Stray moved her kittens to my porch...should I intervene?

Unfortunately I found the remains of a kitten on my front porch today. A neighborhood semi-feral recently showed up to my house pregnant, and I suspected it might have been hers. Later on I heard some crying and discovered her on the back porch with 3 kittens. I think they are around 2 weeks old. The kittens are in a very tight space behind some cages. The mother cat can't even fit behind there, she lies next to it and they crawl out to nurse. I feel like I need to give them something more comfortable like a small dog house, though I would have to disturb them by moving the cages forward and away from them. But I also figure she knows what's best for them. I don't know what killed that other kitten; maybe they're safer in that tight space. I expect her to take them somewhere else eventually as cats do though. Should I try to improve this situation or just leave them alone?

I'm not too sure, honestly. If they're in a small space, and seem safe but able to feed off of momma then i'd probably just leave them- or try making her a safer, more comfortable area near where she is and showing her it so she could possibly move them herself. Does she seem nice to you though? Will she let you pet her, or get near them? If that's the case then it might be a better idea [if you're willing] to bring her and the babes inside and try socializing her and her babes, then fixing her and adopting them all out when the time comes. But that's a big commitment and a decision you'll have to make. If you don't want to socialize her, you should still hopefully consider spaying her [so she doesn't have any more babies that you end up getting stuck with] and then returning her to your neighborhood. Obviously i'm no expert, these are just my thoughts! We can never be too sure what happened to the other kitten, poor baby , but all you can do now is focus your efforts towards the little ones on your back porch!! Good luck

I was pretty alarmed when I first found them, but then they looked so peaceful nursing, and it was so sweet to see Pumpkin licking them and acting all maternal. She is pretty young herself, but I've heard this wasn't her first pregnancy. I decided not to disturb them tonight but will check on them tomorrow and decide if I should do something. That's a good idea - maybe I will just set the dog house out there and not move anything else and let her move them where she wants instead of handling them myself.

She hissed when I first came near the kittens but has relaxed since then. I haven't been very close to them yet since I didn't want to stress her. She is the affectionate rub up against you type but doesn't like to be touched. She acts like she's afraid of coming inside. I don't think she's ever been inside a house before. TNR is probably the way to go for her.

I wish the kittens were old enough to be weaned so I could take over their care. I would love to be able to adopt them out. The cage they are hiding behind happens to be the one I use for kittens that need some serious socializing. I've taken in a lot of litters before, but I usually don't find them so young that they still depend on their mother's milk, so I am nervous.

They are still here today. Here are some pics of the situation. They look like they're staying out from behind the cage now. The porch is not much more than a foot high, but I still think they are too close to the edge. I'm going to put the dog house near them now, but I'm kind of still debating on whether I should move all that stuff.

Not sure where you live, but I'd think something soft and protected from the weather might be a welcome change for mama and the kittens. Perhaps put some comfortable bedding in one of the cages and then put something over it to give them some protection.

Thanks for taking care of these wee ones (and mama).

I decided to move the cages and place the dog house with bedding there. I was nervous about moving her kittens, but they didn't look very comfortable where they were, so I just put them in there myself. Later I was pleased to find Pumpkin in there nursing the kittens. So I think she's ok with the new setup.

Yay!!!! so happy to hear this update! You're doing a great thing for these babies.

 I was wondering about your kittens and happy to hear that they have a comfy home. What's your plan for them all?

Bless your heart!

Thanks.   I will have to take an updated photo of how they are doing now. I was happy to see they are all still using the shelter today, so hopefully they won't be going anywhere. I'm planning to graduate the kittens to my kitten cage when they are moving around more, and then eventually to inside the house when they are ready to leave mom. I wish I could keep them forever, but this isn't my house so not my choice, and I want them to be somebody's inside babies. Mom will be spayed when her milk dries up (and I know I will have to act quickly) and then released outside as I think that is her preference. She is one of my outside babies now.

