Kittens In Storm Drain

Hello! We have a number of feral cats in our community. One was in our yard and looked so awfully skinny, we fed it a can of tuna. She started coming back so I bought some food and began feeding her. Once she gained a little weight, she suddenly looked pregnant. We tried to get our local TNR group out before she had the kittens, but we are still on the waiting list over a month later. We wondered when she would have the babies. Last week I heard kittens crying in the storm drain. I found two down there. As it turns out, sometime after we started feeding her, she had those kittens. She was so skinny, she is still actually gaining weight through feeding and we couldn’t even tell she had the kittens. I see the ferals jump into the storm drain, but never see them come out (obviously they do at some point, but the walls are vertical and it is about 4 feet deep). The kittens are about 2 weeks old (guess) with their eyes still blue. I struggle with whether to leave them there, as they appear healthy, until they are a bit older and weaned and then try to catch them and take them to the humane society, or try to get them now? Even though momma is black, there is a male Himalayan-like feral in the neighborhood, so I am guessing he is the father.

Heatherpiro said:

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The kittens are about 2 weeks old (guess) with their eyes still blue. I struggle with whether to leave them there, as they appear healthy, until they are a bit older and weaned and then try to catch them and take them to the humane society, or try to get them now? Even though momma is black, there is a male Himalayan-like feral in the neighborhood, so I am guessing he is the father.

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The kittens in the photo are much older than 2 weeks. They seem to be at least 6 weeks, if not older, so it's unlikely the black cat (who was pregnant) is the mom if she gave birth to some kittens a few weeks ago.
Their eyes are blue because of the mix-breed, an Oriental breed somewhere in their genes, not for their age. The eye color will remain even when they are older, the markings on their coat might get darker.
Anyway, do your best to rescue those kittens, this is the best moment to socialize them before they become too feral.

Then you'll have to find out where the black mom has her kittens.

I don't know how the rules are where you live, but over here I wouldn't find any vet who would spay a pregnant cat!

Antonio65 said:

Their eyes are blue because of the mix-breed, an Oriental breed somewhere in their genes, not for their age. The eye color will remain even when they are older, the markings on their coat might get darker.

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Just to clarify... These kittens both appear to be lynx point (tabby point) domestic shorthairs. Pointed cats always have blue eyes. The colorpoint gene originally came from the Siamese breed about 70 years ago, but at this time it is widespread through the domestic cat population, and doesn't indicate recent ancestry from any particular breed.

The colorpoint gene is recessive, so the parents of these kittens would not necessarily be pointed in color, but both parents must carry the recessive gene. However since these kittens are lynx point (tabby point), at least one of their parents must have been a tabby. They could not have a black mother and a solid point father (such as seal point or blue point)... if the mother was solid black, the father would have to be some sort of tabby.

I agree these kittens are older than 2 weeks. They appear to be at least 4-6 weeks at minimum, or older.

Hi! Welcome to thecatsite!
I’m sorry you are having to worry about these babies but I’m so glad you care and are trying to help them!
It’s a tough decision about trying to get them. If you try are they likely to fall down anywhere? If they continue to cry then I would be concerned about them. Mom may not still be around. It would be hard for a Mom to jump out that far with a kitten that size in her mouth. I don’t know where you are but some cities will send workers into the storm drains to retrieve animals. The kittens don’t seem to be scared in the photo. It may be that they want out. It’s easier to socialize them at this age than to wait. I would weigh their safety in order to decide. Personally, I’d want them out. Have you tried contacting other rescue groups? Depending on where you are, there could be many others, including national groups.
Some places in the U.S will Spay pregnant cats but some vets will not.
Those kittens are absolutely beautiful! I hope you can get them. Please post back with an update or if you need other information about rescue groups.