Found 5 kittens & mom & need Help!

rreyno9656

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Hello. Yesterday morning, I noticed a few kittens playing around on our deck, and decided to put out a bowl of milk. I've since discovered that there are five kittens (about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of mom), plus the mother. Talking to the neighbors, I've discovered mom - who we've seen around before - is more or less a neighborhood barn cat that showed up this spring. Apparently she had the kittens under a deck a few doors down, but now they seem to have taken up residence under our deck. If my wife and I put food out, they'll come out and eat, but won't get near us. We wouldn't mind keeping a couple of them, but six is a bit much, as we don't have a ranch or anything like that.
What do we do? I know I could find a few people at work who would want some as we live in an area with a lot of farms, but I couldn't even get to them to give them away. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 

zissou'smom

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Cats and kittens do not need cow's milk, and it usually gives them diarrhea. If the kittens are old enough to eat solid food, they have probably been weaned, but they are still with their mom, so so far everything is good.
If you want to make friends with the family, continue putting out food for them, every day at the same time. Do not try to force contact with them.

Once they get used to you putting out food, sit far away somewhere else in the yard with a book or just sit quietly, and slowly move a little closer day by day.

Once they trust you, you can try touching the kittens if the mom will let you. What eventually needs to happen is that the mom cat is taken to the vet and spayed and given her shots, but you might need to trap her to do so. This would be most effective if you've already started caring for the kittens.

Do not give the kittens away for free to people you do not know well. They end up sometimes with people who won't take care of them, people who use them to train fighting dogs, people who sell them to animal testing labs, etc.

Hopefully you can keep a few of them! Any pictures?

Good luck with the socialization!
 
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rreyno9656

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Thank you very much for the advice. I was a bit worried that giving them any food might be bad - like messing with birds in a nest. Based on what you've said about the milk, I'll be sure to just stick with food and water.
Based on their size, and the fact that they've been weened, would you have a guess as to how old they might be? Also, if they do stick around, we are in a cold climate (northern IL), so what kind of shelter would they need in the winter?
 

zissou'smom

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Giving them food is okay if the mother also accepts it. However, you must consider feeding them outside to be a very temporary thing, unless you plan on having a colony of outdoor cats. Once you begin feeding these cats, you should keep feeding them until you can have the mother spayed and rehome the kittens, and then stop. It would not be the best situation to plan on them sticking around through winter as outdoor cats only. As young as these kittens are, they could very successfully be made into happy housecats. Their mom may not ever be one. They are not likely to all stay around for much longer than 10 or 12 weeks after birth, as cats are not pack animals. However, leaving them all outside with spaying/neutering them will result in a whole lot of homeless kittens. If you spay the mother and put her back outside, she'll likely move on. Cats do not usually have the attachment that we do to our children. If they live together, they can certainly become friends, but kittens eventually move on and the mother would have litter after litter after litter unless she's spayed.

In winter, cats need a warm building they can be in. Most housecats will not voluntarily go outside in the snow for more than a few minutes at a time. The kittens are still young enough that they could very easily become housecats. Also, by feeding them you are domesticating them. Which is not a bad thing, I bet they'd make wonderful pets for you.

Please consider letting a few of them be your pets. Outdoor cats have a lifespan of only 2 or 3 years, whereas indoor pets have one of 15-20 years. Indoor/outdoor pets are somewhere between that.
 

ldg

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Kitten information - scroll through the ages to see where your kittens land:

www.kitten-rescue.com

It can be very difficult even for a vet to determine.

If you are going to adopt some of them, it's best to leave them with mom until at least 8 weeks. Just keep putting out food and water for them.

If you want to work on socializing them while they're still outside, the basic trick is to just let them get used to your presence. Do not try to approach them, do not try to reach out to them. Just get nearer and nearer to them over time.

If you want several of them for pets, you'll need to trap them and get them to a vet before you bring them inside.

