Caring for Cat after Miscarriage

Care for your cat after the miscarriage by setting up a safe room.  This room should be a small room like an office or a guest bathroom. The room will allow the cat privacy in a tranquil setting without the worry of being chased by the family dog or in a room with family activity.  Now is the time for her to heal and to do that she will need some privacy.  If you do not have other animals it is still wise to keep the cat quite and to confine them so that there is no climbing or jumping excessively.  The cat that has had a miscarriage needs to rest and regain their strength.

Set up the safe room to have a cat bed, litter box and food and water and a cat scratching post.    You can also add optional items like a window seat.  Keep the safe room thermostat at a comfortable setting as you do not want the cat to be too cold or too hot. For the next five weeks your cat will need rest and relaxation with no stress.

You can help her with the healing process by attending to her needs; keep her litter box clean, her bedding clean and disinfect her safe room with a vinegar and water cleanser. After a miscarriage the cat is weak and it is easy for her to get sick.  Take steps to rid the room of germs.  Before you enter the playroom wash your hands with antibacterial soap and take off your shoes.

Feed your cat a high quality canned cat food as this food will help to keep her hydrated and always give her fresh clean water.  

Spend time quality time with the cat by holding her, petting her and talking to her softly.  Never be aggressive with her and do not speak loudly. Keep with the routine and avoid change. Your cat will feel stress if you put her in another room or if you avoid visiting her.  A nurturing lifestyle is needed to help your cat heal after a miscarriage.

Tips:

Care for your cat after their miscarriage by cleaning them.  Watch your cat for the first 24 hours for any discharge of blood.  Report to your veterinarian if there is a discharge as this may be sign that there may be  kittens remaining.  If that is the case your cat will need emergency veterinarian care. (Light spotting 24 hours after the miscarriage is normal.)

Communicate with your veterinarian by informing them of the cat miscarriage. Ask your veterinarian for specific instructions.  The veterinarian may want to examine your cat, if so take your cat in for medical care.

Plan on getting the cat spayed in four to five weeks or when your veterinarian tells you it is safe.

Monitor the visitors, by supervising young children; allow them to hold and to pet the cat gently.  Keep all other household pets away from the cat as she may feel anxious or feel stress.  

Do not allow the cat to go outdoors.  A cat that has had a miscarriage will go into heat a few days after miscarriage.  Now is not the time to breed her.  Now is the time for your cat to heal and to get healthy. 

 

Foster Cats When Disaster Strikes

When a natural disaster; tornado, flood, fire or hurricane strikes your community many cats will be homeless.  It is up to you to lend a hand to your community and to your friends to foster the cats.

Many homeless people will go to the red cross shelters however they will not take in pets. The homeowners will turn to the surrounding areas kennels, however they may be full to their capacity. Cat owners may walk the streets with their cats in their carrier, they had no home, they needed to find a shelter for themselves and their cats. 

Whenever there is a serious disaster the ASPCA and the humane society may set up a shelter for the animals that are victims of the natural disaster, the pets are in kennels and are awaiting their masters return.  While this situation is helpful, what happens to the cat that has anxiety or stress, this cat in my opinion would do better in foster care. It would better for the cat to lie on a sofa or to cuddle next to a person than to be kept in a crate. 

Last summer a tornado touched down in a city close to my home and left thousands of people homeless. Three of my homeless friends asked me to please foster their beloved cats, I did not hesitate and I said yes. My friends call me daily and I tell them about their cats.  I know they are glad that I am watching their cats and giving them personal care.

If you love cats then you should volunteer your services to foster a cat by contacting your area Humane Society. You can also inquire at your church to see if anyone needs temporary care for their cat.  Communicate with your neighbors and your friends that your foster care services are available and maybe there will be someone in your community that will need special home care for their cat.

When disaster strikes your city, your town, or your neighborhood the community must look out for the cats that are in need of care.  Say yes to foster care, help your friends and your community by providing personal and loving care to the cats that are separated from their owners during a disaster.

Can a Five Month Old Kitten Get Pregnant?

