[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I had a terrible experience in a similar scenario. We had fed and kept a stray cat which gave birth to four kittens. The mother cat tried a lot to enter our house with the kittens but we did not want the kittens to stay in the cupboard since they would dirty the place. They were moved by the mother to various places and three days back, it brought them back to our house. We let the kitten stay in the backyard and I had arranged a huge box with insulation from the cold and the kittens would stay there.

In the early hours of yesterday, a pack of stray dogs entered the compound and killed those kittens after dragging them onto the street. Two of the kittens were lying dead across the street while the other two are missing. Felt really sad for them and had I expected this to happen, I would have let them stay inside the house. Its still a surprise how these street dogs entered the compound since its gated and guarded. I guess the kittens wandered off from the backyard to the gate where they were attacked. Overall, I was very disturbed by this. Will stop feeding those hopeless dogs.

Sorry to hear about it. It is really heart wrenching.

This is exactly what i am scared of! Although our backyard is pretty safe and away from the harm of the stray dogs. But you never know. I just hope that the mother is sensible enough to keep the kittens in the house/backyard till they grow up . Let them go anywhere after that!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I guess the kittens wandered off from the backyard to the gate where they were attacked. Overall, I was very disturbed by this. Will stop feeding those hopeless dogs.

I understand your sentiment but at the end of the day you cannot blame the dogs for doing what they did. Its the survival of the fittest out there and inter-species rivalry specially when there major food source is the same ( i.e. feeding by humans) is going to create such scenarios.

[Chetan_Rao]

What makes it perplexing is dogs and cats don't always get into an altercation. There are plenty of strays of both species in my area, and I've seen instances when a cat walked straight past a sitting dog which noticed but did nothing.

My landlord has two dogs and there was a whole litter of kittens on their terrace recently, but never a squeak out of any of them, let alone violence.

P.S. It's fun watching the kittens chase butterflies from my window (overlooking my landlord's terrace garden) early in the morning. Cute (and hyperactive) kids.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I had a terrible experience in a similar scenario. We had fed and kept a stray cat which gave birth to four kittens. The mother cat tried a lot to enter our house with the kittens but we did not want the kittens to stay in the cupboard since they would dirty the place.

Actually, they don't. The mother will keep them clean, and, so long as a litter tray is provided, she will do the house-training too!

In the early hours of yesterday, a pack of stray dogs entered the compound and killed those kittens after dragging them onto the street. Two of the kittens were lying dead across the street while the other two are missing.

Horrible thing to happen.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Sorry to hear about it. It is really heart wrenching.

This is exactly what i am scared of! Although our backyard is pretty safe and away from the harm of the stray dogs. But you never know. I just hope that the mother is sensible enough to keep the kittens in the house/backyard till they grow up . Let them go anywhere after that!

We had a mother move her three kittens into our side passage. She did not try to move them into the house, and the initial growing-up phases took place outside. The mother seemed to have the training syllabus programmed into her instinct. We did not feel they were old enough to go out, and put up cardboard barriers (the passage is gated each end). Mum had other ideas: it was the day to go out, so she just taught them advanced climbing as well.

Later they all became house cats. From loss and accidents and probably theft too, none survived three or four years later.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I understand your sentiment but at the end of the day you cannot blame the dogs for doing what they did. Its the survival of the fittest out there and inter-species rivalry specially when there major food source is the same ( i.e. feeding by humans) is going to create such scenarios.

If judged by human ways, cats are probably crueller than dogs. Even a well-fed cat will hunt and kill, seemingly just for fun.

[mayuresh]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I was terrified watching her hold the kitten at its neck and roam around trying to enter the neighbors house with intermittent growling.

it's becoming difficult for the mother to grab them by their neck and walk for long distance.

When would be the right time to keep them outside the house in a box? Within the compound ofcourse.

I have witnessed several such situations.

