a vet as it's eyes looked bad, again I was shocked by her answer, maybe be it's best if I just throw him down on the farm best thing for him, she then said you should never stop for an animal on the road as you'll cause an accident, I said I always stop and so will many like me he needs to be seen by a vet not shoved on a farm so no one can see the problem gave her the name of groups that would help to neuter them and left.

Most of us on boards from what I can tell have in encountered smilier problems and just can't understand whats wrong with these people???????

I'm sure once everyone has calmed down they'll try to give you helpful advice.

Now that I know their older it's more likely she has brought them of to teach them to hunt and the boundaries of their territory, when she gets feed up with them she'll be back with kittens in toe and a hunger belly, but like I said already I'd follow the male chances are he knows were they are. Mammy might also leave them behind as they are weened and time for them to go out on there own, but daddy will still see them as someone to play with, I think he's still your best bet of finding them.

Have you had any luck yet ?

popebenny16

BlackCat2008 wrote: »

Most of us on boards from what I can tell have in encountered smilier problems and just can't understand whats wrong with these people???????

I am the same, in fact I am blue in the face telling people that around here and because of it i am looked upon as a soft city chappie. There is a touch of the Royston Valley's to this neck of the woods anyway. Ironic that I post here to find myself tarred with the same brush.

Sadly, mother Cat was discovered at the side of the road, having been killed by a car. Thsi was sunday morning apparently, and it was only Sunday evening by I was told any of this had happened. Two of the kittens were rescued nearby. Another was rescued by the side of the road further away and all three are being looked after at the moment by the vet.

Our man in Havana

I am sorry to hear that. I hope the surviving kittens will be ok.