Feral kittens with infected eyes

[Mollkat]

I found two feral kittens with infected eyes, ideally I would bring the mom and babies to a shelter because I can't bring them home with me, but I don't know how i would be able to catch the mom. I gave mom some food and she didn't seem to mind me picking up the babies, so would it be ok for me to come back every day and clean their eyes and put some terramycin in them, or would that freak mom out enough for her to run off or make it worse if I couldn't get to them

Also, when if ever, would it make sense for me to bring in a kitten this young (2weeks) to a shelter without it's mom? It looks like theres only two, so I don't know if she had a small litter or their siblings died allready. I am getting very sick of watching kittens living by this abandoned house die. I really wish I could just scoop them up and bring them home but I can't quarantine them from my cat and my landlord would loose it if I brought home a family of cats.

 

[Norachan]

M Mollkat do you have a humane trap and a carrier? Or could you borrow one from a shelter? If you can pick the kittens up and put them in a carrier you can use them as bait to catch the mother.

This video shows how it's done.


If you take sick, feral kittens to a shelter you need to be sure that the shelter can care for them. All too often tiny kittens are euthanized because shelters don't have the time or resources to give them the care they need.

Could you reach out to local TNR groups and see if anyone would be willing to foster the family? Or do you know anyone who could care for them until they are old enough to rehome?

 

[Mollkat]

I don't have a trap, I know the city shelters are supposed to lend out traps for free, but last time I tried to get one it took so long all the kittens but one died and the mom got smart and moved somewhere else, all i can think to do for now would be to put the terramycin in their eyes when I can get to them

 

[Norachan]

The kittens probably will die outside. I'm sorry to say that, but as you know feral kittens don't stand much chance outside, particularly if they are already sick and have trouble seeing.

Call around your local shelters, TNR groups, put a message on your neighbourhood Facebook page and see if anyone will lend you a trap or look on Craig's List for second hand ones. If the kittens are only a few weeks old it will be really easy to socialise them ready for re-homing. The longer you wait the less chance there is of them surviving and the harder it will be to trap them.

First of all you need to find a shelter that is willing to take the mother and babies though, so call around first.

Can I ask which city and state you're located in?

 

[Mollkat]

I'm in Brooklyn, ny. The acc shelters run by the city are supposed to take in feral moms with babies and spay them and release them if they can't be socialized. I'm hesitant to bring them to the one closest to me because of the conversations I've had with the woman who always answers the phone. Everyone else I've talked to from acc seems to care though, so maybe a different acc shelter.
I know of one shelter that has a kitten nursery where I could bring kittens without mom, but they always seem to be full although they told me i could leave a kitten there and run away if I absolutely had to :/
If anyone has advise on organizations in the area that would be great, everyone i talked with seems overwhelmed.

 

[Norachan]

How about these guys?

Flatbush Cats