I'm asking this question on behalf of my mother.
They have a patch of bush next to their house and a few weeks ago someone dumped a pregnant cat there.
We couldn't get anywhere near the cat to catch it so we called the RSPCA and they said that we had to hire a cat trap for $50 to catch it... we did that and it is one smart kitty, it didn't go anywhere near the trap.
My mum felt really sorry for the cat because it was starting to lose weight and she started leaving food out for it, trying to gain it's trust.
3 days ago the cat came out near their fence looking rather flat in the tummy... she had her kittens in the bushes somewhere. We have tried following the mother from a distance to find them but she knows we are there and won't go to them.
Now this afternoon we saw the cat over in the bush again kinda dragging it's back legs behind it and it's tail is completely limp, we don't know whether it was hit by a car or what.
We called the RSPCA back to see if they would come out to catch the cat and find and take the kittens but they just told us to hire that cat trap again... I don't know how they think 3 day old kittens are going to crawl into a cat trap.
Anyway my question is...
What do I do? I feel awful watching the poor thing in so much pain.
Can the RSPCA do that? Don't they have a duty to help sick animals? They have all the equipment and experience to catch her and hopefully save her.

Silverfoxkit

Hopefully. My aunt has rescued so many dogs that they have altered the last few for free. Out in the country a whole lot of dogs just get dumped off, especially by the dumpsters at the very end of our road.

What I did to tame them was simple enough, I fed them. I put the food down at a certain time and started out sitting back a good fifty feet or more before they would come and eat it. Over time they got use to my presence and I would inch closer and closer until I was able to sit right next to them. Then I worked on touching and petting them. It was a big old patience contest but by the end they all knew me and would let me pet them.

shazamataz

That is pretty much what we did with the mother cat from the first litter but because she was injured I think she knew we were helping somehow and came around a lot faster.

I will try that Silver, and thankyou again for the info

AuntSwee

To bad your not in the USA, around here we have vouchers to get animals spayed. You agree to pay for a part of the process and they pay the rest. I got 10 males and females fixed for $20. I told them about grabbing the stray's around here. At least they are still getting fed and no babies. Only found 2 kittens this year. Maybe my hard work is paying off. I hope so. Just found out that my neighbor is doing the same thing. She found out what I was doing and decided to help out too. Maybe I started something. No more babies yet this year only the 2. Yipeee.

AuntSwee

Talk to some of your shelters about fund raising to start a Spay and neuter program in your area. A lot of the businesses around here donate to the cause.

trmpldonagn

Who doesn't love a happy ending?
This post just made my day. It is so nice to know that there are so many caring people for animals out there. As time goes on, I see this more and more often. The laws against "certain things" or "dealings" with animals have become strict whereas years ago someone would get a slap on the wrist for hurting an animal. Thanks to all of you very very caring people out there. Beyond words.

I'm sure and pray that the family, including the new additions, is ok now but be careful that any other animals can't smell the food and get near the family. I'm not sure which types of animals are near you. Best of luck with all that you are trying to do and please keep us posted. Thanks. And don't worry too much about the RSPCA. I think the public should know about some things. You might be surprised at how many people would respond and be outraged.

shazamataz

Thanks again guys.

I like the idea of the fundraiser! I'll look into that! I still haven't posted my letter to the local newspaper Good thing I didn't too becuase now I want to add that to it!

Good point trmpldnagn - there aren't many stray dogs in the area, just a whole lotta cats! Next to us we used to have about 20 wallabies and a few kangaroos but since they started putting the road in they have all moved further into the bush... very sad, we miss feeding them every night

Silverfoxkit

Well we certainly don't have kangaroos and wallaby here but I would definitely miss the gators if they ever tried to develop around here. Not that they really would.

shazamataz

is it true that they live in the sewers? lol

morgaine300

This isn't a USA thing - it's a locality thing. Around here we have no vouchers and you'd never get 10 animals fixed for any $20. We do have different programs, some of which are private, and they can change. The humane society here fixes them all before they're adopted out. There are other private places which do it - one place is a mobile unit that goes to different neighborhoods each week and it's like $13 per animal.

You basically need to do some good searching in your area to find out what might exist. There might be something already out there and you just don't know about it. I'd start with the internet, but if you talk to enough people where you live, maybe someone knows something.

shazamataz

Thanks for the info Morgaine but unfortunately there are pretty much only 3 shelters where I live. A regular one and 2 wildlife ones. No private organisations.
I think I might post in the charity section to find out how I would go about setting up a donation fund. Unless anyone here has any ideas?

I'd love to start my own, and be able to get enough donations to hand out vouchers.