A couple days ago I found a mother cat and saw she had 4 kittens in my front yard and kept observing them. I found that they hang around the space between my neighbor's house and my house. The mother is very friendly, she allows me to feed her, pet her, she even purrs when I pet her.
I would not suggest trapping the mother cat in order to get the kittens to come out of bidding. I adopted 2 cats that were only 3 weeks old and when I had to leave I ended up raising them in a rabbit cage to keep them safe. But when I did allow them out when I was home they would take off and go hide for the entire day and come back out at night when they were hungry. I would suggest allowing the mother to take care of the cats and I am sure they are somewhere sleeping and keeping safe. The mom knows where her kittens are and she will take care of them. Just keep taking care of her and the kitten will come around soon.
Mother cats move their kittens fairly often for many reasons: something scared her and she felt her kittens might be in jeopardy, something unwanted came near her kittens where she was hiding them so she moved them, the hiding spot became unsafe, smells build up in a hiding spot and the mom wanted a fresh place...you never really know for sure why a cat moves her kittens hiding spot, but the mother cat knows best. Just keep caring for the mom and she will care for her kittens.
She probably has found a safe place to hide her kittens.
Perhaps something scared her and she decided it may not be safe.
If there is any way that you can observe her without calling attention to what you are doing, you may see in what direction she heads after eating.
No matter what, you will have to decide what you are going to do with her and her kittens. You may decide to keep them for a while but it is not easy to find home for stray kittens.
My daughter placed a free ad on Craigslist, Freecycle, and Nextdoor with pictures and was able to find good homes for the mother and also 4 kittens but these were well loved cats (before they were adopted and hopefully after). We did not let anyone with very small children have one.
most likely the cat found a safe space for the kittens
one warning, however: sometimes a cat will move the kitten to a place she things is safe, but is not really.
Check your attic, basement, and anywhere else you do not like to have cats. As well the bottom of vehicles and lawnmowers and such that have been maybe parked for a long time.
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I have been feeding a stray who I thought was pregnant, but I think she had her babies. She lives in my neighbor's yard with about 16 or 20 other strays.
I have yet to see any kittens, is there any way to get her to show them to me?To find her kittens you will have to follow her to see where she has hidden them.
Be aware that she may move them several times.
Get in touch with a spay/neuter group in your area to attend to your neighbor's colony of cats.
The Best Friends website deals with "community cats", bestfriends.org They are the largest organization in the US that does this work. They are networked across the country. They have a free booklet for the situation you are describing. They will educate you and find local support for you. It is common to trap the mother and kittens so the kittens can be socialized by 4 weeks old. The Mom cat is evaluated and released after spaying or adopted depending on how she gets along with people.
My feral mama cat has a litter of 5 kittens that are 4 months old. She's pregnant again. Will she bring her newborns around the 4 month old kittens?
After this litter of kittens, you'll need to try and trap the mother and have her fixed. In the meantime, you'll need to trap all the kitten and try to fix them or find good homes for them.
The stray cat that I have been feeding gave birth to a liter of five kittens two weeks ago. The box that they were living in was too small and smelled awful so my neighbor and I decided to transfer the kittens into a bigger box. We used the same bedding as the old box and moved them rather quickly as the mom was eating.
Now two of the five kittens are missing and mom won't go into the new box to feed the remaining three. What do we do now?
By bobby from Philadelphia, PA
She is stressed and will keep on moving them. I would take the kittens that are not getting fed and bottle feed them and put them in the bathtub on some blankets or rags that keep them from getting on the cold porcelain and put a heater in the bathroom, using caution about fires, and also put a sock filled with rice knotted and microwaved about a minute or more and cover that with a rag or a hot water bottle. I like to keep it warm in there but not hot..each time you go in there, change any soiled areas, and wash bed blankets frequently. I like this because I can assure myself they are having bowel movements and are not dehydrated. I would bottle feed them all if she is going to abandon them which strays often do. Here is my favorite homemade formula, better than store bought.
Baby Kitten Formula
1/2 cup evaporated milk
enough homemade pedialyte to make it liquefy
Spoonful of Mayo, real mayo.
