Feral mother and kittens living in my garden! Need some advice!

I didn't base their age estimate by their size alone, it is also by their motor skills, etc.

If they are any younger at all, it's not more than a week or so.

So it looks like I have to employ a cat trapper!

guess it is the only way, I wanted to trap the cat family nicely by luring them into my house.

but that will take too long!

I feel it is sad, but it is the right thing

TNR!

catwoman707 said:

 
I didn't base their age estimate by their size alone, it is also by their motor skills, etc.

If they are any younger at all, it's not more than a week or so.

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Since when are we experts?

LOL!

I believe animals... and cats included, can teach us loads!!!

Especially age!

Those cats are much older than 5 weeks. 5 week old kittens do no have the stability to run and jump as gracefully as those kittens.

As for the mama being pregnant, she may not be, but mother cats do not think of "it's dumb to have cats so close to winter" most of the time, they are mounted by males, and not by choice. Cats don't plan pregnancies the way humans do.

True.

In my earlier comments, I expressed that some of our feral cats in SA have wild genes in them.

I would not be surprised if this affected their reproduction cycle.

I could be wrong!

But I am not kidding about the wild genes in most of our local cats, especially the feral ones!

Guess wild pussy is still pussy for a Tom, and vice versa (apologies for the rude pun!)

btw. Google "African Wild Cat" and check the images... the mother looks familiar...

And wild genes could affect their growth? Maybe?

Anyways here is the video:


It is amazing how mother breastfed before letting the kittens eat!

again my cell camera ran out of space, it can only record 1 hour on 1080p. (I had to cut the inactive bits)

I'm uploading the other video, but I need to go to sleep, it is nearly 1am here!

Good night guys, hope you enjoy the video!

PS. in the next video I'll show, I start to love the grey/white kittens attitude!!!

Even before the videos, I knew it would be special!!!

Before I go to bed... today me and mom had a little Dark Humor!

That black/white one should be called Oscar!

because it has a white patch near the back... just like a white patch at the back of someone's hair who is now on TRIAL!

Hahahahaha!

such is the humor between me and my mother.

Terrible! 

I wish I lived in South Africa because I so want one of those kittens!

Ok, I stayed up late to upload the last video:


This video made my mother want the grey/white kitten so much!

They are getting much more brave.  It really is time to get them.  When you say TNR, that means Trap Neuter Release.  I don't think you intend to release any of them back into the wild, do you?  It will be difficult to judge how feral the mother is, but the sooner with those kittens, the better.

for an really good outcome.

The best way to trap them would be to borrow what is called a 'humane trap'. It is a long cage, with lift-up doors at both ends and a spring on the floor that closes the door when a cat treads on it. You put food in the trap overnight and hope the cats comes intot he trap. You can of course usually only catch one at a time! When I use a trap like that I put the trap out for several nights before setting it, then put food near it and gradually lure the cat closer and eventually intot he cage. Feral cats canbe very wary of going inside. Diguise the trap well with leaves and branches, and put something on the floor. If the cats are already used to your smell under the food bowls then you can put a bath towel you have used or some clothes on the floor. It can take a while to get even one cat so don't expect instant success.

As said, female cats have no choice in the matter of getting pregnant and the fact there was a tom around who is now gone makes me think they mated and she is probably pregnant. But let us hope not!

Mani said:

 
They are getting much more brave.  It really is time to get them.  When you say TNR, that means Trap Neuter Release.  I don't think you intend to release any of them back into the wild, do you?  It will be difficult to judge how feral the mother is, but the sooner with those kittens, the better.

for an really good outcome.

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I'm still about 20ft away from them, and any sudden moves and they run off, but not as fast as before.

I suspect the mothers personality is a very cautious one, always watchful and sometimes mistrustful of me. ie she's definitely feral!

Still it would be awesome to tame the mom.

Also I meant TNR in my own garden, I'll make them a shelter, one for each kittens as they get older.

It's a real cat haven, plenty lizards and mice to catch, and loads of birds.

And non of these critters are endangered, so lots of happy hunting!

I'll still feed them, and I bet my mom will spoil them too.

The garden size is about one half of a professional football field.

Bushes all around the walls and 2 small trees to climb.

They love the garden! 

If it gets cold outside and they want come inside my place, no problem. *cuddles in the bed with kitties*

I going contact a trapper I found who works for FOUR PAWS.

so going to report back once they have all been caught. Hopefully this Friday.

Last thing I want ask is, what do mothers do to kittens that dead. Eat them or bury them?

