Took in feral kittens help

[Sol86]

I need help. I took in 3 feral kittens, they are 8 weeks old more less, but I couldn't catch the mom, I took them to the vet and they are pretty healthy, the vet told me the mom would be very hard to trap and also to socialize being that she is pretty aggressive and also apparently where I live the cats have a lot of diseases including cat leukemia, he recommended me not to take her in and he said that she would be fine. But she won't stop crying, and looking for her kittens, and it's breaking my heart and I dont know what to do, when will she get over it if ever? Is it cruel to keep her crying? I want to give this babies a better chance in life. But I can't help to feel horrible from taking them away from their mom.

 

[maggie101]

If there was something wrong with the mom,the kittens would have it. Get a humane trap. A rescue might rent out one. Cover the bottom and cover it with a blanket/towels. Even add some flower pots. Don't forget the smelly food! She will be hungry.

 

[Sol86]

Thanks maggie101, the thing is before catching the babies, I had been feeding all of them and I did try to trap her but she is way too smart and she wouldn't go in the trap. What the vet told me is she couldn't be near the kittens if I wanted them to get used to me and people, being that I have an older cat, in case she has cat leukemia I wouldn't pass it to my cat, the kittens tested negative for it but he says it doesn't necessarily mean she will too. I haven't given up to try to catch her so at least I can have her neutered, but I dont know what to do about her suffering by being away from the babies.

If there was something wrong with the mom,the kittens would have it. Get a humane trap. A rescue might rent out one. Cover the bottom and cover it with a blanket/towels. Even add some flower pots. Don't forget the smelly food! She will be hungry.

 

[maggie101]

The mom will eventually give up. Keep leaving a trap out at night til the next day. She will be there when you get up hopefully. Leukemia is transfered by saliva or feces. The mom could also have worms

 

[Sol86]

The mom will eventually give up. Keep leaving a trap out at night til the next day. She will be there when you get up hopefully. Leukemia is transfered by saliva or feces. The mom could also have worms

Thanks I will keep trying, the babies are taken care for worms, I really hope I can get her to a safe place, if I'm able to trap her im gonna have her treated for worms, and tested for leukemia as well as neutered. Wish me luck

 

[maggie101]

Last time I left flower pots out the stray kittens i was taking care of peed in them so they already knew how to use a litter box!

 

[Sol86]

Last time I left flower pots out the stray kittens i was taking care of peed in them so they already knew how to use a litter box!

That is awesome, thankfully the babies learnt from momma very well, i left a shallow box with a bit of litter in the room I have them in and they all have been using it, tomorrow im getting them a proper litter box.

 

[Jcatbird]

Hey. I have caught so very many feral and aggressive moms with kittens. Please do. There is a great video at the bottom to show you how to manage trapping. The mom needs to be spayed or there will be endless numbers of more kittens born to a hard life and the mother will continue to struggle her whole life. The kittens are the perfect lure to get the mom. You can put two traps end to end. One closed with the kittens inside and the second with one end open to let mom enter to lead her to the kittens. She will go in the trap to try snd reach her babies. I recently did this with a young female being pursued by a male and once I had the female, the male went right into the trap next to her. I can also tell you that my most aggressive of all females ( I was calling her vicious) is now a lap cat and she learned to trust me by my relationship with her kittens. She watched me handle them and that they trusted me so she began to trust. Her name now is Flowers. I have socialized ferals of all ages. Not every cst becomes a lap cst but they all live good lives now and are happy cats. I got over 80 ferals socialized fully enough to be accepted into regular families and adopted. I have also rescued both Felv snd FIV cats. Most Felv kittens pass very young. That’s not to say that the mom might not have something but it is not necessarily a death sentence. I have a Fourteen year old Felv cat and he is happy and his Felv is dormant at this time. Not all colony members had Felv in the colony where he came from. None of the current colony members had it at all. Testing is the only way to find out right now and mom can be tested. If she stays a feral and outside, her chances of survival go down. Her chances of living a good life inside, no matter what the tests show, are much higher. Of disease is common there, getting her out of the breeding cycle is crucial. Many of these disease are mostly spread during breeding rituals or the act itself. Not only can you save future kittens from diesrase, you help stop the spread of the disease among adults by spays and neuters. If you do nothing with the mom, the cycle of everything will escalate. Please, please get the mom.
watch this please. You will have to stay nearby and keep the kittens from getting to hot or stressed. Watch over them from a distance to keep them safe and make sure you have them closed in the carrier or second trap with the door. If you decide to do this and have any questions, many are here to help. Bravo to you for already having saved those little babies! You are a hero!

