Need advice! Caring for many feral cats - one just had kittens

Since moving into our new home (which is just outside city limits) we discovered that cats were living in the woods behind our house.  We've been here three years now and have seen at least 2-3 cats come and go now.  I thought I was doing good by throwing out expired meats and breads in the wooded area, but now I wonder if I've done more harm than good to the cat "ecosystem".  Most of the time the food would disappear and once or twice a month we would catch a glimpse of one of the cats.  This summer, one female became friendly and started hanging around the back patio off and on.  Before we knew it, she was joined by another smaller female.  We started feeding them cat food instead of leftovers.  This seemed to draw even MORE cats - this time a big male tomcat was lurking around late at night.  So we stopped leaving food out and instead fed them twice a day - once before we left for work and once again when we came home at night.  Before too long another smaller male showed up and took permanent residence on the back porch.  I have now adopted the larger female out to a good home in the next city.  I am left with the smaller (half grown, my guess) male and female, as well as the large tom which we only catch a glimpse of once in a while.  Tonight the smaller female had kittens...five so far.  I'm all freaked out about the tomcat killing her litter, so I moved her in to our garage tonight. I shut the overhead door all the way because I think the tom can still get to them.  I don't know if she's ever used a litter box, but I made her one in a box and set her up with food and water.  Am I doing the right thing?  This cat that had these kittens can't be more than half grown herself!  I have been planning to take the cats to the next big city on a weekend (it's about an hour away), as it is the only one around that is a "no-kill" shelter.  Now I have kittens, so I guess I have to wait until she weans them so I can take them all in at once.  This momma cat has always hung around the other male cat that's half grown like her.  I separated them tonight because he's an un-neutered male and I don't want to take any chances on him killing the newborn kittens, either.  We already have two very pampered, declawed, "fixed" cats inside the house that are 5 and 13 years old.  We don't want anymore indoor cats.  Should I just load all of the outside feral cats up and go ahead and take them in to the shelter?  Or should I wait until the new momma weans her kittens?  Do you think the smaller male would be safe to keep for now?  We're thinking about somehow getting the big male tomcat and just taking him in to the shelter for right now.  I have researched my options and our area of Texas doesn't have any feral cat programs.  They offer some discount spay/neuter programs that are still far too expensive for us to consider for all these cats that are not mine.  I call these cats "feral" but they are extremely playful, affectionate and friendly.  The only one that acts half wild is the full grown male tomcat.  I also assure you that NONE of these outdoor cats were mine - I have always kept indoor cats and that had to be declawed in order for my husband to let them stay inside.  I want to help but I can't support this colony!  Any advice would be most appreciated!

In the future, if you aren't going to spay/neuter, don't feed them, at all. Don't put any food out, don't leave the lids off your garbage cans, etc. I know it sounds bad but if you don't feed them they might move on to another place with people who WILL spay/neuter. And even if they don't, cats who are well-fed get pregnant more often and have more kittens. So feeding without TNRing isn't doing the cats any favors.

If they're truly feral, spay/neuter and release is best, as the vast majority of shelters will kill feral cats (even those that call themselves no-kill might kill unadoptable animals). If they're friendly, best thing is to take them to a no-kill shelter so they can find good homes.

You can call the shelter to ask if they have a foster care system for the mama cat and her babies. If so, you can bring them in when the babies are a couple of weeks old. If not, it would be great if you can keep them until they're at least 8 weeks old so the shelter can adopt them out. Even if the shelter does have a foster system, maybe you could keep the kitties in the garage until they're adoptable just to help them out. Be sure to gently handle the kittens frequently so they grow up to be tame and friendly.

Thank you for helping the stray kitties! Most people just ignore them .

Just to second with Willow in all his response.

Yeah, I use to say it is a good deed to give food to the hungry, but it is excellent firstly when you do have a plan with it.  TNR or fostering/adoption.

Tx a lot for caring!

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

Thank you for the information!  I was always wondering if I was actually doing more harm than good by feeding them.  Good to know.  If we had a cheap feral cat program like I know we had in IL, I would pay to spay/neuter and release, but it's just too much money down here.  

For the past couple days, we have kept momma and the kittens in the garage with the garage door shut.  I take her out back outside into the yard a couple times per night once I get home.  Should I keep the garage door shut to protect her from any males, or would you advise keeping it cracked open enough for her to slide in and out at her leisure?  I'm afraid that if I do that, she will move the kittens during the night and they could get attacked by some of the other cats.  I'm fine with leaving her in there with the kittens for 8 weeks with the garage door closed if that isn't considered "cruel" and is actually the safest option for her and the kittens right now.  All the cats that hang around are very friendly with humans, so my plan is to hang onto this brood until the kittens are weaned, and I'll just take the whole lot to the no-kill shelter at that time (if I haven't fallen in love with one of the kittens by then)

Thanks!  I'm so glad I found this forum!  

You can keep them confined, as the garage is fairly big, it is not cruel.  For the cat mom the welfare of her children is most important, not the "freedom".  Besides, if you let her out alone, she can 1. get pregnant anew if she isnt spayed. 2. Some accident can struck her, esp if she in heat is wandering around. In that case you would be left with the kittens to care for...

If it feels important for you to let her out sometimes, follow her at least.

Make sure to try and socialize them kittens as well you can.  If socialized, they will find homes. But if not, they will prob be pts by this shelter.

So if your contact with that shelter doesnt feel 100%, it may be better if you yourself try and find them adoption homes / fostering homes.

Thanks StefanZ!  Everything is going great with this garage arrangement. I have her food, water, litter and bedding in a sheltered corner of the garage and she has never tried to move the kittens or cry to get out.  While they are in the garage, we have been and will continue to keep our vehicles out for the next 8 weeks or so, until we find them homes or take them in to the shelter.  This means that she has the entire two stall garage to herself, (other than storage totes and such).  She seems comfortable and is at ease here and whenever any of my four family members comes out to visit.  Momma is perfectly at ease with me picking up the kittens and petting them.  I am already talking to and handling the kittens a couple times each day.  I love cats & kittens so you can be sure that I will be playing with them as soon as they are up running around.  Thanks for putting my mind at ease with the way I have handled her arrangements!