New feral momma cat ambivalent about her four kittens

[queenofspades]

I recently trapped a feral cat that I’ve been feeding for the last six months - when I realized she was pregnant I jumped into action and trapped her 2/9/2023. Last weekend on the 18th she gave birth to four kittens in an XL crate with a heater, bedding, litter box, etc.

She is very fearful but mostly timid, hasn’t been actively aggressive, only hisses and growls if I get too close to her. I had set up a hammock in the crate, and of course she said to give birth in the hammock. After two kittens had fallen out of the hammock ( I heard their cries and came and retrieved them both times) in the first few days, I got in there and lowered it down into a cat bed for the kittens’ safety.

She allows me to touch the kittens in these moments, and I check on them every day. She’s usually nearby but not always with them in their nest. I’m worried about how much time she’s spending with them and whether they are getting adequate nourishment.
I’m trying to minimize my interaction not so it’s not to stress her out further. But she’s not a big cuddler with the babies. They are clean, and they do appear to be fed, but she’s spending a lot of time away from them.

My question is should I get a bottle and nursing solution and supplement their food since she’s so infrequently nursing them as far as I can tell? Or should I just put a camera in there and get the actual data of what’s going on without stressing her out further first? I’ve been super concerned and I’d appreciate any thoughts and insights on this. I want to make sure these kittens are healthy and tame and mama just doesn’t seem to know what she’s doing, or maybe she’s just ambivalent about being a momma…?

I’d appreciate any thoughts and perspective.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, the best way to know how they're doing is to weigh them daily, if possible, so you can see if they're gaining weight, and a camera is a great idea

 

[queenofspades]

Thank you so much for that idea! I have a little food scale - It’ll probably be perfect for this. If only I could figure out how to tell them apart… They’re all black and so far they’re just indistinguishable! I am ordering a camera on Amazon now

 

[queenofspades]

Hi, the best way to know how they're doing is to weigh them daily, if possible, so you can see if they're gaining weight, and a camera is a great idea

Do you think it’s advisable to have the supplemental milk bottle and food on hand just in case? How long do kittens nurse before they can eat kitten formula/food?

 

[Furballsmom]

have the supplemental milk bottle and food on hand just in case?

It might be good to have.

Weighing Newborn Kittens (and How This Could Save Their Lives) - TheCatSite Articles

How long do kittens nurse before they can eat kitten formula/food?

This has some useful information;
The Essentials Of Kitten Nutrition - TheCatSite Articles

 

[fionasmom]

Kitten Lady
This site might be a big help to you in dealing with this situation in general.

You certainly have done yourself proud in trying to help this family. I have seen mother ferals who did not take great care of their kittens, but from your description this mother appears to be in a gray area. The kittens are not abandoned and she is feeding them.

Getting the camera set up is a great idea as it will allow her more undisturbed time and let you see if this moves into a more critical situation. Since she does let you handle them, the scale will also be a help.

I have had highly feral moms who let me handle kittens with no problem.

Nursing supplies are not expensive and you might keep a small, starter amount on hand in case you feel that she is rejecting the kittens.

 

[JcatT77]

Thank you so much for that idea! I have a little food scale - It’ll probably be perfect for this. If only I could figure out how to tell them apart… They’re all black and so far they’re just indistinguishable! I am ordering a camera on Amazon now

You could put a little piece of different colored ribbon, or yarn, around their necks to help tell them apart. Tape the ends instead of tying them so they will fall off easily if the need should arise! And make sure to change it as they grow They are adorable, Mama included. Great job to you for helping them!

 

[maggie101]

My cat Coco's mom was very attached to them. When Coco gave birth she would feed but not always close. Sometimes watch from my neighbors porch

 

[queenofspades]

Update - she was in the new nest with the kittens every time I checked on her yesterday. I will install the cameras for a less stressful way to monitor (and more ease of mind on my part!) without stressing her out.
If she’s not in there today again I’ll pick up the formula, the bottle and nipples.…..! But based on her behavior yesterday things are looking up substantially for all involved. She wasn’t hiding in the litter box at all….at least when I checked.

 

[Furballsmom]

If you're considering having to handle the kittens to feed them, you will want to start weighing them now.

