Need help with Feral mom & new kittens

We have been feeding a feral cat for a few months, and recently noticed that she has had kittens in our back yard. She seems to be taking care of them. She had them between a fence and a wood pile. and has been staying by them except to come get some food. My question is this...it is supposed to get very cold tonite, low 40's/high 30's. I dont know if i should try and move the kittens into a box for shelter or not. The mom is so skittish, there is no way to catch her, and i dont know if that would even help. I dont know if she would go in the box with them, or maybe even move them somewhere else, because she is scared.

should i do something or should i leave her alone. i dont know how old they are, but they cant be more that 2 weeks old.

please help.

Well if you knew how to successfully trap her and the kittens and could deal with the aftermath of having an upset stressed mom in your home, you should capture them and bring them in. But, she is fine outside, she will not take kindly to you moving them and you could be attacked for trying (depending on how long she has had to survive outside). The best thing you could do is bring the whole family inside, but that is a lot easier said than done.

I would leave her be, if she senses the cold coming (and they do) She will move them to a warmer spot. Also, chances are quite good she is pregnant again. If while these kittens are growing up you can trap and get all the tomcats in the area neutered, that would be great (in a perfect world).

But for now, keep feeding her, feed her 5-6 times a day, feed her kitten chow and kitten glop for she will need the nutrients- make sure she has fresh water and hopefully soon you can trap the whole family and get her spayed and the kittens responsible homes.

It always makes me nuts, it's a complex problem of backyard cats mating, and the solution is so simple SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR CATS- I am not talking about you directly, but to others, like those who let these adult cats outside intact in the first place!

If you tell us what state you live in we could see about finding a TNR group in your area to help you with the momma and her family.

Katie

thank u for ur replies. I live in NJ, northern nj.

i just left some food & water closer to where she has been staying, and plan to get some kitten food for her tomorrow. i know she could use the extra nutrients. she looks so tiny. but then again, last i saw her she was pregnant, so she looks so little now.

pyeeye...I believe we have some members from Northern NJ who are on these forums. Hopefully they will see your post.

Katie