Can a five-month-old kitten get pregnant, the answer is yes. The small 5-month-old kitten that I rescued yesterday had a miscarriage today inside my garage.  

This young kitten was left by people on the side of the road a few weeks ago.  While outdoors she needed to learn how to forage, find shelter and save herself from being chased by dogs.  My neighbors and I tried to catch her by trapping but she was frightened and ran into the woods toward the feral cat colony.  We did not see her for a week and then one day she appeared on my front lawn.   

The kitten was skin and bones and had a scratch on her nose and a bite wound to her ear.  I fed her and gave her water but could not get close enough to her to grab her.   From that day forward I fed the kitten every day at the same time and on the third day she allowed me to pick her up.  Once I had the kitten in my arms she snuggled up close to me and purred loudly.

 I put the kitten in my garage and provided her with a bed by the window, fresh food, water, and a litter box.  I checked her at 9:00 pm and then told her it was lights out and time for bed.  The following morning I went out to check on her and heard her meowing loudly from behind the sofa.  I needed to move the sofa away from the wall and that is when I discovered that this very small, malnourished kitten had a miscarriage. The kitten fetuses were very small and looked to be less than a few weeks old.

This little kitten seemed very frightened and she came to me and showed signs of wanting to be helped. I wrapped her in a towel and brought her indoors.  There I cleaned her and held her in my arms to comfort her. 

My husband used an antibacterial cleaner to scrub our enclosed front porch so that there would be no germs.  He then fixed a bed for her and installed a window seat for her.  Then he added a litter box and a feeding station with kitten food and fresh water.  I brought her to the room and she went right to her bed  

I watched her for signs of distress or for blood discharge as that would be an indication that there were more kittens and she would need to be taken to the veterinarians for emergency care. 

I spoke to a veterinarian technician and she advised me to provide regular feedings with fresh water and to allow the kitten to recover indoors, with no access to outdoors.  The kitten must heal for the next several weeks and then she will be spayed, wormed, vaccinated, and tested for Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS.


Note:  It is normal for a cat to go into heat at five to six months however sometimes a kitten will go into heat when they are four months old.  A four-month-old kitten is not developed enough to carry the kitten full term, they may miscarry or have stillbirths.  There is also a high risk of a complicated birth as the kittens may be too big for the mother cat.  

My veterinarian said that 4- 5-month-old kittens are not good moms as they do not have maternal instincts.  It is better for the cat to breed them when they are mature adults; a year old or older.


 

Abandoned Aegean Kitten Rescued

Every spring kittens and cats are abandoned at the side of the road.  I am not sure why people do this but I can tell you that in many cases a house cat that is left to survive outdoors is usually a fatality.  Some abandoned cats will survive a week or two and during that time they may be chased by a stray dog, tormented by humans who take after them with brooms and some may become fatalities.  The life of an abandoned cat outdoors is terrifying.

Last week my neighbor called me to tell me that there was a white and gray Aegean kitten approximately four months old that was left at the side of the road close to their yard.  My neighbor put out a bowl of food and fresh water.  The kitten was stressed and was meowing loudly and we decided to rescue the kitten by trapping.  

We set up the trap and waited all day for the little kitten to go inside the trap, but instead the kitten laid down in a cube that was on my fiends porch.  We tried to trap it inside the cube by putting a board in front of the opening but the kitten leaped from the cube and ran into the woods.  None of us saw the kitten and presumed that it had perished.

They say that cats have nine lives and it certainly is the case for the white and gray Aegean kitten.  On Friday May 6 four days after the kitten went missing I noticed a feral tomcat sitting in my Hosta Garden at the base of my maple tree.  He was looking up into the tree.  I raised my eyes to see what he was looking at and sure enough it was the Aegean kitten.

The  kitten was in an uncomfortable situation because the feral cat that had chased him up the tree and was snarling at the base of the tree.

The feral cat was relentless, and pursued the cat in the tree; the kitten climbed very high into the tree and was balancing 30 feet off the ground.

