injured feral kitten. need advice ASAP

Today I found a feral kitten near my front door. It was laying on the ground. When I approached it could not move and was covered in scabes. The mother was nearby, but just watched on. I picked up the kitten, and it seemed injured and uncomfortable. I could not stand to see if suffer, so I put it in a tub and rushed it to the vet. It has scabies and we are waiting to see it's test results for feline aids. My question is, when all is said and done, should the kitten be returned to its mother? It's seems to be maybe 6 weeks old, if not older. We were debtaiting on keeping it, but I am not sure about just taking it from the mother. The mother seemed to be hanging around even after I dropped the kitten off. I gave her food and water. Would be the best course of action to nurse it to health and then let it go?

I'm not an expert here so I hope others will weigh in, but at six weeks the kitten will need to be with humans if it is to be domesticated. If you return it to the mother, there would be a high probability it will remain feral.

If the kitten has its teeth it would be capable of eating wet food and should be okay without mum. Also, it does not sound like the kitten has much of a chance as a feral given it's poor health. Mum will get over the kitten and it's health should be the primary concern.

If I was in your shoes and wanted to adopt it, keep the kitten indoors and let it become acclimatised to humans. Again, hopefully other with far more experience will weigh in.

Thank you for the reply! The cat is staying overnight at the vet, so we will know more about age and gender tomorrow. The mother has set up camp near my aparment door with her other kitten (this one is very very young, but appears in good health). I am strongly considering taking it in, but the fact that it's mother is waiting around makes me feel slightly bad.

One of my cats is actually a stray that I found in my neighborhood. Luckily with her, she seemed to have been with people for a short time because she was friendly and knew how to use a liter box. I never had dealt with a actual feral cat before.

Hi @maribii14  Thank you for helping this poor little kitten.

No, I don't think there is any point putting the kitten back outside. It will surely die. The mother realised that her kitten was sick and had left him to die. It seems really cruel, but feral cats have such a tough time trying to raise healthy babies that they often abandon the sick ones so that they have a better chance of keeping the healthy ones alive.

Even healthy feral kittens rarely survive, this little one will stand a much better chance if you keep him inside and either keep him as your indoor cat or try to find him a home once he is old enough,

Almost all of my cats were feral at first. The fact that you've managed to pick this little one up when he is still only 6 weeks old means that he will grow up quite comfortable with people. There really won't be any sign that he was feral born as he gets older.

The mother is hanging around because this is her territory. I think she could really use your help in keeping her other baby alive and also in making her life a bit easier. This article lists some things you can do to help her.

 [article="32879"]9 Practical Ways For You To Help Feral Cats​[/article]  

It's actually National Feral Cat Day this week, so please check our home page for more tips on helping ferals

UPDATE. The kitten died in its sleep last night at the vet. We are very sad...it was a little girl

I'm so very sorry. I hope you take comfort in the fact taha you tried to help and you gave that little girl some comfort when she needed it the most. I hope that little angel is finally at peace, the suffering has ended. I'll pray for that little one and her mother. Bless you for helping. 

Sorry to hear this, but thank you for your efforts. The life of a feral cat is harsh and often far too short.

Thank you all. We are happy we gave it our best shot. The mother has covered the food to hide it, and the little kitten is nearby. We are planning on waiting until the kitten is old enough to leave its mother...for now we are providing comfort and food for them, and soon a small shelter. I appreciate all the support and advice, I will surely use it in the future!

Very kind of you. If you can get momma fixed you will greatly improve her life.

I'm so sorry to hear that the kitten didn't make it. It's very kind of you to provide food and shelter for the mother and her remaining kitten. Cats usually go into heat again before their kittens are weaned, so now would be a good time to think about trapping the mother and getting her spayed. You can do this while she is still nursing the kitten. And, of course, the kitten will stand a much better chance of surviving if you can trap him or her and bring him indoors.

Please start another thread in this forum if you need any advice on trapping, building a shelter or anything else.

Whenever a cat or kitten dies we lock the thread as a sign of respect, so I'll lock this one now.

If you would like to start a thread in the kitten's memory our Crossing The Bridge forum is the place for that.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge

Rest In Peace little kitten.