- Joined
- Jul 7, 2015
- Messages
- 31
- Purraise
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Hello!
Three weeks ago, I discovered that a family of ferals had been spending some time in my parents' backyard. They seem to live in the neighborhood and hop across our lawns around at night. A couple years ago when I returned home to visit from college, I also glimpsed a kitten or two in the lawn that would dash away anytime I opened the backdoor, but I assumed they were the neighbor's cats. Now I believe they might have been an earlier litter by the same mother cat, since her current litter has the same coloring.
I've been reading this forum religiously since my 3 week-ago first cat feeding, and everyone here is so incredible! Please help :> I'm feeling a bit desperate and needy for some good advice.
I want to be their caretaker and friend, and at the very least I want to help spay or neuter them and return them their territory (currently my parents' lawn). The first will be a little problematic, because I'll be moving in 2-4 months in order to be better situated for my job. I won't be able to provide care for the long-term, but I want to at least do some of that for now, and hopefully find a neighbor that might leave some food out on their porch after I leave. My parents see the cats as pests and aren't willing to leave out cat food. They're currently unaware that I'm still feeding the ferals, who haven't shown their faces to my parents since they've heard my parents loudly talk at/shoo at them.
This cat family is very afraid of humans, and I'm hoping that I'm not making my interactions with the cats any more uncomfortable to them than they already might be.
I've been talking to them softly as they eat and not making eye contact. I crouch low to the ground and turn my back to them, but occasionally can't help but sneak a glance. Anytime I shuffle from where I'm sitting, the kittens stop eating and stare back. I try not to look at their faces when this happens. If I continuing moving, they bound back behind the shrubs and wait for me to stop. Currently, they'll allow me within 20 feet of them while eating. Occasionally, the kittens will eat together while the mother keeps watch 3 feet to the side, but oftentimes, one will eat at a time while the others hide behind the shrubs near the feeding area. The mother eats last.
They were actually a little more adventurous and less fearful during the first few feedings. When I first left food out, I wasn't sure whom I was feeding - the cats, the raccoons, the possums or the rats. During the first day, the canned tuna/meow mix disappeared sometime between 9pm - 7am. The second time, between 8pm- 12am. The third, between 6pm- 8pm. One day, on the fourth day, all 5 kittens happily bounded towards their food bowl around 6pm, followed by their mother, who kept watch but didn't eat. The kittens were at their most playful. They ate, then rolled around the lawn and play fought 5 feet away. A grey haired/blue eyed kitten walked even towards me and stood a few feet away. This continued for 2 hours while their mother kept watch, up until the sun completely set. The same day however, my mom went into the yard and was horrified to see so many cats playing in the lawn. She talked loudly at them before she left. The kittens resumed playing later and left around 9pm.
The next day, only the grey kitten showed up. It meowed for hours, from 6pm to 12am, and likely afterwards, but none of its family members showed up. It prowled the yard and barely ate, waiting for them. The day afterwards, the entire family returned, but only at 9-10pm. Since the fourth day, none of the other kittens have been visible in the yard during the early evening no how early I set out the food. They only eat when it's completely dark out. The grey kitten now keeps its family's schedule as well.
Afterwards, I've occasionally spied some of the kittens sitting on the tops of our fences around 5pm. They're usually hidden behind trees. If I approach, they often stay where they are as long as I don't get closer than 2-3 feet. The kittens also vocalize (meow) from time to time (presumably for their mother). They won't leave if I come into the yard, but they'll stop meowing if I'm within 2-10 feet. The mother is the most skittish of all of them, but she lets me get within the same range. Their ears are usually tipped forward and their arms and legs are laid flat against the fence top. Sometimes they'll get up into a sitting position, but after they don't receive any eye contact, they settle back down.
Now I feed them once at 9pm and once at 2am, because I'm afraid that they'll be caught eating if I leave a larger amount of food all at once. Sometimes they still play if my back is turned towards them (10-20 feet away) but mostly they hide behind the bushes or leave after eating. Usually I sit far away with my phone, reading in the dark and trying not to feel silly about sneaking back into the house.
My parents haven't seem to have spotted the cats since the cat-shooing-incident. Visitors to my parents' house haven't seen them either. Sometimes they're hiding, but other times they're simply not around. Once, a friend visited around evening and hold me she heard meowing but saw no cat. After my friend left, the meowing resumed and I found one of the kittens perched along the fence top. Just recently, I had friends stay at my parents' house for 3 days (whom I hired to help me with my job). Although my friends never went into the backyard since they knew about the ferals, the cats stopped eating for 3 days. They didn't seem to drink water either. The day my friends left, the entire cat family returned. The minute I was back at my 20 feet away sitting spot after scooping out their food, the kittens hopped over the fence and choked down their food in a record 10 minutes before scattering away.
