‘Feral’ Momma cat and kitten in backyard

[Katelyn K]

Apologies if this is the wrong area to put this thread, this is my first time and post on this website.

As of late last week a momma cat (unknown age) and her kitten (guessing 3-5 weeks old as eating wet food I put out) have showed up in my back yard. As they seemed very scared and wary of me and my father, I’m assuming they might be feral.

As of right now, the kitten seems to trust me a little, let’s me pet them (don’t know the gender) and watch them play, though they still get spooked when I come outside too quickly and make loud noises. They also sometimes run a bit if I’m too quick.

The momma cat is still very untrusting of me. She understands I bring food and comes running when she’s around, but never to close to me. Once I put down the food she just slowly approaches and glares at me till I back off and go back inside.

I’m trying to gain their trust enough to take them to the local SPCA to make sure they have a good home in the future.

Though I’m wondering, is it possible to even gain the momma cat’s trust? And should I possibly separate the kitten from the momma to socialize them? Sorry if that last one sounds odd, I’m not too experienced will what I’m assuming are probably a feral cat and semi-feral kitten.

I’ve attached some pictures of them, hoping they work, again, first time on this website. And on the last note, does the momma cat look pregnant or just fat? I’m too inexperienced and paranoid to tell.

 

[Sarthur2]

Aww, mama cat does look pregnant again already, poor thing. And too far along to terminate. Baby kitten is adorable.

I think it is possible to gain mom’s trust. Can you trap them both? Could you foster mom inside through her next litter? I’ll bet she would adapt fairly easily once inside and being cared for. It would then be easier to associate with a no-kill shelter to get everyone adopted, or perhaps you have friends or relatives who might be interested.

In the meantime, continue to feed mom and kitten more than once per day as they need the food, and to build trust to hopefully bring them inside or trap them. Kitten for sure deserves a good forever home. Mom deserves help. Best to get them together for now if at all possible.

Thank you for caring and keep us posted!

 

[Katelyn K]

Aww, mama cat does look pregnant again already, poor thing. And too far along to terminate. Baby kitten is adorable. Can you trap them both? Could you foster mom inside through her next litter? I’ll bet she would adapt fairly easily once inside and being cared for. It would then be easier to associate with a no-kill shelter to get everyone adopted, or perhaps you have friends or relatives who might be interested.

In the meantime, continue to feed mom and kitten more than once per day and build trust to hopefully bring them inside or trap them. Kitten for sure deserves a good forever home. Mom deserves help.

Thank you for caring and keep us posted!

Don’t know how easy it would be to trap them, I’ve never really done anything like that before, plus I’m assuming they might be feral. Momma still gives me a warning hiss at least once a day, and my father’s already not too happy about them just being in our backyard. Not sure how he would react if I brought them inside with us.

Also, any suggestions for building trust other than the whole feeding thing? It would be much appreciated. Oh and maybe other suggestions if I do have to end up trapping them.

 

[Sarthur2]

I’ll give you some thoughts and ideas in the morning.

 

[Katelyn K]

Hiya again, hopefully this is the right place to post this, apologies again if it isn’t, I’m still new here.

The other day I made a post about the semi-feral momma cat and her kitten that wandered into my yard, as of now I’ve been feeding them daily.

As it turns out, on my last post I was told the momma cat looked to be pregnant again. I’m on a bit of a crossroads morally here. As someone suggested on my last post, I should try to trap the momma cat and her kitten. I’m worried though because the momma cat is pregnant and both of them come in a very inconsistent times, they’re not always together and I don’t want to scare off one by trapping the other. I only have one pet carrier.

Since they come in a very inconsistent times even if I trap them together, I don’t know when it could happen, and because of that varying timeframe I might not have a ride to the local SPCA as I can’t drive on my own. Would it be worth getting the kitten first then the momma when she comes for food?


I would just try to gain their trust first but I’m worried that might take too long and the momma might have her other kittens then and this whole process would be even harder. Any suggestions or advice would be helpful, sorry if I sound frazzled.

 

[Sarthur2]

Sometimes it helps to sit nearby while they eat so they learn to trust you more.