 

[Sol86]

Hey. I have caught so very many feral and aggressive moms with kittens. Please do. There is a great video at the bottom to show you how to manage trapping. The mom needs to be spayed or there will be endless numbers of more kittens born to a hard life and the mother will continue to struggle her whole life. The kittens are the perfect lure to get the mom. You can put two traps end to end. One closed with the kittens inside and the second with one end open to let mom enter to lead her to the kittens. She will go in the trap to try snd reach her babies. I recently did this with a young female being pursued by a male and once I had the female, the male went right into the trap next to her. I can also tell you that my most aggressive of all females ( I was calling her vicious) is now a lap cat and she learned to trust me by my relationship with her kittens. She watched me handle them and that they trusted me so she began to trust. Her name now is Flowers. I have socialized ferals of all ages. Not every cst becomes a lap cst but they all live good lives now and are happy cats. I got over 80 ferals socialized fully enough to be accepted into regular families and adopted. I have also rescued both Felv snd FIV cats. Most Felv kittens pass very young. That’s not to say that the mom might not have something but it is not necessarily a death sentence. I have a Fourteen year old Felv cat and he is happy and his Felv is dormant at this time. Not all colony members had Felv in the colony where he came from. None of the current colony members had it at all. Testing is the only way to find out right now and mom can be tested. If she stays a feral and outside, her chances of survival go down. Her chances of living a good life inside, no matter what the tests show, are much higher. Of disease is common there, getting her out of the breeding cycle is crucial. Many of these disease are mostly spread during breeding rituals or the act itself. Not only can you save future kittens from diesrase, you help stop the spread of the disease among adults by spays and neuters. If you do nothing with the mom, the cycle of everything will escalate. Please, please get the mom.
watch this please. You will have to stay nearby and keep the kittens from getting to hot or stressed. Watch over them from a distance to keep them safe and make sure you have them closed in the carrier or second trap with the door. If you decide to do this and have any questions, many are here to help. Bravo to you for already having saved those little babies! You are a hero!

Thank you so much for the insight, that has been my goal from day one to trap all of them and get mom fixed and tested and hopefully be able to get her a home as well as the kittens, but what the vet said to me threw me off, specially since I have my 17 year old cat and he insinuated I could put her at risk if the mom scratched me, and since I'm very new at taking in feral cats (first time) I got scared. But I will definitely try the method in the video you shared. And no im not a hero, just a cat lover that doesn't want the kitties to suffer, just doing what in my mind makes sense, but I greatly appreciate it

 

[jefferd18]

Thank you so much for the insight, that has been my goal from day one to trap all of them and get mom fixed and tested and hopefully be able to get her a home as well as the kittens, but what the vet said to me threw me off, specially since I have my 17 year old cat and he insinuated I could put her at risk if the mom scratched me, and since I'm very new at taking in feral cats (first time) I got scared. But I will definitely try the method in the video you shared. And no im not a hero, just a cat lover that doesn't want the kitties to suffer, just doing what in my mind makes sense, but I greatly appreciate it

Please get mom if you can. I am not a big fan of leaving an unfixed female out to fend for herself. Since the kittens don't have leukemia chances are good that mom doesn't either. Feral cats have the life expectancy of two years and that is pushing it, they have to hide from predators, fight other cats and hopefully not get injured or ill and females have the added wear and tear of giving birth to kittens. I hope you can get her and thank you for rescuing her babies.

 

[Sol86]

Please get mom if you can. I am not a big fan of leaving an unfixed female out to fend for herself. Since the kittens don't have leukemia chances are good that mom doesn't either. Feral cats have the life expectancy of two years and that is pushing it, they have to hide from predators, fight other cats and hopefully not get injured or ill and females have the added wear and tear of giving birth to kittens. I hope you can get her and thank you for rescuing her babies.

Thank you, yes I will do my best, and I'll keep you posted, I'm not gonna give up.

 

[jefferd18]

Thank you, yes I will do my best, and I'll keep you posted, I'm not gonna give up.

Thank you. Your local animal control should have no problem with lending a trap or two, and I agree with what was said above, she will need something to lure her, like her kittens or some really good smelling food

Yes, she will be more of a challenge than her kittens. She is older, street smart and will have an attitude... or she may surprise you.
If she is too feral for anyone to socialize then she can go into a barn cat program. Barn cats are revered by the people who own them and anything is better than leaving her to be a kitten machine.

Thank you again for your passion and dedication to these very misunderstood animals. Please keep us updated.

 

[Sol86]

Thank you. Your local animal control should have no problem with lending a trap or two, and I agree with what was said above, she will need something to lure her, like her kittens or some really good smelling food

Yes, she will be more of a challenge than her kittens. She is older, street smart and will have an attitude... or she may surprise you.
If she is too feral for anyone to socialize then she can go into a barn cat program. Barn cats are revered by the people who own them and anything is better than leaving her to be a kitten machine.

Thank you again for your passion and dedication to these very misunderstood animals. Please keep us updated.

Thank you, the problem I have is I'm in México and there are not that many rescue programs here and definitely not shelters, if I call animal control they probably will put her down and I most definitely don't want that. But I will do my best to get her and find her a home, I'm not gonna give up on her she is a beauty. All I can do is do my best to trap her and send her to the vet and try to socialize her myself, so all the help you guys have will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jcatbird]

I understand what your vet was trying to do in being cautious. Thick leather gloves or welding gloves and thick long sleeves should protect you from scratches if you are nervous. I wear layers of long sleeves if I have concerns. Keeping any new arrivals separate from your cat until you have them vet checked is something advised. Also until they get to know each other and accept each other. There is a process to follow for all the things you wish to address. I am sure that @jeffred maggie101 and many others here will be around to help you as in previous posts. We all love cats here and are very grateful to people like you that care and take action to do something to help. Thank you!

 

[maggie101]

Not all feral cats are difficult. When I finally found a rescue I simply picked up the mom and kittens and put them all in a carrier. She never hissed or growled at me and a lap cat just like my cat coco from her first litter.