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Cats/dumped female lactating cat

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Expert: - 6/14/2009


Question
Cat seems to have been dumped and has no kittens. I cannot take her in as she beats up on my own cat and no shelters
will take her. I feel bad that she is so full of milk and I do not know what to do for to make her feel comfortable.
I feel bad that I cannot take her, but I'm afraid she is already pregnant. What can I do to make her comfortable but
not take her in? The humane society in my area will  charge me $100.00 to take her I cannot afford that.

Answer
Dee,

What a situation! Bless you for doing what you can!

OK.  Is there any way you can take her in and isolate her to one room so that your own cat can avoid conflict?

As far as the lactation is concerned, it tends to resolve itself over a couple of weeks and the cats system will absorb the milk as it dries up.

Are you sure she is pregnant or could she have had her kittens recently and not have had her uterus shrink back to normal?

Is there any way you can get your humane society to offer a very discounted spay for her?

If she has had kittens in the wild before and is, indeed, pregnant again, and you have no facilities to isolate her, then there is no choice but to let her fend for herself out there.

However, one avenue the humane societies continually forget  are groups like Alley Cat Allies. This group and groups like it have programs whereby they look after feral cats in the wild.  What has been found is that if feral cats are trapped, tested, neutered/spayed, vaccinated, and released, they tend to stay in their home territory and drive the whole cats out, thus limiting the feral population.  It turns out neuters and spays are better at the basic life skills then whole cats as the neuters and spays do not have to deal with the raging hormones.

So, you may want to look at the following web site:

http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191

If there is not an Alley Cat Allies chapter in your area, they may be able to refer you to another similar group.  There is lost of good information on  their web site about how to deal woth feral cats.

Please let me know if this is helpful?

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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