Welcome back.

My guess it’s likely that the little kittens would be adopted. If you’re worried about the mother being euthanized, you could pay for the operation for just her and then let her go again… It’s sad though, it would be nice to just leave them alone. That mother cat is really beautiful.

But maybe you should think about the welfare of the kittens - they would be better off if you bring them in and they get adopted. You could probably call a shelter and ask about their adoption rate to get a sense of how likely the kittens would be to get adopted.

My two cats were rescue cats and we are always joking about how they have the easy life now compared to their early kitten life as feral street cats in Baltimore.

Matt,

First, great to see you here! Second, I think taking them to a shelter is an answer. Maybe the kittens will get adopted, there’s a good market for kittens. But feral cats are no good, and as distasteful as it seems, having them spray your place and breed like rats is no good. I’d go with removing them….that’s the moral thing to do for your family and your neighbors.

Hey, Matt –

What’s up with Philly not supporting a spay/neuter release program? Weird! My beloved Smudge, now 14, was a spay & release in Burlington, VT. The second time she got picked up by animal control, I was looking for a cat, and she got adopted. I was really broke at the time and could afford the adoption only BECAUSE I didn’t have to pay for a spay.

Do you know that the mother is actually feral? Merely being homeless and being a true feral cat are not the same thing. Lots of horribly inhumane humans will keep a female cat around until she gets pregnant and then throw her out. I would try googling some cat rescue groups and see if one in your area can evaluate her & put her up for adoption over the net. Another alternative is to ask around and see if any local vets can help you out. If I’m receiving your picture correctly, she’s a cream calico — LOTS of people want calicoes!

If she really IS feral, then euthanizing her is merely a kinder certain death than the one she faces on her own. Average lifespan of an outdoor cat? 2 years or less. I hate thinking of a cat being euthanized because humans are such jerks, but it’s worse to think of her living a miserable life and dying an even more miserable death.

Good luck to finding a happy alternative!

Wait, is it Friday?

Thanks for your responses, everyone.

@ Seadragon: I think that bringing in the kittens for adoption, and the mother for sterilization (followed by release), is a good plan. The PACCA, as I mentioned in the post, doesn’t have any sterilization appointments open until September (!), but I’ll look for other clinics or vets can do it sooner.

Your words about your cats struck a nerve — my wife and I got Luna from the PSPCA. Hopefully, these kittens will find loving owners, too.

@ Frank: thanks for the kind words, and for your input.

@ Suzy: I don’t know what’s up with Philly not having a spay and release program. Perhaps that’s something to work for on a political level.

I guess I don’t fully understand the difference between “homeless” and “feral.” If a cat is kicked out of her house, doesn’t she then become feral? Or is that word only used to describe cats who have always lived on the street?

@ Mikhail: Cat Blogging ain’t just for Fridays anymore!

—

One more note: I have to travel from Wednesday to Friday, and can’t possibly take care of all of this before I leave. So, perhaps I’ll leave this family alone until the weekend, and then I’ll take action. Giving the kittens a little more time to grow would be a good thing, as the PACCA can only sterilize kittens that weigh two pounds or more.

Matt, the term “feral” cat is becoming increasingly popular — and increasingly misused. Originally it referred to cats who were TECHNICALLY “domestic,” but who had almost always lived wild and were pretty much untameable. They tend to be wary and aggressive no matter what you do for them. They also tend to gather in colonies where they can. (There are areas in southern Vermont where there have been programmatic efforts on the part of local people to deal with large numbers of feral cats.) This kind of cat is not adoptable, and usually really hard to catch, too. They live rough and they look like it.

A homeless, or stray cat is a whole different critter. These cats are used to people and often used to being in homes. They WANT to be adopted, though the trauma of being thrown into the wild when they don’t know how to live like that may make them wary initially. A queen with kittens may be especially shy because she is afraid you’ll hurt them.

Your pretty calico is nicely groomed and held still long enough for a pic and didn’t kill you when you photographed the kittens. She certainly SEEMS adoptable, based on what you’ve said. Are you sure your local shelter would euthanize her? Did they tell you that? More and more shelters have moved to a kill-as-a-last-resort policy.

I should note that both my beloved cats were homeless. Smudge was on the streets for most of her life (a year or more) before I adopted her. Tobey showed up in my neighborhood after, I suspect, being abandoned by someone up the road who’d had him as a pet at their camp through the summer and then didn’t want to take him home. They have their squirrely attributes, but I don’t think that’s due to homelessness!

A truly feral cat is a “wild” animal, and like other wild animals should not be made into a pet. A homeless cat is a pet waiting to come home. In a metropolitan area the size of yours, I bet there is a group that would like to help you place the mother. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Bring em down to VA, I’ll take care of these little nuts!

Alternatively, you could drop the cat and kittens at a no kill shelter. There are a few in the area.

Thanks so much for that explanation, Suzy. I think I’m dealing with a homeless or stray cat, rather than a feral one. I’ve seen her exhibit several behaviors (among them: sitting on her haunches and looking expectantly at me for food) that lead me to believe that she was a house cat at one time.

I dropped by the PACCA today, and they said they would make every effort to get the cat and kittens adopted. However, I’m going to check out some no-kill shelters, as mac suggests, after I return from my trip (and provided that these cats are still here).

And Jim: Thanks for that offer, but don’t you have enough little nuts running around your place already?!

It’s so wonderful that I was able to publish this post and get such great advice. Thanks to all of you for sticking around long after I had any right to hope you’d still be here.

Most cats get adopted, unless they are very wild and unable to be tamed. This mom’s hissing could well just be protection of her litter. I say, take ‘em in (and maybe you can nab some of the toms too).

But, um, I really want one of the kittens. Maybe the one with the mix of white and stripes. Heh…

Very sweet. I agree that momma and the kittens should go to a no kill shelter. Being from SF, I didn’t realize that there are still kill shelters. Eeeks.

Glad that you’re back — sorta-ish.

Matt, nice to see a post and I look forward to your news.

Nothing to add re the cat and her kittens. I’ve never had a cat. More of a dog guy. (Can I say that here?) But those kittens sure are cute and would surely find a home.

Matt, I think Blackwater handles this sort of thing. www.blackwaterusa.com

good to see you again. where’s there a no-kill shelter? are most of the area shelters the last stop?

Isn’t Chris looking for another cat to adopt? [kidding]

I just found this site so I am late to this discussion. We got two kittens from a shelter 4 years ago. One looks like some of the babies in your pictures.

There is always a market for kittens . They go fast. Older cats have a chance but are in less demand.
You are right to not just let them keep breeding in the “wild”. This is not good for the cats or people. I am wondering what you eventually did.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice.

Sorry your comment got caught in the spam filter, Dan.

You can find a list of no-kill shelters in Philadelphia here.

And here is a summary of what appears to be a controversy between “no kill” and open shelters.