Feral cat gave birth to kitties in my backyard last night... SNOW STORM APPROACHING!! What do I do??

kimberlybrito

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A feral cat gave birth to a bunch of kittens in a burrow of leaves behind the gate to my backyard. My dog found them this morning and she was barking nonstop until we took a look. The mother is with them, I m sure they were born last night because one of my dogs would have noticed earlier. I would leave them alone, as most sites I read advised, but we have a major snowstorm hitting us on Tuesday and more snow days after that! Not to mention, as of right now it is 21 degrees outside. I want to take the mom and kittens and put them in my basement, but I don t know how to get the mom to come in. I feed about 14 cats everyday down the block, and she is just one of those cats who never got comfortable with me. I barely ever see her. Even now, trying to get a quick peek at the newborns, I approached the nest, and she got very angry (understandable). I m so afraid that the babies are going to die from the snow storm. I can t afford to take care of them myself, as it is every 2 hours, which is why I need the mother to come to the basement, too. But how do I do that?? Or does anyone else with more expertise have better suggestions??
 

Sarthur2

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K kimberlybrito

Do you have a large dog crate? Line it with a blanket and put food and water in it. Will she let you put the babies in it? Do so and move the crate as close to the door of your house as possible. Hopefully she will get in to nurse the babies before the storm, then you can close the crate door and bring them inside.
 
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StefanZ

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A feral cat gave birth to a bunch of kittens in a burrow of leaves behind the gate to my backyard. My dog found them this morning and she was barking nonstop until we took a look. The mother is with them, I m sure they were born last night because one of my dogs would have noticed earlier. I would leave them alone, as most sites I read advised, but we have a major snowstorm hitting us on Tuesday and more snow days after that! Not to mention, as of right now it is 21 degrees outside. I want to take the mom and kittens and put them in my basement, but I don t know how to get the mom to come in. I feed about 14 cats everyday down the block, and she is just one of those cats who never got comfortable with me. I barely ever see her. Even now, trying to get a quick peek at the newborns, I approached the nest, and she got very angry (understandable). I m so afraid that the babies are going to die from the snow storm. I can t afford to take care of them myself, as it is every 2 hours, which is why I need the mother to come to the basement, too. But how do I do that?? Or does anyone else with more expertise have better suggestions??
Yes, its touchy how to bring them inside. Such a crate is a good try.  Sometimes its possible to simply collect the kittens into a basket or carrier, and carry them inside, momma following.  Once it occured the rescuer forumite managed to carry in the whole nest, babies and momma and all, inside.  BUT Momma managed to flee, and did come outside.  But after a while she sneaked in again, searched through the house meowing for full till she found the kittens in their new nest,  found them, and layed down with them....  I remember, I even wrote a poem about it.

What you hope for, is she recognizes being outside in the cold is bad situation for the kittens, and she alike all mothers, wants the best for her children.  And as soon she realizes you are her best practical chance, she will copy and try to cooperate...  The welfare of her children is more important than "freedom".

I suppse she knows you somewhat, you had given food earlier to her also??  This makes things much easier.   Talk a lot in a friendly, soft voice, no quick movements, dont look in her eyes.  Fall on all four before her, and strech yourself forwards and backwards, as friendlly cats do when they want to greet a pal.

Have a thick towel nearby, ready to wrap it up around her, perhaps even including the head.  Train on one of your residents, or a dog.  Not sure you need to do it, but wise to be prepared.

Especielly as this is the other solution: try to take her, and when its done, you collect the kittens etc, carry them to the prepared room, and reease momma with them, giving her several hours so she may cool down from the stress, and land.

If you had more time, the advice would be to take her in a trap, but you dont have the time.  You do have several hours to plan some and prepare some of the quick solutions, but you dont have the time to wait till she goes into the trap...

Good luck, and please report!
 

foxxycat

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hope you were able to get the kittens inside. Do you have a closet that you can use? They like small warm places and dark. A closet would work if you had one. A bedroom. cat box food n water. You can also start to feed mom kitten kibble too. I hope you can get her inside. I have seen others bring in a feral mom cat who ends up letting be pet and handling the kittens. Maybe after the kittens are weaned you can get her fixed and find a home for her. It would be best to get her inside=she can get pregnant again so soon. Keep us posted. Do you have pictures? Some of us just love kitten tails and those wee sweet faces.
 
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