Feral Cat & Kittens

A feral cat had kittens about 3 weeks ago in my yard. Close to midnight, last night, a kitten's loud crying woke my daughter (through wind and rain and closed windows). We went out and returned the soaked kitten to the mother cat and other 3 babies. It was only feet away from where the mother had shelter, yet she was not rescuing it. Wondering if she did not want it? Should we return it if it wanders again?

Also, it will be cold here, soon - Michigan. If I make a shelter will the mom cat share it with her babies through the winter? And should the house be on the ground? The mother cat is friendly to us. She arrived as a crying kitten herself one year ago June. I am in the country with coyotes and other wild animals. We do not have dogs and can not bring the cats inside due to allergies. Any input is appreciated! Thanks, Juli

First thing you need to to is get the Mom spayed.  If you plan to keep the kitten, they too will need to be spayed/neutered or you will have a big problem on your hands.  Do you feed the Mom and do you plan to feed the kittens once they are weaned?

You can build an easy shelter from rubbermaid containers.  Do you a search on feral cat shelters and you will find tons of info.  You can either place the shelter right on the ground or elevate it slightly to keep the rain out.  You might need to make 2 shelters since there are 4 cats and the kittens will continue to grow.  I would assume they would all use one shelter now as long as mom is nursing.

Thank you for caring for these babies.  Yet, please get Mom spayed or before you know it, she will be pregnant again.  The kittens will need to be neutered too when they are old enough.  You usually can do the kitten around 10-12 weeks.

Often mom cats will abandon kittens they sense are weak or ill in some way.  It seems cruel but it's nature.  Mom can also abandon the littlest or weakest kitten if she feels she doesn't have the resources to raise all the kittens successfully.  Stress can do this.

If you can offer mom a safe, quiet place for her nest, she may be less stressed and be able to raise them all.  Is there a shed or garage you can set aside some space in?

Any shelter you make should be secured from predators, so building it up high will help.  If you want everyone to share quarters, it will need to be bigger than a Rubbermaid container.  Or you can use two or three of those if you need to.  Please them near one another and the cats will create their own "village."

Spaying and neutering all of them is essential.  Mom needs to be done as soon at the kittens are weaned.  The kittens can be done when they reach four pounds or so.  Some vets or rescues want to wait until six months.  Your local rescue will be able to help you with that.

Thank you for helping them!

Ondine said:

 
Spaying and neutering all of them is essential.  Mom needs to be done as soon at the kittens are weaned. 

Thank you for helping them!

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Seconding the others I want to add, the safest way to help this rejected one is if you yourself take it and raise.

A kitten doomed in nature may often do OK if helped by humans...

 a good site for  orphaned kittens is  www.kitten-rescue.com

But you do hint you yourself cant take him inside...  If so, it is just to proceed with plan B as skissed by Ondine.

Help the mom, she will perhaps find possibilities to take care also of this rejected one.

Re spaying of the mom when the kittens are weaned.   count with this spaying will be abortion too.  Medically it isnt no big deal for any experienced surgeon vet.  But if you find this unpleasant, you must spay her as soon now as you can manage it.   She can continue to nurse her kitten within 24 hours.  Semiferales are made of tough wood.

Good luck!

The mom cat seems to be a good hunter, she leaves mice on my steps (yuck). I do throw her scraps. Yesterday, I gave her some chicken. I have a couple of large rubber maid containers and bales of straw that I can use for insulation. Thank you for your comments.

juli300 said:

 
The mom cat seems to be a good hunter, she leaves mice on my steps

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How sweet!  She knows who is her friend, and needs some tokens of friendship, perhaps even some food.

A good provider, she is.  Keeping two families going, arent she?   

Bringing mice to you means she's sharing her good fortune with you.  Now you can return the favor and get her some good, nutritious cat food.  Scraps are fine for temporary but she really needs the nutrition now.  Having enough strength in herself will help her keep all the kittens alive.