Worst Case Scenario Regarding Mom Cat & Kittens

Hi all, I've been stalking an abandoned cat that gave birth about 3 weeks ago according to her elderly feeder Irene. :rolleyes: I've made the trip several times trying to find the litter before kids, or predators etc. find them and last weekend found one decapitated 10 (?) day old under a porch that's for the most part close to impossible to get under....but I did it. It's a huge back porch of a large apartment building, and it's practically a crawl on my knees through cat pee etc. affair, and I searched a few times under it and came out empty handed. :( Sunday I was back there with a friend and we watched the cat "Gracie" for well over an hour until she finally thought she wasn't being watched, and went off to nurse her kittens. We nearly chocked when Gracie scurried up a tree next to Irene's house, and the Auto Body garage right next door, and she walked across the peaked roof (some 30' up) and disappeared into a rotted out area along the roof edge at the back of the house! :eek: :eek: :eek: There is no attic in Irenes house according to her son who's on the second floor, and it would appear he's right about that as there's no ventilation windows up there. There's an overhang of about 18" coming out from the roof edge, and the house has been sided with aluminum and the hole the cat went in is on that overhang. The gutters are pretty much gone, and the hole is fairly good sized from what we could tell, but no idea just how big an area the kittens could be in even if we were able to get up there and look. We attempted reaching the roof by grabbing a ladder from an adjoining yard, and climbing it to the garage roof next door (flat topped), but then realized not only would it be impossible to pull the ladder up without the extension arms coming loose, but the roof pitch was quite steep too, and I was wearing sneakers with crappy soles, and didn't want to risk falling. There's no way we could climb into the hole even if we got up there without tearing the hole open more. Fire departments don't send people out for cats, a cherry picker wouldn't be able to get a machine back there, unless it was very narrow due to chain link fences all around, and to top it off Irene has no $$ to call a roofer to retrieve the litter and fix the roof. The only idea I can come up with is a sympathetic roofer, or the Animal Rescue League that if they sent someone out chances are they'd take them to the shelter and snuff them all. :( In a few short weeks not only will the kittens be too heavy for Gracie to carry them down, but they'll also be crawling out onto the roof and likely falling to their death. I have no idea how to proceed from here, and it's the most frustrating place I've ever dealt with in all my years trapping. If any of you come up with any brainstorms about this dilemma...please do share it! ARGHHHH....off to bang my head against the wall....Jan

In the UK it has been known for the Fire Service to come out for such an "emergency". Spent one afternoon watching fireman untangling a seagull that had got stuck in netting on a roof......

Good luck - I hope you find someone to help these kitties

How about your local TV station? Media always look for a good "human interest" story! In your local paper too, if there is time.

You don't give away the actual location of the kittens, because sickos read papers and watch TV too - but the station will take calls of professional volunteers!

I bet that would get you the help you need. All I can think of!

OR - if a friend or relative of a friend works in the FD, roof repair, etc...or call the FD and say you just need one cat-lover from the department.

Wish I had more ideas! I'll keep watching...

Catty1

Lets Pray that Cats being fairly clever,the Momma Cat will be able to move her Kittens to a safer place.
How hard a life that Poor Cats must have had that she has to hide from people,and I pray that she can be helped.

Gee whiz, this is a mission impossiable. or so it sounds. Just keep telling people about this in your area and maybe somebody can come up with a solution. The Lord sent you there to challange you and for you to come up with the solution so keep at it and you will get them. In the meantime, I will pray for you to find the right person or answer.

It mabe be that you will just have to put something soft on the ground for them to land on when they fall out...old matress, boxes or something. Lets just hope the Mama don't try to carry them across that roof!

I SURE MISS YOU!

I would contact your local Animal Control, Humane Society, and animal shelters and see if they have any listings of a rescue organization in your area that may be able to help you with this. Sounds to me there will probably be some kind of roof damage. Have you tried any local utilities that have bucket trucks with booms?

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Originally Posted by K & L

Have you tried any local utilities that have bucket trucks with booms?

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It's not possible for any vehicles to get to the back of the house due to all the chainlink fences all around.
Laura, It's also not feasable to put mattresses all around the house...once again, chainlink fences surounding the property. Can't risk Irene tripping over something either. Fire departments will not send anyone out any longer either. In the 'good old days' maybe, but in a city the size of the one mom cat's in, they can't risk a fire in a home, and their people on a roof after kittens. I'd think just the fact there's a sizable hole in Irene's roof, and no doubt squirrels and raccoons up there, that in itself is a fire hazzard. And even finding someone willing to go up and get them doesn't guarantee being able to reach them, especially if the cat has them on the opposite end of the attic crawlspace. :confused: It's a good sized house.

This is going to sound silly, but ... is Irene sure there isn't a way into her attic space from inside the house? It may be that she has never used it, and never looked for it. If I was going into such a space, I'd rather do it going up from inside if possible.

I don't think mom cat would share a space with racoons since they would regard the kittens as convenient food. So would rats. I think it's amazing that an abandoned cat has managed to secure such a space for her kittens and, even if her kittens can't be saved, I hope she can be helped.

The problem with anyone going in through the hole would be that unless they were completely successful, the mother cat would try to move the kittens again.

Terrible situation but I'm really glad you are doing all you can to help.

I would try to contact a firm that places roofs. They might know how to get into that hole , maybe by taking away a few tiles :confused: :confused:
It's worth a try.

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Originally Posted by Catty1

How about your local TV station? Media always look for a good "human interest" story! In your local paper too, if there is time.

You don't give away the actual location of the kittens, because sickos read papers and watch TV too - but the station will take calls of professional volunteers!

I bet that would get you the help you need. All I can think of!

OR - if a friend or relative of a friend works in the FD, roof repair, etc...or call the FD and say you just need one cat-lover from the department.

Wish I had more ideas! I'll keep watching...

Catty1

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That is actually what I was going to suggest. About a year ago there was a goose that was injured and not even native to this area (not even by migrating was he supposed to even be here!) I forget what type he was, but this poor lady tried contacting everyone she knew to help him but nobody wanted to or could come out. So as a last resort she contacted the local news station and they did a story on it and immediately people from everywhere came to help and the goose was saved!

Oh gosh Jan, this is such a sad situation. What an odd place for the mama to have her babies.

Prayers on the way that a simple solution can be found to help mama and her widdle babies.

Please keep us posted on this Jan, okay.

Oh no. :(

No suggestions from me, but I sure hope you can find a way to get everyone down safely.

Jan,

Call the media!!!! That'll get them firefighters off their duffs to help. Call the newspapers AND the tv stations. You'll see how fast they respond. I wish I had a solution for you. Let us know how you make out.

Lizzie is right. There HAS to be SOME kind of hatch or crawl space to get up into the roof.

We scratched my idea because I didn't know the kittens were in Chelsea.Too far away for anyone I know.Looks like you'll have to flag someone down that can get a latter.This is very horrible.Poor kittens are gonna fall to their deaths.Mamma wanted them safe from people and preditors but didn't think about how they'd get down.Maybe she'll carry one down at a time later.Probably not in time.

Oh Jan, how awful!!! I would try the local news / tv stations ... maybe even the radio stations. Surely SOMEBODY will step up to help!!! Good luck and prayers for these babies!!!