Did I separate a stray cat from her kittens?
Taking in a friendly stray cat can cause anxiety if you suspect she might be pregnant or nursing and left away from her babies. Worrying about separating a mother from her litter makes it stressful to know the right next steps for her care.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Waiting for an upcoming vet appointment to get a professional opinion on her conditionDid this help you?
- 2shaking a bag of cat food around the neighborhoodDid this help you?
- 3planting catnipDid this help you?
- 4assuming the cat has found alternative sources of food or has been taken inside by another neighborDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Anyways, he just randomly disappeared recently? I haven’t seen him at all for five days, not even around the block.”source ↗
“I’m kinda worried he’s hurt or something, he had a few scratches on his ear and had like bumps on his body.”source ↗
“It’s odd he’s gone for so long so I’m wondering if that’s normal?”source ↗
“It is also pretty sketchy that he disappeared the same day my neighbour tried picking him up (my neighbour got bit apparently)”source ↗
“Is he scared and hiding somewhere or something worse D:”source ↗
“I'm really worried that she's pregnant or nursing, and I don't want to have separated her from her babies!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 22How to tell if a neighborhood stray cat is in heat
- 11How to tell if stray kittens need to be rescued
- 3Will my cat get depressed leaving a multi-cat home?
- 10How to find a home for a found kitten
- 4How to protect stray kittens from cars without locking them up
- 13Why can't I stop worrying about my pet dying?