Seems some little feline has had kittens in the old temporary chicken coop. No sign of any momma cat around now, but four young kittens seems to be living in the coop. Farmer Man has spotted them 'ghosting' around this summer, and we finally went looking for them. They seem to live in the coop, and hang around and play in the piles of old machinery and building materials not far away. They are extremely cute but very shy of humans! There is a short-haired blond with an amazing striped tail, looking rather like Loud Cat - a cat who has showed up in our garage on-and-off for a couple of years( hmmmm, maybe Loud Cat is a daddy). There's a short-haired gray and white, a fluffy brown, gray and white striped and an extremely adorable fluffy blond, who does look somewhat like our Blondie, who cannot be the daddy but could be an older brother. It's possible someone dumped the kittens out here - it happens, unfortunately, but we'll never know how they got here.
Thing is, within the next few months we're about to get cold - very, very cold. I worry about the little ones surviving. In the winter here in Manitoba, we can have temperatures of minus 35 Celsius - yes, that's MINUS 35 degrees! That's minus 30 something in Fahrenheit - killing cold no matter what scale you use! As frosty nights have already been happening, Farmer Man dumped a fresh bale of straw into the coop for the kittens to cuddle up in. We were bringing bales of straw for the pigs to burrow into, anyway - so what's one extra? I've started this week to feed and water them every day. I find the short-haired blond will come up to me, the gray will watch from close by and the two fluffy cats will scamper off and watch from far away. I have not tried to handle or pet them in any way yet. I'm just hoping they will get familiar and comfortable with me. I'm hoping eventually to get them so comfortable that I can entice them into a crate and get them over to our vet Dr. Sherry at Wheat City Vet Clinic. If anybody has experience with wild cats I'd appreciate any comments and info! In the meantime, I'll continue to sneak away from our dogs to go visit them everyday!
http://cats.wolseleygirl.com/about/
ReplyDeleteShe traps cats here in the city. She might have some tips if you contact her.
I've had some experience with ferals and to my mind you're doing great. Keep visiting those cats several times daily and bringing food. I usually try to feed and pet at the same time. They don't like it initially but they're usually too interested in eating to object. Eventually I can get to the point where I can manhandle them. Unfortunately it will take a lot of time but kittens are usually easier to acclimatize. Straw is fantastic but perhaps you could put it in a smaller box or container of some sort. It's easier to keep a small space warm with straw and body heat than a large space like a coop. I use a pet crate stuffed full of straw for my ferals. They all climb in together and keep warm. Crating is another matter. If the cats are friendly you might be able to grab them by the back of the neck and force them in a box (wear long sleeves, gloves and hang on TIGHT), otherwise trapping is best. Even a friendly cat will think you're attempting to kill it by putting it in a box and will fight for its life. Many animals charities will lend you traps if you need to go that way and can offer advice as well. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, ladies! Great ideas!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with this, sis. Keep us posted on your progress.
ReplyDeleteKelt
Oh my! If the weather starts to turn much colder in a hurry, I'd certainly resort to live trapping. A hungry feral can rarely resist a can of food...just hope you don't catch any raccoons and opossums too! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteJust what I'd need would be a skunk in a trap!
ReplyDelete