Found feral kittens, don't know what to do

[KittyPhoenix]

Hello all! This is my first time on this forum, and quite frankly my first time dealing with anything cat related. About 2 weeks ago, I had discovered a kitty family behind my house. There is mama cat and 3 babies. As of now, I am thinking the kittens are around 5 weeks old? Maybe 6? They are still small and fuzzy, but are running around all over and jumping into bushes and such. Mama cat is around often, I've only seen her leave once. Often I see the family retreat under my house, so I am assuming that is where they sleep. The area they are in has rats, so that is where I assume mama gets her food (I have seen her catch a rat, so I assume this is a normal occurrence). No one feeds, but I have set out a water dish. Mama cat has drank from it, but not since I moved it. I moved it because it was practically on my lawn, and I didn't want someone to see mama and babies while they were drinking and bother them or try to take them. When I approached the dish and the family, mama cat hissed at me and retreated back under my house with the kittens. I am a bit afraid to go near her, and I also don't want to stress her out.

Now that I gave background, here is my question. I want the kittens to be socialized, but I am unsure how. I have been wanting to call the humane society or a rescue, but that isn't possible right now due to covid 19. I am also not in a position to take cats into my house, so whatever can be done will have to be outside. I don't have cat food, but I can get it off my neighbors if need be. Is there a way I can get close without upsetting mama cat? Or is it best I just leave them alone until I can call a service?

 

[theyremine]

It's best to get some help as soon as possible. There is a small window of opportunity (up to 8 weeks) to socialize feral kittens easily. Try to contact a no-kill rescue. Often someone will come out and trap mama and the kittens. Mama will be TNR if not friendly and kittens be put into a foster home and will be socialized . Where are you located? The rescue I work (NH) with is still taking kittens.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Unfortunately I am not in your state Of all the ones I've looked at they were closed, but I will look into it more, perhaps give some of them a call in case they are open.

 

[theyremine]

Yes, do call. Our rescue is working by appointment only so people can only reach us by phone/email. We are still doing rescue and adoptions but in a different way.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Ok, then that will be the current plan. I will try and call within the next week and see what the situation is. Thank you for the help!

 

[Jcatbird]

Do call. You may need to search around since this is kitten season but explain you have not had experience doing this and that she is having to catch rats to feed. Let them know that it’s a bit of an emergency in order to stop more breeding and get the kitties into a safe environment. It only requires one volunteer to assist with this. Tell them that mom has the kittens where there are rats living and you are worried she will be seen if you put anything out on the lawn. The more of an emergency, the more those kitties will be prioritized in some places. Here it is emergency only right now since we are in kitten season and many volunteers are swamped with work but no way to enable kittenbadootions at the present time. Get those kitties on a list if nothing else! If you can’t find help by calling, please post back. There are groups online like Next door where you might find a local person to step in.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Ok, thank you! I'll make sure to give updates on the situation.

 

[molly92]

Yeah, I second reaching out to your local community and seeing if anyone can help or knows of resources to reach out to. Every community has that cat volunteer who's been doing this for years, and they'll have humane traps, know where to get them spayed/neutered, have dewormer medications on hand, etc.

Otherwise you could in theory take care of everything yourself, but it's an extensive and sometimes difficult process to trap the mother, get her spayed ASAP, get the little ones fixed, taken care of medically, and then take care of them until you can find homes. If you can't keep them inside or even in a garage or something, it's going to be very difficult.

The spaying of the mother and fixing of the kittens as soon as they're 2 pounds (normally 8 weeks or older) would be the best thing you could do, even if you can't get them homes. Mother would probably need a humane trap and be taken to a clinic that does TNR regularly. Specifically, the should perform a flank spay so the kittens can still nurse if they need to. After mom's been trapped, you might be able to grab the kittens one by one and plop them in a carrier after luring them with some yummy food, and take them to the vet like that.

If you want to start feeding them, it would help ensure they keep coming back until you can get someone else to take care of them. If you can get ahold of cat food, kitten food will have nutrients that help mom as well as the kittens. But otherwise they'll probably enjoy any form of plain, unseasoned meat or fish. That will also help get them used to humans, and you can try enticing the kittens to play with you just by dragging a leaf across the ground or something similar.

It's noble of you to try to help, and if you want to take on this project yourself, we can help guide you through every step. But it can be a lot of work and money, so you have no obligation to do more than you can. I do hope you can find some help locally, but thank you for whatever you can do.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

I can probably get cat food from my neighbors. The first thing I will do is try and find help from a no kill rescue, and if not I am pretty sure my dad has next door, so we will go that route. If all else fails, then I will do what I can to help the kittens. In that situation, if I were to leave out food, where should I put it relative to where the cats live? Should it be near or far? Is plain old dry cat food alright?