With the cats this frightened, I'm not sure when I should try trapping and spaying/neutering the mother. I don't want this experience to be terrifying and traumatizing for her. The kittens are now about 10-12 weeks old, not yet sexually mature by months. I'm not sure if I should trap them at all during this time. Should I try to trap the mother after gaining a little more trust? Do they trust me at all? They've let me see them eat and occasionally play, but I have to maintain a far distance. Sometimes I accidentally catch them unaware if I open the door and they're around, but instead of bounding away immediately, they freeze in mid-step shock and wait for me to look away before disappearing.
Other Details- Food:
1 canned tuna with 3 cups of Meow Mix. Switching the tuna over to 9Lives wet food shortly, which will be arriving in the mail soon. Occasionally supplemented with pork and pork bones that I use for my family's soup. They don't eat more than 2-3 cups of dry cat food with the wet. I'm not sure if they're full or if they prefer something else?
Other Details- Other Interactions:
Occasionally I work late at night in a small shed on the computer / using technology that can only be operated in the shed room. I've tried letting the programs run, going to the yard for a few minutes while the cats eat and returning to the shed room, but I'm not sure if this is incredibly disruptive / uncomfortable for them. I can hear them moving, but because I don't turn around I'm not sure if they're comfortable with me leaving/returning to the area every few minutes. Sometimes I hear nothing when I'm sitting outside (and when I turn around, I also see nothing).
Cats: (will update with pictures)
1 orange tabby kitten
- shy but curious
1 black kitten w/ yellow eyes
- boldest one! bonded with dark grey kitten
1 light grey tabby kitten with pale blue eyes
- fastest runner :<
1 dark grey kitten with ocean blue eyes (
literally ocean blue. It sounds cheesy and flowery, but there we are)
- most social, bonded with black kitten
1 multicolor kitten black/orange/white
- as elusive as a shadow. I thought I imagined this kitten for a while.
1 black adult cat w/ yellow fur around yellow eyes and a yellow stripe up her nose (this is the first time I've see these markings. She looks uncanny. Also terribly thin :< Of all of them, only she looks like skin and bones.)
Three weeks ago, I discovered that a family of ferals had been spending some time in my parents' backyard. They seem to live in the neighborhood and hop across our lawns around at night. A couple years ago when I returned home to visit from college, I also glimpsed a kitten or two in the lawn that would dash away anytime I opened the backdoor, but I assumed they were the neighbor's cats. Now I believe they might have been an earlier litter by the same mother cat, since her current litter has the same coloring.
I've been reading this forum religiously since my 3 week-ago first cat feeding, and everyone here is so incredible! Please help :> I'm feeling a bit desperate and needy for some good advice.
I want to be their caretaker and friend, and at the very least I want to help spay or neuter them and return them their territory (currently my parents' lawn). The first will be a little problematic, because I'll be moving in 2-4 months in order to be better situated for my job. I won't be able to provide care for the long-term, but I want to at least do some of that for now, and hopefully find a neighbor that might leave some food out on their porch after I leave. My parents see the cats as pests and aren't willing to leave out cat food. They're currently unaware that I'm still feeding the ferals, who haven't shown their faces to my parents since they've heard my parents loudly talk at/shoo at them.
This cat family is very afraid of humans, and I'm hoping that I'm not making my interactions with the cats any more uncomfortable to them than they already might be.
I've been talking to them softly as they eat and not making eye contact. I crouch low to the ground and turn my back to them, but occasionally can't help but sneak a glance. Anytime I shuffle from where I'm sitting, the kittens stop eating and stare back. I try not to look at their faces when this happens. If I continuing moving, they bound back behind the shrubs and wait for me to stop. Currently, they'll allow me within 20 feet of them while eating. Occasionally, the kittens will eat together while the mother keeps watch 3 feet to the side, but oftentimes, one will eat at a time while the others hide behind the shrubs near the feeding area. The mother eats last.
They were actually a little more adventurous and less fearful during the first few feedings. When I first left food out, I wasn't sure whom I was feeding - the cats, the raccoons, the possums or the rats. During the first day, the canned tuna/meow mix disappeared sometime between 9pm - 7am. The second time, between 8pm- 12am. The third, between 6pm- 8pm. One day, on the fourth day, all 5 kittens happily bounded towards their food bowl around 6pm, followed by their mother, who kept watch but didn't eat. The kittens were at their most playful. They ate, then rolled around the lawn and play fought 5 feet away. A grey haired/blue eyed kitten walked even towards me and stood a few feet away. This continued for 2 hours while their mother kept watch, up until the sun completely set. The same day however, my mom went into the yard and was horrified to see so many cats playing in the lawn. She talked loudly at them before she left. The kittens resumed playing later and left around 9pm.
The next day, only the grey kitten showed up. It meowed for hours, from 6pm to 12am, and likely afterwards, but none of its family members showed up. It prowled the yard and barely ate, waiting for them. The day afterwards, the entire family returned, but only at 9-10pm. Since the fourth day, none of the other kittens have been visible in the yard during the early evening no how early I set out the food. They only eat when it's completely dark out. The grey kitten now keeps its family's schedule as well.
Afterwards, I've occasionally spied some of the kittens sitting on the tops of our fences around 5pm. They're usually hidden behind trees. If I approach, they often stay where they are as long as I don't get closer than 2-3 feet. The kittens also vocalize (meow) from time to time (presumably for their mother). They won't leave if I come into the yard, but they'll stop meowing if I'm within 2-10 feet. The mother is the most skittish of all of them, but she lets me get within the same range. Their ears are usually tipped forward and their arms and legs are laid flat against the fence top. Sometimes they'll get up into a sitting position, but after they don't receive any eye contact, they settle back down.
Now I feed them once at 9pm and once at 2am, because I'm afraid that they'll be caught eating if I leave a larger amount of food all at once. Sometimes they still play if my back is turned towards them (10-20 feet away) but mostly they hide behind the bushes or leave after eating. Usually I sit far away with my phone, reading in the dark and trying not to feel silly about sneaking back into the house.
My parents haven't seem to have spotted the cats since the cat-shooing-incident. Visitors to my parents' house haven't seen them either. Sometimes they're hiding, but other times they're simply not around. Once, a friend visited around evening and hold me she heard meowing but saw no cat. After my friend left, the meowing resumed and I found one of the kittens perched along the fence top. Just recently, I had friends stay at my parents' house for 3 days (whom I hired to help me with my job). Although my friends never went into the backyard since they knew about the ferals, the cats stopped eating for 3 days. They didn't seem to drink water either. The day my friends left, the entire cat family returned. The minute I was back at my 20 feet away sitting spot after scooping out their food, the kittens hopped over the fence and choked down their food in a record 10 minutes before scattering away.
With the cats this frightened, I'm not sure when I should try trapping and spaying/neutering the mother. I don't want this experience to be terrifying and traumatizing for her. The kittens are now about 10-12 weeks old, not yet sexually mature by months. I'm not sure if I should trap them at all during this time. Should I try to trap the mother after gaining a little more trust? Do they trust me at all? They've let me see them eat and occasionally play, but I have to maintain a far distance. Sometimes I accidentally catch them unaware if I open the door and they're around, but instead of bounding away immediately, they freeze in mid-step shock and wait for me to look away before disappearing.
Other Details- Food:
1 canned tuna with 3 cups of Meow Mix. Switching the tuna over to 9Lives wet food shortly, which will be arriving in the mail soon. Occasionally supplemented with pork and pork bones that I use for my family's soup. They don't eat more than 2-3 cups of dry cat food with the wet. I'm not sure if they're full or if they prefer something else?
Other Details- Other Interactions:
Occasionally I work late at night in a small shed on the computer / using technology that can only be operated in the shed room. I've tried letting the programs run, going to the yard for a few minutes while the cats eat and returning to the shed room, but I'm not sure if this is incredibly disruptive / uncomfortable for them. I can hear them moving, but because I don't turn around I'm not sure if they're comfortable with me leaving/returning to the area every few minutes. Sometimes I hear nothing when I'm sitting outside (and when I turn around, I also see nothing).
Cats: (will update with pictures)
1 orange tabby kitten
- shy but curious
1 black kitten w/ yellow eyes
- boldest one! bonded with dark grey kitten
1 light grey tabby kitten with pale blue eyes
- fastest runner :<
1 dark grey kitten with ocean blue eyes (
literally ocean blue. It sounds cheesy and flowery, but there we are) - most social, bonded with black kitten
1 multicolor kitten black/orange/white
- as elusive as a shadow. I thought I imagined this kitten for a while.
1 black adult cat w/ yellow fur around yellow eyes and a yellow stripe up her nose (this is the first time I've see these markings. She looks uncanny. Also terribly thin :< Of all of them, only she looks like skin and bones.)
