Need advice about feral mama cat

Wow! It’s been quite some time since I’ve been here. I’m back to ask for some advice on a feral cat that I’ve been feeding where I work.

To make a long story short, she became pregnant and had babies in the back of my boss’ corvette (that he doesn’t use). Some people working on an additional building we will be occupying heard the kittens and notified us. We, of course, couldn’t leave them there, so I removed them from the car and we put them in a large box. By the way, mama was in there with them when I climbed in to start removing them. She flew out of the back and through the window so fast, I almost didn’t realize what was happening. Anyway, we moved the box into the room next door which has big roll down doors on either end. The corvette had originally been there and was moved. The concrete slopes, so there is a gap on one side of the roll down doors. We knew this would allow her to get back in. Just like we suspected, the next morning, all the kittens were gone. We assume that she moved them. At the time we found them, their eyes were fully open and they were walking……wobbly, but walking none the less. I would say they were at least 2 - 3 weeks old at the time. This coming Thursday (May 12) will be 3 weeks since we found them and moved them to the other room…..so by now, they would be at least 5 – 6 weeks old. My question is this…..IF they were “still around†wouldn’t we be seeing them? Wouldn’t they be following mama around?! I still feed the mama and see her pretty often. As I type this, she is out back under one of our conex buildings. If the kitties are still around, I find she spends an awful lot of time away from them. My fear is that something got them……I know for a fact that there are raccoons out there. For one, I’ve seen their footprints in the mud and I can tell they are eating the cat food I leave for her since I sometimes find food crumbs and dirt in the water bowl. What do you all think? Do you agree with my thinking that if the kittens were still alive, we would spot them here and there?

The reason we moved them follows. We will be expanding and some of our employees are moving into the building next door. At the back of the building is a room that is not air-conditioned. Behind that room was a concreted area that had a back wall and a roof over it. The boss had 2 large roll down doors installed at either end, so now it is completely enclosed. His corvette was in there. He does not currently use this car. It is one of his MANY toys. The mama cat was able to slip in underneath the large roll down doors. The window on the driver’s side of the corvette was halfway down. She got in there and had her babies (5 of them) in the back of the car. Then one Saturday, they moved the corvette from that closed in area into the non air-conditioned room next door because that is where my boss wanted it moved. No one knew the kittens were inside. The following Thursday, some alarm people were there working on installing an alarm system, they heard the kittens, and notified us in the other building. We moved them because a) our boss would not have been happy to know they were in there and b) because the room where the corvette was moved to was a locked room with no way for the mama cat to get in and out. We put the kittens into a large box and moved them back to the area where the corvette originally was, so she would be able to get back to them by slipping under the roll down doors. We assume that when the car was moved, the mama must have been in there with them. How else could kittens that small have survived from Saturday to Thursday with no food from mama?!

And yes, what I'm trying to figure out is when would be a good time to trap her, have her spayed, and then bring her back. I don't want to do it if she is still nursing them.

I've tried and tried to follow her with no luck. When she sees me, she usually runs...and with all the fences around that she can slip under, and I have to go around buildings, I just can't keep up with her. I go outside quite a few times during the day and can usually find her somewhere. If the kittens are still alive, she spends an awful lot of time away from them. Too much if you ask me.

Good news!!!! I found the babies. She has them under the conex buildings that are between our 2 buildings. I went outside for lunch and looked under there in the forklift slots. Once my eyes adjusted to looking into a dark space, I saw mama and she hissed at me. Then I saw movement behind her....it was the silhouette of 2 kittens. Later I went out again and 2 of the babies were out from under the conex buildings, but ran back when they saw me.

I removed 5 kittens from the back of the corvette. Right now, I am only seeing two of them. It is the same two I keep seeing. Either the others are not brave enough yet, or they didn't make it. I'm inclined to think they didn't make it. Once when I looked under the conex building today, I could see them, and it appeared the babies were nursing. I could only see two of them. In my mind, if they were all there, they would have all been nursing.

I'm not a big fan of canned food....especially for feeding ferals/strays. If the food stays out too long, it turns hard. Once I realized she had babies, I did a gradual switch to Purina Kitten Chow.

Guess what?! All five of the babies are there. I moved the food and water bowls right next to the conex building that they are under. There is a barbeque pit out there and I put the bowls under there. I went back out a little while later and that is when I discovered all five of them are there. Three of the babies were at the bowl with mama and one of them was already eating. Later I went and looked and one of them was in the bowl eating. Mama lunged at me twice while hissing and spitting. It is a good thing there was a fence between me and her or I might have a little blood on me.

I'm starting to wonder if she's moved them. Yesterday when I came in to work, I changed out the food bowl I had been feeding in. It was a rather small bowl for 5 kittens and mama. I bought a large 3 quart dog pan over the weekend. I put quite a bit of food in there. I saw mama and one baby eating out of it a while after I put it out. Throughout the day, I would walk out there. Some of the kitties got completely in the bowl to eat. Every time I went out yesterday, I saw them, whether they were playing, eating, or sleeping. Today, I have not seen them once. I put food out this morning when I got to work, as the bowl was empty. Mama was on the other side of the fence watching me from quite a distance. When I walked away, she went to that area....but I didn't go back to look. I walked out there mid-morning and looked all over....no sign of any of them. For lunch I went out there and same thing. No sign....and the food has hardly been touched.

