Feral Aggressive Momma 3 Kittens

[amyrose]

Hi all

I finally trapped what should be the last female in my colony. She had 4, now 3, kittens. One passed age 1week, much to my absolute heartbreak. They are now almost 2 weeks old.

She was kinda friendly when outside and being fed. However, now I have her crated I am struggling with her. She is frequently aggressive and it's getting worse the older the kittens get.

It's to the point that cleaning litter or giving food is dicing with death.

My question is, how young is too young to separate kittens from mum? I thought 4, however the rescue I volunteer with says longer. How?

Thoughts?

 

[Sarthur2]

amyrose

Kittens need to stay with mom until they wean completely to soft foods. This occurs at 5-6 weeks. Ideally they remain with mom for a minimum of 8 weeks.

How big is the crate? They may need more space, and mom probably has cabin fever, especially since she is feral.

Can you put them in a spare room to themselves? Or in a bathroom?

I sense that being shut in the crate may be the problem. Mom will probably calm down if out of the crate and in a room less confined. The kittens will need space to explore in a couple of weeks as well.

 

[red top rescue]

The ferals usually like to have a dark closet as a den. The kittens will work their way out as they get older and start to crawl and then walk. That's when you can start taming them and handling them. Usually mom will stay inside the closet and not attack you, especially since you have been the source of food and have never hurt the kittens. They are also at the age when their newly opened eyes should not be overwhelmed with bright light, so the dark of a cave is ideal.

 

[amyrose]

Thanks both. You're right. I will try moving their nest box so it's not facing the front. I wish I had a double-door crate, it's 46". The nest box is a sterilite box on it's side, lined with puppy pads. They ruined the blankets after a week or so.

Thing is, the kitten that died would likely still be in there if the box weren't facing the front. I might have noticed something wrong after a while but it was a horrible night to come home and find a little one had died. Just devastating. I suppose after the 1-week mark, odds are that the other kittens are doing alright. Their bellies usually look full now.

I don't know what changed to make her aggressive because she started out sort of just watchful and worried. Perhaps it was traumatic for her to have us remove the dead kitten? Either way, she really is making it difficult even to feed. She'll hiss, spit and come at me, often stopping to sniff then nibble at food before resuming her aggression. Gonna be a really long 3-4 weeks and I'm not looking forward to separating at all.

 

[Sarthur2]

Where is the crate? Is it in a room you can close off? I still think mom is unhappy being crated.

 

[red top rescue]

One thing I have used in the past with an aggressive cat is perfume. They are not fond of perfume so usually will back off if you spritz just a little if they are coming at you. When I worked at a boarding kennel one summer, that was the only way we could remove her box to dig it out without getting torn up. A little spritz of perfume as I approached the cage and she would back up and let me take out the litter box. Otherwise she would try to eat me. I didn't squirt it on her, or in her face, but rather around me, like a cloud.