Feral Mom and her 8 week old kittens

Hi everyone-We have been feeding a feral cat for about 3 months now, and we've gotten quite attached to her (probably a bad thing).  She had her kittens on July 2nd.  I finally saw them for the first time about 2 weeks ago.  Before that she hid them very well.  The mother eats regularly near our back steps. Now the kittens are starting to come with the mother to eat (we were very excited!)  I did try to catch the kittens 2 weeks ago without success.  I know they are 8 weeks old now and chances of socializing are getting slimmer.  

I ordered a nice Tomahawk trap so I can TNR the Mom.  That trap will arrive on Tuesday, but I have nothing else to trap the kittens with.  I tried cornering them today when they were eating but they are fast and slipped through my hands.  

I DO have a foster ready to take them and help socialize them when I do catch them.  But the problem is getting them.  Does anyone have any suggestions? 

Since they are already 8 weeks old, at what point should I just let them be?  If I can't catch them I will try to TNR them as well.  But I was hoping to get them fostered and then adopted.  They are already very scared of me. :-(  Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Áh, it depends on the fosterer!   They can be fostered practically anytime, esp as still young kittens.   But it will take more time, effort, patience and love...

I sometimes see advices dont try to foster these 9+.   Its for these  halfhearted attempts we dont want.   These  WannaBe who think they will make it "because I´m worth it",  like on the movie or in some novels.   Just a understanding glance, and voilá, its done.

We dont want such "fosterers".   In such a case, it IS better they learn how to survive on their own, become good mousers, etc...

But a dedicated decently skilled  fosterer will manage.  No doubt.

What is, its not sure they will become a totally socialized cats, friendly to everyone, if fostered after that 8+.  It can be they will remain somewhat shy cats.   Wonderful family cats, but shy to visitors, running to hide as soon persons they dont know well are visiting.  Bat later on after a while, they perhaps go out and look see who had come...

So just proceed with your plans, and the victory will be yours - and theirs.

Good luck!

ps.   The mom has a somewhat Russian Blue-ish look about her!   In the Description Forum, we do have a thread for RB look-alikes.  Put in a couple three of good pics on her, if you so wish.  

I'm with Stefan. They are not too old to socialize yet. Once mom is caught, it will be easier, as she won't warn them. I would get a crate and put the food at the back, so they all have to go in to eat. Tie a length of twine to the door, loop it through the top of the cage and then leaving the door open, back away with the other end of the twine in your hand so the kits can't see you.

You should have a cohort to help you. Once the kits are eating, you can pull on the twine and close the door. They may not notice but if they do, you'll have to move quickly to secure the door. They may or may not rush to the door when they see you coming.

Once they're caught, you can take the whole crate right to the new foster home. Good luck! Keep us posted.

8 weeks is the perfect time to trap and socialize kittens! They've been weaned and are no longer solely dependent on their cat mom, and are ready to adopt a human mom.  I had a very easy time socializing a feral kitten who was between 3 and 4 months old--he was completely domesticated within a month. I've also domesticated (for the most part) a 10 month old feral. It will require some time and patience. Whoever fosters them will need to play with them and interact with them at least a few times a day, and be patient when they cry for their mama (and they will, possibly for a few days or even weeks). If the kittens will eat near you, you can use a large cat carrier and put food in the back, and when they enter and are in the back, close the door. A drop trap would work well for catching more than one cat at a time. I would avoid using a have-a-heart trap because if more than one kitten enters, the steel plate could possibly hurt another one who is at the other end of the trap. You should not just let them be! I don't know where you reside, but winter is around the corner for most of us, which spells very hard times for ferals and feral caregivers. You have several more weeks before you need to worry about them not being able to be socialized. Once they become sexually active (between 4-6 months), it is much harder, though still possible, to socialize them.  

Thanks everyone!  The words of encouragement are very helpful since I have never dealt with this before.  I grew up having 2 cats in our home, but never interacted with ferals before.

I am in NJ so, yes, the winters are rough!   We are thinking about building a shelter for the mother cat.  She will not even sit on a towel that I put on our back steps so I am wondering if she'll go into a shelter once we build it?  I sure hope so.  

I also really hope she sticks around once we TNR her.  We would be so dissapointed if she got scared and left.  We really enjoy her daily visits!  

Thanks~

If you build a shelter, make sure it has two entrances. Many ferals won't use them if there isn't an escape hatch. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Just something that will keep her warm and dry. If you tuck it under an eve or a deck, it will keep the wind out, too.

Thank you!  Momma has moved/hidden the kittens again and we haven't seen them in a day now.  She actually did not come for dinner last night which is not like her at all.  Thankfully she came for breakfast but the kittens are no where to be found.  Hopefully they will resurface soon.

Not unusual. You may want to think about trapping mom soon. She may already be pregnant, so the sooner the better. Once she is spayed, you can concentrate on trapping the kittens, although it would be good to get them soon, too. They'll be more easily socialized.