Is it possible she moved them at this age if she feels threatened by me?

OK....it turns out she did not move them. I guess they had just spent a majority of that day sleeping. I went out 5 times that day to check on them and never saw them once. Anyway, they are all still there. Here are a few photos.

These are the 2 conex buildings between our 2 building that the kittens live under. Notice the bowls under the bar-b-que pit.



I took these 3 this morning after I got to work and put out fresh food & water. Only 4 of the 5 kittens were at the bowl. Because of my distance from them, the shots are not completely clear. The fifth kitten is another just like the 2 light ones on the ends.







The one thing that I worry about is when I get around to trapping the mom to have her spayed. I worry about the fact that I know there are raccoons out there (I see there footprints in the mud and the water bowl is often full of dirt) and mom won't be there to protect them. What do you all think?

Well, I can't foster them myself. I have 6 cats already. I made a call yesterday to Spay Nation. spaynation.net They are literally right around the corner from my office. I called to get info about spaying mom for starters. I also inquired about the babies and fostering networks. He gave me some places to call but told me not to get my hopes up. He said it is hard to find people who have the time to try to take in feral foster kitties and resocialize them. I'll try to start making some calls today.

I'm not 100% certain of their age. I can only say this. They were discovered in my boss' car on April 20th. I guessed their age to be about 2 weeks since all their eyes were completely open and they were walking, although unsteadily. I know there is no definite answer, but at what approximate age does a litter of kitties eyes completely open? If my guess is right, they would be about 7 weeks old today. The person with Spay Nation told me that if they were eating on their own from the food I put out, then mom can be taken for a day or two to be spayed.

However, new problem....sort of. It seems she has indeed moved them this time. The area that I work in is a very industrial type area. I have started picking up any left over food when I leave work at 5:30 because if it is out there, the raccoons will come for it. I worry about the raccoons coming around when mom is away being spayed. When I got to work yesterday at 7:30, I put out food for them and refreshed their water. When I went to get it yesterday at quitting time, it had hardly been touched. My guess is mom is the only one who ate out of it. I did find where she moved them to. Remember I said there were 2 conex buildings between our current building and another building we are about to occupy? Well, on the other side of the seconde building, we have more conex buildings.....3 of them. She moved them under those. See photos.

This first photo shows the building we are currently in to the left and the building we will be occupying to the right. In between those 2 buildings are the conex buildings she used to have them under.



This photo shows the whole new building and the 3 conex buildings to the right in the distance.



This photo shows the 3 conex buildings she how has them under.



ALSO......hardly any food was consumed yesterday and so far today, none. Should I move the water and food bowl closer to where she is or do you think that will make her move them again?

You know, this whole situation has me pretty upset with myself. If I had followed through with my desire to trap mama, get her spayed and release her, I would not be dealing with any of this right now. My fear is that I'll never get all the kittens trapped so that I can have them all fixed. I worry that once I trap one or two (if I'm lucky), that they will get smart to the idea of the trap and stay clear of it. At what age can I get the kittens fixed?

I went ahead and moved the food/water bowls to where they are now. The cats don't get fed on Sundays. The reason for that is that I don't live & work in the same city. I own a house in the same city that I work, but I don't live in it yet. I go to work on the house on Saturdays, so I swing by work to feed the cats before I go to the house. It may sound cruel, but I can't afford to drive the 45 minutes (one way) to feed them on Sunday and then drive back again. Here are some new pictures from this past Friday & Saturday. BTW.....mama is the black & white.

I'm worried now. I last saw the kittens & mama on Saturday morning when I came to feed them. As I said in a previous post, I don't come on Sundays because it is too far of a drive just to come here to feed them. I came on Monday morning and there was no sign of any of them. I left food & fresh water anyway. I got here this morning and all the food was gone....but still no sign of any of them. I know you guys said don't be surprised if they disappear for a few days, but I still can't help but be worried since it is such a big industrial area. Especially because right on the other side of the fence is a place the works on big trucks, 18-wheelers, etc.

Well, tomorrow will be one week since I have seen the five kittens. I can't imagine what is going on with them. I have only seen mama cat occasionally. By the amount of food that is missing in the bowl, I can tell it is only mama that is eating from it. There is hardly any missing when I pick it up before I leave work. I got a trap purchased and ready and I'm thinking of setting it Monday night. Since I don't go to feed them on Sundays because it is too far away, she will have gone with no food since Saturday and she'll be hungry. I won't set it until I leave work Monday since I don't want her to be too long without food. I'm hoping to find her in it Tuesday morning and then I can bring her to Spay Nation to have her surgery. With my luck, I'll probably trap a racoon.