Firstly do not worry about the cat holding the kitten by their neck, even when they look a little grown now. This is a perfectly robust arrangement of nature in the felines.

Also, let the mother decide when she wants to stop lifting them by neck. She realizes that automatically as much as she realizes when to stop feeding them or when to stop catching a prey for them.

Regarding changing place, it's again a natural instinct in cats for the kitten's protection. In situations I faced, the cat did change the place, but never took them to neighbors, primarily because we could make cosy and safe looking arrangements at different positions within the house, such as a basket with warm clothing etc, particularly in some places where she feels she won't be spotted easily.

Only difference is, the cats in our cases were entirely domesticized (brought up as kittens by us). If a stray cat has started living with you, the behavioral pattern may be different.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

I have witnessed several such situations.

Firstly do not worry about the cat holding the kitten by their neck, even when they look a little grown now. This is a perfectly robust arrangement of nature in the felines.

Also, let the mother decide when she wants to stop lifting them by neck. She realizes that automatically as much as she realizes when to stop feeding them or when to stop catching a prey for them.

Regarding changing place, it's again a natural instinct in cats for the kitten's protection. In situations I faced, the cat did change the place, but never took them to neighbors, primarily because we could make cosy and safe looking arrangements at different positions within the house, such as a basket with warm clothing etc, particularly in some places where she feels she won't be spotted easily.

Only difference is, the cats in our cases were entirely domesticized (brought up as kittens by us). If a stray cat has started living with you, the behavioral pattern may be different.

Thank you mayuresh. That was reassuring. The mother is a stray cat.

The kittens will turn 4 weeks day after tomorrow. They have started walking now. Any idea when the mother will shift them out? What arrangements should I make in my backyard so that it may shift them there whenever the mother decides to shift them?

[Thad E Ginathom]

When a kitten is held by the scruff of the neck, it becomes still. I think it is reflex action. To some extent, it is still there as the cat gets older.

[motionfreak]

Soon, we are going to see a lot of these.... :(

[mayuresh]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Thank you mayuresh. That was reassuring. The mother is a stray cat.

The kittens will turn 4 weeks day after tomorrow. They have started walking now. Any idea when the mother will shift them out? What arrangements should I make in my backyard so that it may shift them there whenever the mother decides to shift them?

If she is even lately domsesticized, she may not do anything special to shift them away. She will just stop looking after them after a few weeks.

Kittens are unlikely to leave your home on their own! They are born here, it's their home! It's best to let them be adopted by interested people or just let them live with you. It better be done when they are able to consume food on their own.

BTW cats have uncanny knack of finding their way back home. At times I had grown up cats returning home when I tried to leave them 4-5 kms away from home.

When kittens start walking pretty comfortably, in fact run, play with each other and the things around them, they will automatically start venturing out, usually following their mother. She won't usually proactively take them out or something.

It is a pretty sight to watch kittens play, particularly acts like trying to catch its own tail, any moving object etc. It will last for may be a few months. I'm sure you'll enjoy their peculiar mannerisms.

Regarding the backyard, it's important to ensure that stray dogs don't have a way to enter there. You have to also watch whether there are other big stray cats around. Cat will be instinctively weighing all these factors, besides warmth of a home at night temperatures, if you are wondering why she doesn't take them out!

In my experience, I have not seen a cat taking the kitten into the backyard this way. She just changed places within the house as that's where she feels the safest. But you may try creating some makeshift shelter (like basket etc that I described) and see if she likes.

A thing about cats is, unlike dogs, you can't make them do something. They'll usually do whatever they like. It's possible to get a dog shift to the backyard where you want it, but with cats you can only hope she likes the arrangement! Particularly if you forcibly take her to your makeshift shelter, unless she has developed a lot of trust, she will actually avoid that place! It is better to let HER discover it.

[Astonite]

Here is my lab Kuro.