They might be doing just fine and not require extra feeding, plus you need a benchmark point of weight if you do start feeding them

 

[queenofspades]

Understood. I will try to get a baseline for them all today as well as fashion some lightweight yarn collars with taped ends to tell these four little monkeys apart!

Thanks so much for

 

[queenofspades]

A baseline weight I mean…

 

[queenofspades]

Update: she’s been either in the nest with them or right next to it for the past few days, which is an improvement. The kittens are visibly growing and I managed to get weights and some identification on each of them finally today - the taped fabric collars yesterday lasted less than a few hours!

Kitten markings and weights 2/28/2023

Blackie (all black no white star) 8.5 oz

Dot #1 (larger white dot) 8.9oz

Speck AKA Dot #2 (smaller white dot) 9.2 oz

Star (largest white chest dot) 8.9 oz

 

[Furballsmom]

This is fantastic, good on you!

 

[queenofspades]

So mama got a little more pissy and hissy with me in the last few days - she actually reached out from her litter box dungeon and swiped at me as I showed her the food bowl was full. I wasn’t harmed, but I took it as a warning of how close I can get to her. As a result of this and how stressed she was that first week, I’ve let her be more alone with the kittens and watch from the kitten camera…. But today when I went to pick them all up, all of the little tiny two week old kittens are now baby hissing at me. When I pick them up they’re a little bit more screaming and squiggly when I handle them.
So the question is: Do I up my handling of them on the daily, wearing protective gear for myself when I’m in and out of the cage? It seems like that might be the next necessary thing to do given they are babies of a feral mama and they’re only two weeks old…?

Am I correct in guessing that the time to start actively working with them should start now, since they’ve survived their first two weeks of life and put on quite a bit of weight…?

 

[queenofspades]

I was so startled that all four of them suddenly became hissing baby kittens just now that I didn’t weigh them yet today but I’m considering just lifting the nesting bed out with them all together - all four of them - and then weighing them one by one, with her safely inside the crate. This will give them more comfort and be safer for me rather than going in and out back and forth for each of them, since she is growling in response to their cries when I lifted one out alone….

I’m also reconsidering how to organize the crate knowing that they’re going to become little nonstop hooligans very soon. I had created a little platform area for her to get up on as well as that hammock (!) but clearly if they’re babies and they could jump and then fall that’s not so good. So I’m thinking about removing the two stories and replacing it with a cardboard climbing scratch box and just clearing out the space so there’s a little bit more open area since, well, kittens…..

Thoughts?

Thank you all so much for helping me through this…feral momma is so different than a tame momma.

 

[Alldara]

I think you should handle them but you'll need to protect yourself from mama. They're just copying her.

Weighing will still be important. As she's recovering and feeling better, mama cat may begin to show more feral tendencies. In rare cases, she will watch you treat her kittens kindly and begin to trust you a little.

Try to cuddle, play and love on them as much as possible. Get them used to you. You can towel them up a bit or use a heat pad on yourself to coax them into liking you.

Does the space for her allow you to set up places where she can hide from you but the kittens can explore and come to meet you? That might be helpful as they get older.

Here are two videos you might find helpful:

 

[Margot Lane]

You can also Google “how to tell kittens apart using lipstick,” but I don’t know if it works with ferals….oh! i see you figured it out. carry on.

 

[queenofspades]

I think you should handle them but you'll need to protect yourself from mama. They're just copying her.

Weighing will still be important. As she's recovering and feeling better, mama cat may begin to show more feral tendencies. In rare cases, she will watch you treat her kittens kindly and begin to trust you a little.

Try to cuddle, play and love on them as much as possible. Get them used to you. You can towel them up a bit or use a heat pad on yourself to coax them into liking you.

Does the space for her allow you to set up places where she can hide from you but the kittens can explore and come to meet you? That might be helpful as they get older.

Here are two videos you might find helpful:

 

[queenofspades]

Thank you so much for the videos. I’ll check them both out. The space allows me to put other hidey holes but she doesn’t like any of them except for the litter box which is positioned at the front of the crate for ease of access and removal with its back to me/the front of the cage. I think this is why she likes it because I can’t look into it at her?

So maybe I need to put another hidey hole further in the back that I can’t look in on her - for her peace of Mind.

I was thinking the upper length Kevlar gloves were overkill but now I’m very grateful I bought them.