Feral Kittens Living Under Neighbor's Deck

Yep, @white shadow is absolutely right! Unless this homeowner becomes VERY invested and involved and truly understands the commitment she would be making, it would not be a good idea for her to take them on. She sounds like a nice person, but probably not a candidate to adopt these little ones!

I did have luck trapping a kitten (about 3 months old) that I was feeding, along with his mom, in my backyard. I took him to the vet, brought him home into a separate room, and within a few weeks with a lot of work, he was a happy and comfortable house cat. I fed his mom outside for a few more years and finally brought her inside, too. Not quite as easy, but do-able. I hadn't had experience with feral cats, but was already a "cat person" and truly ready to do this work.

And it certainly is SO much better to have help with this! One of the rescue groups I contacted couldn't help, but put me in touch with a person in my neighborhood who had done lots of TNR and that was a life-saver for me! So don't give up on finding a group or a person to help you... one contact might lead to another and another until finally you are not alone!

white shadow said:

OK.
From my experience with most communities, there always seem to be a number of small animal rescue groups that go 'under the radar', unlike Humane Societies or large and well-known shelter groups.

I've just Googled "cat rescue in Rochester Hills Michigan" and the results appear to indicate that your 'neck of the woods' isn't very different in this way. There seem to be at least ~10 organizations in that area.

Try for yourself...Google exactly this: "cat rescue in Rochester Hills Michigan" - are there any groups in those results that you have not approached for assistance with rescuing these cats ?

None of us can do this work 'solo' - the more and better we can partner with others, the most effective we will be.

Ideally, mom cat & kittens should be trapped, assessed and put into a foster care situation where they (or, at the very least, the kittens) can be socialized and eventually adopted. If separated, then there needs to be a plan for Mom.

What has been your plan for these cats?

Your own cat, you said, came from the Humane Society - do they have a foster program? Are they a strictly no-kill organization? Do they work with any other community organization?

I'm also wondering if this mom cat is the same cat you wrote about in September last year. What became of those cats?

Now, just reviewing what I've written, I must tell you that my intention is to support all your efforts so far to rescue these cats, exploring every possible avenue to find the broader community supports - which exist almost everywhere. Again, none of us can operate successfully alone!

Avery - that homeowner is someone who is "just talking to her husband about wanting to get a cat" and who had "had no idea" that there were a cat and kittens living under her deck.......clearly, someone with little/no cat experience - perhaps not the best choice to take in this group of ferals. Perhaps, though, she could be introduced to one of the rescue groups in the community, and be assessed for an appropriately matched cat. Catlover579 - this might be something you can use when approaching one of the groups - the lure of a potential adopter. It might help your case in enlisting an organization's help.

What do you think?
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I am hoping to trap the kittens somehow once I notice they start eating wet food , right now I have not seen them eat food yet only Mom so I'm assuming they are not ready to be separated from mom. They are moving around but are very small. I have contacted a couple of foster based shelters around here but they all say they are not accepting any cats or kittens. That's the issue here is that every rescue is over filled with cats already and won't accept any more. I wish someone was willing to take Jazzy and the kittens together but I know there's no way any rescue would accept Jazzy since she is a stray. It's out of the question unfortunately. She seems like a sweet cat , she's eaten in front of me and meows at me when she's here asking for food and Iv gotten pretty close to her but not close enough to try to pet her. She backs away. I think given enough patience and space she would come around and could be someone's pet but unfortunately I can't make it happen. It makes me sad with winter coming soon and we have bitter cold winters here in Michigan. The best thing I can do is to provide her with food. I know there's no way to get the kittens without trapping mom first and I need to wait till they are old enough to be separated from her but I have nowhere to put her. I know that TNR would be good so she doesn't have more babies but I don't want to put her through all of that . I know many cats do it but it seems like such a traumatic experience and I'm worried she would be even more distrusting of humans . Basically have to trap her and take her away from her kittens which she will already be stressed about and then take her to the vet . She's scared of people so I can imagine how terrifying that sounds. Then she has to get surgery and just dump her back to the house the next morning where she stays under the deck. I'm sure she would be in pain and traumatized . Does not even have a safe place to recover. Not to mention, I don't even know if the kittens will get trapped in time before she returns. And if they are she will be so upset to find out they are gone . Right now they are doing some work on the house next door so the cats are hiding . Usually they are out from the deck. I have gone there earlier to feed Jazzy though before the workers got there and will check back later on. I think they are painting the house so might be there all day