Need some advice/help on mother cat and kittens.

My female cat Missy had kittens they are a week and two days old. She had them outside under my window in an "igloo" bed. 
I wish to bring them in soon because the kittens will start to walk and i dont want them coming out of their bed and start running round my backyard and get killed or something, so i rather bring them in where i know they will be safe until i can give them away to good homes. 

Problem, Missy is a feral and only recently she has changed an incredible amount. She used to be veryyy scared and easily frightened and didnt trust any human to go near her or anything. She would quickly run off as soon as she heard some one coming round the corner or out the door.. She would hiss at you, she wasnt friendly at all.. 

Now? now she is completely differnt, she is so loving and affectionate and comes up to me now and lets me pat her and she rubs up against me and comes up to me and says hello each time i go outside.. 
I think its because over the time of her being here shes realized that no one here harms her and she knows she has it so good here because we feed her and take very good care of her. Shes made herself a home here she doesnt go anywhere.

I once, long time ago brought her in my house (she lets me pick her up)  for few mins to see what she does. She didnt like it one bit she was meowing like crazy and was just very confused and scared. 
But i think that was then when she was more afraid and not so trusting towards me.. 
Maybe this time she will be ok especially if her kittens will be with her, what do you think? 

I need some suggestions or advises in order how to bring her and the kittens into my house so that i can give them away to good homes and then get her desexed.. 
Ive got a room here that i can set up for them but i just know that she will go mental probably and be crying like crazy and may take her a while to settle down true? 
So how do i handle that exactly and what bout toilet? i heard that you can buy some sort of special litter/urine that you can put in the kitty liter so that she will go and smell it and know its the toilet..

Never done this sort if thing obviously but i love this site because people do give such good replies and advise  
So i appreciate it =) 

So, what should i do to make the setup more suitable for them? 
What do i need to know? 

Hello !!! I do agree that you need to get this momma cat inside with the kittens. IF momma feels threatened by anything, she will move the kittens and then they will not be safe and under your care . Since she is already trusting of you and affectionate. If she let's you pick her up - that would make things really easy :cross: but if not, I would set up a semi-large carrier - medium size and prop the door open somehow and start feeding her in there today. right away. Make is cozy for her - she might bring the kittens in the crate as well - but probably not. IF she is going in and out of that crate to eat and you can sit there near the crate while she goes in to eat. Then just quickly close the crate door and bring her inside to the "safe" room. THEN go and get all of the kittens - since the kittens are not moving around on their own this will be easy for you to do. IF the kittens are older and running around then you cannot do it this way. and it gets much more tricky because you do not want to separate any kittens from momma or leave any kittens outside without momma. That is why I am suggesting trapping the momma cat ASAP before the kittens are mobile.

For the room - just set up some hiding cat cubbies and make a small nest area for her to feel safe when you get them all inside. Get the largest open litter box you can find - no hoods. The litter is called "Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter" http://www.preciouscat.com/product/cat-attract/ You can purchase this at Petsmart or Petco. There is also an "herbal litter attractant" http://www.preciouscat.com/product/ultra-litter-attractant/ that works well for feral cats. Superbly well. Use about 1/2 of the bottle and sprinkle it on top of the litter. You can also add some dirt from outside - but I have never had to do that with ferals. The herbal attractant is excellent for this purpose. If you can pick up a Feliway diffuser for that room too http://www.feliway.com/gb You can get these at Petsmart too. That will help keep momma feeling a little safer and secure. YES - she is going to freak out and this is not going to be easy until you get the whole family together. I would keep momma in the crate until you get all of the kittens into that room and in the nesting area.

Another option - is to wait till she is done nursing those kittens and then start trapping all of them. This is not ideal though because then the kittens will not have human imprinting during the early days of their life. That is why it is so important to start trapping today. I wish you the best of luck in this situation too. ONce you get them inside :cross: You can also post a thread in the Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care Forum for extra advice on how to raise baby kittens.

