Feral mommy & new born kittens in my back yard...

Hello everyone!

I need some help. I feed a colony of feral cats in my back yard. One of them is a pretty young cat that had kittens yesterday or today in some tree limbs/branches that were recently cut down. There seems to be 4 or 5 kittens. The mommy, whom I call sweet-pea, is very friendly and loveable. She runs into my house every time I open the sliding back door to feed them. She rubs all over my legs and purs while wondering around my house. I have 2 indoor cats and try to keep them away from sweet pea when she runs in.

I don't want to leave the kittens outside but don't know what to do. There are possums that live somewhere nearby that wander around as well as a raccoon that I've seen back there before. Not to mention all of the other feral cats that come and go.

Should I try to move her and the kittens indoors? I tried calling around this evening when I found that she had the kittens but all of the rescue groups and shelters were closed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Try to get them in house.  Her nest is very unstable/unsafe if they decide to come take the branches.  Also raccoons will kill kittens.  First thing when calling do NOT say a feral/feral colony.  She is a stray. See if anyone will help you post them for homes if you foster the family.  Being so tied for space as it is kitten season that may help you get some help.  She would be fine in a small bathroom for at least a few weeks till you can get a better plan on your cats/her and the litter.  

Any others who are not spayed will have a litter in the next few weeks/month or two.  Look into programs in your area for TNR the others or it will balloon up real fast

Thank you "catsallaround".

One of my concerns that hopefully you can help clarify- I have heard that you shouldn't hold/handle/pet newborn kittens as it can cause the mommy to abandon them. I would hate to move them into the bathroom only to find that she refuses to come/stay as well as abandon the kittens.

Can you shed any light on this?

Thanks again for your help!

I have never found that true.  I heard that alot growing up at grandmothers who always had pregnant cats though!

I used to handle the kittens from birth.  Every so often Mommy would scratch me to get me to release her baby.

I have taken in moms and weeks after they gave birth and I held the kittens from day one.  I took a mom in who had given birth only day before.

If she is stressed just take what she will allow.  When they are starting to walk she will take just about ANY break given!  If you take her in do NOT let her out till after she is fixed as she CAN very well get pregnant again as soon as right after her litter was born.
 

Thanks again for your reply.

She had the kittens either last night or this morning and is being such a good mommy. I can grab the kittens when she comes to eat and hopefully I can coax her in to the bathroom and get her to stay. If not then I need to be prepared to care for the kittens... I'll have to get some kitten formula tomorrow. I've never cared for newborn kittens before so I'm a bit nervous...  I'll also go pick up the trap so I can get her in to be spayed and begin the TNR process with other cats. 

Wish me luck with all this and thanks again for your help!!

If you have the kittens mom should be willing to follow you as long as they are safe and you get them all!  Newborns with a mom who can nurse is cake  I have done bottle babies.  They are great but demanding and with larger litters there tends to be a few weak ones/hard to get going ones.

It sounds like you have a great bond with her.  I would keep in mind for litter you want something basic-non scoop as in few weeks kittens will be playing in the "big sandbox!"  She may refuse that and if  she does go with some soil from outside and mix it in.  Keep water bowls shallow that are on ground and keep a bigger one in sink or tub till  they are older( I had a litter who tried to investigate moms bowl very early on).

You will find alot of answers/support on here so post away at any care issues you have

Look into getting the kittens set up for appointments soon as you can as some of the great programs fill up FAST!  They can all be spay/neutered before they go home ensuring none add to the issue.
 

I'm so happy to report that I got mom and all kitties safely settled inside!! She is such a sweet little girl and great mommy! Those babies are absolutely precious!

Thank you again catsallaround for your help!!

Catomoga said:

I'm so happy to report that I got mom and all kitties safely settled inside!! She is such a sweet little girl and great mommy! Those babies are absolutely precious!

 

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Splendid!  I was sure you would succeed with this.  But how did YOU do it practically?

If you have possibility to weigh the kittens every day, so do it. Nice memory, and if anything goes not so well, changes or lack of changes in weight will often be the best warning.

Use preferably a electronic scale measuring in grammes.

Do the weighting  near the nest, so the moms sees you. You take a kitten, gently but swiftly, weigh it, and put back, gently but swiftly. 10 seconds, or at most half a minute if you are slowly.  Moms usually do accept it, as long you are respectful and gentle.  Even most semi ferales do it, yours is a stray.

Keep reporting and asking!

Good luck!

