Feral Kittens - Trying to Reunite

[MouseQueen]

Hello!

I’m brand new here, looking for some advice.

I live in the country and two feral kittens showed up. They are not in common, the neighbour seems to keep a couple for barn cats, and there have always been two that explore our property.

We left the kittens, assuming they’ll find their way home. A couple days later, I found them locked in our chicken coop though, making it unlikely for the mother to find them (the mother wasn’t inside)

I took them inside to feed them and such, and after a couple days noticed two cats exploring our property more intensely. I tried to release the kittens near them so they could see, but the day past and the adults didn’t come near.

I then set a trap and caught one of the adults, it breastfed the kittens when put together so I figured it was the mother. My concern is the adult cat did not seem interested in the kittens at all, besides letting them breastfeed - she was not protective, was not comforting, but the kittens were all over her. I’m scared the kittens were away from her for too long and they lost her scent (they were apart for around 3-4 days), or maybe they’re too old for her to bother (they weight about 1.3 lbs, is that 6 weeks?)

Anyway, I’ve put all the cats together in a kennel, took it toward our property end where the cats usually hang out, opened it up, and took off. After a few seconds the mom took off, stopped, saw me, and then continued walking away (she was on her terf now). I’ve been observing from a distance and the kittens are just exploring around the kennel, but no more sign of the mom or any adult cats.

What should I do at this point? Should I leave them indefinitely? Should I bring them back at night (we have coyotes here) and then put them out again in the day? Or should I just bring them home permanently?

I won’t go into details, but unfortunately we cannot contact the neighbours. I also originally wanted to get them fixed but since I know the adult cats belong to the neighbours and I cannot reach them, I felt this would be unethical. I am still not positive the kittens belong to one of their cats though, it’s just most likely. Any thoughts please? My ultimate goal is for kittens and mom to be together, but also don’t want the kittens to die.

Should I keep trying to reunite them? Should I keep them until they’re old enough to fix then just release them into the neighbours yard? Or should I just keep them?

Sorry for such a long post! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I really know nothing about cat behaviour so don’t know what’s normal.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi,

Or should I just keep them?

If at all possible, bring them in and if you can, keep them

 

[di and bob]

If she allowed them to nurse, she is most likely the mother. At 6-8 weeks old mamas definitely start to wean them and even box their ears to keep them away. If the kittens keep trying, mamas can seem to get mean. She is most likely pregnant again. I would neuter them and keep them if at all possible, they are invaluable as mousers and make nice companions. You can set them up with a safe place to go to keep away from coyotes. I even have heated huts for mine for the winter in a garage with the door up slightly. I'm sure your neighbors wouldn't mind, they will most likely go to visit as they get older. cats have 2-3 litters a summer. but you could try to ask them. Bless you for taking care of them.......

 

[Norachan]

Hi M MouseQueen Thank you so much for taking care of them.

Yes, I agree with what others have said. It sounds like the kittens are ready to leave their mother. Keep the kittens, make sure they stay indoors or only have supervised outdoor access and get them both spayed or neutered.

As far as the adult cats go I'd get any that wander over to your property spayed and neutered too. When I was getting all the feral cats in my neighbourhood fixed I trapped a few cats that I knew came from a local farm. I went ahead and got them spayed anyway. It's very unlikely that anyone is going to object to barn cats being fixed, if they come onto your property and you're doing TNR free roaming barn cats count as feral IMO.

I figured any cats that were hungry enough to come over to my house and go into my trap needed all the help they could get and getting them spayed was the best I could do for them.

Please keep us updated.