What to do with an agressive (possibly pregnant) stray

gtothec

Hi there,

We live in the countryside. About a year ago my husband was driving to pick me up and spotted 4 or 5 little black kittens at the side of the road. We suspected they might have been dumped there and as we had just adopted 2 new helpless little kittens, the thought of this really upset me. We resolved to bring them back to our house if they were still there on our way back, which unfortunately they weren't.

Fast forward about a year and we keep seeing this one little black cat watching us through the patio door and darting away when we open it. The cat then became very vocal, a lot more so than our own 2 cats. It jumps up on the glass meowing all the time.

As it only came once or twice a week we started to give it dry food that our cats aren't too keen on. It demolished the dry food and then disappeared into the night. Poor thing looks and still looks a right mess. Coat is patchy and it stinks.

Of course the inevitable happened and because we fed it the cat started to come more and more frequently. We suspected it was pregnant as its stomach is distended and compared to our own cats (one male, one female) it does look like something is out of the ordinary. I put an old rug on one of the patio chairs and it sits there.

The situation now is that the cat has permanent residence on the patio chair and any time we open the patio door it tries to get inside. This is not really a problem, however the past few days we have both seen it attack our own cats. Our own cats are now frightened of this other cat. I feel like I have been stupid in feeding it and caring for it, and probably should have expected all this, but not sure what I should do next.

What would you do?

fluffnutter

Take it to a vet to find out if it's pregnant. Or ill. Before anything else happens someone needs to establish what's going on with its health. And it looks like you're the only one around who cares.

gtothec

Thanks Fluffnutter, I will do that.

We were thinking about it when we first thought it might be pregnant but worried that we may have got it wrong and it may belong to someone from across the fields or something.

I know cats can wander a fair bit.

For all I know it could be male!

Will let you know how I get on when I bring it in to the vet this week.

G>C

moggymutt

Whether pregnant or not, the cat will need worming- we've had several cats come in to us supposedly pregnant, but their belly has been due to worms.

gtothec

Haven't had a chance to get to the vets yet due to work.
I'm fairly sure the cat is pregnant because yesterday when I walked towards it it lay on its back with legs in the air looking scratched and its nipples looked big, like much more noticeable than on my other cat.

Do you think a "wild" cat would do that or is that not the behaviour of a cat who has been looked after in the past?

My current plan is to take it to the vet for a checkup, worming etc, then call round all neighbours in area (rural) to see if anyone owns it before leaving to cat shelter.

I can't keep it, especially not once it has kittens. My own two young cats are terrified of it and it attacks them unprovoked

BitterAndTwisted

Give it some form of weatherproof shelter outside like a rabbit-hutch or dog-kennel. If it is a pregnant cat she can have her kittens in that. You can still feed it and not let it in your home if it's aggressive towards your own cats.

moggymutt

Although rescues are usually full, they would make new born kittens a priority at this time of year. Quite often they will have fosterers who only take pregnant/nursing mums and not lone adult cat, so you may find a local rescue is in a position to help you.

Even with a waterproof shelter it is very tough for a cat to raise kittens outdoors at this time of year.

gtothec

The pregnant cat has commandeered the cat house now where she spent last night. Our cats sleep inside and are out during the day, once they pluck up the courage to leave! Very wary of preggers!

I will call the local pound. Hopefully they can help. Thanks!

Sagz_2

Has she been to the Vet yet? She may be chipped, and will certainly need worming if she is expecting.

Good luck with her x

gtothec

Going to vet this morning. The lady I spoke to on the phone didn't seem to think I'd have much luck with leaving it into a shelter afterwards and said I might be stuck with it.

Not sure what to do really. Want to help, would consider keeping cat but not kittens, I already have 2 cats. There's also the problem of pregnant cat attacking my 2 cats every day. They are terrified of it. I wonder if she'll become less aggressive once kittens are born? Any ideas?

I'm pregnant myself, so am probably being a bit soft about all of this!

Polmop

No ideas for you but hope all is OK for you both