Hi everyone,

Well I finally caught all 3 of the kittens!  They were so fast, so I had to use a Tomahawk trap but didn't set the trap. Instead put a water bottle under the one door with a string, so when they wandered in I just pulled the string.  It worked great.  The kittens are doing very well.  One of them is  far ahead of the others in terms of interacting and personality.  He's a real chatterbox and very friendly.  The other 2 are more shy and will need more work, but they are all coming along well.  They've been to the vet and are all healthy. It was nice to finally find out if they were M or F.  It was a surprise that they're all boys actually.

Thanks again for the help!

StefanZ said:

 
ps.   The mom has a somewhat Russian Blue-ish look about her!   In the Description Forum, we do have a thread for RB look-alikes.  Put in a couple three of good pics on her, if you so wish.  

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Thanks, I'll put some photos in there.  She's a beautiful cat.  In certain light I can see some faint stripes on her tail as well, and she has a little white dot on her chest.  I wish I knew where she came from.  She just showed up on our back steps one day picking at our garbage.  

Pepster3D said:

 
Thanks, I'll put some photos in there.  She's a beautiful cat.  In certain light I can see some faint stripes on her tail as well, and she has a little white dot on her chest.  I wish I knew where she came from.  She just showed up on our back steps one day picking at our garbage.  

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Its too early too write this before I had seen this serie of good pics - including her eyes and profile of her head.

So assuming her eyes ARE green, and profile  and looks OK for RB:

But this white dot actually  increases dramatically the possibility of her being  a Russian Blue.  Even the faitn stripes...

This white dot immediately  deems a RB into pet quality: you cant show them successfully at a cat show.  And an adult RB shouldnt have these faint stripes visible either.

A serious breeder would sell her spayed, as pet qualtity, to a good home.   If she become homeless, it would be later, probably not as kitten.

But a BYB  breeder may perhaps just throw her out...   Or sell her cheap to anyone who fancy a blue cat.  Just so.    Everything to cut down the costs.   Thus, not bothering to spay nor vaccinate nor making sure its a good, stabile, responsible home.

That is very interesting Stefan.  Her eyes are definitely not green , they are more yellow. 

Pepster3D said:

 
That is very interesting Stefan.  Her eyes are definitely not green , they are more yellow. 

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OK, so she is prob a look alike.  But still not impossible it began as a pet quality RB....

Anyways, here is she, she is an individual, and I do sincerely hope and wish it goes well for her.

Thank you!

I can see where Stefan is coming from.. she definitely has 'the look' of a RB.

Gorgeous kittens, too.

Thank you.  I feel like a proud mama, with such cute kittens.

Mani said:

 
I can see where Stefan is coming from.. she definitely has 'the look' of a RB.

Gorgeous kittens, too.

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Thank you!  I really hope she sticks around our yard.  She's been less present now that we took the kittens.  I am planning on trapping her this week if all goes well.

I thought that the father cat was a white cat with orange patches.  I've seen him in the neighborhood.  I thought that's where the kittens got their spots from, but I just recently noticed he was ear tipped though so now I'm not sure if he is the father. (unless they bred before he was TNRed).

I wanted to update my thread with more good news.  The kittens are doing great.  They warmed up to the foster mom within a week or two.  We've gotten 1 adopted so far and the others are ready but we are looking for homes still.  I FINALLY trapped the Mom cat a few days ago.  I had her spayed (yay!).  It is below 20 degrees here now and I didn't have the heart to put her back outside so she's staying with a friend now (the same woman who socialized the rescued kittens).  I am happy to see her indoors, warm, with a blanket to lay on.  She's obviously not thrilled and probably confused as to where she is.  She was so well behaved before and after the surgery.  The vet said he didn't believe she was a "true feral".  We also felt she may have been abandoned or something at one point.  She is about 2-3 years old.  Before we trapped her, she had come into our kitchen many times and was trusting when we fed her, so we thought we would see what happened having her indoors.  Hopefully she'll warm up to the idea.  I figured we had nothing to loose-we only want her to be safe and comfortable.  It's only been 2 days so she still hisses but she is eating and we are hopeful.  I know it could take a very long time since she's older. 

Thanks for listening! 

That's so wonderful. Too bad we didn't get the chance to see more kitty pictures. You're doing a wonderful job. I would get so attached. I cried when Maia got spayed [emoji]128561[/emoji]

I did almost cry when I bought her to the vet. I felt bad but also relieved.
Oh I can post some photos of the kittens-I have about 100!

MaiaElizabeth said:

That's so wonderful. Too bad we didn't get the chance to see more kitty pictures. You're doing a wonderful job. I would get so attached. I cried when Maia got spayed [emoji]128561[/emoji]

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P.S. Should I post the photos here or somewhere else?