Relocating Feral Mom + Kittens Indoors

[Flatbush_TNR]

Hello, this is my first post here - I read most of the similar threads and got some really helpful info (thanks!!), but just wanted to post my situation to confirm our approach is correct. My wife and I do TNR in Flatbush, Brooklyn and are trapping/caring for a few colonies in our neighborhood, but this is a new one....

A friend found a cat nursing three newborn kittens (they look like 1-2 weeks old) in his basement. He put some food and water out, but the house is being renovated due to fire/smoke damage last year and a construction crew will need to get down there in a week or so. So the cats can't stay put and they need to be trapped eventually anyway for S/N and socialization for the kittens.

So our thought is to carefully trap and relocate the cats to a warm, quiet room in our house (I may have some questions about that trapping process as well - right now we are just going to get her comfortable eating out of an open/unset trap for a day or so). We are researching all the stuff to buy to set that recovery room up and I'll address that later, but here's my main question: Assuming mom is feral, should we transfer the family to a large dog crate that is lined with blankets, pads, litter box, etc. inside the room to let them adjust for a few days first? Any suggestions on the best setup for a feral mom getting settled indoors? We'll do Feliway in the room as well and will follow the other suggestions around putting a sheet over the cage, etc.

I'd like for them to be able to lounge in comfort in the "VIP" room but also don't want her flipping out or hurting herself by trying to escape. Any idea how long mom might need to stay in the cage? Do you just feel it out, and does she get more comfortable after a few days of seeing there is steady food and no danger?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Sarthur2]

I would leave her in the dog crate for a few days to see how she is doing.

 

[catsknowme]

I agree with leaving her in the crate for a few days - it will be crowded with the litter box but you can also put in a smallish box with a doorway cut-out, for her to hide the kittens in a 'cave'. Bless you for looking out for that little cat family - she may not realize it at first but you are a real blessing to them! Please keep us updated on how it goes

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

Thanks! Thankfully we were able to trap the mom and put the kittens (four actually) in a carrier to bring them over to a safer space at our house. They are older than I originally thought, maybe 3-4 weeks (walking around a bit, but not sure if they have teeth yet). All set up with the carrier inside a larger dog crate. Mom is still a bit stressed and panting occasionally. Three of the kittens look pretty healthy and one black kitten is smaller and a little runty, wiped the gunk out of their eyes and we're watching that one to make sure it's getting fed. If not I assume we should try to give it KMR tomorrow?

Otherwise they have a pretty good setup for now!

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, looks good!

Mom is naturally frightened. Hopefully she'll calm down soon. She doesn't know it but she's in good hands! Is mom eating well?

You can give mom a dish of KMR daily as well. She needs the calcium. It helps with panting.

You may want to go ahead and begin supplementing the runt.

Keep us posted!

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

ok thanks! will do. will read up on feeding and pick up some KMR and start today, never done that before but I know there are some threads here i can read. we think the mom is feral, so reaching in and getting the runt often will be challenging with the crate door being open - not sure how to handle that or how the mom will react. the runt is in the very back of the carrier right now.

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

update - mom and squad have been safely indoors for about 8-9 hours now. mom has calmed down but she looks pretty lethargic. i have a camera set up so i can monitor them without disturbing, will post some photos and video here soon so you can see them. two concerns -

1. i only saw her for the first time this afternoon, but i haven't seen mom eat any food (Purina kitten dry food or Friskies pate) or drink any from the saucer of KMR since she was set up in here. she ate some stinky sardines and tuna that were in her trap today. will pick up some gerber chicken baby food in the morning. not sure if it's ok to leave the KMR saucer out overnight since she hasn't touched it.

2. there is a runt who appears to be nursing but i can't tell if he's successful. i tried bottle feeding him today but he wasn't into it at all (wonder if the milk wasn't warm enough as it took me awhile to get him out), will try again tomorrow morning and keep at it. it's hard to pull him out to feed because they are all packed into the carrier and mom doesn't like me to reach in.