Hi StefanZ!

I don't have a scale but will get one tomorrow. When I first got her settled into her comfy little area in the garage she allowed me to pet her and give her loves as she was laying there with the kittens. She was purring and seemd calm. Every time I went back in there she was still lying down with the kittens and welcomed me with purring. Later in the night I went out and she had moved the kittens to an area of the garage with boxes and some furniture. It was an area more hidden. It's hard to get to her and the kittens. Should I just let her alone? She's not coming out for me to pet her...should I just give it some time? Plus she's not using the litter box....any suggestions?

Hi, Catomoga. Thank you for helping this kitty. I would leave her alone for a bit. She's moved the kittens to a place where she feels they are safe. You can make a small path for yourself but do that slowly. Any changes are going to spook her. She's had a lot of changes - new babies, new home, new humans. All are good but they are changes nonetheless. About the potty. She may not be used to the litter you put out for her. Add some dirt to the top for the time being and see if she gets the idea.

Moms are known for choosing their nest themselves.  In this case, she apparently feels more secure in there behind. Perhaps something happened which scared her, and  now she is watching closely over her kittens. Not even to come out to you and be petted. It may even be the reason she doenst go to the litter either??

Is the garage closed off, so no animal or person can get in there?   Still, there may be rats?

Anyway, let the mom choose. What you can do, is to make a couple different nests, or at least, almost nests, and hope mom will choose one of them.

If you dont have place for a nest there, you can perhaps lay a piece of fleece or blanket where the kittens lie.

Now you know you do dare move them a little, so you can give them a their bed. Or change it now and then.

Mom not using the litter. It may be she is nervous. OR she doenst really recognize the litter is a litter.

Is it a normal, non flavored baked clay?  btw, do she pee in it?

Outside cats dont pee and poo in the same place, so two different litters is a good idea.

You can lay in there some dirt from outside, or some crumbled leaves, to remind her what it is.

Otherwise, a little of Kitten Attract litter is good. The most known is Dr Elseys Kitten Attract litter, but I suspect there are others too.

(when the kittens begin to try the litter at about 3 weeks, make sure it is a non clumping litter. As they will surely try and eat some of it. We dont want clumping litter inside of them.  Or if you have human small children visiting...)

Good luck!

So glad you got the family in

Do you have a garage that has any hidden parts above eye level?  I know someone who was just getting into rescue and had a mom take her kittens up about 15 feet to a spot she had never knew exsisted

Is she going to the bathroom elsewhere?  The litter needs to be FAR from the nest.  Smell attracts predators and that would be deadly in wild.  Try some dirt/leaves or what not from outside.  She may not go to bathroom day or two after birth and my experience was the moms did not have to pee often(alot of fluid is gong for milk)

You need to be able to see them to check in on them.  And  also to be able to socialize the litter in time.  If you can make a path that would help.

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to update and ask a few questions. Mommy and kittens are doing well. The kittens are so adorable and playful. Mommy is just so sweet and loveable. She has worms in her stool and is so skinny regardless of the fact that I feed her well. I don't have money to take her to the vet right yet, so I'm wondering if there is a good over the counter de-wormer that I can purchase? Would the kittens need to be dewormed as well?

The next area I need some advise on is regarding the future of mommy. She's a feral from a litter from another of my ferals. Many websites suggest releasing her when the kittens are between 4-6 weeks. She's just so sweet, (still very skittish of loud noises or strangers) I would love to keep her but I have 2 indoor kittens and my husband says he really doesn't want anymore pets (

She ran out of the garage one day a few weeks ago when my son was trying to quickly get the lawn mower out. She ran to the back yard to the nest where she had the kittens. She sniffed around looking for her babies so I brought one of the kittens to the back door and coached her back into the house. She let me pick her up and put her back into the garage. She obviously really trusts me and I'm hoping she could learn to trust someone else and have a happy home?... Any thoughts or suggestions?

Should I introduce the kittens to kitten food at this point? They do seem to try and eat her food....

Sorry for all of the questions. This is my 1st time fostering a mommy and kittens and want to make sure I'm doing things correctly for them.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Catrina

So the kittens are about four or five weeks now? That's old enough for them to be interested in solid food, although they will be messy (they will wear more than they eat). Water it down some and let them at it on a flat plate.

Mommy may also be pregnant again, so now is the time to have her spayed. Will you be able to find homes for the kittens or are you going to Spay/neuter and return them outside? It is wonderful that they all trust you.