Feral Kittens in Winter

[bwstv321]

I need some advice...

We had a cat living under our deck that we tried to TNR in late October. Instead of catching her, we caught 3 kittens that were apparently about a month old. We also discovered that there was a 4th kitten, which the mom cat took and moved elsewhere in the neighborhood. Mom still comes around every now and then. We keep food and water out for her. We also have an outdooor shelter for her if she ever wants it. She looks pregnant again too.

The 3 kittens have been living in a catio in our garage for 3 weeks. The catio is insulated and heated 24/7. They have also received their 8 week shots. Two are healthy and the 3rd has a limp paw and a damaged ear. We took him to the vet and his ear is recovering, but the paw injury is likely permanent. He is just as playful as the others, although a bit slower. Our vet estimates that they were born at the end of September.

Unfortunately we cannot bring them in our house due to severe allergies. However, they do get played with and held for at least an hour every day. They are not shy and seem to be adapting well.

We would like to release them, however we cannot get them all spayed/neutered until January. It seems inhumane to release them to the outdoors in January and are considering waiting until night time temperatures warmup to at least 50. However, this means them living in our garage for a few more months.

My underlying concern then is are they getting too comfortable inside the catio and will this inhibit their ability to survive outdoors when the time comes? Furthermore, is keeping them caged most of the day, for a few months, going to harm them? We wish we could bring them inside but it's just not feasible.

Any advice on how we should proceed would be much appreciated!

 

[Norachan]

Thank you for everything you are doing for these kittens. Are you prepared to keep feeding and caring for them as outdoor cats? Lots of us have cats that live in our back yard, garage or catio. If you are happy enough to provide food, water and shelter for these kittens they'll do far better than they would if let out and then left to fend for themselves.

What I would do is either make them a permanent catio or fence in the back yard so that they don't roam any further than that. If you Google catio ideas you'll see lots of examples of how to do that. Cat proof fencing can be attached to regular fencing to prevent the cats climbing out.

I think that as one kitten has a permanent paw injury it would be much better to keep them as catio or enclosure cats, rather than letting them roam

Kittens do learn feral survival skills outside. This usually consists of learning where to shelter, how to find food and what to avoid. Hunting skills come pretty easily to cats. I'm sure that the mother cat will have brought these kittens mice and birds to eat, so they will know what their prey is and how to hunt and kill it.

Avoiding dangers are also important, but you need to also think about how they know what to avoid. So a kitten that has witnessed one of it's siblings get hit by a car will know to avoid traffic and one that has been chased and narrowly avoided being bitten by a dog will learn to avoid areas where dogs live. These are pretty hard won skills. You need to think about whether it's worth leaving the kittens outside to take these risks. Most outdoor cats die before their first birthday and the average life expectancy of an outdoor cat is less than 5 years. (Compared to around 15 years old for an indoor cat) In my opinion it's not worth two kittens losing their lives so that one learns how to survive. They'd be much better off as enclosure only cats.

 

[di and bob]

Yes, I agree completely with the above. If you could somehow figure out an outdoor enclosure for them, even one of those chicken coops, it would keep them used to the outside and they wouldn't feel as caged. Then after they are neutered/spayed you can figure out what to do. Cats will come back to a heated hut outside, so if you decide to let them be outside cats, open the gate of their cage and let them explore when they are healed from the vets. Mama should still be caught and spayed or you will have a hundred kittens. Bless you for caring for them, it can bring heartache, but also brings MUCH more joy to a heart!

 

[bwstv321]

Thank you for everything you are doing for these kittens. Are you prepared to keep feeding and caring for them as outdoor cats? Lots of us have cats that live in our back yard, garage or catio. If you are happy enough to provide food, water and shelter for these kittens they'll do far better than they would if let out and then left to fend for themselves.

What I would do is either make them a permanent catio or fence in the back yard so that they don't roam any further than that. If you Google catio ideas you'll see lots of examples of how to do that. Cat proof fencing can be attached to regular fencing to prevent the cats climbing out.


