TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

Recommendations

Info

The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook If the fact that the cat is nursing is not discovered until after the spay/neuter is performed, then release her 24 hours after the surgery, assuming she appears alert and well. Spayed females can still nurse. Litters of known age, but unknown location A caretaker may have observed one of her cats was pregnant and noted the approximate time of birth, but not know the location of the litter. Knowing the age of the kittens takes the guesswork out of deciding what to do. Ideally, the trapping of the mother is delayed until the kittens are old enough to start coming around the feeding station themselves and can also be caught. It might not possible, however, to either delay the whole project for that long or keep the mother out of a trap if the project proceeds. If the trapping of the colony cannot wait, at least try to delay it until the kittens are three weeks old to enhance their chances of survival for a day without their mother’s milk. In addition, make arrangements ahead of time for the mother to be spayed right away if you do end up trapping her. If you know the kittens are less than two weeks old and the mother is trapped despite your efforts, you should release her right away. It’s one thing if you really don’t know whether kittens may die if you hold onto a nursing mother, but another when you know it’s likely. The compassionate choice, in our view, is to let the kittens live and try to catch the family at another time. The sooner you let the mom out of the trap, the less traumatic the experience for her and the better your chance of trapping her again later. Litters of known age and known location Knowing both the kittens’ age and location gives you more options. The first thing you need to decide is whether you’re going to try to socialize and adopt out the kittens. Taking friendly cats and young kittens off the streets and placing them in good homes is always preferable, but resources do not always allow. Determine if foster resources are available before you trap, so you’ll know what to do when the time comes. (a) No foster resources available If there is no one to foster the kittens, then try to wait to trap them and their mother until the kittens are old enough to be neutered. The general rule of thumb for early age spay/neuter is 2 months or 2 lbs., though this early of an age does require a veterinarian with experience in these types of surgeries. Waiting until 10 to 12 weeks of age will make for less difficult of a procedure. Once the kittens have been altered, they can be released along with their mother or the rest of the colony. If you end up trapping the mother before the kittens are old enough to get fixed, then you need to care for the kittens in the mother’s absence. If they have not been weaned (usually less than five weeks old), they will need to be brought inside, kept in a warm place, bottlefed and possibly stimulated to pass urine and feces (by gently rubbing their genital areas). If the kittens are weaned and eating on their own, you’ll need to feed them and try to keep them in as safe a location as possible, preferably somewhere they can’t go wandering off on their own. 53
The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook (b) Foster resources available If the kittens are going to be fostered for adoption, then there are three ways you can proceed. First, you can trap the whole family and keep them together in a cage until the kittens are old enough to be adopted, which in an indoor situation is approximately eight weeks old (see the Feral Cat Setup in Chapter 11). At that point the mom can be spayed and released. Second, you can let the family stay outside and remove the kittens from the mother when they are six to seven weeks old. The younger age for separation is due to the greater dangers of outdoor life and the need to begin the socialization process as soon as possible. Third, you can bring the kittens in without the mother before they are six to seven weeks old, but if they are too young to be eating on their own yet, you will need to bottlefeed and provide neonatal kitten care. The first choice of bringing in the mom with the kittens and keeping them together until the kittens are eight weeks old is considerably less work than bringing in and raising unweaned kittens. Bottlefeeding is a labor-intensive process requiring a special formula (not cow’s milk) and multiple feedings throughout the day and night. It’s also less healthy for the kittens than their mother’s milk, which conveys certain immunities. Furthermore, the kittens need to be washed, stimulated to defecate and urinate, and constantly watched over. If instead you have the mother in a cage with them, she does all the work and all you have to do is feed her, clean the litter pan and play with the kittens. The kittens also learn more about how to be cats from being around their mother. There is a slight risk when you capture and confine a feral family that the mother may attack her kittens and even kill them. This is rare, but happens once in a while with female cats who are extremely feral and in great distress from being captured. If you believe you are dealing with this kind of a cat who is much wilder than your normal feral, you might be better off raising them yourself or leaving the kittens with her until they are old enough to eat on their own. There are a couple of ways to gauge whether the mother is going to accept the kittens in captivity. One is to introduce the kittens to the mother while she is still in a trap. Section her off on one end with a divider and place the kittens in the other end. See how she reacts before removing the divider. A second method, if you’re using the Feral Cat Setup described in Chapter 11, is to transfer the mom into a carrier (see “Trap-to-carrier transfer, also in Chapter 11). Place the carrier with mom inside into the cage. Before opening the carrier door, place the kittens at the front of the cage and see how she reacts. If she doesn’t growl or lash out, it’s likely they’ll be fine. Trapping the family It’s best to catch the kittens before the mother. That way, if you miss any, they won’t be left alone without their mom. If you do get the mother before the entire litter, then keep trapping until you have them all, only taking long breaks if absolutely necessary. Assuming you do get all the kittens first, if you’re then having trouble catching the mom, you may be able to use the kittens as bait. Put the kittens in a small carrier, then put the carrier behind a trap with the front door of the carrier right up against the trap’s rear door. Cover the carrier and both sides of the trap with a sheet, leaving only the front door of the trap uncovered. Set the trap. With this arrangement, the only way the mother can see to reach her kittens is by going through the trap. 54
Page 1 and 2:
The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Page 3 and 4:
Contents The Neighborhood Cats TNR
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Foreword The Neighborhood Cats TNR
Page 9 and 10: The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Page 35 and 36: 6. Winter Shelter The Neighborhood
Page 45 and 46: 8. Trapping The Neighborhood Cats T
Page 47 and 48: This is easily gotten around by tap
Page 59: The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Page 63 and 64: • Hard-to-catch cats The Neighbor
Page 69 and 70: • Directions for use by Laura Bur
Page 73 and 74: 10. Caring for Cats in Traps The Ne
Page 91 and 92: 13. Return to the Colony The Neighb
Page 93 and 94: 14. Relocation & Sanctuaries • Re
Page 107 and 108: 16. Feral Cat Resources Neighborhoo
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115:
show all

TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?