As for trapping, you could begin feeding inside a large crate, and eventually (after a few days) close the door and bring them inside. I hate for her to have her litter outside.

Can you talk to your dad about the possibility?

 

[Katelyn K]

Sometimes it helps to sit nearby while they eat so they learn to trust you more.

As for trapping, you could begin feeding inside a large crate, and eventually (after a few days) close the door and bring them inside. I hate for her to have her litter outside.

Can you talk to your dad about the possibility?

I can try to talk to him about it, the only other issue is I don’t have a big crate. I just have one cat carrier and that’s about it. They come to eat in the porch which can be a closed off space. I can try to get them in there, but no idea if/when they’ll show up together, if they even do show up together.

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

You can contact your local humane society and ask if they'll let you borrow a couple traps, which you'll need regardless of whether you can get them inside since it doesn't sound like they'd be easy to get into a carrier. I do think it's best to catch the kitten first since she's more socialized. Closing off the porch after one of them enters is a good idea, especially if you're able to herd the first into another room of your house before reopening the porch for the second.
Do you know if anyone else is feeding them? Maybe a neighbor could help trap/drive them to the SPCA?

 

[Katelyn K]

Hiya, it’s been a while since I posted here. Thought I’d give an update on the semi feral momma cat that’s been in my back yard. As I’ve mentioned before, she’s pregnant again. Gotten real heavy now, not sure how long she has left before she gives birth. I’ve attached some pictures a took a day or so ago for reference, hopefully they work. Could someone possibly tell me how far along she looks? It would be real helpful.

Also, as of a few minutes ago Bastet the momma cat has shown me the closest thing to affection she’s ever shown me. Since I’ve started feeding her every time I go outside she comes running for to me for food.

As I was crouched down putting food in her bowl she got real close to me and rubbed her back up against me twice. It wasn’t a proper purr against me or anything but that’s the closest thing to proper affection she’s ever shown me. I’m real happy about it and just had to post about it. Keep in mind this was from the cat who used to be absolutely terrified of me and hissed every chance she got. It’s progress for sure. I’m just real happy about it.

(Also, for those who remember my post about my inside cat Molly, he’s doing better now. I’ll make a proper update post about him later.)

 

[CatladyJan]

Hiya, it’s been a while since I posted here. Thought I’d give an update on the semi feral momma cat that’s been in my back yard. As I’ve mentioned before, she’s pregnant again. Gotten real heavy now, not sure how long she has left before she gives birth. I’ve attached some pictures a took a day or so ago for reference, hopefully they work. Could someone possibly tell me how far along she looks? It would be real helpful.

Also, as of a few minutes ago Bastet the momma cat has shown me the closest thing to affection she’s ever shown me. Since I’ve started feeding her every time I go outside she comes running for to me for food.

As I was crouched down putting food in her bowl she got real close to me and rubbed her back up against me twice. It wasn’t a proper purr against me or anything but that’s the closest thing to proper affection she’s ever shown me. I’m real happy about it and just had to post about it. Keep in mind this was from the cat who used to be absolutely terrified of me and hissed every chance she got. It’s progress for sure. I’m just real happy about it.

(Also, for those who remember my post about my inside cat Molly, he’s doing better now. I’ll make a proper update post about him later.)

Any chance you have somewhere to put her so you can get her fixed down the road?

Please keep us posted on the babies (pics pics pics)

 

[Katelyn K]

Got a more recent photo of her today after my first post. It’s not a great angle but still.

 

[fionasmom]

I wondered the same thing....if she could be put someplace in order to control her and her babies whereabouts. She knows that you are helping her and she may become friendly....it has happened to me with fearls.

As for how far along she is, I don't have much of an idea and I am not sure if the pics are sufficient to make a guess.

Sarthur2 ?

 

[Sarthur2]

Difficult to say exactly how far along - 7-8 weeks maybe?

Please try to bring her inside your home. She must be spayed after this litter. She sounds as though she is warming up to you nicely now!

What’s happened with her kitten?

 

[Katelyn K]

Difficult to say exactly how far along - 7-8 weeks maybe?

