Questions about Feral cat with kittens

surya · Sep 27, 2016

Hi, I am caring for a semi feral cat with kittens and I have a few questions. I have been reading online about when to take the kittens away from the mother, some sources say four weeks and some five. What do you think? The kittens are two weeks old now. When do you start handling the kittens? Do you wait till your remove them from the mother? The mother is unaproachable now, but has allowed me to touch her before I trapped her. What kinds of things can you do with the mother, to gain her trust. How do you clean the cage witout getting bitten or scratched? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

red top rescue · Sep 27, 2016

I would handle the kittens daily so they will know your smell. It's part of their training and socialization. You can probably remove one at a time, cuddle it, put it back and get another, and keep doing this until mama becomes comfortable with it. She will calm down when she sees you to dont harm her babies. I never take them away before they are a minimum of 6 weeks old but I d work with them and have times when mama is in the cage and all kittens are out with me. When I do take kittens away, it's usually when they re starting to wean themselved. It helps if you have other cats who are friends to them and t you to show them that you are notscary.

If I take feral kittens away from their mama, I do not do it all at once so her mild does not engorge. I wait until they re eating food with her, and then take 2 at a time. That will help her milk go down slowly.

surya · Sep 28, 2016

Thanks for the advice. I did try to grab a kitten today, but the mom lunged toward me too quickly. I will try again later and be more sneaky about it. She is very upset with me and I can't even clean her cage now.

Primula · Sep 28, 2016

surya said:
Thanks for the advice. I did try to grab a kitten today, but the mom lunged toward me too quickly. I will try again later and be more sneaky about it. She is very upset with me and I can't even clean her cage now.

I would not try to REMOVE any kittens yet. You will upset momma even more. Imagine how you would feel as a woman & someone tried to take your baby away. When I fostered a pregnant cat last year I would stroke the kittens with my fingers when they were very small so they got used to me & momma got used to me touching her babies. It will all develop organically. My advice is not to rush anything. If everyone is well-fed & comfy that's all that is needed at present.

The kittens will have to be socialized though. If you wait too long, it will be too late. Give them another 2 weeks & see what momma thinks about you taking one at a time away from her for a play session.

surya · Sep 29, 2016

I understand why the mother is upset. I don't think this cat is going to get much tamer in the short amount of time I can spend with her. She is feral. I was wondering if you used any special techniques to try and tame your mother cat? I would like to make her feel more comfortable with me. I really doubt I'm going to be able to pet the kittens. I may just have to wait till the mother is out of the picture. I am just new to this and I am wondering how other people handle it. I think we will remove the mother and get her fixed when the kittens are four weeks old. Is there anything special I need to do to get the kittens ready to be weened? Someone else will be taking care of them after that, I just want to do the right things for them while I have them for the next two weeks. Thanks for your help.

Primula · Sep 30, 2016

Our mother cat was tame. That would be hard having a feral cat in my house. I don't think the kittens wean until 8 weeks & the mother can't be fixed right away since her milk has to dry out first. IIRC, our mother was taken away when they were 8 weeks & was fostered elsewhere while she dried out. My kittens stayed until 12 weeks when they were fixed. Six weeks IMO is too young to leave the mother. It's always better to let these things play out organically (that's what I did), but, of course, it's not always possible.

surya · Sep 30, 2016

I have read that kittens are removed that young from Feral mothers because otherwise the will grow up feral. It is better to keep them with her as long as possible, but someone else is going to make that decision. I heard that you can take something, like a wooden spoon and rub the cat with it. I tried that today and she seemed to like it. I also rubbed one of the kittens through the cage bars a little with my finger. So that is a small start. I am going to take it slow and see how far I can push things without getting scratched or bitten. The kittens are growing so fast and they are fascinating to watch. I could just stare at them for hours.

Primula · Sep 30, 2016

surya said:
I have read that kittens are removed that young from Feral mothers because otherwise the will grow up feral. It is better to keep them with her as long as possible, but someone else is going to make that decision. I heard that you can take something, like a wooden spoon and rub the cat with it. I tried that today and she seemed to like it. I also rubbed one of the kittens through the cage bars a little with my finger. So that is a small start. I am going to take it slow and see how far I can push things without getting scratched or bitten. The kittens are growing so fast and they are fascinating to watch. I could just stare at them for hours.

