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Yes, a kitten can be old enough to get pregnant and yet too young to give birth safely. There was a kitten on our property at a former home. A young couple on the property said they would like to take her in. They took her to the vet who gave her what they called a kitty abortion because she would not have been able to give birth safely, nor did the kittens have a good chance for survival. Poor little thing. She came through fine. The couple kept her indoors even when they moved away. Sweet little kitten had a great life.
Yes, you're right mom's tummy is nearly touching the ground again, and she's young, she and some other babies were under the cover of our lawn furniture last January or February so she must be 10 or 11 months old.
That's most likely the reason then ( you didn't mention that before). Metlakatla is quite right, she's forcefully 'weaning' her prior kittens to be able to take on the new ones coming. This one may be the most reluctant to 'let go' of mom.
^It's just so sad to see these situations. I wonder if the neighbor is approachable at all and would be receptive to information about spay and neuter resources...
OP, you might also try slowly blinking at the kitten if you catch him staring at you (cats often stare) or otherwise catch his eyes. A slow blink is cat language that conveys trustworthiness.
^It's just so sad to see these situations. I wonder if the neighbor is approachable at all and would be receptive to information about spay and neuter resources...
OP, you might also try slowly blinking at the kitten if you catch him staring at you (cats often stare) or otherwise catch his eyes. A slow blink is cat language that conveys trustworthiness.
This morning when we woke up he was standing by the chicken coop waiting for the hens to come out, he ran off but came back when the chickens were out and he spent most of the day roaming around with them. I got within about 8 feet of him then he went and hid at the base of our olive tree that's when I took a picture of him, isn't he cute?
This morning when we woke up he was standing by the chicken coop waiting for the hens to come out, he ran off but came back when the chickens were out and he spent most of the day roaming around with them. I got within about 8 feet of him then he went and hid at the base of our olive tree that's when I took a picture of him, isn't he cute?
Cute is an understatement. I've seen other cats that loved being around chickens, and that could work in your favor. Have patience and keep working with him. And good luck.
We haven't made much progress with our wild kitty, I can get maybe 4 feet from him and then he runs off. A funny thing happened last night though, our hens free range until it get dark at which time they go into the coop. I went outside to close the coop door and do a head count and low and behold kitty was snuggled on the roost between two of the chickens, I so wish I had gotten a picture of it but he ran off as soon as he saw me.
I also have a question, we found a dead rat in our yard a few days ago (see photo) . It's literally gutted. I can't imagine that this little kitten could do this much damage as young as he is and the cats I've owned in the past wouldn't tear up a rat they might kill it but they would usually drop it at our door pretty much intact. But if not the kitty I'm not sure what got the rat. I've never seen any racoons in our yard but we do have an owl that hangs out in one of our trees - any ideas?
Hopefully, trapping the kitten for spay/neuter/shots is on the very near horizon. Heat season can last through December in Southern California, if that's where you live (your location says la la land). If the cat's a male, it doesn't have too much longer before the fights with other males start. You'll lose trust if you trap the cat, but you'll likely lose the cat if you don't. No clue about the rat.
I hope you have luck with the kitty as planned, sounds good and appears to be good advice here. It's great that you are able to do this.
It breaks my heart that the neighbor is allowing this situation, as described. As mentioned, it would be good to have it reported if possible, since they are not even caring for the animals and just perpetuating a negative outcome for all, as some do. I don't understand the reasoning behind this behavior.. I would like to think something could be done about it.
Hopefully, trapping the kitten for spay/neuter/shots is on the very near horizon. Heat season can last through December in Southern California, if that's where you live (your location says la la land). If the cat's a male, it doesn't have too much longer before the fights with other males start. You'll lose trust if you trap the cat, but you'll likely lose the cat if you don't. No clue about the rat.
I live in Sacramento, the 'la la land' thing was because when my status said Sacramento for some reason that amused some of the trolls on C-D and I had to endure too many off topic nasty comments about California in general and Sacramento specifically.
Yes, we're really afraid we will completely lose his trust if we trap him. I can't help but wonder what happened to his tail, if a human broke his tail he may never trust one again. We will give it another week, then trap him, get him neutered or spayed as the case may be and then even if we can't tame him we will continue to feed him and give him a warm place to sleep.
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