Feral Mom, Kittens, And Fleas Please Help!

[catsareeverything]

Please help, I am very stressed and unsure of how to approach this situation. For a few months now I have been caring for a feral cat. For the past few weeks she hasn't been coming as often for her regular feeding schedule. However, I noticed her belly was bigger the times she did appear. I have been wanting to get her fixed but have not had the resources to do so. I was hoping at some point I could catch her and do a spay and abort, if she was pregnant. Well, the other morning, I woke up to loud meowing cries coming from outside. I go outside to investigate, and I see the feral I feed, with a baby kitten in her mouth, trying to jump the fence. I look over to where I see more crying and another baby kitten is outside near the crawl space of the house. As soon as mama sees me, she runs back to the crawl space, and takes both babies back under the house. At first I thought she had given birth the night before but they had their eyes open and were walking. So they must be at least 3 weeks old? I don't think shes moved them to wherever she had planned because I still see her going under the house.
There are a few problems that arise with this situation. The mama cat still has a belly and looks as if she could be pregnant? Could this be possible? Could she already have a litter shes about to birth? Or could her belly be from nursing? I only saw two kittens and I'm not sure if there's more. I am unable to trap all of them since I cannot get under the house. Another (bigger) issue, is that the house has recently become infested with fleas. I believe they are coming from under the house since they are in all of the rooms. My roommates are annoyed at the infestation and I have no idea how to treat the problem. Since the mom and her kittens are under there I don't want anything to be sprayed that may kill them. I'm also worried because if we are being bothered by fleas I can't imagine how those baby kittens are doing. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get rid of the fleas without disturbing mom or her babies? What should I do about mama and her kittens? Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[Jcatbird]

Diotemaceous earth.( human safe quality) should help your flea issue. Hard floors that can get wet can be soaked with Dawn dish liquid in water. Left down for a few minutes it will kill live fleas and can then be mopped up. If the vent system for the house will not carry air under the house there are flea powders for carpets.
Mom cat could be fat from worms or it is possible the kittens are old enough that she could be pregnant again. As soon as possible you need to catch or trap them all. If you get the kittens you can get them used to people so they can be adopted. All need to be spayed and neutered so you don’t have more breeding. A few can become a feral colony pretty quickly. I don’t know where you live but there are many programs that help with spaying and neutering. The National Spay Alliance is one. Your local Humane Society would be a good place to check as well. You can ask about grants. You can do a google search on feral cat rescues, feral cat spay and neuter services in your town, county and state for groups that help. If you can’t find help in. Your area then let me know and I can do a search too.
The fleas on Mom and baby need to be addressed if possible. If you catch them they can be treated when spayed/neutered. There are also things you can by to treat them. Some are applied to the cat but others can be put in their food. Just make sure what you use is safe for kittens. Capstar pills are available and the dose can be adjusted for kittens. If you call a vet you can get guidance. Explain that you have not caught them yet and see what they advise. They may also be able to direct you to feral cat rescuers or help in your area. I am so glad you are trying to help this kitties. Your roommates may object now but they would be more upset if the whole area was out of control with ferals and the fleas were uncontrolled outside. If you control the situation now it will be far better than if you ignored it and all the problems spread. You are actually working to stop an issue that could escalate if you did nothing. Bravo to you! Please keep posting here for information and update us. I am sure many others here will be offering other helpful tips. You can to a great site that is filled with people who care. TCS should be an excellent resource for you. Welcome! We will all be hoping for success and an end to your stress. Thank you for what you are doing to help these cats and your interest in controlling the breeding of feral cats in your area. It is a very important issue.
I will
Put your thread in my watch list so that I will get an alert if you post an update. Good luck.

 

[catsareeverything]

Thank you so much for your detailed response! I have ordered some diatomaceous earth. I am really hoping this does the job. I had applied for and received a voucher from an organization in my area for free spay. However, when I received the voucher she had already become more elusive and I was unable to trap her. I would like to trap her asap, in the event she is pregnant again, so she doesn't have any more kittens. I don't feel the voucher would cover the procedure if she is pregnant. Its for a non complicated spay. I am willing to pay out of pocket if this is the case. My biggest problem is trying to reach the kittens since they are under the house and I cannot get to that area. I had been avoiding looking under the house because I didn't want mama to feel threatened. Today, I decided to walk by and I saw one of the babies hanging out near the opening. As I got closer to the opening the baby started to hiss and I could hear mama also hissing. I think they'll come out soon enough since they are starting to walk.The only plan I have at the moment is to wait until the kittens are a couple weeks older and can be fed solid food? That way they won't need their mom as much and I can feed them in her absence as I get her fixed... I'd then like to trap the kittens and hopefully find them homes which seems like another daunting task all on its own. My priority is mama because I absolutely cannot deal with any more kittens. I feel really out of my element, especially since I have never trapped a cat before. But I'm going to try my hardest to make this work! Thank you so much once again for your help!!!