Moving baby kittens closer to the house?

I didnt know where to put this so if it needs moved, please do so.

My grandmother's cat has had kittens. 5 of them in the greenhouse in the backyard. They are about 3-4 weeks old? No one knows exactly for sure. Since we sprung my grandparents from the nursing home, they have been feeding the momma cat and they really enjoy sitting on the back porch petting her and talking to her. They cannot get around very well so walking out to the greenhouse is out of the question, but they don't want the kittens to become wild and not be able to catch them so that when they are old enough, they can find them homes. How can we persuade the momma to move the babies closer to the house, if at all? They have a bench built into their back porch that a box would fit under, however, I know how picky mommas can be about where they put their babies. I dont want to move them myself for fear she will take them off and hide them somewhere and we will never catch them. My grandma has alzheimers and this is one thing she would really enjoy is to be able to have the kittens come to her.

Abby,

I have been away...sorry, I wasn't around to respond to your question.

Momma cats are very picky about where they care for their babies. The only way you can guarantee that momma will keep her babies in one place is to lock her and the babies in a room in your grandparent's house. Since this is not what your grandmother needs right now, I would suggest feeding momma cat lots of good healthy food. Eventually, she will bring her babies to your grandmother to share the yummy food.

Good luck with this! And, when momma cat weans the babies, please take her to the vet to be spayed (and do the same with the babies once they are old enough).

Thank you. I took a bag of food out to their house that is better than the store brand they had for her. I plan on taking her to be spayed when its time. Not sure what to do with the babies, but right now they are plenty small so theres still time.

Abby...maybe your vet would be willing to place the kittens for you.

Good Luck,

Katie

This is so sweet of you to be helping both the cats and your grandparents! lotsocats is right - the best way to get momma cat to bring the babies to grandma is to feed momma near grandma. When it's time for the kitties to eat regular food, momma will bring them to the food, and thus to grandma.

It is a good idea to talk to a local vet - both about making arrangements to have mom spayed once the kittens are old enough and perhaps helping to place the kittens. Our vet places kittens, and it rarely takes more than a few days to find homes for them. I like using the vet to place kittens, because the vet knows the people and how they care for their animals. Otherwise we use an adoption agreement and charge at least a small amount for them. The other option is to keep them all as outside pets for grandma if you can afford to help with food and vet care for them all. Just make sure you get them spayed and neutered as soon as possible so they don't keep mulitplying!

It's actually safe for the kittens to be spayed as early as seven weeks old! Some vets are not familiar with the study, but here's a link: Winn Feline Foundation Study on Early Age Spay/Neuter

If you're going to keep all of the cats, it's best not to have any of them spayed or neutered, including momma, until the kittens are 12 weeks old. This way you can have them vaccinated for at least Rabies and Distemper as well. It is also when momma is done teaching them all they need to know. If you're going to adopt out the kittens, it's best not to do it before they're at least 10 weeks old.

Your grandparents are very lucky to have you.

My mom told me today that she has moved the kittens somewhere else. I don't know if it has anything to do with my grandma squealing and clapping her hands everytime she sees the cat or whether the bucket the cat had them in was getting too small. I am going to go out there tomorrow between baseball games and snoop around. I think she moved them to the barn or the old hen house. Guess I get to brave the unknown to find out. No one has been in their barn for years so who knows what critters call it home now. Or would that be a bad idea? I don't plan to hoard in and make myself known, I just want to keep track of their whereabouts so they don't scatter in all directions.

Was the mother moved with the kittens?? Just want to ensure that these kittens receive as much "mom" time as is needed.

Katie

As far as I know, they were all in a five gallon bucket in my grandpas greenhouse and today they are all gone. My mom said the momma was at the house eating when she was there, but the kittens were gone from the greenhouse. I assume she moved them all??

Oh..so the momma cat moved the kittens?? Ok...now I understand.

Katie

Yes I'm pretty sure she did. Is it okay for me to go looking for them or at least the area? I don't want to spook her into moving them somewhere else or abandon them altogether because I was out being nosey.

I think it ok to look around to see if they are still around the place...just don't touch the kittens.

Katie

No, I wouldnt touch them. I know better than that from childhood experiences. We had a cat that would eat your arm off if you came near her babies until they were up and moving around by themselves. The other one would just move them far away.