Three small drops infant vitamin drops from the store
I had about nine kittens to feed so I would mix t his up and feed them with an eyedropper or bottle you really have to cut the hole in the nipple pretty bi or they cant get it out if you buy a bottle from the vet.
After I would put it in a eyedropper and later little tiny bowls for them to lap it up. I would clean their faces and paws with aloe baby wipes and go over their pee pee area with a piece of toilet tissue, wet, and hold their butts over the trash can and see if they pee. The really young ones will just leave a wet mark on the tissue and the older ones will have a stream.
They will die without this. Also go over their butts and pee pee areas each time they eat. Tell them they are so good when they are peeing, it scares them. always lovingly talk to them.
Love them all through this whole thing, this is scary. Use aloe baby wipes to bathe them and it repels fleas in young kittens.
Have fun loving these babies and when they are about seven weeks or six weeks, put them on freecycle.org, choose towns nearby, and offer to deliver or meet halfway at a grocery store parking lot, and specify a good home only and don't give them to the first one who replies, go over each email and screen them by looking at what kind of environment they will be going to.
Excect for freecycle, if you put an and in the paper, charge an amount so there will be no bunchers, fighters or otherwise undesirable people collecting them. If you have the time write the local humane society or call and ask if they have vouchers for neutering or spaying and don't do the surgery before they are mature..it stunts their urethral growth.
Blessings, Racer
A female mother cat has just delivered 3 baby kittens and the mother cat is keeping the kittens in the store room of my house! I dare not touch the kittens; am afraid the mother will attack me. Please help!
Are you afraid the mother will attack you because it has shown aggression, or just because it is not your cat. If she has chosen to have her kittens so close to humans, my best guess is that she is not wild. You have options. You could call a rescue to come and get her. If you call the pound, she and the kittens will likely be euthanized. (I wouldn't pick that option, but I am a cat lover.) You could try to tame her by putting food and water out for her. If she is tame enough to eat when you are sitting quietly nearby, she may let eventually come to you and let you pet her, and then you can tame the kittens as well. If you have no experience with cats at all, surely you have a friend who does, and who can come over and see if the cat is friendly or not. You can also take a photo of her and post on lost & found pets or on bulletin boards. This might be someone's cat, as mother cats often have strange ideas about where to have their kittens.
Last Nov. 24th our cat had a litter of 4 kittens. She's actually from a stray cat's litter too, along with her brother. They were brought (4th batch, but the rest left our home) here by their mother almost a year ago. Since then they've been staying in our backyard. They don't like to be petted, but I know they recognized us as their owner because they respond to our calls.
Anyway, when she gave birth that was the first time she allowed us to touch her, we actually made a bed for her and her kittens in a box.
This morning she took each of her kittens and transferred them to our neighbor's backyard. But she still comes here to eat. My question will she ever bring her kittens back in our home?Poor kitties. The mom most have sensed a predator and moved them. She may move them back, but it is hard to say. I am guessing she won't, but stranger things have happened.
Do you have any cat groups around who could rescue the kittens and get them into a shelter where they can be adopted out before the get feral?
We have tons in my area and I would recommend trying to do that type of rescue with a group that is NO KILL. They can also help you trap the mom, to spay her and since she is feral, they usually mark the ear and release after the fix.
Praying that the kittens can get a healthy start on a good life.
If you post your city, I can see if my friends who do this kind of work in my town know anyone in your town. It is so critical to do this and save lives!!
Good luck!
She probably moved because she saw, heard or smelled something that made her feel she and/or her babies were not safe. I dont think she will make your yard a home, at least not with this litter.
Yah that's what I thought too. Because there's another feline family who choses to take shelter in our backyard. And the mom has been bullying my Kit & Kat. But I have this mother instinct too that she will bring her kittens back.
Mother cats are very protective of their babies so I'm thinking the other cat in your backyard seems a threat to her babies and she may not come back as long as the other cat is around or until she has weened her babies and sent them on their way.
Maybe you could get someone interested in the "bad" feline that is making her home in your backyard and maybe if she were gone the mother would bring her babies back.
I know that you are worried about her but when they have been on their own for a long time they seem to be able to cope.