[ritz3645]

Dear Sagar,
The point concerning you is of protecting them with the best of abilities and means.
But strays are more resilient and need those survival skills as a learning.
So in a way you may be hindering the natural development, if they are intended to be stray or outdoors.

My experience.
I love animals, and had wild as well as domesticated ones as a kid.
Wild was a pigeon and a rabbit, and both were rescued from predators.

Rabbit went back to the wild and was sighted many a times later, but pigeon got hunted by a stray.
I had been very cautious, and pigeon was put in the under side of my bed during night time. This stray used one of the unlatched top ventilator window during night. I was up the moment I heard ruffling of feathers, but cat pigeon in mouth was exiting the window.
This cat who was rarely sighted, in the dead of night took my pigeon away.

Presently my problem is stray cats pooping in garden, for some years, and their clan keeps on growing.
I removed lawn as it was the place of choice.
Still we notice smelly, hairy, and with bone poop around, and less birds.

I wish I get a cat trap, or help/idea, so I have less of cats and more of birds.

[driverace]

Hi all,
Nice to see all extended families here!

We have this lil' fella at home

Almost a year old cockatiel - Coco.

He (most probably - not sure yet) - roams/walks/flies around in our home freely - most of the time.
Only in his 2'x2' cage at night & when guests are over OR only when required to do so.


He wants to ride shotgun wherever my wife is in the house & wants to be typically perched on either shoulder.
Doesn't matter if she's cleaning, surfing, working, making pop corn, anything at all!

We call him Supervisor-Coco for this habit of his

Any other birdies on the board here?

Cheers,

Ace.

[callvvijay]

Originally Posted by ritz3645

................................
I wish I get a cat trap, or help/idea, so I have less of cats and more of birds.

This is exactly what I did today. There was this big black panther-like cat roaming around our house for the past few months - many a times, it attacked our house cat (Sony, a 3.5 year old female-neutered). Off late, we noticed Sony being more cautious when venturing out of the house and even for the slightest of the sounds, she started getting afraid. Plus, her appetite was also coming down might be due to the fear.

When I visited the vet on Saturday (yesterday), got the cat-trap from her and had kept it with some cat-food today afternoon. Within half-an-hour, the panther got trapped. Took it away and released it after driving down some few kms from home.

[ritz3645]

Originally Posted by callvvijay

.

Thank you, will try vets in my city.
Tried my city hardware stores and online, now this is a new hope.

Initially I did not want to enter cat or bird preference.

First the poop on lawn.
Second incident a small wild bird couple used the underside of parpet as a night shelter. They maintained their only daily routine of sleeping on cloth hanging wire post sun set. No nest. We glanced from a distance and enjoyed their presence. One fine day we notice only one, same place. Later he used wire fence on inside of pathway to sleep. This little guy once actually entered the door and was chirping, I was like please go out as ceiling fan is on.
That was the last interaction, and again the cats won.
In a way it was good as I disliked his loneliness.

After this we had two cycles of kitten with zero interaction as always.

Third incident in spite of making all places as unfavorable, I notice smelly hairy with intact wing bones - crap.

So now plan is made and some will get moved, and end up at the city dumping ground, at least 10 km away, (my city has garbage collection at source every alternate day, and vehicle driver is nice).

Missing link was the trap, thank you for the hint.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

When kittens start walking pretty comfortably, in fact run, play with each other and the things around them, they will automatically start venturing out, usually following their mother. She won't usually proactively take them out or something.

There are various degrees of mothering among cats. Ours was very much the mother. She took the kittens out, and showed them how to climb. She was also particular about toughening up the male in the litter. One day she almost knocked him out, jumping on him from a hight.

It is a pretty sight to watch kittens play, particularly acts like trying to catch its own tail, any moving object etc. It will last for may be a few months. I'm sure you'll enjoy their peculiar mannerisms.

Magic. It really is magic.

A thing about cats is, unlike dogs, you can't make them do something. They'll usually do whatever they like.

"Dogs have owners; cats have staff."