# Help for these feral kittens and mom? (Pics) *update 2*



## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Hi all! I never thought I'd be posting on the Feral Cat board, but here goes:

I posted in Cat Chat a few days ago about a mama cat and her 5 kittens who are only weeks old. They are living under our house. Here's a link to the thread: http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=17956

The mom has been bringing the kittens out more and more in the past few days, so we've been able to watch them quite a bit. I'm concerned, though b/c we just saw Shiela (the name I gave the mom) jump up on our bird bath to try to get some water. It wasn't able to handle her weight so she had to jump down. Jim took a bowl of water out to her and she came right over to him and drank for about a minute and a half straight! Poor thirsty girl.

Emma_pen offered some good advice on what I could do for this family, but I couldn't find any help! I don't want anything to happen to them and I feel very protective of them now. Jim and I will be moving in about a month, so I feel like something needs to be done. I asked a woman I know who is big into animal conservation and she said she thought she knew someone who could help me out. She hasn't called, so I thought I'd send her an email just to remind her.

I just feel so helpless. I'm scared to help them out because I don't want to get too attached and I don't want them to become dependant on me. Any words of advice or wisdom?

Anyhow, here are some photos taken from our kitchen window (sorry not so great):

This is Shiela and one of the kittens:









Here's two of them playing in a flower pot (caramel swirl is on top, and grey/white tabby inside)  :









And here's a kitten checking out the bird bath:









Can anyone tell the approximate age of these kittens based on size?? I'd just like to know.


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## Ioana (Jul 12, 2003)

Aww they are adorable!
They look to be about 7 weeks old but I might be wrong.
Can you pick them up? Around 8 to 10 weeks old it is the time when they should be weaned already and you could tame them. But if you can reach that stage be sure to wear gloves in the beginning because they could hurt you! Later than 10 weeks old they will be very hard to tame and therefore much more difficult to find homes for. 
Try to spend time around them (before you move out and while they are still with their momma until you can decide it is a good time to start taming them). They will get used to your voice, a human being in general - even if it is from a distance. Is the momma pettable? Does she hiss at you only bc she doesn't want you close to her babies(which is normal) or she is purely feral?
It would be great if you could have her spayed. She could get pregnant any day now. Plus the male the fathered her babies could kill them so she loses the milk. When she loses her milk she also loses interest in her babies and "motherhood" and she will be in heat again. 
It takes involvement to deal with this situation and it would be great if you could get in touch with the lady that feeds her/the other cats in the area. Together you could find the nearest decent no kill shelter or at least a mobile neuter/spay unit. 
Keep us posted.
It is so nice of you to look after Shiela  .
P.S. Calling Animal Control is never an option in this area - not for me. I know that they will put the animals to sleep .
When I started caring for the my feral kitties I got in touch with all the no kill shelters, sanctuaries or organizations that could help around us. I had to plea for their cause which was/is also mine. We are their voice .


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Well, there are no "no kill" shelters around here, and the only Animal Rescue Group in town closed down last year.

I've contacted Coastal Pet Rescue and the President/Founder has been emailing with me, trying to get this sorted. I sent her some pics and she said that she'll list the kittens and momma on their rescue site to try to find homes for them.

She said that someone is already interested in the caramel swirl kitten and grey and white kitten and that she has traps and food that they will provide me with. She's planning on coming out one evening this week to see what we could do for this little family.

I can't believe she might actually be able to help. I was starting to lose hope.  I just want them to be protected, loved, and safe.


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

The lady at the rescue center contacted me and told me that she's gotten a firm commitment for the grey and caramel kittens and is coming tomorrow (Tuesday) in the evening to pick them up! I can't believe this! How wonderful!

I know that black kitties have a harder time finding homes, but I remain hopeful for them.

Taking one or two of the siblings away won't make the others depressed or upset will it? I don't want to cause them any hurt. But if I can find homes for at least a few, I'll know that I did all that I could.

Would someone please reassure me that I'm doing the right thing?


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## Feral Fan (Feb 9, 2005)

You are most DEFINITELY doing the right thing! You are saving these kitties from a very harsh life and they will realize that eventually!