Fostering a mother cat who subsequently had 3 kittens was the most fascinating thing I've ever done. Especially seeing the actual births.

socksy · Sep 30, 2016

Start handling the kittens when they start walking around and coming out of the nest. If you're able to handle them without trouble and they're tame, there's no rush to remove them from the mother. If the mother won't let you handle them, then remove them one at a time when they start eating solid food. You'll still have to bottlefeed them, but they'll be more robust.

FWIW, I've taken in quite a few feral kittens (from true feral mothers) and the kittens are already feral by 8 weeks old. I have taken in kittens that were that old and tamed them (and adopted one), but it was not easy. I had to trap them, then keep them crated while they desensitized, and it was a few weeks until they were safe to handle. Even a 4-week-old feral kitten acts noticeably feral, but they are much safer to handle and usually acclimate within a couple days.

surya · Oct 1, 2016

Thanks for the advice. They are learning to walk now. I think I'm going to take a plastic tray or something and hold that between the kitten and the mother while I pick the kitten up. She's in a Condo with the kittens and quite vigilant about keeping me away from them. Hopefully after I play with them a few times, she will realize I'm not trying to harm them.

Unfortunately there's another feral mother cat who has recently had kittens. I haven't seen those ones yet. I will look around the bushes for them. There is no room for anyone to take them in now, but maybe I can catch them when they get old enough and if they survive. People around here throw kittens in the dumpster.

Primula · Oct 3, 2016

surya said:
Thanks for the advice. They are learning to walk now. I think I'm going to take a plastic tray or something and hold that between the kitten and the mother while I pick the kitten up. She's in a Condo with the kittens and quite vigilant about keeping me away from them. Hopefully after I play with them a few times, she will realize I'm not trying to harm them.

Unfortunately there's another feral mother cat who has recently had kittens. I haven't seen those ones yet. I will look around the bushes for them. There is no room for anyone to take them in now, but maybe I can catch them when they get old enough and if they survive. People around here throw kittens in the dumpster.

People are evil. I much prefer animals.

surya · Oct 4, 2016

Primula said:
Alfie.jpg

surya

Oct 4, 2016

Hailey.jpg

surya

Oct 4, 2016

ondine · Oct 4, 2016

You should have given a cuteness warning with these pix! What a sweet family.

socksy · Oct 4, 2016

Cute! They're looking fit and healthy and don't seem too concerned by your picture-taking, so that's a good sign!

surya · Oct 5, 2016

socksy said:
Cute! They're looking fit and healthy and don't seem too concerned by your picture-taking, so that's a good sign!

The mom cat was growling during the photo shoot. One of the orange kittens is licking at the kitten kibble I am feeding the mom, and trying to eat it.

surya · Oct 5, 2016

Ondine said:
You should have given a cuteness warning with these pix! What a sweet family.

I know, right? Is there anything cuter than baby kittens.

Primula · Oct 5, 2016

surya said:
I know, right? Is there anything cuter than baby kittens.

Nope, especially yours. There is nothing cuter than a ginger kitten (BTW, almost always male).

socksy · Oct 5, 2016

I love ginger kitties, too. I just adopted a ginger and a flame point (sisters). Looking at this litter, if they all have the same father, then the gingers are definitely male, because one of the kittens is tortoiseshell.

catsknowme · Oct 5, 2016

Ondine said:
You should have given a cuteness warning with these pix! What a sweet family.

Absolutely adorable!!!! Be sure to explain to mama kitty your every move - somehow they understand what you mean! Bless you and your squad for caring for those ferals. And sending prayers and vibes for protections and rescue for the little mama and new babies still out in the field.......

surya · Oct 6, 2016

catsknowme said:
Absolutely adorable!!!! Be sure to explain to mama kitty your every move - somehow they understand what you mean! Bless you and your squad for caring for those ferals. And sending prayers and vibes for protections and rescue for the little mama and new babies still out in the field.......

I'll be sure to tell mama cat what I'm doing. Thanks for the prayers and good vibes.

Questions about Feral cat with kittens

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