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I think that as one kitten has a permanent paw injury it would be much better to keep them as catio or enclosure cats, rather than letting them roam

Kittens do learn feral survival skills outside. This usually consists of learning where to shelter, how to find food and what to avoid. Hunting skills come pretty easily to cats. I'm sure that the mother cat will have brought these kittens mice and birds to eat, so they will know what their prey is and how to hunt and kill it.

Avoiding dangers are also important, but you need to also think about how they know what to avoid. So a kitten that has witnessed one of it's siblings get hit by a car will know to avoid traffic and one that has been chased and narrowly avoided being bitten by a dog will learn to avoid areas where dogs live. These are pretty hard won skills. You need to think about whether it's worth leaving the kittens outside to take these risks. Most outdoor cats die before their first birthday and the average life expectancy of an outdoor cat is less than 5 years. (Compared to around 15 years old for an indoor cat) In my opinion it's not worth two kittens losing their lives so that one learns how to survive. They'd be much better off as enclosure only cats.

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, we are prepared to support them longterm as outside cats. Unfortunately our yard is not fenced in. We live on the edge of town where wildlife passing through our yard is a daily occurrence (deer, raccoons, skunks, fox, etc). I think an outdoor catio would work well -- and then at night (assuming they come back) place their food inside the catio and keep them locked up outside at night... at least for a few weeks or so.

I'm pretty confident they will be able to find mice/birds once outside. It seems you are confident that they will learn to hunt on their own. So that eases my worries. And if we're still providing food/water, they should be okay.

We will most likely keep them 100% indoors until March -- and then move them outside. Thanks again for your encouragement and reassurance!

 

[bwstv321]

Yes, I agree completely with the above. If you could somehow figure out an outdoor enclosure for them, even one of those chicken coops, it would keep them used to the outside and they wouldn't feel as caged. Then after they are neutered/spayed you can figure out what to do. Cats will come back to a heated hut outside, so if you decide to let them be outside cats, open the gate of their cage and let them explore when they are healed from the vets. Mama should still be caught and spayed or you will have a hundred kittens. Bless you for caring for them, it can bring heartache, but also brings MUCH more joy to a heart!

Thanks for your reply!

That's a good idea -- to setup a catio now and maybe place them outside for an hour or so as weather permits. It might helps us to draw the mom in too!

I have tried to no avail to catch the mom. She looks pregnant -- her belly is almost touching the ground -- and she is a very slender cat. I swear I have watched every TNR video on YouTube! Ha! She is one smart cookie. We're still actively trying to trap her. Fingers crossed. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Norachan]

Yes, we are prepared to support them longterm as outside cats. Unfortunately our yard is not fenced in. We live on the edge of town where wildlife passing through our yard is a daily occurrence (deer, raccoons, skunks, fox, etc). I think an outdoor catio would work well -- and then at night (assuming they come back) place their food inside the catio and keep them locked up outside at night... at least for a few weeks or so.

So at the moment they are living in your garage, is that correct? If you are thinking of making a catio could you consider making one big enough to be their permanent home? You might be able to attach it to the garage so they still have access to that and then can use the catio for some outside time. Or make a free standing catio that has shelters inside so they can live their comfortably.

If you have raccoons and foxes in your yard there is a good chance there will be coyotes passing through too. Leaving cat food around will attract the wildlife and this could put the cats in danger. I've had raccoons climbing my enclosure fence and coming in through the cat door at night to get the cat food. Luckily they don't bother the cats, but I don't have anything as big as cayotes around.

Keep trying to catch the mom. I did a lot of TNR and one mother cat had 4 litters in 2 years before I was finally able to get her spayed.

 

[Avery]

Thank you for taking care of these kittens! I understand that allergies prevent you from bringing them into your house (and you have gotten some great advice about keeping them outdoors) but since you are able to handle them could you find someone to adopt them as indoor cats? Are there any rescue organizations that could help? Or could you ask friends or relatives?