Caring for stray cat and her kittens

We have a stray female cat that we have been feeding and taking care of and at first she didn't come near us. After she became pregnant we started feeding her more and a few days before she had her kittens she started coming up to us and letting us pet her and hold her. She had her kittens under our porch. the just turned two weeks old earlier this week and last night i heard the cat and she sound like she was getting into a fight. when i got up this morning she was acting very strange i went to check for the kittens and they were gone. any ideas what would have taken them? and what can i do for the stray she is crying a lot and looking around i feel so bad for her

What you can hope for, is she did moved her kittens to a safer place. As her place got discovered by enemies.  So continue with giving food etc, and observe.

It is entirely possible she is away even several hours, say being at your place, and visits her nest and nursing them just now and then.

IF they survived the hostile assault and she managed to defend them, she has surely moved them, 100%.

IF they are already gone, ie somebody come and took them, perhaps a big fox, you cant do so much.

My advice will be you take her to a vet and spay her.  and have her as your outside kitty if you wish so, or try to have her as your inside kitty, if you wish so.   How to do it, we shall take it in next steps.

Next time you are in such a situation, try to take them inside if you want to help them. Preferably already the high preg - you could, she got very friendly in the end!

Or as latest, when they were born...

One of the reasons is exactly to prevent such situations like this here...

Good luck!

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we are going to wait and see what happens she was gone all day today so we are hoping that she moved them but we usually don't see her on sundays.......we are hoping that in a few weeks the kittens will show up. I talked with my bf mom and we are think about getting her fixed.

Thank you for helping them. I would definitely spay her, as you will have the problem again and again unless you do. if you are able to catch any of the kittens, have them spayed or neutered too and they can go on about their lives (without filling your's up with more kittens!).

Hi I have caught a number of cats and kittens i also have a number of cats myself. Why not try and find homes for the kittens or are they too old. to  tame, i have trapped kittens at 3 months old and they are very friendly would be better than living on the streets and definately get mom spayed good luck chris

omg, hope them kittens are ok does anybody know if they are safe

Several years ago I had a feral cat who had her kittens in my garage.  Right away I closed the garage door and kitten proofed everything out there.  I already had four indoor cats and the thought of a feral with 4 kittens made me a nervous wreck because I had already been hearing "cat lady" jokes.  Anyway, I started handling the kittens right away but the mom was truly feral and I could not get close to her.  She watched me like a hawk every time I handled her kittens and over time she seemed to trust me.    I was able to (reluctantly) find homes for all the kittens even though by that time I hated to let them go (a cat lady characteristic, I am sure).

My problem was what to do with the mom cat.  I couldn't possibly get her adopted because she was totally wild and would cause serious injury if you tried to pick her up.  If anyone has attempted to handle a feral you know what I mean.  I had to use a live trap in the garage to take her the vets to be spayed.  I also had her tested (negative). 

After all this I couldn't stand the thought of putting her outside and run the risk of something happening to her, so she became my fifth indoor cat.  What I am most happy about is how she has come around over the last three years. Getting a mature feral to be somewhat tame is a very long process (years) and is an exercise in patience.   Now she enjoys following me all around the house and seems so happy to be part of the household.  She will probably never be a lap kitty although I can pick her up without her fighting as long as I put her down quickly, otherwise she gets stiff and panics.  Just lately I've noticed her sleeping on the bed with me when I wake up in the middle of the night. I just want to tell people NOT to give up on ferals.  They are wonderful cats and deserve to have a safe place to live with people who love them.

sallyire said:

Several years ago I had a feral cat who had her kittens in my garage.  Right away I closed the garage door and kitten proofed everything out there.  I already had four indoor cats and the thought of a feral with 4 kittens made me a nervous wreck because I had already been hearing "cat lady" jokes.  Anyway, I started handling the kittens right away but the mom was truly feral and I could not get close to her.  She watched me like a hawk every time I handled her kittens and over time she seemed to trust me.    I was able to (reluctantly) find homes for all the kittens even though by that time I hated to let them go (a cat lady characteristic, I am sure).

My problem was what to do with the mom cat.  I couldn't possibly get her adopted because she was totally wild and would cause serious injury if you tried to pick her up.  If anyone has attempted to handle a feral you know what I mean.  I had to use a live trap in the garage to take her the vets to be spayed.  I also had her tested (negative). 

After all this I couldn't stand the thought of putting her outside and run the risk of something happening to her, so she became my fifth indoor cat.  What I am most happy about is how she has come around over the last three years. Getting a mature feral to be somewhat tame is a very long process (years) and is an exercise in patience.   Now she enjoys following me all around the house and seems so happy to be part of the household.  She will probably never be a lap kitty although I can pick her up without her fighting as long as I put her down quickly, otherwise she gets stiff and panics.  Just lately I've noticed her sleeping on the bed with me when I wake up in the middle of the night. I just want to tell people NOT to give up on ferals.  They are wonderful cats and deserve to have a safe place to live with people who love them.

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I find this part extra interesting, as you so clearly confirm this behavior.

The mom suspicious and wachful, is her duty as mom, she doesnt even need to be truly feral. But the self fact you CAN handle the kittens without big troubles, although the mom is ferale, is the great miracle of rescuing and fostering. 

The whole your testimony is interesting!

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