I do appreciate all the help. I am planning to call on Monday, this weekend is a bit hectic for me. These kittens are the sweetest little things and so fun to watch, and I only want the best for them. We have a lot of coyotes in the neighborhood, so that is also an added danger.

 

[moxiewild]

I can probably get cat food from my neighbors. The first thing I will do is try and find help from a no kill rescue, and if not I am pretty sure my dad has next door, so we will go that route. If all else fails, then I will do what I can to help the kittens. In that situation, if I were to leave out food, where should I put it relative to where the cats live? Should it be near or far? Is plain old dry cat food alright?

I do appreciate all the help. I am planning to call on Monday, this weekend is a bit hectic for me. These kittens are the sweetest little things and so fun to watch, and I only want the best for them. We have a lot of coyotes in the neighborhood, so that is also an added danger.

I work in wildlife rescue but do cat/dog rescue privately.

And honestly, when doing rescuing privately, I have far more luck working with private groups and the community than with actual rescues.

Nextdoor can be a lot of help, but be sure not to accept help from just anyone. You need to vet them for the kittens safety!

Also check for feral friends on Alley Cat Allies - people contact me here frequently, and when I can’t help them myself, I’m able to direct them to several private rescue Facebook groups who can - Feral Friends Network® Connect

When you contact your local shelters and rescues, ask them if they know any local individuals or trappers who might be able to help. The wording here is important - you want to ensure they don’t interpret what you’re saying as asking them for help or about other non-profit rescues. You’re just looking for local people who do this privately.

Do the same thing for any low cost spay/neuter clinics near you. They get to know local cat rescuers and colony caretakers very well.

And finally, find any private groups that may be in your area. Go to Facebook and start using search terms like “cat” and “rescue” with variations on your location and nearby locations. Other terms to throw out there are things like “animals”, “ferals”, “strays”, “pets”, “colony”, “TNR”, “save”, “advocates”, etc.

You’re looking for private groups - not pages. The kind where you usually have to ask to join and answer 1-3 simple questions.

Nearly every major city I’ve looked into has one or more of these groups. It’s just community members who rescue on their own time. Although rural areas and small towns can have them too! I primarily work with two groups from the major city nearest me, one group from a small town near me, and another from a rural area about an hour away.

Many of these groups set up emergency funds by donation to help with vet costs, or they pledge direct donations to the animal you post about. Many members also have connections to actual rescues who will sometimes take an animal in, or financially sponsor it if someone steps up to foster.

If all else fails and there are no groups like this near you, post on local lost/found pet pages (or local pet pages in general - we have both), and even local online garage sale groups if the mods will allow it.

If you really can’t find anything (and in the meantime until you do), this is my advice -

Try to figure out what time the kittens are out playing. They usually stick to a routine. This is when they will let their guard down the most.

Most litters seem to be the most active and... preoccupied around 10 pm - 2 am (lot of variation in this window!) and again around 4 am - 6 am. It’s also quieter at these times, so they aren’t anticipating as many threats around and can just play more freely.

Those (pain in the butt) windows would be the ideal time to get to know them, at least initially. But if if you can’t do that, they usually have 2-3 other playtime windows at more reasonable hours. Cats are crepuscular, which means they’re usually active at dawn and dusk, so keep an eye out for them around dusk (although if Mom is out hunting, the kittens may not come out).

While they’re play, go outside. Don’t talk to them or look at them. Yes, they’ll probably run and hide, but find a comfortable place outside to sit.

Play on your phone, read a book, etc. They’ll nearly always come back out if it’s play time.

Then just completely ignore them the first 2-3 times. Sit out with them for an hour or more.

Ideally, you’ll bring treats too. I tend to break off prices of Purebites chicken treats and gently toss them toward the kittens without making a big deal about it. A cheap grocery store dry food can work too.

You can also try toys. Something homemade with a shoe string will work. But a laser pointer is best to start, as it allows them to stay as far away as they need to be from you to feel comfortable.

Once they’re accepting food and/or toys and are a bit more at ease doing so, you can start talking to them and interacting with them from afar more.

Slowly bring them closer and closer to you with food and toys. This process may take a week or more, it really depends on how old they are.

If at some point they come up to check you out, or forget you’re there while they’re playing and get really close - do not talk to them, do not look at them, do not move!

Let them investigate and realize that being that close to you is perfectly safe. It may take a handful of times for each kitten to do this before you can start talking to them or offering a treat, etc without freaking them out too much.