I hope there is a possibility of getting them spayed - both mom and kittens.
They are now spaying females at 8 weeks of age.
"For cats: It is generally considered safe for kittens as young as eight weeks old to be spayed or neutered. In animal shelters, surgery is often performed at this time so that kittens can be sterilized prior to adoption. ... It's possible to spay a female cat while she's in heat."
I do not think the mother cat will bring her kittens back to your yard. I think she has moved them out of danger, is it possible that you had a snake come into your yard, or any kind of predator, has she moved them to under a porch, or some kind of protected structure . I am sure she goes back and forth to feed them. I would not try to pet them or move them, let the mother take care of her kittens.
As much as I wanted to get rid of the "bad" Mama Cat , I can't because of her 2 kittens they're still very tiny and still needs to be fed regularly. I wanted to ask help from our cat group her in our city but I know they wouldn't be able to catch her.
Im really confused on what to do right now. Just last night when my Kat went here to eat this bad momma bullied her as if she's shooing her away from our home even her brother Kit is so afraid to stay after he ate he would also go and stay in our neighbors yard. I don't want to lose my Kit & Kat (and her kittens) , they're my babies.
There's no snake or anything exotic living in our yard. Just a "bad" Momma cat with her 2 kittens who's bullying her and her brother just so she and her kittens can stay in our yard with no competition.
But Kit & Kat are my babies so I'm worried about my grandkitties too. I don't invade her privacy not unless she allows me like the time she gave birth. I know she's just being protective of her babies that why she moved them. And somehow I felt that she will come back home with them when they can protect themselves from this bully momma cat. It's a waiting game for me, I'm waiting for the time that this bad Momma cat's kittens will grow up and be able to do their thing outside our home because I know they will not stay for good. But my Kat and my grandkitties our yard is their home so they'll be back eventually.
Is there any way you can section off a portion of your yard for your Kit & Kat to eat without being harassed by the "bad" mama? That would be the best solution but you may not be able to do this.
If someone from a cat group were to help removing the "bad" mother, they would take her kittens with them. We have a group near me that specializes in capturing the feral cats and moving them to a safe area but this is probably an exception. I am fortunate that I live in a county that works with people trying to better the lives of these unfortunate animals.
Is there anyway someone can sit in the yard during feeding time and maybe be a deterrent to the other mama cat? Or will your babies not come to eat if someone is in the yard?
I hope you can find a peaceful solution that will keep your babies in your area because if they leave both yards, they may not return.
This situation is complicated because there is more than one Mom cat. If you can get your group to take the mom cats and kittens you dont want, things will be easier. They are very good at catching foxy cats who dont want to be trapped. If the kittens are trapped when they are very young they can be socialized, neutered and adopted to good homes. The moms can be neutered and released, it does sound like they are feral. If you try to keep all these kittens in your yard it will get really difficult. Call the local group and work out a plan with them, for the cats sake.
I really hope you did the right thing and tried to get someone to trap all of the cats. Those babies have an average life span of only 2-5 yrs if outdoor only. Some rescues are willing to travel. I hope they did not all end up feral and continuing to breed and create more feral cats. :( The moms would have been spayed and released, but those poor kittens could have been given a chance at a better life and the two mamas wouldnt be able to add the the homeless cat population. I know theyre cute to look at, but in the future, its best to save the kittens and spay the moms. Sounds like you really loved the two ferals you were feeding and I totally get that. But you should have had them caught when they were little too and then they could have found homes. Instead of living outside, dying young and having more babies that will too be feral. You stated that you were hopeful that Kat would come back with her kittens when they were old enough to defend themselves until they went their separate ways. Thats just wrong imo. Im just being brutally honest. You had one excuse after another when people offered wonderful advice and I have a feeling you didnt even try. Because Id bet money that if someone else knew the situation and the county you live in, it would have been taken care of. I hope all those cats are still alive by now and not out there with more litters. You endangered 7 kittens, 3 adults and who knows how many future generations by not trying. I know this sounds mean & Im sorry, but someone needed to tell you the truth. Its one thing to have feral barn cats that have been altered than to allow so many unaltered strays in your yard and keep encouraging them to come back and not try to help the situation by getting them caught and fixed.