BLESS YOU SO MUCH :heart3: :heart3: for what you about to undertake. This really is the best thing for momma and those babies. Momma also needs to be spayed after she is done nursing and the kittens are weaned. Since she already trusts you and knows you - I don't think she will be so awful to you after a few days inside when she realizes that you did what you had to do for her and her babies. But she will be very upset the first day So expect that....... once thing's settle down and she will feel safe under your care - all will be well.

Great advice from feralvr!

I just wanted to add a few comments here.

I wouldn't advise allowing the family to stay outdoors and then trapping them for big reasons-for one, they will need taming, and if you aren't familiar/experienced with this task, you will not be comfortable!

The next big reason is the danger, I have no idea if you get any raccoons like I do around your house, but believe this, if you do, they will go after the kittens for food. Sorry to be so blunt, I know it's horrifying but very true.

Another possibility that many/most people do not know, is in ferals/homeless cats, that the male who got her pregnant, along with other unfixed males, have territories, which means being and maintaining their high ranking position and will fight other males keeping them away, and this can include babies! They will kill them, intentionally/unintentionally by mauling and actually attempting to mount them, yes babies. This is their hormonal instincts that are threatened by other males, including the babies. Mauling the males, mounting (which will kill) the girls.

Not to mention the fact that a nursing momma smells as she is in heat to the males.

The next thing is the moms behavior with her babies. Protecting them is #1, and she knows of the threats to her babies. This is more stressful than what shows, this is why moms will move their litter if she thinks there is a threat to them.

Occasionally mom will kill the "weak link" of her litter too, this is not because she doesn't love it, but because if she thinks it will make them all vulnerable, she would rather sacrifice 1, then all, so she will "do the job herself". 

I know, if you aren't used to dealing with the feral world it sounds extreme and unimaginable, but it's reality.

Get mom in the house, a room that is undisturbed 24 hours a day. Get her first, however you can, and then the babies. Just an open litter box close by will do. They would much rather go poddy in litter (unscented) than the rug or floor, from the instinct of covering up the smell. (which by the way is another "feral" protection) from possible predators.

Fresh water, food and a large bedded area, not one that the babies will get lost in like too much fluffiness, etc.

Then leave her be with her babes for at least the first day, undisturbed, you do not want her to think your presence is a threat. You want her to know she and babes are safe.

It sounds to me that at some point, maybe long ago she was owned, or at least had some type of human exposure, otherwise she will not ever allow you to pick her up. She maybe was abandoned and reverted to their natural state, which is feral.

I think you will all do fine! Great job

Thank you guys so much! great replies and advise! really appreciated. 
I will do what you guys suggested and hopefully it all goes well! 
I love caring for animals and working with them im actually going to do a TAFE course, animal studies certificate 2 this year =) (im from Australia lol) 
Im an animal lover and especially cats haha had them my whole life. 

This female cat that has been here for fair while now, she is the only cat that has decided to stick round and make this her new home because she became very attached to my male cat here, Bubba and what seems as though they are an item lol.. they are just inseparable. 
He is the only cat she will mate with she is constantly here doesnt go anywhere else and always waits for him to come home.. yeesss sounds like a real married couple like human LOL. 

The first litter she had was only two kittens behind my garage.. Though one was incredibly small and what seemed like the runt.. they didnt survive. She moved them a week after they were born, somewhere we dont know.. She after a while came back here and started to hang out here again and never went back to her kittens.. (as we know of) so we gathered that she must of abandoned them or something ate them. 

Now this time, she has had all 5 healthy normal sized kittens under my window in the igloo bed under my BBQ (go to my profile and click on my album) which i am surprised she has had them there.. considering she is a feral and how she is..
But as i said, could be because she may actually be more trusting towards us now and not so afraid.. (which is good) She is indeed lot more affectionate and even lets me pat her whenever she is in the igloo bed with her babies.. mind you when she had the first litter she would not let you anywhere near her or the kittens, she was very protective and would hiss and growl at you, so yes this time is lot more differnt hah.

