Stray cat had kittens on my porch.

[thewayshemoves]

I have an outside cat who is neutered, and he has a bed on the back porch, where he can be warm and safe when he's not out finding me new "gifts" in the woods to bring home.  Today I opened the door to go feed him and there's this little thing in the middle of the porch I at first thought was a mouse.  Very quickly I realized it was a newborn kitten, and then I noticed the blood, placenta, and there were four more of them in my cat's bed.  This black cat was being very watchful and very cautious of me, not going too far away, but not getting very close either.  I'm at a complete loss as to what to do here.  My cat is not very happy about having his bed taken, and to keep him from hurting them, I've brought him in the house.  I guess my question is what do I do now?  The kittens are all alive and have very much working lungs, four legs, two ears, tails, etc. so should I do anything?  Should I just back off and let her take care of them?  I don't know what to do about these newborns.

 

[Sarthur2]

T thewayshemoves

You should actually try to bring the mama cat and kittens inside the house asap so she doesn't move them into the shrubs where it's dirty and less safe. Until you do, it's best to keep your neutered male inside.

Poor mama! Bless her heart trying to find a place to have her kittens!

She should be nursing her kittens. Have you fed her? She desperately needs wet and dry food, and water, to nourish her kittens.

You could add a rice sock (sock filled with dry rice, microwaved 5 minutes, wrapped in a towel) in the bed for extra warmth. It will hold warmth for 2-3 hours. The kittens need to be warm. They cannot regulate their own temperature for 3 weeks. Mom will do the rest.

Can you get mom to follow you in with the bed and kittens in it? If so, put them in your bedroom where it's quiet. Even a closet - with food, water, and litter nearby. Food may lure mom in.

If you can't get her in, leave her with the bed and the babies on the porch, feed her well each day, and keep your boy away for now.

Please let me know what happens!

 

[thewayshemoves]

I'll try to get them inside.  She won't come anywhere near me, so anytime I'm on the porch, she's not with her kittens, but hiding a few feet away.  I did give her a plate of wet food and a bowl of water, but I read online that strays/ferals won't eat in the same place their kittens are, so I thought about moving it to the front of the house, as she didn't seem to want to eat.  Could just be that she's scared, though.  I'm not sure.  I'll try to move them and if she won't move I will do what I can to keep them warm and safe without trying to interfere too much with her nature.  I've never seen a kitten that young before.  She's cleaned them now and they're so little and cute, haha.  I didn't do bad by cleaning up the blood and removing the placenta or whatever did I?

Edit:  Forgot to ask.  You mentioned dry and wet.  I should provide her some dry food as well?

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, she needs dry food 24/7 to munch on in order to nurse 5 babies. She actually needs wet food 3 times a day. I would not move her food or kittens to the front porch if she won't come in. It will upset her. Is there cover on the back porch - a roof? She is probably starved and will eat when you go back inside because she's scared. It doesn't sound like she's going to come inside today. Maybe after you've fed her for a couple of days she will realize you are not going to hurt her babies. She needs to eat and nurse and rest right now. Leave her be for awhile!

PS: You did great! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[thewayshemoves]

I typically feed Stormy (the outside cat) twice a day, that was based on how much he would eat and not have waste, so I have plenty of wet food and can easily  bump that up more for her, and I just sent for some dry food, so that'll be here in the next few minutes.  I won't move her food or anything since you advised against it.  There's a roof on the back porch and about waist high of trellis with a rail around it, and where the bed is, is kind of a corner  of the house, the dryer turnout is directly under it, so maybe that warmth from the dryer and being tucked into a corner is why she thought that was a good place.  As far as the elements go, it's mostly protected from rain unless it blows in sideways, and the temperature here is in the 80's.  I'll give them a rice sock, but should I do that during the day when it's warm, or just at night?

 

[Sarthur2]

At night would suffice. Sounds like a great set-up for her. Hopefully she'll feel safe and eat and nurse her kittens and rest now, and realize you are helping her. [emoji]128149[/emoji]

 

[Sarthur2]

Speak to mom in a soft, gentle voice and walk and move slowly. Blink your eyes at her - that is a friendly signal!

 

[thewayshemoves]

Thank you for the advice.  I'll update this to let you know how things go, and if I need any more help, will post here as well. 