I live in a pretty big college dorm where you can easily get lost. And this cat had the wildest idea to have her three kittens in here. The thing is, at first everyone thought it was cute so they were helping and feeding her and everything. But once the kittens grew a little bit everyone forgot about them. And of course the little ones started exploring the dorm. So as of now, one already got lost or taken, I am incapable of finding him even thought I really tried. And the other two always get into trouble.
Almost every night I hear the mama screaming and searching for them, sometimes we do find them and other times it takes hours or even days. But since I'm usually the one who helps her, recently she had this habit sitting at my door whenever she loses one. Now, of course I help her, but it won't be long until I go for a holiday and I have no idea what to do. I'm afraid she would stay at my door someday instead of searching for her kittens.Kittens grow fast. Soon they wont need her. Maybe they dont need her now and thats why they dont look for her.
Do you have a resident assistant? Go to him or her asap and ask for help. Yes, you may get in trouble, but you are talking about the lives of helpless creatures running loose in a place where they could be hurt or worse either by accident or by mean kids.
If you can't care for these animals, take them to a no kill shelter today...as soon as soon as you round them up. They need to be in a place where they can get the care they need and hopefully find loving and safe homes. This includes the mom cat.
Animals are not disposable. They are sentient beings who deserve appropriate care and love.
Please do right by them. Post back with an update. Prayers for these poor animals and that you do right by them.
I would suggest that you gather all the kittens up, and with the mother , take them to your local animal shelter , if you can find a cat carrier to put them all in, if not at least a large card board box to keep them altogether. Thank you for taking care of them !!
Hi,
Kittens are into everything! It was nice of you and the others to be helping the mother. There is not a lot of do for them, because they will go outside or get in places where they cannot be found.
If you put out food in the same place, you might be able to find them after a few days, if not I would say they are gone.
There are often organizations like Alley Cat Allies, which will take cats and pick them up and spay them and then return them. I don't know if there is one near you, or if the cat is even able to be touched. Feral cats are cats which cannot be held or petted.
Whichever the situation is, if you find any of them, I would call the animal shelter and ask them what to do. Before long, the dorm will be full of kittens. They breed fast!
Have a great day and let us know what happens!
---Robyn
Hi There,
Thank you and the others for helping the mother cat with feeding and care. Kittens go everywhere, and they often hide where you can't find them during the day.
I would put out food and see if they come in and eat it. If they don't come to the food, then I would assume they have left the dorm and are out on their own, looking for bugs and such.
I would call animal control if you do not want the mother cat to keep having babies. Cats reproduce fast, and before long there will be a lot of kittens everywhere :)
Have a wonderful day!
---Robyn
I'm thinking you need to contact your local animal shelter or people who foster out cats and have these kittens adopted out. I think theywill come to a bad end living in the dorm in this way. Probably a PA or someone can assist with this
I've had a pretty feral cat and her three kittens (was 4), around our house for a couple months now. I'm trying to feed them at the same time everyday and get them used to traps so I can get them fixed.
A couple of nights ago they disappeared and I hadn't seen them, tonight the mama came back without her babies, is this normal or should I be worried?The kittens may now be on their own. Feral cats are not domestic cats, and act differently.
Stray kittens at a few months old are on their own. Let's hope another good hearted soul is feeding and maybe socializing them and then when old enough will get them spayed/neutered. Prayers for all.
This is normal behavior for feral cats. The kittens are on their own now. They may still be in the area and you may get another chance to trap and neuter them. Mom cat is most likely pregnant and may be close to delivering her next little family. You may be able to trap mom cat before she delivers if you have a place to foster. You could also reach out to a rescue for help with this. The rescues get really good at it. It is best that the new batch of kittens be raised in a normal home. After a few months it is harder to socialize them.
I would not be too concerned with this. The mother more than likely took the babies away to be on their own. They might come back from time to time to get food.
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This morning a neighbor's cat had kittens in my tree (a hollowed out hole in the trunk, not out on a limb.) It has rained a couple of days and the tree is wet.
