Adopting feral queen and her 3 kittens

[sweetlokibeast]

Advice needed:
About 2 months ago we found a feral mother cat who had birthed 3 kittens in our backyard. The kittens looked like they were around 4 weeks old. We decided to care for the family by setting out food, water, and a litter box. We patiently waited for the mother to get used to us, allowing us to eventually pet her and finally allowing us to pet her kittens. When the kittens appeared to be older than 8 weeks, eating well on their own, and using the litter box, we trapped momma and took her to get spayed. Unfortunately she had already become pregnant, so we terminated the pregnancy and moved forward. during her spay, we prepped a space in our home and brought the kittens in. We brought momma cat home and kept her in the garage that night, then introduced her to the new space where her kittens were. Needless to say she's being very very vocal but she seems to be improving (today is the second day post-op) she's eating and being friendly and allowing the kittens to nurse.
I would like to know several things: is it wrong for us to keep mama cat and kittens together right now? We intend to keep all of them so vet visits are in our future. Do we try to bring them in all at once or separately? Is it futile to adopt mama cat? She seems to be still pretty upset (lots of meowing. No other signs of stress... Just lots of loud meowing) but she's definitely friendly with us and wants petting etc.
I know we probably made some mistakes already but just want to make things comfy for our new kitties. Kittens are doing great, aside from fleas.

 

[Sarthur2]

You have just done a wonderful thing by befriending a stray, having her spayed, and keeping her and her kittens together! Bless you!

She is probably meowing loudly because she is confused about what has happened and the new environment she finds herself in. But she now has a home with food, love, and her kittens, so she should begin to calm down soon.

Bring them all in when you feel comfortable doing so. I think if you move mama and kittens in, you should set them up in a room, such as your bedroom, with food, water, and litter pan, and close them in for a good couple of weeks, with plenty of love and attention on your part. Eventually, mom should accept her new situation, and come to love and appreciate it. She is just now unsure what is going on, and her female hormones need to dissipate. Let us know how it goes. Again, I think you have done a wonderful service!

PS: It can't hurt to plug in a Felliway diffuser in your room for its naturally calming effects! Good luck!

 

[Sarthur2]

I just re-read your post. Kittens are old enough now for you to put Advantage on their necks for fleas. Use the Kitten size for 2-5 pounds. It's not wrong to keep them all together at all. In fact, it is a good thing. It's not clear to me: are the kittens in your house now? Are they socializing with humans well? If so, bring mama in with them right away, but in a separate room together. It should all go well.

I think you may have meant bringing all kittens in to the vet together? It's fine, whatever works for you. Just don't let mama cat outside. I just took 2 kittens to be neutered, and the other 2 a week later. That was easier for my mama kitty to handle, if that's your question.

 

[sweetlokibeast]

Oh Thank you that's a relief. Yes, all kittens and mama are inside in their own room. Mama has been coming and going though. Inside and outside I mean. we bought a plug-in pheromone calmer thingy. Not sure what brand it is. We have revolution ordered but in the meantime we were thinking about overnight shipping some capstar. I may have some advantage leftover from my previous kitty.
Thank you for the tip about bringing two at a time to the vet. The idea of loading up four cats was a little overwhelming, even if 3 of them are small

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• sweetlokibeast
• Jun 16, 2015

 

[Sarthur2]

How sweet! Yes, two at a time is easier. Mama sounds like she is doing well. Keep up the good work!

 

[sweetlokibeast]

Ok so it has been 9 days since mama cat was spayed. Two of the three kittens are still pretty shy and run under the bed when approached. Third one totally cool w us. However, mama cat still extremely noisy. She calls for the kittens to (I assume) corral them but they are getting to the point that they ignore her in favor of playing/food/couch cushion etc. she does this all day long and throughout the night. we woke up at around 1 am to her meowing loudly in the living room whilst the kittens were sleeping on various furnishings near her.
We don't know what to do to quiet her. She doesn't seem distressed otherwise.

 

[sweetlokibeast]

I should add that although we set mama cat and kittens in they're own dark space, complete with bed for underneath hiding, we allow them to roam the house. Is this our mistake? Should we close them in?

 

[Sarthur2]

Hmm. Since mama was pregnant again when spayed, she is probably lactating and still hormonal, though it seems the meowing should begin to become less soon. She is calling her kittens so much because she is geared for nursing a newborn litter, I suppose. This previous litter of hers no longer needs her. I imagine she is confused.

Sounds like everyone is happy with having the run of the house!

I hope your mama cat's milk dries up soon and she begins to settle down. It takes a good two weeks for milk to dry up though. If any kittens still nurse her it will take longer.

I suggest you try to handle the shy kittens as soon as possible so they become socialized. You may have to sit on the floor with a string toy to get them out from under the bed.

 

[sweetlokibeast]

I see. I do see the kittens nursing occasionally. Does it make sense to shut them into their "den" and not let them roam at this point or will it only prolong her milk production? Would it help to separate her from the kittens?

 

[Sarthur2]

Since they have been roaming free for quite some time now, and are now a good three months old, I'm not sure what it is you wish to accomplish at this point by closing them up in one room.

You could separate mama kitty, but she will probably be more miserable than ever. I would tend to leave them be. Let her get through whatever she needs to get through. I have a mama and four 14-week-old kittens, and she still calls/talks to them all the time. She was spayed when they were 8 weeks old, and they still try to nurse. She's not completely dried up yet either. I know her middle of the night meowing is annoying, but she won't do it forever.

Do you have plans to spay/neuter the kittens soon before they go into heat?

 

[sweetlokibeast]

Poor mama kitty all hormonal:-(
Good advice. Thank you. I was thinking maybe by closing all of them up together it would help mama feel more secure.
And yes, we plan to spay neuter very soon. I know it should be done by 6 months right? We estimate the kittens to be around 10-11 weeks old right now...

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, no later than six months. You can start taking them in any time now. The procedure on the males is very simple, and they will resume playing almost immediately. Female kittens will be playing again in a day. I wouldn't wait until the last minute!