In my experience momma cat and siblings will look for the others and it can seem kinda sad, but it is very natural. I have been told by vets and experts that the kittens leaving one or two at a time is very common in the wild and they seem to be of an age when they would start wandering. I'd say that they are maybe (as a big guess) 8 weeks? Ten maybe. This is a key age to get feral kittens as they will socialize faster at this age. Hopefully the group you are in touch with can find homes for the others soon as the younger they are when they go into a home the faster they adapt (I know that taking kittens from mom at 12 weeks is best but with ferals it is almost better to go a bit younger or they learn too much from mom and it is harder to break the feral habits). If the rescue organization can't find permanent homes for the other three soon maybe you could find foster homes for them temporarily? It will make it easier for them to get permanent homes in the long run if they are receiving socialization and becoming good little house pets. Sometimes a cat owner will take on a kitten or two for a couple weeks or a month knowing it is not long term and they are helping the baby get a home (and a house with social cats provides a good example for little ferals!).

Remember you are doing a fantastic thing for these cats. Keep us posted on how things go!


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Well, the lady and adopters of the kittens came last night. After about an hour, they got two kittens from under the house (by enticing them with food and toys). They took a black & white and the grey & white kitten. They were supposed to take the caramel swirl one (my favorite), but decided on the black & white for some reason. At least two of them went together to a loving home. The couple seemed really nice and very knowledgeable of cats (they have 2 already).

Now, I'm trying to find rescues for the remaining 3 kittens. I've contacted all the shelters in the area, have heard from 3, but they can't do much for stray kittens as they have their hands full with already socialized cats that they're saving from "kill" shelters.

I'll keep you all updated if anything else happens, though.

I have some questions:

1. The lady from Coastal Pet Rescue told me to keep feeding the momma and kids so they stick around, but we'll be moving soon and what if momma sticks around here after then? It's so mean to feed them consistantly and then just stop. There's no one else around here who'll do it. Should we think about relocating her somwhere else after we (hopefully) have her spayed.

2. A lot of people take their adoptable pets up to the mall parking lot to adopt them out. Is this something I should think about doing if we can't find any other homes for them? I would definitely charge and adoption fee, send them home with info on cats, maybe some food, etc. 

3. How would I go about catching the kittens if I were going to do this?

4. The shelters are telling me that we have to wait a few weeks for the mom's milk to dry up b/f she can be spayed. What if Tom Cat (the resident male in these parts) gets her pregnant again before that happens?!

If there is anymore advice you can give, please do. This is stressing me out so badly and I'm not getting my responsibilities taken care of because I'm so worried about this family. I just don't know what to do! And I don't want to wait too much longer, otherwise they'll be too old to socialize properly.


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## Hippyhart (Jul 4, 2004)

> The shelters are telling me that we have to wait a few weeks for the mom's milk to dry up b/f she can be spayed.


It is possible to have her spayed now -- it will just be a more difficult surgery for the vet. If she is pregnant, the vet can still spay her and abort the kittens.

Have you tried Petfinder? I had good results there when I brought in Mom and the kittens -- unfortunately, Mom is a black cat and older, and we couldn't find her a home, so we ended up keeping her. But in your situation, you could require mama kitty and one of the kittens to go together to ensure they both get homes.

Or, do you have a Petco or Petsmart by you, and if so, do they adopt pets on the weekends? My Petco does adoptions through an organization called Animal's Best Friends, which is a group that gets animals on "death row" at the shelters and gives them a second chance at adoption. There could be a different organization doing those pet store adoptions, so it might be worth checking into.

Also, do you have Petland in your area? We have one of those stores in the mall, and when I was working on finding homes for the kittens, I contacted them -- they buy puppies from breeders (I'll be nice), but they get cats from regular people. They just required them not to have fleas. I was too nervous to take them there because of the noise and traffic, but it sounds like you are on a tight on time, and it could work for you.

Just thought of something else -- how far is your new place from where you live now? If you can't find something soon, you could at least run by and drop off some food once a day if it's not too far.

Lastly, can you call the shelters and see how quickly they are adopting kittens out? I bet they will go pretty quickly if they end up taking them to a shelter.

Good luck, LolaKitty!! You're doing a great job for caring for these little animals.


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Hi there! Thank you all for your words of wisdom and well-wishes. Things are starting to look up! Check out my update in this thread:

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=18319

I'll keep updating you as events progress. I can't tell you how happy I am right now!


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## Hippyhart (Jul 4, 2004)

Wow, LolaKitty -- that's great news! Good job on taking care of these babies.


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