I did what any cat lover would do I made the feral cat uncomfortable by walking toward him, he did not snarl but he did look worried…I followed him into the woods all the way to the thicket and when he laid down I was satisfied that he would go to sleep.

I then addressed the kitten up the tree situation and put out a bowl of food and water close to the base of the tree however the little kitten was so frightened that he stayed in the tree for the remainder of the day.   I stayed in the front yard by working in the gardens and eventually the kitten climbed out of the tree.  

 This abandoned Aegean cat was suffering from anxiety and she was meowing loudly and was stressed.  At dusk the kitten came down from the tree and ate the entire bowl of food.  I was unable to get close to the kitten as it was afraid of me and ran back into the woods.

The following day when I was weeding my gardens I heard loud meowing and I followed the direction of the mournful meows.  I went to my backyard and walked toward my garage and there was the little kitten sitting next to the shed door.  I quickly went indoors to make up a bowls  kitten food and fresh water.  When I approached the kitten it ran, so I set the food down next to the garage door and returned to the garden. 

Ten minutes later the kitten approached me.  I did not look directly at the kitten, I lowed my eyes so the kitten would not be threatened.  I waited for the kitten to make the first move.  

The kitten rubbed on my back, and then came to my side and climbed through my arm to sit in front of me.  That was it; the kitten trusted me and knew I would not harm it.  I sat down on the ground and the kitten climbed onto my lab.  I then spoke softly to the kitten and petted the kitten lovingly.  I allowed the kitten to tell me everything and all the while I petted the little Aegean kitten.

 Within an hour I was able to remove all of the ticks and the little kitten followed me around the yard.  For safe keeping I put the kitten in the garage for the night.  We have an old sofa in the shed and the kitten climbed up onto the sofa stretched out and went to sleep.

Note:  It is not a good idea to abandon a cat at the side of the road.  If you cannot keep your cat then you must take the steps to find the cat a new home or to surrender them to a no kill shelter.

Trapping Feral Cats in Parks

Feral cats come from a long line of abandoned house cats. Many of the cats are left in state parks, and in wooded or forested tracks of land.  The house cats that are left in these isolated areas seldom survive as they lack in foraging skills. Some get cat disease, others are hunted by wildlife predators, and a few are injured by fighting with feral cats.  

The fate of an abandoned house cat that is left in a wooded area is many times a fatality; however some house cats survive the harsh terrain and environment.  Woodland feral cats sleep during the day and awake at dusk to forage, socialize and mate. The night provides a safer environment for the cats as they are terrified of humans. 

 Periodically cats will be viewed in the morning hours, they may be seeking food, water or they may be injured.  Trapping feral woodland cats does take skills as one must locate the colony and then bond with the cats.

Locate the Colony

Locate the woodland feral cats in state parks by asking the park ranger if there are any feral cats in the area.    Park officials know if cats have been abandoned or they will know where cats have been viewed. 

Find out if the cats are being cared for by a colony caregiver.  If there is a caregiver then offer your contact information and ask the ranger if they would pass on your business card.  

Tell them that you would like to help care for the cats and trap them for spay or neuter and the necessary medical care. If there is no caregiver then you will need to locate the woodland feral cats.  Go to the location were feral cats have been sited. 

Winter Woodland Feral Cat by Susang6

Survey the wooded terrain with your field glasses.  Look for cat shelters; opening in a rock wall, hallow trees, thickets.  Hike to the area where you viewed the shelters.  Stop 15 to 20 feet away from the shelter and set up a feeding station.   

Set up Cat Feeding Station
Fill a bowl with dry cat food.  Food that is fortified with antioxidants will help in boosting cats immune system.  Fill a separate bowl with fresh water. If cats are viewed lurking in the distance, top the dry kibble with stinky fish flavored wet food like Friskies mixed grill.

Document Cat Activity:

Back away from the feeding station and stop twenty feet away.  Set up camp and watch the feeding station with field glasses.  Wait for woodland cats to appear.  

