# Help with semi- ferrel mama/kittens



## Mybluecat (Feb 27, 2013)

Two days ago I found a mama cat and 4 kittens in 
My dog run. She will not come to me. I have
Been feeding her. The kittens look about 10-12 days old. 
I need to know if it's Okay to pick them up (when she's gone) and make sure their Okay. The ultimate situation would be for her to come to me and let me take her and kitties inside but it doesn't look like its going to happen. 
If I trap her - then what? Will I be able to keep her in a crate with kittens or should I just leave her alone? There's a male cat thats lurking around too. 
I have the chain link fence blocked but I'm afraid once their a little older they'll climb over - and we have a pool. I'm at my wits end and just don't know what to do. Anyone with experience in this type situation please comment. Thanks so much.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I would say - IF you have a safe place for them inside or in a garage, first trap the mother in a humane trap. Then, before releasing her in her new safe place, collect the kittens in a box and put them by the trap so she can see them. Mother cats are fiercely protective of their kittens. If you star messing with them outside, she'll move them. 
Good luck. It's not an easy situation.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Since she appears feral I wouldn't trap her and relocate her anywhere indoors... she'd likely go entirely ballistic. You need to trap the kittens around 5-6 weeks so they don't learn to be feral from their mother... hopefully they can be weaned by then. They may need some time to adjust to humans if you wait longer and may become feral themselves. These are critical weeks.

The mother should be trapped at the same time since she can get pregnant again fast -- sometimes while she's still nursing. The male should be trapped too, just think of all the females he's impregnating in this vicious circle. The female and male should likely be returned to the outdoors after this, unless you think they are only semi-feral; it can be hard to tell at first any differences between feral and only partly.


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