Please try to bring her inside your home. She must be spayed after this litter. She sounds as though she is warming up to you nicely now!

What’s happened with her kitten?

I’m not sure if I can bring her into my home, she still really skittish even though I’ve made progress and barely likes being touched as it is. She’s already scratched at me once for petting her without giving her a warning first, my fault on that one really (I immediately cleaned the wound after that btw so I’m fine).

The most I could do is probably just trap her in our porch for a safe area to have her kittens, there’s only two exits, one in the house and one into the yard, both I could shut just fine, she wouldn’t exactly overheat in there as we do have a fan in there. I would need to talk the idea over with my father though if someone gives this idea a pass.

As for her original kitten Taffy, she has actually moved into the house with me, I’ve adopted her as of right now. Still need to take her to be checked by a vet though.

Taffy the kitten has actually adapted quite well to being inside, really hyper, high energy, loves to play with anything she can find. Real happy girl.

 

[Sarthur2]

You posted:

“The most I could do is probably just trap her in our porch for a safe area to have her kittens, there’s only two exits, one in the house and one into the yard, both I could shut just fine, she wouldn’t exactly overheat in there as we do have a fan in there. I would need to talk the idea over with my father though if someone gives this idea a pass.“

This is exactly what you said last time, and now the cat is pregnant again. Please get her trapped so that she has her kittens on the porch and learns to deal with you touching her. This needs to be her last litter.

Wonderful to hear that her kitten is inside with you! The kitten will need to be spayed also.

 

[Katelyn K]

You posted:

“The most I could do is probably just trap her in our porch for a safe area to have her kittens, there’s only two exits, one in the house and one into the yard, both I could shut just fine, she wouldn’t exactly overheat in there as we do have a fan in there. I would need to talk the idea over with my father though if someone gives this idea a pass.“

This is exactly what you said last time, and now the cat is pregnant again. Please get her trapped so that she has her kittens on the porch and learns to deal with you touching her. This needs to be her last litter.

Wonderful to hear that her kitten is inside with you! The kitten will need to be spayed also.

Understood, and also I don’t if if I properly explained this but this is going to be her first litter she’s had since coming into our backyard. No idea what properly happened before that point. I just assume she had a litter before she came here as her nipples were still very swollen and had brought Taffy with her (who to my assumption was most likely from said first possible litter).

Also I know the kitten needs to be looked at, my fathers not as much of animal person as me and won’t take her to the vet just yet. I’ll take her in a few months when I turn 18 and can do that on my own and get her properly checked out then spayed when she reaches the proper age.

 

[Katelyn K]

Don’t know if a should be replying to this with the news but Momma cat Bastet had her kittens!!! I went outside to check on her and I heard mewling. She unfortunately had her kittens in a bush outside in my back yard. My father got sent to the hospital and I didn’t have time to ask him about the porch idea in time.

I have no idea how many there are or if she’s even finished having them. I just managed to get a quick snapshot of her in the bush with a white blur (one of the kittens in the background). Momma cat won’t let me get close enough for a proper look, but still it’s semi happy news. Anyone have any advice for what I should do from here for caring for her wise?

 

[Katelyn K]

closest thing to a photo I could get was this with her blocking the kittens from me.

 

[CatladyJan]

Don’t know if a should be replying to this with the news but Momma cat Bastet had her kittens!!! I went outside to check on her and I heard mewling. She unfortunately had her kittens in a bush outside in my back yard. My father got sent to the hospital and I didn’t have time to ask him about the porch idea in time.

I have no idea how many there are or if she’s even finished having them. I just managed to get a quick snapshot of her in the bush with a white blur (one of the kittens in the background). Momma cat won’t let me get close enough for a proper look, but still it’s semi happy news. Anyone have any advice for what I should do from here for caring for her wise?

Since she is feral, I would try not to disturb her too much right now (although it appears she is very familiar with you). Make sure she has plenty of fresh water and food nearby she will leave them briefly so she can eat. Best if you can feed her kitten food as it has the calcium and fat she needs.

Congratulatons.

 

[Sarthur2]

As I’ve said before, please put the family on the porch as soon as possible where they will be safe from predators and protected from the weather.