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

here is a quick video with a few different snippets. you can see the runt (the black one) trying to get in there a little bit. any guesses on their age - three or four weeks? they have tiny teeth i think, will check tomorrow.

 

[Sarthur2]

Is there any way to replace the carrier with something larger? Maybe a box with a door cut in it? They may need more room.

I agree you should give mom whatever she will eat. I feel like she may just be adjusting to the new surroundings. Her senses are probably on alert. Perhaps she will eat during the night. I hope she is not ill.

They appear about 3-4 weeks as you said. If they have cut their baby teeth they are about a month old and will soon be ready for soft wet food themselves.

I see the tiny baby in there. She is considerably smaller, but looks healthy. You can try a syringe instead of the bottle. Kittens with moms will rarely take a bottle. She may be able to lap the KMR from a dish in another week.

They are safe and will adjust better each day. The kittens will enjoy something to climb soon and little balls and toy mice.

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

thanks for the input - super helpful!

i can definitely swap the carrier out tomorrow for an amazon box lined w/ a towel and some pee pads.

will try a bit of tuna tonight - she certainly has a buffet of options! hope it's ok to leave the KMR out overnight in case she wants that.

will pick up a syringe for lil' runty and try that instead.

the room they are in will also be kitten-proofed in the coming days (with some additional "furniture") so they will have a nice area to romp around in when the mom is calm enough for me to leave the door open.

 

[Sarthur2]

This all sounds terrific!

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

quick update - seems they've settled in OK. last night mom ate most of her food, drank all the KMR, and then she polished off another 5.5 oz can of chicken pate this morning! (gave her the Merrick stuff our cats get - she's got good taste!) really excited to see her get her appetite back after the stressful transition yesterday.

kittens are exploring a bit more but everyone is mostly sleeping in the carrier. i was hoping to swap it out for a larger carrier we use for our cats, but they both won't fit in there at the same time so not sure how to transfer them (and it's not that much bigger anyway). mom is still angsty when i'm around. i can't use a cardboard box yet until she will allow me to be in the crate changing things out, etc. - because with just a box there's no way to secure them while i clean up. mom peed and pooped outside of the carrier last night so hopefully they're keeping it clean in there since that's where they sleep. mom sits on top of the carrier when she needs a break.

haven't seen lil runty much today, he's been sleeping in the back - two of the kittens are more active and two (including him) are more shy and like to stay in the carrier. when he's out or sleeping towards the front will grab him for some syringe KMR.

Lazy Sunday:

 

[Sarthur2]

Great to hear that mom ate so well!

It sounds like they are adjusting nicely.

Perhaps in a few days when the room is ready you can open the door for further exploration. The carrier sounds like their "safe" space for now!

They will build trust more every day!

 

[talkingpeanut]

That photo is the best!

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

Really concerned about the runt - and since mom is feral she's not letting me in there. he's just been in the back of the carrier all day. I saw him move around towards the front one time but that's it. got some KMR ready and tried to reach in to get him but the mom lashed out pretty aggressively (accidentally hitting another kitten in the process). He's behind her and she's watching me closely - see photo. I'd have to disrupt everything to get him out. Any suggestions?

 

[daisyd]

First of all thank you for looking after the little family. Hopefully mum will calm down when she knows you are trying to help ! Others on here have experience with helping you feed the kittens and runt !

 

[Sarthur2]

Has mom been in the carrier with the runt at all today to feed him?

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

Thankfully I just saw the runt feeding - whew! Hadn't seen them feed much yet today and I was watching closely. Very relieved for now! I was getting ready to try and move the mom to a trap so i could get to him, as a last resort. My hope is that if the runt made it this far without intervention he can hang on for another week or so until he can lap KMR or eat baby food. I was going to grab him when he was out of the carrier but he didn't really leave it today.

 

[Sarthur2]

I was thinking the same thing about eating on his own soon.

Poor mama is trying to protect her babies.

 

[Flatbush_TNR]

a few snippets from day 2...hope lil runty can stay with us. he did feed today but wasn't active the rest of the time.