Kittens are easy to socialize, but doing it outside is a lot harder. Take advantage of play time and just let them get used to you, at least an hour a day or every other day if you can.

Personally, when I’ve had to do this with kittens before, I can sometimes be unmotivated to go and always tell myself “I’m only going for 30 minutes/an hour today”.

But then I get there and watching them play is sooo entertaining, and that, combined with little bursts of progress throughout, always keep me motivated to stay out longer. I end up quite enjoying my time with them.

Thank you for looking out for this little family! Keep us updated! And snap a few pictures if you can, we love kitten pictures here!

 

[moxiewild]

Whoops, I just noticed the coyote part.

That’s not good at all

Are these urban coyotes?

If you end up feeding them, try to do scheduled feeding if you can. Meaning take out the food 2-3x a day, give them half an hour or so to eat, then pick up the bowl and take it inside. And only feed during the day, especially if you free feed!

If you feed birds, pick up any left over birdseed every evening and take the feeder in at night. Make sure your garbage can is always secure.

You want to do everything possible to not encourage them to come around (I’m sure you already know about hazing).

That said, with rats and small kittens around, this is a recipe for disaster no matter what you do, depending on how bad your coyote population is and how acclimated they are to human environments

Regarding your other questions I missed - do not place the food near their shelter. Don’t place it too far out of the way of course, but maintain a good distance.

Placing food by their shelter may cause them to leave it. Momma’s instincts will tell her that the food will attract predators to their shelter if it’s too close (and it will!).

Wet food is best for all cats, but if dry is all you can do or afford, then that’s perfectly fine! Do what you can.

Also, is perhaps making a “proper shelter” out of a plastic storage tote doable for you? The problem with cats (and especially kittens) living under a house or shed is that it can mean trouble for them if it rains.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Thank you for the responses! I haven't been as active because I am AP testing this week, so that's the reason for my late response. I have not had time to do anything other than study, but the bulk of my testing is done Wednesday so that is when I will start. Mama has seemed to have moved the kittens into my neighbor's yard. They don't necessarily go into the yard, but they go through a fence covered in ivy and sit on this tarp that's in the yard. It is pretty isolated and my mother has already spoken to the people who live there about the cats, so I am not too worried about them being there. Although my neighbor does have a dog, it is blind and I don't hear much interaction between the cats and the dog. They do still go behind my house to play and there is a bench back there that I can sit on while I wait. Last night I couldn't sleep because I was woken up at 3 am and 4 am to cat screeches. I am unsure if these were from her as I have seen other cats, but she is safe because I saw her this morning while the kittens were playing.

As for the coyotes, they are urban. I haven't seen them around as of late, but I know that they were very prominent in our neighborhood a while ago.

When I make a post on Next Door, what should I say? Should I explain the situation or just say I am looking for someone who traps or works with ferals or what? Also, what do I look for in them in order to vet them? Are there particular questions I ask?

Here are pictures of the kittens from this morning. Bit hard to snap pics because they are little balls of energy and are constantly running and jumping. Also, there isn't variation among them. They are all the same color and pattern from what I can see. My family has named them Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing fine. I was still wondering what my next door post should say and how I should vet someone, because I really do want to get help soon. I really haven't seen much of a pattern in the kitten's behavior when it comes to specific times. Sometimes they'll come out in the morning, sometimes they don't. So, I know when they come out but the times are almost always different and it's not a consistent everyday thing. I tried sitting out there around a time I see them come out sometimes and right when I left, like 10 minutes later, they started coming out again. I decided to go back out and I sat there for about 10 minutes until I had to go inside for dinner. When I went out they ran and I didn't see them again. Since then I haven't seen the kittens. I have only seen the mother. I heard the neighbor's dog barking that night, which maybe scared them? Is it possible she moved the kittens? After the night I heard the dog barking and the night I went out there to sit for a bit, I woke up to her meowing in the morning. It wasn't like a struggle meow but it was like the way she would meow when she calls the kittens over. She meowed like this a lot and from then on I have not seen the kittens. Is it possible they were older than I thought and they outgrew her? They really didn't look that old, still had that tiny little face, but I know close to nothing about cat age and I only compared it to the chart on the alleycats website. I'm starting to feel a bit guilty about this whole thing. I feel like I should've just tried to get help right away instead of waiting until after testing. It would really sadden me if something were to have happened to them or they would have to remain feral. I really do want to see those kittens find good homes.

As of this morning, the mother was where I usually see the kittens, but I did not see them at all yesterday or today (as of 9 am).

