JUST what I need - someone's unspayed momma cat delivering me her litter of kittens. I guess she may be the critter that is at the back door around 10 pm at night that the dogs have a tizzy about and I can't see when I turn the yard light on. Every morning my cats' kibble and milk dishes are empty (outside the door). They shouldn't be empty because 2 or 3 of them come in at night so there are 1 or 2 still out. Plus Bobbi only goes out for a trip around the dog's yard and back in. The one never comes in and that's Barney, a previous stray who came to produce a litter and adopted us. (We paid an arm and a leg to spay her.). But this momma cat must figure she could bring the kids to the "goat farm" to get them lots of goat milk to supplement her milk. She's a really nice looking cat so she must have been coming for a snack frequently and decided it would be easier to haul the kittens here and save her self some work.
The problem is, she's unspayed so she'll soon be pg AGAIN and will keep bringing me litters of kittens! How many litters do they have a year? Three or four? Or MORE???? So, I'm trying to live trap her and she can go with her kittens to a cat resuce or what ever I can get worked out. I've stopped at neighors to see if anyone has a gray momma cat with kittens. They all say nope, not theirs. I suspect someone is telling me a story as this momma cat would have had a heck of a lot of work to carry kittens too far! A long-term solution is NEEDED, and quickly!
Anyway, I took a cat carrier out later (after those chores) to gather up the 2 kittens and bring them in. They are definitely 6 weeks old and maybe 8. They were active while being caught, but not wild acting. And then, 2 kittens quickly became 5! YIKES!
Then later, my hay guy brought me the last of the square bales of hay I'd paid for and while loading them into my trailer, I kept hearing a kitten crying. So, the 2 who became 5 became 6. Plus, they are very friendly and loving. They've definitely been frequently handled some and would purr right off with a little ear rubbing!
What am I suppose to do with someone else's 6 kittens and their lack of responsibility with their momma cat? I'm out of work and we just can't afford to neuter and spay someone else's 6 kittens! I got Bobbi, hubby's Manx, spayed 2 years ago and it was $115! I couldn't find a discount program to off set the expense but she was also OUR responsibility so I sucked it up and got her done.
Now what? I'm sure open to some ideas and suggestions! How many do you want? Can I withhold the goat milk they are loving and when they're dry mail them to you?
What I've thought of so far is:
* Contacting the cat rescue
* Keep trying to catch up with a couple more neighbors to ask if they have any idea who she/they belong too.
* Call the vet here in the village who is also a neighbor down the road.
* Call the county humane society.
* Call the County Animal Control as if someone might want the 6 kittens back! (I can hear you snickering, "Ya RIGHT" or "Fat chance of that", or some other thought that I've also been thinking.
* I've also wondered IF there is a possibility of using that website for fund raising to pay the vet bill if I can't find a placement for them or at least for the spay/neutering.
IF needed, I could feed them and give them their shots myself, but I can't keep them and pay the vet bill! It would run about $700 to get the kittens alone fixed! Bobbi was $115 two years ago so I can't expect it to be any cheaper! IF I could get this to work to either pay for the vet or pay the part a program doesn't pay, I could probably find a home for a couple who are fixed. I could keep a couple if there's a way to get them fixed.
Do you think that online fund raising for a cause would help with this? Seems there are a LOT of rescue people and all who might appreciate someone stemming the production of unnecessary kittens, doesn't it? Does anyone have the link for that online fund raising?
And, of course, kittens are always CUTE CUTE CUTE; even when there are 6 who could use a good home and a bit of snipping done!
