Rescuing kittens

clynn11

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I was planning on fostering for the Haven Humane in a town twenty minutes away. I then realized that my own town has such a bad overpopulation of cats and kittens, and the only "shelter" we have is the pound who euthanize animals every Friday. So, I put an ad on Craigslist asking anyone who finds a pregnant cat, or a mother with kittens, or just the kittens- to contact me so I can be a good and healthy foster home for the babies- get them adopted, and spay the momma. Since then I rescued the three calico girls that were about 6 weeks old and who I have found homes for two of them. I was recently just contacted by an old man who says he has a feral mom and three kittens under his shed. The kittens were out waddling around yesterday, and then he borrowed a trap from his neighbor and caught the momma last night. The kitten retreated back under the shed and now will not come out. He is very worried they will starve but WILL NOT release the momma again- as he does not want more kittens to be born.

Does anyone know of any great coaxing methods to get these kittens out from under the shed? The momma had dug a hole burrowing under it- there's really no way to reach in there. I told him to put a plate of stinky tuna or wet food near the entrance.. but I really don't know what else to tell him. Any suggestions?
 
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feralvr

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This is not good.... I am sorry but I do not think the kittens will venture out to a human and will huddle together under the shed and might very get very sick quickly without momma's milk. How old are they?? How many are there?? I am very upset by this - that man MUST release that mom cat :mad: Right NOW!!!!!!! That is just too bad - because he basically gave those little kittens a death sentence. :bawling: It is very unlikely, but possible that when they are so hungry they might venture out. How could he do this??? You always have to make sure you can get those kittens first or at the same time as the mother cat. Or at the very least be able to reach the nest. Personally, I would move the shed and save those kittens if he will not release her. OH those poor babies. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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clynn11

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He said he thinks they're about 3 weeks old- they have their eyes all the way open and are wandering around freely. That's how he even knew they were under there- he said that yesterday when he came out he walked up to them and picked them up, held them for a bit and then put them back down- not really thinking about it. Then when he borrowed the trap from his neighbor he put it out and the momma cat was caught. He sounds sincerely worried and says he doesn't want the kittens death on his conscience- but that he also doesn't want to release her and have her end up pregnant and with kittens again. He's worried she'll know the trap and won't be able to be caught again. I'm going to message him now and ask him to release momma cat and tell him I will be out as soon as I can [Wednesday], to help figure this out, and to keep a good eye on her until then to see if she moves the kittens- or to grab them if they venture back out again.
 
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feralvr

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OH GOOD :thud: I almost had a heart attack over this. :nervous: I really hope he listens to you. :cross: :vibes::vibes: At three weeks of age, they NEED their mother around the clock!!!!!! Since she was easily caught, she will be trapped again. The only way I would NOT release her back out was if I could get ALL the kittens picked up immediately upon the mother cat being trapped. This is really tricky, this situation he has with the mom cat and kittens. The most important thing at this point is making sure she cares for those kittens. Is the mom cat friendly at all?? I mean after he trapped her - was she completely freaked out by his presence. :dk: If she is friendly, then he has it made in getting the kittens first. :nod: Keep us posted, please!!!!!!! :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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clynn11

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He said she seems feral, but then again... i've seen many completely friendly cats go bonkers when they are caught in a trap- so who really knows?! I just messaged him and am waiting for a reply. Really hoping he will listen- I told him I will dedicate all of my days off work to coming to his house and coaxing the babies out or figuring out SOME way, and then catching the momma again. Thank you so much for your advice! I was worried as well, hopefully this will all turn out great and into an awesome rescue/success story!
 

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You know, btw, I think you are just great :hugs: :hugs: You have a really kind heart and what you do warms my heart :heart3: I REALLY REALLY hope he listens to you. Tell him that he will have the deaths of those kittens on his conscience - I know that is harsh - but he said he was worried about that. They will not make it and will go down hill FAST, real FAST if they don't nurse from momma very, very soon...... OMG I am getting sad again :shame: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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You know, btw, I think you are just great :hugs: :hugs: You have a really kind heart and what you do warms my heart :heart3: I REALLY REALLY hope he listens to you. Tell him that he will have the deaths of those kittens on his conscience - I know that is harsh - but he said he was worried about that. They will not make it and will go down hill FAST, real FAST if they don't nurse from momma very, very soon...... OMG I am getting sad again :shame: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
:yeah:

Wow, what a wonderful, wonderful thing you're doing! But honestly, I think he HAS to release the momma. :( If necessary, a drop trap can be used to re-trap her. :nod:

:vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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clynn11

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Awe, thank you so much, both of you. Ever since I could walk i've had such a strong love for animals- I can't help but want to help in any way I can. I'm very worried about this situation.. i'm aching to call him instead of the email but i'm at work and customers are pouring in.. it's driving me crazy. I'm biting my nails waiting for a response. I'm going to call him as soon as all of the customers are gone!
 