It is safe to spay/neuter kittens as young as seven weeks old. Most vets, however, have no experience working on such small animals and won't do it. Our vet uses the baby teeth falling out as a guide - this usually happens at four months. But for the ferals that we are trapping, sterilizing and releasing, they'll spay and neuter them young.

If you decide to leave them outside and not try to get the others adopted out, you need to decide whether you are going to commit to this or not. If you are, continue feeding. But they all need to be trapped and sterilized so they can not propogate more homeless cats. This includes mom.

If you are not going to commit to this, then simply stop feeding them now. Better to let them learn how to hunt and to learn which garbage is "food" and which is not if they're going to be on their own.

If you are going to commit (even if it's to a few inside and the rest outside), you'll need to think of the outside cats as a feral colony, not as outdoor pets. They may end up becoming friendly, pet-like cats, but that takes time, and there's no guarantee they stick around. Unlike our indoor pets, if they need to see a vet (which happens - they get sick just like other cats), they'll most likely have to be trapped, vs. indoor cats which can just be picked up and put in a crate.

We always rescue the kittens and find homes for them (and we have them sterilized and vaccinated before adopting them out). It is easy enough to build a shelter for them in winter (they may not use it).

Please be aware that if you do anything that seems threatening to mom, she'll move the nest again. But if they're almost half the size of mom, it's probably time to bring the few inside that you want to keep as pets. Again - this is probably best done with a trap.

What you may want to do is put the food you're putting out into a crate, and let them get used to eating inside of something.

Trapping hints are here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16045

If you want to find a shelter in your area that may help, use this link:

http://www.pets911.com/organizations/organizations.php

Type in your zipcode and let your fingers do the walking! Even if you decide to keep some of the kittens, you can call these places to see if they know of low-cost spay/neuter services in your area, or if they have or know where you can borrow a trap.

You can also use the yellow pages to call around to local vets to see if they know of low-cost spay/neuter programs or have a trap you can borrow, or know of a shelter, organization or person that can help. All of the vets around here know to call us when they get a call like that!

If you decide to trap and adopt - whether it's adopt out or keep - go for it. You may have to foster a few you're planning to adopt out for a little while. But if you trap mom, just make sure you continue trapping until you've got all the kittens. In our experience, mom cats usually disappear after being released after being sterilized, so if the kittens aren't 12 weeks old, they won't have been fully prepared to care for themselves.

I think you're sweethearts for wanting to help these kittens! It's just that caring for cats - even if they're feral - is a commitment, and no matter what you decide, just make sure you think it all the way through first. It is much better to do nothing than to partially do something and then stop.

Of course, we'd love to help you find all the resources you need to get them all spayed and neutered, and to help you socialize kittens you decide to keep, and to help you get adopted out the kittens you decide not to keep. Just let us know what your questions are! TCS is a great resource.




All my best,

Laurie
 
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rreyno9656

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Well, after I got everyones kind advice, the cats all up and left. Mom came around one more time, but that was it. I figured they'd moved on for good, and then the neighbor told us they were back under her mother's deck down the street (where they were first spotted).
The neighbor lady got a trap from the county today,and I helped her set it, with the intention of putting the food in it tomorrow morning (didn't want to wake up to a racoon!). I wasn't back 20 minutes from helping her set it, and I get a call that one is caught and another is in her sunroom. I caught the sunroom one in a carrier and brought them both back home, and have them (with food, water, box & blanket) in our shed. Now I need some further advice.
I've read that they should be confined for a few days (don't know how long though), and that I need to take them to be fixed and get shots. We aren't going to bring them inside - my wife is desperately allergic, but I'd like to keep them around the yard. My only concern is that mom and the other 3 are only a half a block away, so I don't want to set them loose too soon. So any advice on how long to confine them before taking them to the vet and bringing them back would be great. I'll get pictures as soon as I can.
 

malena

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Please trap the other ones also and neuter them. It will give them a longer and better life - vild or tame. I don't know how it is in your area but here the vet keeps them for two days and when they come back they can move eat and drink and in another couple of days they are completely okay - even females.
For the house outside it should be enough with with an isolated rabbitcage, just big enough for food and sleep if the winter isn't to cold. If you have hard winters they need a bigger home where they can spend time playing. They need to be tame before you can let them free otherwise they will run back to mama. This will take a while and the key is playing with them. The younger they are the easier it is.
If you have a little barn or storage house - that will do. See to that they have a dark small place to crawl in to where they feel safe.

