Need Advice Feral Kittens

Hi,

Long story...will try to keep it short...

For the last 2 years, I have been taking care of 4 feral females outside my back door...have been feeding them...built a feeder...bought them a dog house to live in filled with cushions & blankets...etc. etc.

8 weeks ago, one 30 degree day in March, one of the females gave birth. Long story short...I ended-up taking them in and played mother cat. Round-the-clock feedings, etc. etc. -- 2 of the kittens now live with us...just received their 1st kitten shots and both are FELV negative P.S. I also have 2 persians...obviously inside cats. We are now 4.

Another female gave birth to 4 kittens approximately 4 weeks ago. She made the nest inside the dog house we have for them...smart. All of the kittens have "gooky" eyes...showing signs of upper respiratory disease. I never see the mother nursing them but her sister has taken over and is letting them suckle her...she can't be lactating?...Can she?...She wasn't the pregnant one. I think they are starving. I started giving them kitten food and they gobble it up...they do have little teeth. I have been wiping their eyes with warm water but have a feeling they need help. It is still cold out there at night.

What am I supposed to do? I have 2 persians, 2 recently rescued kittens (8wks. old) with a clean bill of health. I spent a small fortune on those rescued kittens...antibiotic...3 vet visits and we are still not done...formula for 6 weeks...and I still go out every week and buy dry & canned food for the adults out there. Help!! Is there some sort of organization that will help fund me to play nursery for these kittens? I would like to put them up for adoption when they reach age...they are beautiful. A feral life is not an easy life.

Sorry for being so wordy. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Lisa

Hey Lisa...contact this group and see if they know an organization that can help you:

http://www.nycferalcat.org/services.htm

Katie

Thank you for the link Katie. I spoke to an organization today affiliated with the link you sent me -- good timing. Hopefully I can get these little kittens some help.

Lisa - Bless you for opening your heart, home and wallet to help these little babies, and their momas and to do what you can for these newborns
That is truly genuine and sweet of you to do. I wish there were more people to help animals and less people who will toss aside an animal when they have to move or the cat isn't cute or convenient to take care of
Again, thank you for helping these furbies!

Actually.... she can be lactacting. I've heard of that before. A momma cat helping out their kitten by being a mommy-grandmommy. Sister can do it, too.

It takes a while for kittens to stimulate an adult to start lactating but it can happen. Believe it or not, male cats can start lactating if stimulated long enough (this happened to me once).

Contact the groups that Katie suggested. They may be able to help you with the kittens as an interim measure. But, you are finding out the hard way why it is so important to get ferals spayed - the cost of keeping up with the kittens far outweigh the cost of getting them spayed. Try to trap the remaining females and get them fixed to break this cycle. It is cheaper for you and better for the cats in the long run.

Thanking everyone for their advise. I called my neighborhood Humane Society and TNR program will definitely help out with those 4 female ferals. As far as the kittens...they will give me some eye creme for eye infections (they all have it) and when of age, they will help with adoption. I am guilty of it myself...but you shouldn't feed/take care of ferals unless you plan some TNR. If I had a bigger house, I would take them all in Thanks again.