Found a Feral Momma and Need Advice

Hi. Recently I found a small orange cat at a gas station near my house. She was sitting outside begging for food. She let me pet her a little & I lifted her by her scruff & notice she had nipples full of milk & they were wet. I feed her & once she was full I walked off some. She started headed towards a ditch & I followed her at a distance. She crawled under a fence after watching & looking around a lot. The other side of the fence was thick with thorns and I couldn't see much. I've been feeding her a few days now. The girl at the gas station said the cat is under a year. This is her second litter. She believes they were born around March 18th. I really want to take her in & foster her and the kittens. But so far I haven't spotted the kittens. The girl said with her first litter she gave birth under the shed by the gas station and would let the kittens sun on the porch. But people snatched the babies up. Any advice? When will the kittens start explorong some with mom? What times of the day do you think they'll come out? Etc.

Hi EnvyKat.

Thank you for trying to help this momma and her babies. If the kittens are only about 5 weeks old they're probably staying hidden. They'll start exploring a little further soon, but how far they goes depends a lot on the environment they are in. If there are lots of people and other animals around they'll stick close to the den where it's safe.

The best thing would be to try and trap the mother and the kittens. Are there any groups in your area that do TNR? (Trap, neuter, release.) Groups that do TNR programs will be able to lend you a trap and maybe even help you with trapping. It's important to get the mother spayed before she goes into her next heat cycle and gets pregnant again. Poor little thing, two litters in her first year! That must be tough on her. If you keep feeding her she'll start to trust you, then you can start feeding her in the trap which will make trapping her easier.

The earlier you can catch the kittens the easier it will be to get them socialised and find homes for them. They are probably most active at night when there is no one around.  It's not a good idea to hang around on your own waiting for kittens to show themselves. If you don't have anyone that can wait with you maybe you could hide a video camera in the bushes with a dish of cat food in front of it and see if any of the kittens come to eat.

Some of our advisers will be online soon with some more ideas for you.

Good luck, I hope you're able to catch them.

Hi! Well the gas station is a truck stop. Momma cat ventures out at 6p.m. on the dot as I and a girl that works at the gas station are feeding her. I drove over there last night at about 1a.m. and didn't see momma or kittens but saw a calico about momma cat's size. Where we live we don't have a TNR. I did give the give my number and told her if she sees the kittens to call me IMMEDIATELY. Part of me wants to let them stay with momma til 8+ weeks but another part says get them at 6 weeks if possible and start socializing em and just give them kitten milk and high quality wet food. (I have 3 cats. One was a feral 6wk rescue who was gonna be put down bc he was mean but i worked with him. The other one was also 6wks but pretty social and the last was 9wks and she simply decided she loved my boyfriend and I and our mean but by then sweet feral boy). I don't feed them near her den as I don't want the calico, the tom i saw yesterday, and other animals near her babies. We feed her on the quieter side of the gas station which is a ways from her den but she's used to it. Do you think she'll take the babies over there to eat? After 5-10watching minutes of watching you as she eats she rubs against you & lets you pet her. But picking her up terrifies her. Also when I suspect they are close to 6-6 1/2 weeks can I go to the den area with tuna to try to lure the babies out while she is occupied on the other side eating & being pet?

You don't have to have a TNR program established to do TNR.  All you need is a humane trap and a vet to do the spay/neuter.  If you do not trap the mom or other cats that are hanging around, you will continue to have lots and lots of kittens.  Most areas have rescue groups or vets that will help.  I would start by calling a vet and seeing if you can borrow a trap and get the mom and her kittens spayed/neutered.  The kittens might be a bit young to spay/neuter, but if you trap them, you can wait a bit and then spay/neuter.  If you allow the mom cat to not be trapped, she will be pregnant again before you know it.

Thank you for wanting to help these kittens.  I hope you can find a vet or rescue group to help you out.