Help!! Found very young babies, should I take them in??

[Nekochan]

Help?
I just found 6--oops, 7-- kittens in my backyard. The mom ran away when I came by. They are feral, the mom looks like she might be the same feral mom of my other rescue cat who I caught several months ago.

The kittens were (are) in a flowerpot. They are growling and hissing at me.
Should I take them in or leave them and try to capture them when they're older? If I leave them I am sure mom is going to move them immediately and I don't know if I can find them again.

Kittens appear to be approximately 3-4 weeks old. Eyes and ears are opened, looks like baby canines are just erupting.

I have bottlefed before but only 3 kittens at once.

Should I try to trap mom too?? She is very wild.

[Indys Mamma]

it's a tough question

Momma cat may also reject them if you leave them out, at best she'll move them. if you can get a humane trap and keep her and kittens locked up somewhere it would be best, or give them to a rescue centre to raise?

[sarahp]

See if any rescue groups can take them. Otherwise...

Do you have a large crate/bathroom you can keep them in? Do you have time to give them the care (potentially bottle feeding and helping them eliminate if tht's what is needed) and socialisation they need? Can you afford the vet care if they have diarrhea, worms, whatever else, then spaying and neutering if a rescue group can't take them?

If you can answer yes to those questions, then yes, take them in.

[Nekochan]

I have unlimited free time right now except for the time I am spending caring for my sick dog...
I have a basement with a giant dog crate still set up from a feral I TNR'd last year (needs cleaning tho.)
My vet gives discounts for strays so that probably won't be a problem... I also heard that the local shelter is offering free spay/neuter for a limited time but I don't know if it will still be available whenever the kittens would be big/old enough to be fixed...

Should I trap the mother and try to keep them together? I am afraid the kittens will be more wild if they are kept with the mother, she is VERY afraid of humans.

[RobertM]

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Should I trap the mother and try to keep them together? I am afraid the kittens will be more wild if they are kept with the mother, she is VERY afraid of humans.

Well, ideally, yes, it would be wonderful if you were willing and able to trap all of them. Because they still need to nurse from her and she needs to teach them cat things that they need to know.

Unfortunately, she may have other ideas.

I share your concerns about the likelihood of the kittens beecoming more and more feral and eventually passing the point of no/doubtful return as far as socialization goes. And in your first post you had raised the possibility of waiting to trap them until they are older. I'd be worried that (a) the mother would move them away from your immediate area, and (b) they might not make it to "older," what with all the dangers out there.

I agree with the questions that sarahp posed, and it sounds like you answered "yes" to all of them, so it does sound like you have the wherewithall to take on this enormous task. What a wonderful thing it would be if you decide to go ahead with it! Please keep us posted.

[Nekochan]

Thanks! I ended up taking the kittens... I just couldn't leave them because I was afraid I'd never see them again!
I tried to lure the mother into a cage by putting one of the babies inside in a small carrier but she ran away whenever I came near. So I put a carrier next to the "nest" with a blanket the kittens had been on and a dish of wet food inside to encourage the mom to stay around. Tomorrow I'm going to try to borrow a cat trap from a shelter and see if I can trap her, at least get her spayed.

The kittens vary in size a lot which I thought was strange... I wonder if the smaller ones are sickly or just runts? Can you have 3 runts in a litter? They all ate well. I was able to get kitten formula from the grocery store. I think the most time-consuming thing is going to be getting them to eliminate because it actually took longer than feeding them! They all had to urinate but I had to stimulate every one. Hopefully they will be able to do that on their own soon.


Here's a photo. They were in a flower pot turned on its side in their "nest" so I used it to bring them inside the house:

[abbycats]

They are so cute!!!!!

Bless you for taking them in!

[psjauntie]

omg they are adorable!! I see why you couldn't leave them. I think I count six, is that right?? good luck & bless you

[Nekochan]

Six heads in the photo but one is hiding-- there are a grand total of seven. Boy do I have my hands full...
Luckily they are already starting to eat canned food mixed with formula so hopefully I won't have to bottlefeed for too long!

[siamesek]

You must have your hands full! They are so adorable! Do they all look like their mum?

[Paulena]

I understand not being able to leave them. They are so adorable. I did the same thing, a stray mom had a litter of 7 in my flower bed and I have been taking care of them every since. It is a job, indeed, but, well worth it in the end!!

[cat_lady]

aww there so cute! thanks for taking them in! vibes for healthy lives: