kittens showed up in my garage

Hello everyone, today 4 kittens showed up in my garage and I'm not exactly sure how I should handle it. I'm 99% sure the mom is a stray cat that showed up around my house this winter. I'm not sure if it is a scared cat that someone dumped off or a feral cat since it wont let anyone get close to it. Any way today when we went in the garage there was a small kitten (estimated to be around 7" long) eating/drinking where we feed the assumed mother cat. After watching for a few minutes 3 more showed up and were all running around playing and eating a little bit of the dry cat food. I would like to catch the kittens and get them socialized a bit so they can be adopted and obviously trap the mother and get her spayed, however I have a couple of questions.

1. Do you think the  kittens are old enough to be taken away from their mother? I was assuming so since they were snacking on the dry food but I just wanted to make sure. I did look at a kitten growth chart to try to figure it out but it couldn't since I cant get very close to the kittens.

2. I do have an empty room in the house that they, and their mother could go into while I try to socialize them. My question is I do have 1 cat now which I don't want to catch any possible diseases from the new cat/kittens while they would be inside. Is there any risk bringing them inside if they will be kept in a separate room and not come in contact with my current cat? I don't have the funds to pay to have a checkup and shots done on all 5 of the cats so I just want to make sure before bringing them inside.

Thanks in advance for any help.

The kittens sound like they may be around 5 weeks old. This is around the time they begin to eat solids, but they continue to nurse also.

The kittens need kitten chow and wet food. Adult dry food is difficult for them to eat with their tiny baby teeth and they need the vitamins, minerals, and moisture provided by wet food. They also need to eat quite a few times a day. Mom is bringing them around because you are a food source and they need more than just milk.

I suggest that you put more food down more often so that they will stick around and you can eventually pet them and catch them.

To answer your specific questions, it would be ideal if they could remain in your home with their mother for a few more weeks. And a separate room would prevent your cat catching anything from them.

Now, about catching them. Do you see the mom cat regularly? Do you have a trap? Or what is your plan? The kittens may be easier to catch if they begin to trust you, but mom needs to be spayed or she will have another litter before long.

Hello, thanks for the quick reply. I will get some wet food for the kittens tomorrow morning and start leaving it out for them. I do know someone that has a few traps I can borrow if I cant get the kittens to trust me like you suggested. I see the mom cat several times a day, she seems to stay pretty close to the garage/house

Okay, good! Let's talk about trapping the cats more tomorrow, as where I live it's my bedtime. Begin by putting out more food for them all in the meantime!

Any trapping tips would be great for if I do have to do that. I turned on the garage light this morning, stepped away for a minute and when I came back the mom cat and 1 kitten were there looking at their empty food dish. I can tell the mom is definitely not happy with me being anywhere near her kittens as she hissed at me for the first time ever as soon as I stepped into the garage. With her being so anti-social towards people will it cause an issue with trying to get the kittens more comfortable around me? I guess I'm just concerned she would view me as a threat and move the kittens somewhere else that isn't as safe as my garage if I start hanging around there too much. Thanks for all the help.

fordranger said:

 
Hello everyone, today 4 kittens showed up in my garage and I'm not exactly sure how I should handle it. I'm 99% sure the mom is a stray cat that showed up around my house this winter. I'm not sure if it is a scared cat that someone dumped off or a feral cat since it wont let anyone get close to it. Any way today when we went in the garage there was a small kitten (estimated to be around 7" long) eating/drinking where we feed the assumed mother cat. After watching for a few minutes 3 more showed up and were all running around playing and eating a little bit of the dry cat food. I would like to catch the kittens and get them socialized a bit so they can be adopted and obviously trap the mother and get her spayed, however I have a couple of questions.

1. Do you think the  kittens are old enough to be taken away from their mother? I was assuming so since they were snacking on the dry food but I just wanted to make sure. I did look at a kitten growth chart to try to figure it out but it couldn't since I cant get very close to the kittens.

2. I do have an empty room in the house that they, and their mother could go into while I try to socialize them. My question is I do have 1 cat now which I don't want to catch any possible diseases from the new cat/kittens while they would be inside. Is there any risk bringing them inside if they will be kept in a separate room and not come in contact with my current cat? I don't have the funds to pay to have a checkup and shots done on all 5 of the cats so I just want to make sure before bringing them inside.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Click to expand...

Your plans as such are very sound, just to approve.   Also the quarantine part against your resident.

The tactics can be done in several ways, in part depending on the exact situation.

Before all, I agree its a priority to socialize the kittens NOW in the nearest few weeks.  Later on it will be more difficult.

And thus, this is one of the few exceptions to the usual recommendation to keep kittens with their mom to at least 8w.

IF there is a foster home waiting for them, its allowable, and even recommended, to take them in and foster.

And if possible spay the mom.

Now, the different tactics.   One, is to collect just the kittens for fostering, and TNR the mom.

The other main variation, is to get in them all, and let them be with the mom.  Surprising often, it works OK, especielly with infant kittens.  As soon the mom has cooled down and landed, and recognizes nobody is threatening nor being mean to them, and the caretaker is suitably humble and even friendly, she accepts the situation, recognizing this is the best practical chance for her children.  Allows the kittens to be handled and socialized.

She may be socialized in the process, or she may remain shy and a TNR candidate.  But surpising often, she copy nicely with the situation.    Its one of the wonderful paradoxes in the world of rescuing.   

Its quite often easier to have a semiferale mom with her kittens, than the same semiferale female...

The problem of course, is there happens now and then the mom isnt playing this game, she remains uncooperative and even aggressive...   Or and is learning this negative attitude to her kittens...

So continue to be their food source, and make lotsa of friendly sounds...  During the time get the gears, think over the tactics,   and when you are ready, run your plans with Gods help, as soon you are ready for full scale action...

Let me know if you have seen all the kittens and if they are all eating wet food today. Also contact your friend and ask about the traps so we can get the plan moving. Getting them all eating wet food well in your garage is the first step.

Do you keave the door open to the garage? Is that how they get in?

   Thank you both for the advice. I got the kitten food this morning they have eating almost a full double cat dish of the wet stuff, along with some dry. One of them seems to prefer the dry over the wet. I've seen either 2/4 or 3/4 eat today, two are all black so I cant really tell the difference. They have also drank a lot of water today They are usually in there around this time but it's storming pretty bad here so I'm not sure if ill see them much tonight. Next time I see them ill try to get some pictures.

   As far as the trapping goes I can definitely get the traps. I'm just not sure how to handle the mom. We've been giving her food since this winter so its probably been 5-6 months now yet we still can't get anywhere near her. I don't really feel there's going to be anything to magically turn her into a friendly adoptable cat so I think getting her spayed and releasing her would be the best option. However this is basically my first time dealing with a stray cat/kittens so any suggestions are appreciated. 

  The garage they are in is our old garage which we are planning to tear down, but that's been put on hold since the kittens are in there. It was poorly constructed so the floor cracked/heaved so there's gaps under the doors the cats can come in and out of, along with other gaps I'm sure they can squeeze through. We don't really use it for anything so there just some lawn equipment in one side that has a tarp over it so they have plenty of places they hide when we go in there.

Do you think they stay in there during the storm? Is it a detached garage?

I was wondering if the family could be closed in but it doesn't sound like it from your description of the cracks they enter and exit through.

Are you putting their food out twice a day?

Can you put a box or tub in the garage w/an old blanket or tee shirts for the cat and kittens to sleep in?

   I would assume she and her kittens would stay in the garage during the storm, but there's enough sheltered areas in my yard they could hide under to stay out of the weather if they didn't. The garage is attached to our basement stairs, our house is an older house so the foundation is made of fieldstone which makes the basement pretty damp and cold, as well as there being too many things I'd be worried about them getting into to let them go into the basement.

   I had thought about trying to close up the gaps in the garage but I think it would be too hard to find them all and cover them. I put food/water out at least twice a day, if I notice it's empty sooner I put more out. I could get a tub and put some blankets in for the cats tomorrow, I put one out for the mom cat this winter when it was really cold but she had no interest in it, but I can try again. it's pretty warm here now so I'm not worried about them getting too cold.

That's great about the food refills. The kittens may like the blankets. Let's see how it goes for a couple days. I'm guessing unless the kittens let you close you will have to trap them all, mama included. I would like to know how many kittens there are, and whether they will come to eat and let you pet them if you just sat there nearby.

If you can put it on it's side so it is covered on the top they may like it better.

The blankets are not so much for warmth as they are to create a comfortable place to nap in an effort to lure them in more!

We have sat there and watched the kittens come to eat. At this point the kittens run as soon as they notice you no matter how close you are, so I'm assuming they will have to be trapped. There have been 4 different kittens we have seen so far. Would it be better to wait until the kittens are around 8 weeks then trap them incase I can't get all of the kittens and the mom all at the same time?

I do think they need to nurse and be with their mom a few more weeks. And that is my fear - that you'll trap a couple and it splits them up and the others disappear. With the kittens this young I do think waiting is best. Do you have predators in your area?

fordranger said:

 
We have sat there and watched the kittens come to eat. At this point the kittens run as soon as they notice you no matter how close you are, so I'm assuming they will have to be trapped. There have been 4 different kittens we have seen so far. Would it be better to wait until the kittens are around 8 weeks then trap them incase I can't get all of the kittens and the mom all at the same time?

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That is the dilemma.   They are rather easy to foster in fully now while still young kittens. . In a couple of weeks, when they are 8 weeks, it will be more difficult...   and the socialization perhaps not fully completed.

Mind you, I do myself have a shy resident, and I dont have any problems with it... He is a nice homecat with our own family.  But shy cats are more difficult to adopt out.

I'm not too worried about predators in the areas I've seen the kittens/mom. The kittens haven't eaten any of the wet food today, but I can hear them playing on the other side of the garage and I saw the top of ones head. The mom has eaten a ton of dry food, and I have seen her. I'm pretty sure she is keeping the kittens on the other side so we can't see them.

They are probably still nursing mom, and may come in to eat after dark.

I saw 2 of the kittens this morning when I was feeding them. I managed to get a picture but it's pretty blurry since I had to zoom in so much. Maybe the picture will help verify their age. The tire he's next to is off the front of a push mower for comparison

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