Terrell, TX - Abandoned Cat with Kitten(s)

I bought a new house in Terrell TX (near Dallas) and moved in a few days ago. My cats are indoor kitties. A local cat came by and stared in the windows and tried to enter through the door when it was open.

We asked a neighbor about the cat, and she said that another neighbor moved away two weeks ago and left two dogs and the cat behind. The sheriff has been feeding them, she said, and is expected to return and take them away in a couple of days if the missing owner doesn't return.

It turns out this cat has taken up residence under my house, and it sounds like she has had one or more kittens. I'm trying to decide what to do, and thought I'd ask for some advice before leaving a note for the sheriff, calling a local shelter, etc. Is there a service I can call to get the kitten(s) out from under the house and take the cat and/or kittens to a no kill shelter? Can I do that without consulting the sheriff, or can that service work out the details with the law?

Hi and welcome to TCS. Can you pet the mother? If so, start making friends with her. Feed her canned kitten food at least twice a day plus leave her some dry kitten food. Kitten food has more calories and nutrition and will be good for her since she is nursing. If you make friends with her she will bring the kittens (when they are old enough) out with her to eat and you can start petting them too at that point. And then it will be easy to gather them all up and bring them in until you can find a rescue to take them. It sounds like she was abandoned by the people who used to live in your new house and this makes me very mad that they would do that. She might be a very friendly cat and then her kittens will be easier to socialize then too. If she is feral, let me know and then we can try to assist you with that as well.

Texas has a great animal rescue system. I would call it in and see if they can trap the mom and kittens. Unless she isn't bothering you and you just want to let her be and start feeding her at the same times every day in the same place until she trusts you and brings you her babies. But you guys are having some pretty severe weather right now something else to consider,

I would start feeding the mom daily and let her and the kittens live under the house for a few more weeks until the kittens are a little older. If people come and start trying to get them out mom can get spooked and end up moving all the kittens to a less safe place where nobody will be able to find them.
At this time they will be fine under the house. Mom will take care of the kittens and you just have to help mom a bit on the food front. She needs a lot of nutrition since she's nursing and if she doesn't have to leave to get food the kittens will be better off. Dry kitten food and fresh water is best. Don't put the food to far under the house in case other animals will show up for it. Put it right outside the house or under it by the edge. Don't disturb them too much though so mom doesn't get scared.

Once the kittens are 4-5 weeks you can start making attempts to catch them. At about 5 weeks they should start coming out from under the house to play and explore. If you can catch mom first it shouldn't be hard to get the kittens. Of course it's much easier if you have made friends with mom. She may even let you handle the kittens.

I would recommend that you start calling around to rescues and no-kill shelters right away. It's not easy to find a place for cats as most places are full. You may have to contact a couple of dozen places. If there is any way you can avoid taking them to a crowded kill shelter please do. There are usually a lot of diseases going around these places and the kittens may die if they catch a virus. Euthanasia for all is also very possible.
I have to disagree with the previous poster that said that Texas has a great animal rescue system. Although there are great rescues and shelters in Texas there are more bad ones and the good ones are always full. Unfortunately all states are overwhelmed with cats and there aren't enough places to take them. The shelters that have open enrollment are high kill, small, crowded and dirty. If the sheriff gets involved they probably would end up with animal control that are notoriously bad places. There are of course exeptions so you may want to pay a visit to your county pound and see what it's like.

The best thing would be if you could take mom and kittens in and foster them until you can find them homes. If that's possible I hope you will consider it. That would be their best chance. Please remember though that it's important that the kittens are taken in before they are 8 weeks, preferably sooner, regardless of whether they are going to a shelter or staying with you. If you get them too late and are not used to being handled by humans while very young they may never get used to humans and would be unadoptable.

Good luck