1. Take photographs of the surrounding area, the woodland feral cats, and write your notes on the cats and shelter.  Document their characteristics, mannerisms, sex, and keep your notes in a binder. 
2. Watch the food bowls; if there are many cats the bowl and water will need to be filled Do this by approaching the feeding station slowly, and do not make eye contact with the cats.  
3. Fill the bowls and then back away from the area slowly.  

If you have completed your journal on all of the cats then you may leave.  However you must return to the feeding station the following day at the same time and set up the feeding station in the same location.  You will do this on a daily basis; it is best to feed cats twice a day; 6am and 6pm.

Bond with Feral Cats

Being a woodland feral cat caregiver is a daily job, these cats become dependent on you for food and hydration.  Soon you will notice that the cats are dependent on you for their food source, they will sit in a line and wait for your arrival, or they will run to greet you when they see you approaching the feeding station.  

The cats may seem friendly, however you must respect them at all times and do not attempt to pet them. If you do so this will scare the cat and the cat will react by scratching you or biting you.  If a cat bites you then animal control will cease the cat and euthanize the cat because it is not vaccinated for rabies or other cat diseases.  Therefore respect the cat and keep your hands away from the woodland feral cat.

Communicate with Veterinarian

Contact your veterinarian and inform them that you are a caregiver to woodland feral cats and that when they are dependent upon you that you will begin trapping.  Make arrangement s to bring cats in for sterilization, feline leukemia and AIDS tests, rabies shots, cat wormer and application for cat frontline plus.  Also contact your local cat network, for assistance in a group trapping.

Trapping Feral Cats

Schedule a group trapping for the colony of woodland feral cats.  Omit feeding the cats for 12 hours, however do provide water.  Purchase a medium size live animal trap.  Line the trap with newspaper that is folded so that it fits securely in the trap.  Drop two teaspoons of Friskies tuna canned food in the back of the trap, and  drizzle the juice down the center of the trap (on top of the newspaper) the stinky food will lure the hungry cat into the trap. Next drape a twin size blanket or a fleece sofa throw over the trap, do not conceal the opening of the trap. Spray the inside of the trap; blanket that faces trap interior with Feliway comfort spray.  This formula will help to relax the cat, so that it is not so stressed out.  Set the trap close to the vicinity of the feeding station.   Stand at a distance and watch and wait for the cat to enter the trap and the door to close.  Wait patiently.

When the cat enters the trap and the door closes.  Cover the entire trap with the twin size blanket, this blanket will aid in comforting the cat.  Do not attempt to touch the trap or the cat.  

Move the cat in the trap away from the trap site and place in the transport vehicle, a van is useful when trapping a colony of cats.  Transport cats to veterinarians for medical care.  


Release the cats to the trapping site when the veterinarian tells you it is okay to do so. 

Tips:

• When cats are released to the colony resume feeding the cats at the station.
• Contact cat network in your area and ask for volunteer in your area to help with caring for the cats.
• Rehabilitate kittens for adoption, by socializing them in your home or with the other caregivers.
• Keep a current journal on all of the cats, that way you will know their medical needs and when they will need to be re-trapped for shot updates.

Feral Cats - Winter Snow Photographs

The  feral cats that are in my care reside in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.  These cats take shelter in thicket dens and in the rock crevices.  

Here is a collection of some of my favorite winter photographs of the colony cats.   The cats were photographed after the February 2011 blizzard .  This arctic blizzard brought 22 inches of snow and ice to our area and extreme cold temperatures.  

The feral cats sought shelter in the woods, neighborhood sewers and few neighbors left their heated garages open a crack so the cats would have shelter from this brutal snow and ice storm.

 It snowed for three days and three nights and when it finally stopped the  Colony caregivers needed to rescue many of the feral cats from blocked sewer pipes, and snow encased thickets that trapped the cats exit. We took turns at digging out the cats as the windchill was 4 degrees. 


Photographs and text by Susan Golis ©

Cat tracks in snow

Adult feral cat crosses snow to get to thicket den

Path to feral cat feeding station

Feral cat eats first meal in 4 days (Cats were trapped in dens, we removed the snow and ice)

Feral cat looks thankful for the food