My ex-husband was very allergic when he met me. I had cats so he had to take medication to be able to live with me. As the years went by he could take less and less medicine and today (twelve years later) he is living alone with five cats, without medicine and they all sleep in his bed. I know that this isn't always the case but often.
Good luck.
 

StefanZ

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Good you have people prepared to give them homes. But unless these people understands how to work with semiferals, it wouldnt be no good to anyone to give them semiferal kitten when they are waiting for a tame kitten...

So willy nilly YOU must do most of the taming and fostering. And good if they have their siblings near, cats do learn much from mom and each other.

Of course, if the new owners have a friendly homecat it is excellent. Both taming and fostering will get much quicker than.

The kittens will probably not be entirely tame when they are going to the new family. Prepare them so they know they must proceed some, and the cats may be always somewhat shy to strangers... Give them too adresse to us here. We will help them.

It may be a idea to let them write on a contract... So you will be sure they will do their best.... A contract may be instead of purchase money.
(many people thinks: If it is free it is worthless, therefore: either purchase money OR a contract, best both)

Good luck!
 
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rreyno9656

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Things seem to be going well with the two we have. The neigbor lady caught two more after we got our two, and they were taken to a no kill shelter. She is going to keep mom and the 5th kitten.
I've got them confined in our shed - 10 x 18 - in the backyard. They seem to like all the places to hide and jump around in there. Good thing I don't listen well when the wife wants it cleaned out
. I'm keeping them in plenty of food, water, clean litter, etc. They seem to be getting used to having me in there several times a day. They ususally hide, but both will allow you to pet them if you are very slow and don't make sudden moves. We are having quite a heat wave though, so I'm not trying to make them move around or play too much. I think I'll be able to pick them up soon and see if they are boys or girls.
I guess my only other question is should I take them to a vet as soon as I can pick them up, and once back from the vet, should I still keep them confined for a while longer?

Thanks again for all the great advise thus far.
 

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Originally Posted by rreyno9656

Things seem to be going well with the two we have. The neigbor lady caught two more after we got our two, and they were taken to a no kill shelter. She is going to keep mom and the 5th kitten.
I've got them confined in our shed - 10 x 18 - in the backyard. They seem to like all the places to hide and jump around in there. Good thing I don't listen well when the wife wants it cleaned out
. I'm keeping them in plenty of food, water, clean litter, etc. They seem to be getting used to having me in there several times a day. They ususally hide, but both will allow you to pet them if you are very slow and don't make sudden moves. We are having quite a heat wave though, so I'm not trying to make them move around or play too much. I think I'll be able to pick them up soon and see if they are boys or girls.
I guess my only other question is should I take them to a vet as soon as I can pick them up, and once back from the vet, should I still keep them confined for a while longer?

Thanks again for all the great advise thus far.
Yes...they need to be seen by a vet....and brought UTD on shots....if they are old enough, they should also be spayed/neutered. They should not be allowed to roam outdoors until they have received all their shots and have been spayed/neutered...so you may need to continue to confine them for a while longer.

Katie
 

catsknowme

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What wonderful news about the kittens & mom all having a chance at a REAL future
Definitely keep the kits inside, and if possible, consider making them a fenced-in, outside play area that will protect them from dogs & other predators, such as raccons, for daytime outings. If you were going to keep them inside, then I'd recommend inside only at all times.Congratulations on your new additions! If you can, please post pics!
 
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