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Awe, thank you so much, both of you. Ever since I could walk i've had such a strong love for animals- I can't help but want to help in any way I can. I'm very worried about this situation.. i'm aching to call him instead of the email but i'm at work and customers are pouring in.. it's driving me crazy. I'm biting my nails waiting for a response. I'm going to call him as soon as all of the customers are gone!
I am biting my nails on this one too :nervous: :frown2:
 
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clynn11

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Well!!!! SOMEWHAT good news, the kittens are showing themselves very frequently and they got one of them!!!! And he/she is now with the mamma. He's watching and waiting for the other two, but says he will not release her as he feels 100% sure he will have all 3 kittens by the end of tonight. I told him if he doesn't that I STRONGLY suggest releasing momma or the others will die. But hopefully he can get them and this will all solve itself.
 

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Ok,this IS good news, 1/3 good news anyway...... 2/3 to go yet :lol2: I certainly hope he gets the other two. I also hope there are not more under the shed that are more timid and he has not seen them yet. I am just trying to cover all bases because sometimes one or two kittens of the litter are really good at staying out of sight till dark. I hope I am wrong and that there are only three :cross: Just make sure he watches constantly for anymore kittens. I am sure the mom cat is pretty upset but now might understand that this man is trying to get her other kittens. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes: for the other two :cross:
 
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clynn11

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That's what I was thinking about possibly there being more kittens... but it seems like he is watching pretty constantly and making a great effort to get these kittens. He sounds very genuine, he even said "I'm not a cat person, i'm a dog person. But I never want to see an animal suffer, and I couldn't handle if there were kittens deaths on my conscience." So i'm sure if he doesn't get the rest, he will release her until I can come help. I'm hoping it'll go easily for him and I can have these babies tomorrow! If he doesn't have them by tomorrow I will be going out Wednesday to see if I can assist.
 
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clynn11

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Also- some questions about when I am able to bring this momma and her little family [yes, keeping optimistic thoughts] to my house, if she is COMPLETELY feral- how is she going to react being in a room? Or what i'm really wondering is, is she going to be OK with me coming in to feed her, change the litterbox, and socialize the kittens? And if she is completely feral and there's no hope for socialization or adoption, after I spay her- should I release her in my neighborhood where I can keep an eye on her and feed her? Or should I drive back to the neighborhood I got her from and release her there? She will have been with me for some weeks time if the babies are only about 3 weeks old like he thinks they are.
 
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clynn11

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Well, I won't be sleeping easy tonight until I find out tomorrow morning what happened. I really really hope and pray that the kittens are spending the night with their mother one way or the other- either in the cage, or under the shed.
 
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clynn11

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Oh!!! He just called me and has two of them in with mama now. He's sitting out there with a flashlight next to the hole- awe what a sweet old man that makes my heart happy knowing he's willing to do that for them. He said he almost had the third at the same time he grabbed the second, but his grip got loose and he slipped out. But hopefully tomorrow I will have momma and all three babies here! Seems like there must be only three, they are very adventurous and he's been watching constantly [well, as constant as humanly possible] for the past 24+ hours.
 
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clynn11

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And now i'm just sitting here stressing that the one kitten is going to spend the night alone. I really hope he got him/her tonight.
this rescuing is a stressful business huh?! I have so much admiration for all who do it!
 
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clynn11

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He just called me, and has FOUR kittens in cage with momma. I told him to keep watching the next few hours to make sure there's not any more- but I will be going and getting them today! :)
 
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clynn11

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By the way he describes how active, agile, and alert they are- i'm guessing they're more than 3 weeks. Probably more like 4/5. I guess we'll see later today though :-)
 

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:woohoo: And :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: that there are no more kittens. :heart3:

As to your questions... you'll find out pretty quickly whether she's feral or stray/reverted-to-feral. I suspect that while she's with her babies, she won't freak out inside (though I'd make sure that room is REAL cat proof and has nothing she can break or nothing on which she can harm herself). I don't know how you have the room set up, but if the litter, water, and food aren't too close to her, dealing with those things shouldn't be too hard. If the nest bedding needs to be cleaned, that's a little more difficult, but I'm sure you/we will figure something out. :rub:

As to where to release her if it comes to that... you'll have been feeding her for a month or more. So I think it would make sense to release her where you are, where you can continue to easily put out food. She may or may not take off, not knowing the area. But if she shows back up at his home, at least he knows she's spayed and can't have any more kittens. And maybe he'd put food out for her.

But let's hope all of that is moot, and she turns out to be a stray! :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 
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