How Can I Find Mom's Kittens?

[Catlover579]

So I have been feeding a feral/stray cat for the past 3 months and I'v recently been suspecting she is pregnant. I'm not entirely sure but definitely seems like it.. She is a smaller cat and lately I've noticed her stomach has gotten fatter. Also she is coming to eat more and more often. So this is the problem, I live in a townhome complex near some houses and I'm not even entirely sure where the cat comes from. I know the general area she comes from but I don't know how far she travels to get to me. I assume she sleeps under someone's deck. I wonder if the home owner is aware there is a cat living under their deck and if they do i don't believe they feed her because she's always coming to me for food. Anyways, I really want to find the kittens once born and trap them. (I don't mean right away, I know they need mom for a while) but I don't want them to grow up feral. She already can barley feed herself let alone a bunch of kittens. I live in Michigan where we get brutal winters and makes me so sad knowing these cats are out there suffering in the cold. My issue is, I don't know I can do since I don't even know where she stays and even if I do , I can't go on others property! If only I had a deck she could stay under and have her kittens here I could help her so much more! But seems as where ever she is staying don't seem to care to even feed her. I'm worried there's not much I can do , but I figured it's worth a try if any of you have any ideas? Thanks!

 

[surya]

If the kittens haven't been born yet. It would be best to bring her into your apartment and let her have her babies inside where they will be safe. Then when the kittens are old enough, you should get her fixed.

 

[Catlover579]

If the kittens haven't been born yet. It would be best to bring her into your apartment and let her have her babies inside where they will be safe. Then when the kittens are old enough, you should get her fixed.

She is scared, I have not even been able to get close enough to pet her. She gets about 10 feet the closest and sometimes just stares at me while I talk to her sitting down but haven't been able to get closer than that. I also have a cat and a large dog.

 

[surya]

You could borrow a cat condo and keep her in that or keep her confined to a bathroom. And you could borrow a trap to catch her. You could ask a rescue group to loan you the cat condo and the trap. I did that with a feral cat. It is a lot of work, but it is not for long and it is rewarding to be able to save the babies. You have to keep your cat and dog separated from her. Or you could keep her in the bathroom.

 

[Kaylee Skylyn]

I agree she should be brought it before she has kittens.

Contact a local rescue and they can usually help you. Sometimes they can lend out traps or maybe they will come trap her and foster her if you are not able to yourself. If you want to do it yourself you can purchase live traps at most hardware stores. And often once trapped they turn out to be friendlier than expected. If she is not friendly then keep her in a spare room or kennel just until her kittens are weaned (4-6 weeks) and get her spayed before returning her.

Often many kittens will die if left outside. It is nearly impossible to find where she has them once born, she will be very secretive to protect the kittens, and you would have to wait until they are mobile and they MAY (or may not) come with her to the food (if they survive that long).

 

[FeebysOwner]

Get a drop trap, leave it open, and get her used to eating in there. If you set the food in there and she is hungry, she will likely go into it to get food. A little bigger sized trap would probably be better in terms of her going in it to eat. You can also start with the food a tad bit of ways in front of the trap, then move it just a bit each day until it is slightly in the trap, then back further in the trap.

Let her feed in it a few times, continuing what you are doing with talking to her from a far, letting her leave each time. Drop traps are manually handled, so you need to be there when she goes in far enough to close the door from a string/cord. You will have to ask around to the rescues/etc. you talk to about how far away can you be and successfully pull the trap cord to encase her.

Once she is in the trap, cover it so she can't see out. Then, take the trap to whatever set up you have for her - be that in your bathroom/or an area that you can close off with a door, with a large box and plenty of blankets inside the box. You can place her food/water in the room and a litterbox. You'll have to be careful when opening the door to feed her and check on her, so as not to let her escape - odds are she will be hiding in the box anyway. Keep extra towels/blankets on hand for when she gives birth, so she can hide the babies in them if that is what she wants. Plus, the room needs to be pretty warm once she has them - helps to stave off possible respiratory issues with the babies.

There's more, but this is a start... Keep us posted!!

 

[Catlover579]

Unfortunately I won't be able to bring the cat inside.. I don't have a spare room to keep her. I will try contacting shelters in my area to see if any of them can help keep her and kittens for a month but I doubt they would. I will try to follow her from a distance to see if I can find out where she is going.. if I can find out where them maybe I can contact the home owner and ask if I can leave a trap there once the kittens are 4 weeks and try to trap them.

 

[surya]

Another option is to get her fixed before the kittens are born. This can be hard to come to terms with, but there are millions of unwanted kittens killed in shelters every year.

 

[Kaylee Skylyn]

Try more than just the 'traditional' shelters. Search for local TNR groups in your town or see if there are any lost and found pet pages on facebook for your area. In my area I found posts on the local lost and found pets facebook page lead to a lot of volunteers that were willing to help trap and foster (or just trap and spay). It may not work but is worth a try....

 

[Catlover579]

Thank you!

 

[surya]

They usually don't have their nest too far away from where they get their food. So observe her from a distance and see if you can figure out where she is hanging out. She might be getting fed someplace else too. They get really hungry when they are pregnant.