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, please do! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[thewayshemoves]

Moved the kittens and food inside and propped the door open and she never would come in.  Expecting storms tonight so I build a little cardboard facade for the two exposed sides to give them more coverage.  She seems to be taking care of them so far. 

 

[Sarthur2]

That's awesome. Where are you located? You can try to get her in again in another couple days. I'm sure she's feeling skittish right now. She will trust you more in the coming days. Did she eat any of the food you put out?

 

[thewayshemoves]

I'm in North Alabama.  I'll try again later.  She ate the wet food like it was going out of style, two small dessert plates, and has been nibbling on the dry.

 

[Sarthur2]

Great! I'm glad to hear she ate. She's probably starving - poor gal. She will likely eat the dry food overnight. The wet food is really good for her right now. Is she scrawny looking? You can give her boiled chicken pieces or scrambled eggs for extra protein if you want. Thank you for looking after her. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[lavishsqualor]

You're wonderful for looking after mom and her kittens!

 

[thewayshemoves]

Great! I'm glad to hear she ate. She's probably starving - poor gal. She will likely eat the dry food overnight. The wet food is really good for her right now. Is she scrawny looking? You can give her boiled chicken pieces or scrambled eggs for extra protein if you want. Thank you for looking after her. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

She's a little skinny, but I've seen worse.  I'm actually boiling some chicken for a stew tomorrow, so I'll slip her some of that too.  She takes off when I come out the door, but you can watch her through a window slowly sneak back up there a few minutes after I close the door.  Went ahead and gave them a rice sock, because there's a little chill in the air.  They already moved over toward it and made another ball of kitten by it.

 
You're wonderful for looking after mom and her kittens!

Thanks!  I've always loved animals and I can't stand to see anything suffer.  I'm hoping that by being around and petting them and handling them when they're older maybe they'll be tame and I can find them good homes.  There's four black with white socks, and one grey and white patched one.

 

[Sarthur2]

Aww. You're doing everything right! They will appreciate the rice sock. Little snuggle balls. And mom will appreciate the chicken. I have to wonder if somebody dropped her off in your neighborhood because she was pregnant. Sigh ... I hope you'll be able to socialize the kittens too. And get mama spayed eventually. She's so lucky to have found your back porch. [emoji]128149[/emoji]

 

[thewayshemoves]

Yeah, I have no idea.  I live kind of out in the woods and stray animals are rare.  Stormy showed up when he was a weaned kitten and I found him on that same porch when I came home from work one night (during a storm, thus his name).  He had a broken leg, so I took him to a 24 hour emergency vet, and let him live in the house until he got his little cast off.  Had him neutered during the surgery on his leg.  He's about two years old now, and he's the only one that's been around since she showed up.  I don't even know where he came from at such a young age all by himself.  Now it's supposed to storm again and I have more new kittens, haha.

 

[Sarthur2]

That's interesting about Stormy. He was lucky he found you also! I'm sure he's not too happy about sharing his bed right now, but hopefully he's enjoying a different bed in the house for now [emoji]128521[/emoji].

I'm guessing both Stormy and mama kitty were dumped. I don't know what kind of people can do that, but apparently they are out there, because so many of us have taken in other people's cast-off cats and kittens. That's how I got mine - pregnant stray. She's in my avatar with her kitten, Pumpkin.

Thankfully mama kitty and her kittens are safe from the storm on your porch. I'll bet she's young, and this is her first litter. Have you been able to observe if the kittens are nursing well?

 

[thewayshemoves]

It's really sad, I don't know how people can do that.  I haven't been able to see them  nurse.  Can't see down into the bed from the window and she runs whenever I open the door.  Is there anything I should look for in order to know if she's not, or something?  I'd like to be able to know before it's too late if she isn't.

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, if they cry alot they are hungry. I'm guessing they are nursing well, because you said they were snuggled next to the rice sock. Mama will likely lie with them all night. As newborns, they nurse roughly every two hours. When all is well, they nurse and sleep alot. Very littling mewing. I guess mama will use the bathroom in the yard, and get up to eat, but otherwise tend to them. Have all your company use the front door for now so she's disturbed as little as possible.

You could pick up a can of powdered Pet Ag KMR (kitten milk replacer) at Walmart or a pet store, and a 1-2 mL syringe to have on hand in case you need to supplement. Mom can drink a dish of the KMR each day. She needs the calcium. The kittens will drink it when they are weaning. It won't go to waste.