I have not seen the other kitten for nearly 8 days, so it is gone.

It did look weak and seemed to have a seizure when it ate once.

You will need to trap them and neuter them all or they will breed. Cats do not know they are brother and sister and will mate together (or with their mother) as soon as they are old enough. They will not need one shelter each - they will probably prefer to be together for warmth in the winter.

As for dead kittens, the momcat will not usually bury them. She may eat them, especially if they are very young, to stop predators finding the nest. It is possible that something else has eaten the dead one, or it may be lying about somewhere.

DarkZombie said:

 
Since when are we experts?

LOL!

I believe animals... and cats included, can teach us loads!!!

Click to expand...

As a matter of fact I am  

I have a cat rescue group and have had literally countless litters of kittens, I also do alot of feral tnr's and have for 11 years, so I know feral born kittens as well, which tend to be smaller than home born kittens.

So a 10 week estimate is probably pretty darn close.

If those kittens were in front of me so I could see them in person, I can tell you their age within one week. Under 4 weeks and I can tell within 3-4 days.

If they were infact 5 weeks old, you would easily be able to catch them in your hands. These guys would tear your hands up........

 
Last thing I want ask is, what do mothers do to kittens that dead. Eat them or bury them?

I have not seen the other kitten for nearly 8 days, so it is gone.

It did look weak and seemed to have a seizure when it ate once.

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Moms who have a sick/weak or dead kitten (not usually dead since she would have done something about it before it died and not after) take them as far away from the rest of the litter and abandon them to die.

The only reason she would eat the baby is if she had no way to get rid of it otherwise. 

jennyranson said:

You will need to trap them and neuter them all or they will breed. Cats do not know they are brother and sister and will mate together (or with their mother) as soon as they are old enough. They will not need one shelter each - they will probably prefer to be together for warmth in the winter.

As for dead kittens, the momcat will not usually bury them. She may eat them, especially if they are very young, to stop predators finding the nest. It is possible that something else has eaten the dead one, or it may be lying about somewhere

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sigh... I think i was eaten... there is no smell!

catwoman707 said:

 
As a matter of fact I am  

I have a cat rescue group and have had literally countless litters of kittens, I also do alot of feral tnr's and have for 11 years, so I know feral born kittens as well, which tend to be smaller than home born kittens.

So a 10 week estimate is probably pretty darn close.

If those kittens were in front of me so I could see them in person, I can tell you their age within one week. Under 4 weeks and I can tell within 3-4 days.

If they were infact 5 weeks old, you would easily be able to catch them in your hands. These guys would tear your hands up........

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I don't care how old they are, I still going to rescue and adopt the whole lot.

Funny, that white/grey one was spying me from the distance, it was waiting for its food!

That one is going to be one to break the ice with me.

Anyways that SPCA friend of mine came today to see the kittens.

She reckons that the mother is actually a run away that was abused or just got chucked outside the house when she got too big.

This makes me sick!

I was just thinking that, why would their age matter?

Anyway, youre doing a good thing here.

Since they are young, they will be tamed fairly quickly. The mother too! But just old enough to be wary and already a little wild. Those videos were fantastic! Bless you for caring fro these babies, they have no one else.....I wish you all the luck in the world, you have a wonderful big heart!

DarkZombie said:

 
Ok,

So I have mailed many feral rescue organisations here in South Africa.

All of them claiming have their hands full because:

"Winter is coming"

Sorry for the Game of Thrones pun, but winter is coming to the southern hemisphere, it explains the thick coat on the mother.

Cats are not stupid!!!

This mother had her kittens before it got cold in SA. She is looking after them before and during the winter.

I seriously doubt she is pregnant, she would be a silly to have kittens again during winter, especially when she is looking after this lot.

BTW. the diameter of the bowl is  +/-10cm or 4inches.

Unless SA kittens grow quicker and thicker than normal, I doubt those kittens are 10 weeks.

My friend at SPCA says that video is deceiving in kittens age.

I hope you guys can prove me wrong!

anyways got 2 videos uploading on YouTube.

First one has the mother still breastfeeding the kittens before eating.

Second one is about still feeding family, but the grey/white decide to play with my camera and takes it down!

I'll post when the videos come online!

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I thought the same thing too. Our mama cat gave birth barely 4 months after the litter we were catching and it had already turned cold in the States. She was spayed 3 days after she gave birth. Thankfully she took the newborns back after she got home, but they can and do get prego in the winter specially if someone is feeding them.