Feral Cat Won't Care for Kittens

We live in the country and a feral cat had three kittens four days ago in bushes next to our house. She was taken very good care of them until this morning. Yesterday, a dog came into the yard. I went to check on the kittens and they were gone. The dog continued to come into the yard when I would run it off.

My son ran into the house with one of the kittens he found next to a tree in the yard. I couldn't find the other kittens so I placed the kitten in a box with a towel. I heard my son screaming in the yard. The dog had come back and had one of the kittens in his mouth. My son got it from the dog and we didn't see any puncture wounds. We started to search for the third kitten and noticed the feral cat in a tree. We got a ladder and found the other kitten in the tree with her. We believe the other two kittens fell out of the tree. We observed the kittens for a while and felt they were alright. The momma cat won't let us near her. We checked on them frequently before we went to bed.

I've noticed this morning she will not go around them. She is not feeding them. Is it because we touched them? Is it because of the dog? I placed them out of the box and observed momma cat from the window. She walked up to them and sniffed one of them and walked away. What do I do now? Will the vet have formula and feeding supplies for kittens? Is it possible to bottle feed kittens this young?

She may have been trying to move the kittens when the dog came into the yard and was able to only get one of them up the tree with her. It is possible the kitten that was picked up by the dog has an internal injury....did he shake it all? That might be one reason the mother won't care for it....if they sense anything is wrong they will abandon it or just not care for it.

If she did not feed these two last night, you need to get them fed ASAP. Kittens need a lot of care and have to be given formula every two hours at the start. And you still might lose the kittens. It is very difficult to pull them though when they are as young as they are. Not saying it can't be done but will require a lot of work.

You can get formula at the pet store, and bottles. If you have a good relationship with your vet, call them.....sometimes they have someone that fosters babies this young that they might be able to refer you to.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

According to my son the dog did shake the kitten. The mom has stopped feeding all three of the kittens. They are all moving around and are very loud. I know they are starving. I am calling the vet now and am headed out to get kitten formula. Thanks for the advice. They are so precious!

Yes, it is entirely possible to care for such young kitties. But it is not quite easy, and you may lose them anyway.
The above post is excellent.

Nay, your touching the kittens isnt that bad. The mom knows you are friendly for being humans. The high stress she had is more probable. Or something else...

If you can get goat milk, you can use it as mother substitute milk, quite OK.

A very useful site for caring of small orpans is:

www.kitten-rescue.com, by our veteran forumist Hissy.

Tx for caring, welcome to the Forums

Good Luck!

I've only managed to get about 2CC's into each kitten. They aren't doing well with the bottle and I am having to use a medicine dropper. I'm afraid they are taking the formula to quickly.

You won't get much in them at a time, they are tiny. Feed them, them put them in a warm place, preferably in a warm blanket....don't use a heating pad unless it is on a very low temperature and buried very far under the blanket. You can use a hot water bottle if you have one. When you aren't feeding them, keep them warm.

Use a warm wet washcloth and using only your finger, stroke them with the washcloth, this will simulate their mother licking them.

Try feeding them frequently. It will take some time for them to get used to it.

Will the medicine dropper be ok to use? Will they take in too much with it? If I can only get in 2cc's at a time how often should I feed them? Sorry for all the questions! I greatly appreciate the help!

I'm sorry I had to disappear for a bit. The medicine dropper will work until they have enough strength back to suckle the bottle. Honestly, right now, I would try to feed them when they moved around or mewed....or at least every two hours. This means you will have to do this all night for a while. It's exhausting. But rewarding!

I hope you can keep them going.

Lots of vibes for these tiny babies!!

My first ever kitten, when I was five years old, was one that my mom had to bottle feed. She survived!

Like previous posters, I would recommend calling a vet and asking for some help if you don't think you can take the every two hours feeding on your own. They might have people that can take them in.

If they're not eliminating, try stimulating them by gently rubbing their rear ends with a warm, wet washcloth. It will simulate how their mother licks them to get them to eliminate. You'll have to clean them up by hand until they're old enough to walk around and be litterbox trained.

Good luck and please keep us updated (when you're not feeding them )!

I would definitly purchase a bottle asap. It will be so much easier! Make sure the kittens eat every 2hrs. (its so much work) Once their a bit older I feed every 3hrs. Everyone's right, kittens cannot regulate their body temp so make sure they are on a heating pad with a blanket over it. Make sure its not too hot! At 3wks I start stimulating them over a small foil pan with litter in it then I rub their paws in it after. They will be potty trained in no time! I also make a small amount of formula ahead of time and keep it in the fridge so its ready for night feedings. I heat it for about 20 seconds in the microwave b/c they dont like it cold! Good luck. Its a TON of work but its so rewarding.

I actually prefer to feed with medical syringes. They will suck the plunger inward themselves.
Can't remember if anyone mentioned...but you have to stimulate them to pee/poo after every feeding. I use a damp folded paper towel. Dab there hind end like you were a Mama licking.
It's alot of work! Good luck