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Hello everyone. I have quite a few cats. I care about them and try to do right by them but I'm not having an easy time of it. Unfortunately I'm on a limited income and I didn't set out to have animals. It all started with a couple of feral cats behind our house in the woods. I started feeding them and of course they started breeding......fast. I've had dogs all my life and did not realize how fast cats breed. I've given quite a few away, lost others and have fixed them when I could afford it. I've brought some that needed help inside etc. I've called around to every "so called" free clinic I could find and none of them are free. They all say they're free for feral cats then say they need a 90 dollar donation which is almost as much as I'd have to pay my vet. I'm still trying to find a clinic that would either help me at a reduced cost or let me make payments so I can stop them from breeding.
Anyway, on Thursday morning I woke up and went outside and saw three dogs I've never seen before going crazy over at the lake lot next to mine. There's a large mobile home that nobody lives in and a big group of trees next to it. I ran over and scared them away and found one of my female cats lying on the ground in pain with wounds all over her. She couldn't move so I ran and called the vet and they told me to bring her up but by the time I got back out to her she'd passed away. I buried the poor girl but she had been pregnant and I didn't know if she had some kittens somewhere. She was always out in the woods and over next to that trailer. I looked in the group of trees and the woods and couldn't find anything.
Last night I hear a kitten meowing (screaming more like it) and I went over there and found her right in the middle of those trees. I think she'd been hidden under some brush which is why I never saw her. I've brought her in and have started feeding her with a baby dropper. I've tried to buy kitten bottles but no matter how big of a hole I use I cannot get any fluid to come out. You'd think they'd make a bottle with a hole in the nipple ready to go for people but no. She's at least two weeks old. Her ears aren't folded down anymore but not all the way erect either, she doesn't have any teeth yet but her eyes are wide open and blue. So far she's eaten twice, I've been feeding her every 3-5 hours but she's only eaten 4cc at a time. She's sleeping alot but I don't know if that's normal or if she's just exhausted from being alone/scared and it was hot outside. On several sites and charts I've looked up it says she'll need like 55cc/day. I don't see any way of making her drink that much, even if I fed her every 2 hours which it said not to at that age. So should I try to force her to drink more or just let her be?
Also any help on any organizations that could help me fix them all and I'd really appreciate it. I live in Texas if that helps and I don't mind driving far. I don't mind making payments. I just cannot afford 100+ bucks a cat @ least not fast enough to keep their population down. I've got at least 10 of them now : ( I don't like that they're outside but I can't keep them all inside and while they're not exactly feral anymore (It's been 4 generations later) they're still a bit wild. I can pet some of them, I cannot pick any of them up and getting them into any kind of crate is a fight. I have to do it when I feed them and grab them from their scruff and shove them in one. They fight it. They also refuse to go into any traps I've set out. I've camouflaged them, I've tried sardines, cat food, fish, tuna, etc for bait and only one cat will go in and he's already fixed. I know I'm stupid for feeding them but I couldn't stand to watch them starve. Some had mange and I got some to the vet for shots and for the others I used Ivermectin in their food and cleared them up - that was years ago. I do try to help them and take them to the vet when needed but it's not enough. I wish I could get em all shots, flea meds, heart worm meds etc and I'll never be able to with them breeding so fast. I've had some of em for a while and they shouldn't have to suffer and be put down nor live in a cage because of my stupidity. I guess they would have bred on their own but since I've fed them they're now my responsibility. I look for homes all the time but only give the ones I've fixed away. I don't want to pass on my problems. Thank you everyone for any help you can provide.
Replying to bump ... unfortunately I have no suggestions. You might have more luck with resources specific to Texas if you post in the Texas subforum closest to where you live.
PLEASE call a vet about the kitten you found (who it sounds like wasn't abandoned but rather her mother was killed?!). I have never had a baby that young and I would be very worried.
Replying to bump ... unfortunately I have no suggestions. You might have more luck with resources specific to Texas if you post in the Texas subforum closest to where you live.
PLEASE call a vet about the kitten you found (who it sounds like wasn't abandoned but rather her mother was killed?!). I have never had a baby that young and I would be very worried.
Excellent suggestion about the TX subforum. What kills so many baby pups and kits is chilling-off. They need to be kept warm. I would keep them in a glass aquarium with one side heated with a regular light bulb, still available as those fancy pointy things for chandeliers. This way the babies could find their comfort spot. When most of their time was spent away from the light/heat. I removed it.
Hello thank you so much, sorry I haven't gotten back, been very busy. Kitten (I named her Angel) has seen the vet and I've been hand feeding her, she's doing very well. She's somewhere between 4 and 5 weeks old now. Getting her wormed this week. She's very healthy and happy : ) I've found some really great info from a friend about a free neuter/spay clinic about 2 hours from where I live that aren't "asking for donations". I don't mind paying for some of them, I just can't do it all at once and I really need to stop them from breeding and to take care of this problem. Heck if they can help me out then I'll probably donate something every month until I've taken care of what it would normally cost. It would be so worth it. Gonna start taking them to a clinic that has volunteers who spay/neuter feral cats. They also test them for any of the major diseases so that'll be nice too. The one's that are a bit tamer and not quite feral will only be around 35 bucks. And yes the poor momma died. I've seen those dogs once more, they crept up from the woods and were eating my cat food but by the time I got around the house they were gone. They just creep in from the woods. I'm trying to find out who they belong to so I can let them know what's going on with their dogs. Thanks everyone.
My late wife and I raised a couple brothers who were orphaned at a couple days old. They weren't found for a few days, and we didn't get them until they were 3 weeks old, but they turned out to be great pets -- Frick and Frack. Frick died of cancer at age 13; Frack lived to 18. He was the coolest cat I've ever known, and I think he lived to torment our yorkie. I had lots of cats when growing up on the farm but was never much of a cat person. Frack changed my opinion of cats. I still miss him.
I'm just now seeing this thread so I'm a little late for being able to offer any advice about the baby.
But, it seems you did just fine without my help!
I'm so glad she is doing so well. Thank you for your dedication, to her especially (the little ones can be so fragile), but in wanting to do right by all the others as well.
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