Caring for Feral Kittens and Mama

kittylover23

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Hi guys. :wavey:

My neighbor Rick came over last night and said his wife, Mary, had seen two little black kittens climbing into the food dish! :lol3: They feed the ferals too, so the kitties alternate from eating at my place to eating at their place. So this morning I got my "kitten hunting" gear on and went out into my backyard and...little black kittens...everywhere! There must have been at least three! I'm so excited. I found out their Mama is Fluffy, the same mother who gave birth to Ruby and Tiny. The kittens are still suckling, and are very tiny. I went out and gave them so Royal Canin Dry kibbles, which they ate pretty well since the kibbles are tiny, and some Fancy Feast Kitten canned (they had a party with that). I was just wondering, does anyone have any advice on caring for all these kitties?
 

ashyfulz

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I'm not sure about caring for kittens outside but if you ever bring them in, we currently have 7 right now. You think 3 is hard! Wouldn't trade it for the world though. Love these little monsters.

Keep giving them good food though and hope they have some sort of shelter if they're going to be living outside. And get them fixed when/if you can! Too many ferals/strays out there.
 

emilymaywilcha

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Job #1: Switch them to wet food because everyone tells me what makes cats dry food addicts is never eating wet food when they were kittens. So you want to make them wet food addicts. But not Weruva - too few calories. The word kitten needs to be on the label for both the kittens and their momma.

Job #2: Bring them in the house. They need their own room, of course, with nowhere to hide and no way to get out. The kittens need to learn now they should love people and it is possible to be happy indoors. An outdoor enclosure would be ideal for the mom, but the kittens must learn to never go out.
 

StefanZ

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I do second Ashy. IF it is any option for you to take them in, consider it. It will be much easier to foster them - and thereafter find them good homes.

If you leave them outside, they may survive with your help (and if mom protects them). But they will almost surely remain semiferale.

Good luck!
 
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kittylover23

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Thanks so much for your replies guys. :wavey:

They are currently eating mostly wet food, but I do bring kibbles outside for the ferals because the wet food goes fast and some of the kitties come around later to eat and miss breakfast, so they will munch on the kibbles until dinner. I definitely wouldn't be keeping them on a dry food only diet. I do see the ferals hunting, so I think the wet food and kibbles I feed them are really just supplemental to their diet.

I currently can't bring them in, I have no room. :( But I will be getting Mama fixed as soon as they are finished weaning (found a free spay and neuter clinic - YES!) and the kittens will be taken in for exams and shots. I dunno if I am going to adopt them out yet, because the last time I tried that with Ruby and Tiny no one replied. :( The ferals have five shelters, actually. They are made out of Rubbermaid bins with insulated blankets inside and styrofoam roofs inside the top and a hole where they can get through made of tubing. They really love their shelters and I often find they fit about two to three cats in each. I definitely will be getting them fixed at the free clinic as soon as they are of age.
 

missymotus

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Will the clinic do early neutering? Most do, once the kittens reach 2lbs they can be spayed & neutered, you can get mum done at the same time. 
 
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