2 Questions About Feral Cat Behavior & Care

[euph]

Question #1.    I've been feeding a female feral cat since last February.   Many days, she waits right outside of my house for her morning feeding.  She has never gotten any closer to me than a couple feet away.  If I would try to get any closer, she would retreat a few more feet away.   I've never pushed the idea of trying to pet her or trying to get any closer than what she is comfortable with.  During a few feeding times this week,  she's let out a few small hisses at me as I put down the food dish and talk softly to her.  She's never hissed at me before this week and I'm puzzled as to why she is now doing it.  I quickly leave the food and leave so as to not provoke anything.   Any thoughts about this?

Question #2.  This is a Momma cat.   I'm very certain she had her kittens on either March 25th or 26th...so they would be a little over 3 weeks old now.   She has them stashed somewhere in one of my neighbor's yards.   At what age will she start to bring them to the food dish?   I'm planning on trapping her and the kittens so that she can be spayed and returned here and hopefully rehoming the kittens.  (If they can't be rehomed then I will get them fixed and care for them here)

I don't want to do this any sooner than what's safe for her and the kittens.   Any thoughts on this? 

Thanks!

Euph

 

[ondine]

She's most likely hissing now because she is on high alert due to the kittens.  Everything seems to be a threat at this time, even someone she knows as well as you.

I would trap her when the kittens are about 5-6 weeks old.  Please try to locate the nest first, so you can find and count the kittens and make your plans to catch them once Mommy is trapped.  At 5-6 weeks, they will be able to eat mushy foods but you have to know where they are so they don't go hungry when she's trapped.

Can you get a humane trap to trap Mommy?  If so, feed her inside the unset trap for a week or so, to get her used to going into it for food.  Once your ready to trap her, set the trap.

You can get the kittens in a couple of ways.  You can use a large carrier or crate and loop a length of twine through the open side and tied to the door.  The twine should be long enough for you to back away to a hiding place.  Put food into the open carrier/crate and let the kits enter to eat.  Pull the twine and close the door.  Someone should be available to run secure the door while you are holding the twine taut.  Panicked kittens can be strong enough to push the door open.

DO NOT TRY TO CATCH THEM WITH YOUR HANDS.  They will have been taught by Mommy to fear humans and will bite and scratch.

Good luck!

 

[augie]

one of my outdoor cats, miss kitty, had kittens under my neighbor's bushes. she has a dog so the kittens needed to be moved pronto. i fixed a cardboard box for mom and the kittens on my patio by cutting a hole for her in one end. i overlapped the flaps and put them on top so i could check on the kittens once they were inside and also change the bedding for washing. the kittens barely had their eyes open (five of them). i put them in a big shoe box (for boots) and when they started mewing i waited for mom to hear them. when she came i held one in my hand as i walked back to my back patio so mom could see where i was going with her babies and i called to her the whole way, plus the baby i was holding in my hand kept mewing. mom followed at a distance. when i got the babies all settled and with food and water nearby for mom, i went in the house and mom came and got in the box. every day i would open the top of the box and talk to mom and was able to pick up each baby every day after a couple of weeks without mom thinking i was a threat. handling the kittens from an early age made them very sociable and easy to get adopted when the time came. because i was afraid she would move them, after about four weeks, one day when mom was in the box i put a folded towel over the door cutout and picked up the box with  mom and babies and put her in my back bedroom until the babies were litter trained and old enough to be adopted. miss kitty now eats and sleeps on my back porch. i was able to pick her up tonight and brought her in and put her in my back bedroom so i can take her to the vet tomorrow for her annual shots update. i'll put her back outside when we get home.

the other thing i did for the mom was get milk replacement powder from petsmart. this helped supplement her own milk and keep her strong. i used 1 level scoop of powder to 3 scoops of water and put it in a smallish glass jar so i could shake it up and get it mixed up very well. when the kittens started lapping, i would give them replacement milk also. i got them fixed and their shots when they were about 12 weeks old and then they went to the adoption center. broke my heart too.

best of luck and i hope you find your mamma cat's babies and are able to help her take care of them until they can be adopted.

 

[ritz]

Cat #1 could be hissing for any number of reasons, she could be in pain or pregnant.  If not already spayed, I'd try to trap her (before the momma cat or kittens).  Otherwise, I'd keep on doing what you're doing.  If Cat #1 is close geographically to Cat #2, Cat #1 could be reacting to the kittens.  I'd start leaving out more food, in case momma cat is coming around more often; she needs the calories to nurse her kittens.

Regarding the momma cat, Ondine offers good suggestions on how to trap these cats.  It is possible the Momma cat will bring the cats to you, it depends on how much she trusts you.  Kittens can eat soft foods around 3 to 4 weeks old. 

The general rule of thumb for spaying/neutering kittens is:  two pounds or two months old (the two pound rule seems to be more important than two months).