I'm not sure what to do if anything. To make a long story short a cat outside had 4 kittens, my husband found them and he thinks 2 were still born. The mother is around so he thought she would take care of it. He looked again today and the 2 were still there and another had died so he took care of them. There is one left and he didn't want to leave her sitting on them like that. When he went over the mother didn't go over to watch him or anything. We're not sure if we should intervene or just keep an eye on things and keep our fingers crossed. Any advice would be wonderful
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New Cat Mom Lost 3 Out Of 4 Kittens
- Thread starter Jessli410
- Start Date
Here is a website you can look at for a lady that has extensive experience saving orphaned kittens. I do not have any experience. Hopefully this can get you started until someone with experience can provide more advice. I am going to post the link to this site.
Saving Kittens
Saving Kittens
I agree, you should bring the kitten inside and raise it yourself.
Is the mother cat friendly? Are you feeding her?
Is the mother cat friendly? Are you feeding her?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
Yes the kitten is alive and doing well 
after I posted this I went to look at her and the mother was actually with her and cleaning her. I stayed with them for a while and the kittens eyes are open and she was up and walking around, so I let them be for a while and kept checking on them every hour or so. Any time I went the mother was either with her or darted over as soon as I started walking towards their area
after I posted this I went to look at her and the mother was actually with her and cleaning her. I stayed with them for a while and the kittens eyes are open and she was up and walking around, so I let them be for a while and kept checking on them every hour or so. Any time I went the mother was either with her or darted over as soon as I started walking towards their area
Good! Does anyone feed this cat? Is she stray?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #13
The mother is friendly, she actually seems excited to see me at this point. She watches me closely with the baby but does let me check her out. She is fed, don't know how it started but there's a bunch of cats in the area and my FIL has always had food on the porch for them. Even the neighbors give left overs to them in their tree fort.
It’s good she’s being fed!
Can you get her spayed soon so she doesn't continue to have litter after litter?
Can you get her spayed soon so she doesn't continue to have litter after litter?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #15
That would be awesome!
If she is friendly, can you bring her inside? If the baby gets much older and she moves the nest, you risk the kitten going feral. Bringing them inside will ensure 2 less homeless kitties who are unfixed/unvaccinated. Plus, sometimes the babies get sick as the immunity they got from mama's milk wears off; a round of antibiotics can be life-saving as can flea drops (no Hartz or Sargeants) & wormer Once they are tame and fixed, they can go back outside.
Bless you for looking out for the little family - you are a true cat guardian.
Bless you for looking out for the little family - you are a true cat guardian.
Yes, I agree. If momma is friendly, its not that big trouble to bring her and the surving kitten inside. This way, it will be much easier for you to foster and socialize this kitten, into a normale friendly kitten easy to find adoption home for.
And momma? When she is spayed and the kitten adopted - you will decide, if she too can be adopted somewhere, or if she will just be TNR. Not so pleasant with a friendly cat to let it be homeless again, but as she apparently did managed before on her own, she will manage after spaying too. Especielly if the neigbours will continue to help her some.
As the kitten had opened his eyes, its prob around 10 days. Or even more. In the first post I got the impression it was almost newborn... Even if the basic advices and recipes for emergency saving are the same.
And momma? When she is spayed and the kitten adopted - you will decide, if she too can be adopted somewhere, or if she will just be TNR. Not so pleasant with a friendly cat to let it be homeless again, but as she apparently did managed before on her own, she will manage after spaying too. Especielly if the neigbours will continue to help her some.
As the kitten had opened his eyes, its prob around 10 days. Or even more. In the first post I got the impression it was almost newborn... Even if the basic advices and recipes for emergency saving are the same.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #19
I think I can get them inside, my biggest concern is that there's 5 indoor/outdoor cats that don't seem very friendly towards the mother, one of which is the queen. I haven't seen them be aggressive but they don't play or sleep with her like they do each other even before the kittens. I'd really like to try I just don't want any of them to get hurt, and nd there's only a small part of the house I can bring them cause my FIL "hates" cats (Even though he's fed them for years). So any tips on the adjustment would be great.
And I'm so sorry I made it seem so dire in my first post, the way my husband explained it sounded so bleak. The surviving kitten was literally sitting on her siblings and he said she was so scared looking and looked so small. When I saw her eyes were open and she was walking I realised it was just the whole scene he had to take in.
And I'm so sorry I made it seem so dire in my first post, the way my husband explained it sounded so bleak. The surviving kitten was literally sitting on her siblings and he said she was so scared looking and looked so small. When I saw her eyes were open and she was walking I realised it was just the whole scene he had to take in.
Good update! A smaller area will be much easier for her to adjust to - with other cats around, she will need a smaller territory to "defend". Cats typically like a small area initially, to establish as a base camp, before expanding their boundaries - this is why you often see scared kitties staying in the litterboxes at the shelter. Are you able to keep the other cats away from mama kitty's area inside? If not, there may be some fighting but typically the intruder cats realize that the maternal instincts will be the deciding factor in the brawl & give up quickly. I would consider giving her a large cardboard box "cave" with a nest of blankets or towels topped with a puppy pad or rags and only one entrance hole.