SO that is why lol i am hoping that once i bring her and the kittens inside, that it will all be ok and will settle down after a few hours or so..
Im just hoping that she wont stop feeding the kittens! because she may not settle down and like the new environment =/ so yes, lets hope it goes good! 
Thanks for all the vibes and advises! 

Will give updates here =) 
xx 

Missy and the kittens are in. 
It went surprisingly ok.. Though she is bit upset and meowing (like crying) But she didnt go too frantic thank goodness. 
She is now just sitting in there like shes bit more mellowed down now but hopefully she will soon settle down some more and go into the igloo and feed her kittens. 

All i had to do was, brought the carrier out and set it on the ground then i picked her up and put her in it, she went a little frantic and was growling a fair bit but then when i put her down in the room and let her out of the cage and let her see her babies, she was semi ok. 
As i said, she did however cry some more and probably will continue to for bit but hopefully after tonight, she will be much better and everything will be all good =) 

 

She stopped crying and is in the igloo with the babies now. =) 
I think she just needs to get used to her new environment and will be more settled in after a day or two. 
Thanks again for all the advice and suggestions guys.. it worked =) so far so good. 
xx <3 

Splendid!   Beaming!   

And dont forget to neuter Buba as soon as you can do it conveniently.

Her long friendship with Buba surely does it easier for you now, as she sees you and Buba are best pals.

 And yes, next time around is usually easier...  Now she knows the country, and dares to let you in her safety zone.

Good luck!

Wonderful news that you successfully got Missy and kits inside safely. NOW you can start handling the babies because Missy sounds very loving and trusts you. She is no feral cat. An unfortunate abandoned stray. I am sad to hear she had another litter of kittens though and that there is a male cat named Bubba that is not neutered. Please do contact a local TNR organization if you can. Borrow a trap and trap Bubba to get him neutered. You will be saving many kittens from being born into a life of complete uncertainty and suffering and there by reducing the already astonishing feral cat over-population dilemma. Please do your part and see if you can get this done. :cross:

Thank you so much for bringing in momma and kittens. I am very happy :happy3: to hear it went to well - their capture Keep the updates coming and I wish the best for this new little family :heart3:

=) Missy has adapted sooo well! Kittens are doing really good =) It seems as though Missy has changed a fair bit and has made quite the turn around heheh. 
We are thinking maybe there could be a possibility that she was owned by someone before, and either got kicked out or she ran away.. 

When i take her to the vet, im going to see if she has a microchip just in case. She is very affectionate and purrs her head off lol! 
She even knew how to use the kitty litter straight away!!!?? either she is very smart or she was toilet trained? lol who knows but im just very pleased and impressed with her. 

She knows she has it really good and she is loving it inside haha. The kittens sex's have been confirmed.. there is 3 male and 2 female. 
They are 2 weeks old exact. In 7 weeks time im going to give them away to good homes. I have a few people who are interested already and im also going to put up some adds. 

I will be getting all three cats spayed.. First comes Missy lol then my kitten Apollo and then my oldest cat Bubba =) it will cost me but it has to be done. 

Hmm question?, do you guys happen to know if some people would take an older female cat? one who is toilet trained  
Im talking bout Missy.. we are thinking of giving her a new home with someone who would want her, after we desex her. 
She is a very gorgeous cat and affectionate but i know most people prefer kittens.. 
 

This is good news all the way around. That Missy is doing so well, the kittens are doing so well, and that Missy uses the litter box too AND SO glad to hear that you have the plans to get the cats all sterilized. Wonderful, hun :heart3: I DO hope you can find Missy a home - she sounds lovely and very, very sweet :cross: I will be praying for this for her and for you :rub:

I would contact a rescue about her. And please get all cats neutered.