Non pregnant cat steals kittens

Hi ,in my neighborhood we have a lot stray cats , females and males.Yesterday i found out that a female cat that is not pregnant or seem not pregnant have 4 kittens that are clearly not her's (the two look at lest 3 weeks old and the other two are like some days  old).I don't know the real mothers , what should I do, and are the kittens in danger?

P.S. She had taken three of them yesterday in her "nest" and she left alone the other one all night.

If she cant nurse them, they are apparently in danger, yes.  Even if healthy kittens manage without food longer then one may think.   Esp if they get warmth and comfort.

If she were a co-mother with the biological moms, it wouldnt be no problem at all.

Or if she could nurse them, the problem would be almost OK.

As its now, you must step in in some way, if you want them kittens survive.

If you dont find the proper moms, you must take care of them yourself.

I know its not easy, esp not with that smallest ones, but there is no other way...   I susppect  there is no other fosterer either, all are overrun with kittens now.

If a common shelter admit them, you must know they will immediately pts them as soon you are around corner...

So if you want to save them, its up to you.  The spotlights are on you, this is your moment of Truth.

If you want but not have much time nor strengh, to do an all out effort,  do a triage, save them who are easy to save...  Ie the 3 weeks old, they are a little easier.

Goat milk is good, if you can get raw goat milk, is excellent.  Otherwise, use some nice kmr...

AND put your question in the Forum, this way you are sure you will get answers.

[That post  was apparently sent simultaneously here and to me as PM.    This answer here was my PM answer]

Good luck"

T tagiadin john

You need to take the kittens right away if you suspect they are orphans and this cat has no milk. They will starve without food, especially the smallest ones. If you can bring the non- pregnant surrogate mom with you, she will help to warm and clean the babies. The three-week-old kittens may be able to eat mush on their own, which is a mixture of wet cat food and kitten formula mixed together to make a mush they can lap. You may have to let them lick it off your finger. If not, they will need to drink kitten milk replacement formula from a bottle.

The ones that are just days old will need to be bottle or syringe fed formula every two hours around the clock. If you bring them home please let us know and we will explain exactly how to feed a tiny kitten.

It could be that the cat you say is not pregnant actually is in early pregnancy. If she stays with these babies she may begin lactating, but in a few days' time. The kittens would have to be fed in the meantime.

Let us know what you decide. We are here to help. How many kittens of each age are there?

There are two kittens that are some weeks old and 2 that are just some days old , I will watch what the kittens and cat interaction is for some hours and think what I will do after understanding what is really going on.Thanks for your help.

If the days old kittens are mewing constantly and trying to nurse and getting no milk, they will need to be rescued. Are you feeding the "mom" cat who has them? Will she let you close enough to check if she is lactating? Try offering food if you can to further determine what is going on. Bear in mind that if you take them in you will need kitten chow, wet cat food, and a can of KMR powder. Also a needleless syringe. You may want to pick up supplies in the meantime. All four kittens may be orphans that this cat is nurturing, but without milk, they will starve to death. If she is lactating, you still may want to bring them all in to spare them the unknown fate of the outdoors. I know that you first want to determine if a real mother will be returning.

T tagiadin john

Some neighbors feed the cat ,she won't let me go close , I think she will attack me I will check what they are doing and I will inform you soon.

Alrighty.

She took them away , I don't know where they are now ...This is not good!

Nope, not good at all. Did you just now get around to checking?

Well the kittens where in the roof of an storage room in my garden but gardens in Athens,Greece are a little different and I cant check where they are.I will send some pictures for you to understand what I mean soon , because i don't have my camera for now.....

Okay. I just hope a cat is feeding the babies somewhere. They won't survive the day without food.

sarthur2 said:

Okay. I just hope a cat is feeding the babies somewhere. They won't survive the day without food.

Click to expand...

Yea.  ONE day they may survive, healthy kittens may be tough. But now its at least the second day running, perhaps even more...

Its a little like as the wellknown pics of a lejon taking tenderly care of a antilope foal   Nice and sweet, but that foal was of course doomed.  By starvation  if nothing else.

I got good news and bad news.The good news are that the 2 (weeks old and more) kittens are alive so the mother cat should be lactating to keep them alive.The bad news are that I haven't seen the 2 younger kittens, but some neighbors told me that they have seen them.

I am posting now some pictures for you to understand how common "gardens" are here in Athens,Greece.(it's the garden from the home that I rent under my family's apartment ,my family owns the building ).So now you can understand better why it's not that easy to look around

Yes, it does look as though it would offer excellent hiding places for a cat and kittens, so now it is understandable that it would be difficult to locate them. It is good, however, to hear that the kittens appear to be nursing their mom, and that the neighbors have seen the other, older kittens.

Do you know if anyone is feeding these cats?

There is some old neighbors that feed the early-pregnant or pergnant or mum of the kittens,her brother , her mother , and her 3 new brothers or sisters ( i don' t know what they are) 

(The pictures where from the day I made the post or a little earlier I cant remember)

These are the two younger Kittens 



This is their supposed mother



These pictures are from yesterday

These are the three new brothers and sisters of the mother of the kittens (the black and whit cat)




The black cat is the grandmother of the younger kittens (the first ones) and the mother of their mother (black and white ) her brother (the grey one).


The mother of the kittens (the black and white)had other 5 brothers and sister but they where all killed or died.

These pictures are from last year

The kitten which is eating chicken is the mother of the first kittens and the black one is her mother.The grey kitten that is near the tiles is her living brother and the other kittens are dead or someone took them , i don't know....


The uncle of the first kittens , that is still alive.



Her mother


Her dead sister


And the other dead brother


These three are the first kids of the black cat , the dead brothers and sisters of the black and whit cat

Does anyone give these cats dry cat food or wet cat food? The babies look very young but old enough to eat soft cat food.

Do you have a low-cost spay and neuter clinic nearby?

These cats need to stop reproducing. There are unnecessary litters and deaths and a feral colony forming of unwanted, uncared for cats.

Are you in a position to assist with possibly trapping, spaying, and releasing these cats to get the population under control?

They get dry food , I don't think I could do this , their mother is not friendly when I am around

Today I saw the younger kittens , so they are all alive . 

Most people have to trap feral cats to get them neutered and spayed. At least they are getting dry food. Do they have fresh water?

Of course , at least 4 neighbours have a bowl with water for them.