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Update: I found the kittens. They are now behind my garage, which is a bit unfortunate because it is considerably less inaccessible than their last location. There's a bunch of old chairs, bikes, etc so it's a bit hard to get through. But, I can move the chairs if need be. It is a very private location, and away from the rats, so I am happy that it is safer, but it makes it so I can't really just sit back there. My best hope is to find someone who can trap them and take them. I would take up the task myself, but I live with my family, and if everybody isn't on board with bringing cats into the house I feel it is not right to do so.

 

[molly92]

Oh thank goodness.

On your nextdoor neighbor post, just ask around for anyone who works with ferals, does TNR, or knows anyone who works with rescue groups. Post pictures and ask people to spread the word, and mention you're worried about coyotes, and that you don't have the resources to take care of them yourself.

If someone contacts you, ask them what experience they have with ferals and what you should do next. You can post their response here for us to vet if you'd like, but I think it will be pretty obvious if they know what they're talking about or not. Everyone who's ever mentored me in these situations has been incredibly detailed and thorough. And also very busy, so if they contact you but then you don't hear back again in a few days, reach out again.

Do you have a garage or mudroom or anything that your family would be willing to let the cats live in temporarily? I'm just worried about them every day they're outside. If you can get your hands on one, a large dog crate (on top of being inside) would be ideal. If you could do that, you could get them safe and even foster them until you find adopters if no one else can take them in right away. You'd need a humane trap (which with a little networking you can probably find someone to let you borrow one), something yummy like tuna fish, the crate, towels, kitten food, bowls, a pan for litter, and litter, and probably a cat carrier (also often borrow-able from rescues).

Which comes to the issue of funding. It's probably a good idea to start an online fundraiser and spread the word on social media to get everyone fixed and get supplies to take care of them. Arrange it so you can give back the donations if you don't end up needing them, but if you want to do this, I'd start that ASAP too. Even if you find someone who can step in and take care of them, it'd be nice to have their spay and neuter surgeries paid for.

You're being very observant, which is great! Keep it up! I think you can help this family!

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Thank you for your response! I will make that next door post today. I do have a garage I guess they could hypothetically stay in, but to be honest it would be like putting them into a medieval dungeon. It's dark and really outdated and filled with spiders, lizards, and just a bunch of stuff we need to get rid of. I am onboard with bringing them in and my mom and brother are too, but my dad isn't a huge fan of having animals in the house and he is allergic to cats. If it is detrimental, I may be able to talk something out but I don't see it happening. I might, however, know some people who would be willing to keep them in their home.

Thank you for the encouragement. This whole thing has been quite the process and I'm sure you can imagine how difficult it can be to keep up during the current state of the world, but I am learning a lot and hoping that this has a positive outcome! I am so thankful for everyone's help.

 

[molly92]

Obviously if someone who is prepared to care for a mother and kittens has room in their home, that'd be ideal, but it's best for the mother to be in a confined space like a cage for at least a few weeks in any situation. She's going to take a lot longer to socialize than the kittens and the cage is an ideal set up for extremely feral cats to get to know people and be cared for but still feel relatively safe. And, even if no one can socialize her and she has to be released back outside, she at least needs to be confined until she can be spayed and her kittens are weaned. So, if your garage is accessible to humans, there's a spare 5 square feet, and you can a cage and the basics, that garage is still a lot better than outside.

Since you might be getting to this point soon, I'm going to caution you not to approach the mother if she's in a confined space like a trap or cage without some kind of sturdy gloves and clothes that cover your arms and legs. People aren't always that cautious when working with ferals, but because you don't have a lot of experience with ferals and cat body language, better safe than sorry. Cats don't attack until they think it's their only option, but when they do, they can cause a lot of damage. (When she's lose in your yard though, don't worry. You won't be able to get close enough to her anyway.)

This is absolutely the hardest time to be trying to do animal rescue, and it's incredibly commendable that you're trying! On top of being teenager and not having the freedom an adult would have anyway! It's definitely requiring you to get creative. Plus, people don't realize how stressful it is being in high school these days, and I thought that before the pandemic! You're doing great. Thank you for your compassion.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

Thank you! I can see what I can work out with the whole garage situation. When the mother is caged is she kept with the kittens or are they separated?

 

[molly92]

Thank you! I can see what I can work out with the whole garage situation. When the mother is caged is she kept with the kittens or are they separated?

Keep her with the kittens, but if you want to you can probably take the kittens out for supervised playtime in a confined room like a bathroom. I think they should be relatively easy to handle, and they'll probably want to explore a lot more than their mom will.

 

[KittyPhoenix]

I have made the post on next door, hopefully I will receive a response soon