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Awww, that's too bad. That is what it sounds like. You had said you were planning to catch her at some point....maybe you should think about doing that now and get her to the vet for at least a check.
Poor kittie baby.
I know.
Ms Calico has been out and around all night, except when some friends dropped by and she took off. So I don't think she has a viable kitten any more. I'm sad about that.
I already know that when she's not around the front of my house she's hanging out in the wooded area by the cat shelters. So it will be easy to trap her to get her to the vet (I have Havahart traps.)
Sigh.
Once you get her to the vet they should be able to quickly find out whether she's still nourishing a young 'un. Make sure they do that before spaying her. If the baby is still alive the mother has to be returned without the operation, because it's far too young to survive without Mom's milk.
Last year Blaliko was often seen out and about by herself for extended periods while her kittens were still with her. Whenever she visited my back porch to eat she'd take her own sweet time finishing her meal, then would sprawl out on the porch or in the adjacent alley. She showed no sense of urgency in terms of returning to her family. And she famously relocated them on at least five occasions before finally settling under that porch. When the first three of the six babies were caught for re-homing (at the age of about 6-8 weeks) there was no telling where the others were. All it took for her to pack up and leave was either being discovered or the uncanny sense she had that the Animal Commission had been clued in to her whereabouts. So based on that I wouldn't be so quick to conclude that your solo newborn isn't still out there somewhere.
By the same token, if the mom had never been a mom before her inexperience might have brought a sad end to her baby. Whether from the weather conditions or the presence of too many people (or even one person's being around too much) a flawed survival impulse could've led to her abandoning it. Many are the tales of stray kittens finding humans, humans' discovering them by their lonesomes, etc. Just like with any parenting, nature provides the means for a mother to take care of the new life or lives she's brought into being but doesn't include an instruction manual.
About a month ago two neighbors independently reported having seen a very skinny and "extremely friendly" pregnant cat, almost assuredly abandoned by heartless owner(s) after it was discovered she was showing. They began leaving food in a safe place for her, which she would wolf down. I never saw this feline for myself. She only came around for maybe a week or two before disappearing. As in the case of the OP and the mom/child pair encountered during the storm, one sometimes can't do any more but hope that the best of all possible outcomes occurred.
I usually get the ferals spayed/neutered by a non-profit that does monthly mobile services here for $25-45. The next scheduled visit isn't for a few weeks, so as long as she appears healthy and is showing up for food, I'll wait until then. Unless of course she appears to be having some problems.
But for most of the evening I caught glimpses of her lounging around, eating and grooming herself...perhaps she is still caring for her baby but it doesn't seem so. No urgency in getting her spayed at this point so as long as she's showing up and acting healthy I'll hold off.
I'm sort of hoping the solo kitten is OK, of course. It appeared to be mostly white with just a couple of little black or tabby spots so if I could get it tame, I'd have a good chance of finding a home for it. But we'll see....at this point nothing I can do. I have some dense woods by my house and traipsed around there a bit this morning before work but heard and saw nothing.
Not sure if you can see under her, but try to keep an eye on her teats. If they are swelling and hard looking, she may have lost the kitten to whatever dangers lurk out there. If she does look swollen and un-nursed, you probably should try to capture her and get her to the vet.
I'm hoping all turns out well in this. Please keep us posted and thank you for being so kind to the kitties
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