YAY....for the shelter you made for them Just reading up on your thread. SO GLAD you moved them into the covered dog house. Perfect for them. Pumpkin sounds like a wonderful mother and I doubt she will move them from there and take them away. We will see. So Pumpkin has been around for some time now? Yes, good plan to get her spayed right away when those babies are weaned. Thank you for caring and planning on finding homes for the cutie pies :rub: :heart3: Let us know how they are doing !!!!

Pumpkin is a very good mother. She stayed in the dog house with them all day today and only came out briefly to eat breakfast and dinner.

Not a great pic, but I just zoomed in on them as I wanted to give them space today.



And the pics below are from before I moved them, but I just wanted to share cute kitten pics.

Well today I noticed they were all gone, but I found the babies still on the porch in a tight space behind some baskets. I decided to put them back in the dog house, but after their mother came back she put them behind the baskets again and is now behind there nursing them. They looked very cramped. I'm not sure why she suddenly won't use the dog house anymore.

I wonder if it might be because it's too confined - maybe afraid of being trapped in. Just guessing here. Could you move the dog house so it's in a more "safe" (to mom) place? Or turn it? Or maybe just put some bedding in one of the cages in the first photo and putting a towel or blanket over the top of it? Maybe try giving her some options . . .

Glad they are still with you, though.

OH they are just precious.... just so adorable :love: I agree with Catmom5, move the dog house closer to where she is taking them point the door to the wall or facing backwards so she will feel out of sight and more secure with them. I am just glad she didn't take them further away. Sometimes they will do that. She might feel a bit threatened at the moment, all of the attention and love you are giving them (which is so sweet and kind :heart3 but to momma cat, it might be too much. Your doing a great job!!!!!! We are here to help in anyway we can

She has been looking for new places - apartments across the street, foreclosed house, even trying to get in our cars. So this morning I moved the kittens back myself and rearranged things, turning the dog house and putting it in the same spot the kittens were and moving things in front of the dog house so it's not so visible. She joined them in there and has been there all day, but I'm not going to get my hopes up that she won't move them again. I'll just be keeping an eye on her the best I can. Thank you all for reading/replying as I try to care for these kittens.

Sure .... we all care for all of the little kitties in the world !!! Let's just hope that momma will feel more comfortable with that dog crate turned so she and her kittens are out of sight. I think it is natural for mom cats to move kittens around so if they are being tracked by "something" - they throw off any predators by constantly moving the kittens. Not sure - just an assumption :lol3:

The kittens are still with me. They are about 4 weeks old, probably closer to 5. Today the mom moved them to a very bad place - underneath someone's car. One was even up inside of it. This is an extremely dangerous situation because not everyone I live with will bother to look for kittens when they get in the car. I want to start keeping them in my kitten cage just to keep them safe, but I know they are pretty young to be getting completely weaned. They do eat wet food but of course are still nursing a lot. I don't want to hurt them by putting a barrier between them and mom this early, but if I leave them alone they are bound to get hurt or moved completely to grow into adult strays somewhere away from me. Which route should I try?

Is there any way you can bring in both mom and the kittens?

I can't tell you what to do, but if I thought the kittens were in serious danger, I think I would snatch them and get them to safety, with the idea of letting mom join them if/when you can trap her.

It's a tough world out there and these little ones have no survival skills at this point . . .

I wish the owner of the house would be more receptive to letting the mom come in. I know the cat is terrified of it, but I'd least like to work with her. For now I think the best thing is keeping them protected, but I don't know if weaning them this early would be safe.

If she's moving them under cars and in dangerous places like that, and there is absolutely NO way you can bring her inside with the babies- I would probably just take the babies inside and from her at this time. I'm no expert, but i've read many forums where people have had to take the stray babies right around 5 weeks just to be able to socialize them, adopt them out, and prevent them from turning feral. I'd get some Kitten Milk Replacement, and start giving it to them in a dish, along with the wet food. You might have to bottle feed a little to make sure they're gaining if they are not all that great about eating on their own yet. I know it's always ideal to keep them with their momma as long as possible, but I would hate to hear that something horrible happened to the sweet babies, especially after how much work you've been putting in to save them! Like I said, i'm no expert- hopefully some of the more experienced members will be able to give you better advice.