Stray kitties

Sweetjadedtears

Hi ladies,

you all are smart so I'm hoping to get some input on another NWR thing. This morning while I was taking my dog for a walk, I found a mommy cat with a litter of kitties that look to be about 7 weeks old. The kitties are a little shy, but pretty friendly so I think they're used to people. They're hanging out on the patio of a vacant apartment on the first floor of our building and my neighbor said they recognize the mom as belonging to a family that moved out of state a few weeks ago.

Anyways, I was hoping to take them to a rescue or someplace to make sure they're healthy and to get them fixed when they're old enough. The kittens are playful enough that they will come right up to me, but Mommy cat doesn't seem to like people and I'm not sure what to do (she doesn't seem to care if the kittens play with humans though). I don't want to call animal control since I don't want the possibility of any of these cuties being put to sleep, but at the same time I'm not sure I should just take the kittens to the vet and leave Mommy alone without her babies.

Does anyone have any experience with rescuing strays or any tips? The only experience I have is with our 2 year old cat Shadow, but we found him on the street alone so that situation was a bit different.

Thanks!

Oh, and here's a pic for your cuteness of the day! That's H playing with the kittens.

J&K10910

If someone recognizes the cat, I would contact your landlord first and let them know--they might have a way to contact the owners (like a forwarding address or phone number).  It sounds like the cat was probably willfully left behind, but you never know, and I would rather attempt to contact them than not.

Sweetjadedtears

Thanks, that's a good idea. I saw the main manager of the apartment complex opening up for the day, so I'll give him a call and see what he says. We've had a bunch of people move out recently and a few that have been evicted so hopefully we'll be able to contact the owner.

Sweetjadedtears

Just talked to the manager and they said the people that lived in the apartment that we think the Mom cat is from were evicted. The receptionist said she thinks they moved to Virginia or someplace to stay with family, but that's all they know. They did say that the cell phone number they have on record has been disconnected but even if it wasn't they couldn't give that to me. So now what?

Take the kittens in myself to have them looked at and see if someone else can catch mom to have her spayed and/or adopted?

Habs2Hart

Can you call your local shelter (if you have one) and see what they recommend? 

TaraMc728

Check to see if there are any no kill shelters in your area.  I know most shelters that take in strays will spay/neture all thier animals, and will not let them be adopted until then.

jessicabessica

Can you call your vet and ask for advice?  S/he may be a good resource, in addition to your local shelter.

Sweetjadedtears

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! It looks like all the no-kill shelters are full around here, but I'm going to try and get them to the vet today to make sure they're healthy before I bring them inside so that our other furbabies don't contract anything. Once they're clear, we should be able to at least foster them for a little bit.

boomboom1243

Thats horrible. It is difficult to bring the in a shelter because they will tell you they are at capcity for kittens. Post an add on craigslist for them and put it up on facebook kittens are easy to give away. Call the shelters everyday though but those bills will add up.. vets and you usually have to pay to put them in the shelter. Offer to bring bags of food to the shelter if they take the kittens as well

Bonzo2011

Do you have any volunteer rescue organizations nearby? My family works with a cat rescue that fosters cats in the homes of volunteers. The organization pays all food, supplies, and vet bills. When the kittens are old enough to be fixed, we bring them to adoption showcase at Petco, Petsmart, etc until they're adopted. If you find a group like that near you, it could be a good solution, especially since you are willing to foster them yourself.

Lolagirl2012

Shelters aren't a 100% guarantee that they will end up in a perfect home, but they do have a waiting period before you can adopt, do a background check, including vet references, pet history and some personal references (at least in our adoption experience). Keep persistence with the shelters that are full or research some smaller rescue groups ( I saw you were in Atlanta and googled it, but I'm not sure which places you have already contacted). In our area, there are groups that support fosters and provide medical treatment and even food for the animals that are in a foster home. If the shelters don't have room, ask them what they would recommend.

Please don't post "Free Kittens" on the web, this is probably how the family that abandoned them obtained the cat in the first place and it can place an animal in a horrible situation. If you chose to foster them and take them to the vet, keep track of their paperwork and your costs so you can request a rehoming fee, if you are going to go the route of adopting them out yourself, which I wouldn't recommend.


 Good luck!