I Found A Litter Of Kittens In My Garage And I Don’t Know What To Do

[Amstraight87]

As long as they are warm and not likely to fall and hurt themselves looking for Mum, they'll be fine.

They won't starve over night, even if she doesn't come back and feed them. Don't worry about it for now, just give her some time alone.

If they seem very distressed in the morning you could try syringe feeding again.

I'm worried that the mother might try to move them up into the rafters though. Is there any way you could block off the hole?

That was my plan but she never comes out when I’m down and I’m not confident she has at all. None of the food I brought her yesterday morning is missing and she’s still in there now. The kittens were quiet when I came down though the moment they heard me some of them started crying. I feel like if the mama cat didn’t eat then she probably didn’t feed them. I’m worried she’s going to starve herself in there

 

[orange&white]

Do you have a kitchen scale to weigh the kittens? If you could weigh them about every 12 hours, you'd know if she is coming down to feed them or not.

 

[Amstraight87]

Do you have a kitchen scale to weigh the kittens? If you could weigh them about every 12 hours, you'd know if she is coming down to feed them or not.

That is such a wonderful idea. I don’t have one but I can go get one. Do you know a good place to find what kitten weights should be?

 

[orange&white]

Yes, here. I don't remember what the birth weight should be, but they should gain avg 10 grams per day after birth. Sarthur2 probably knows average birth weight off the top of her head, or other pregnancy threads will have lists of kitten weights at birth for peoples' litters.

 

[laurenfosters]

Here is an excellent page about weighing and what their weights should look like by week:
Weighing

The average newborn kitten is anywhere from 90 to 130 grams (some smaller or larger) and they should gain roughly 10 grams every day.

 

[M&M]

Yes, that danger is real. Although its mostly from toms new to the area and or this female. Toms whom are acquinted with moma are no real danger. Friends with momma are never or almost never any real danger. Quite the opposite, they will sometimes do coparenting. Not uncommon if biological parent, but happens also with say, a stud living in the same flat if they are good friends.
One animal behaviorist had even the hypothesis why females allow themselves to be mated by all toms present, is just to inhibit this. This way, they all know her, and thus wont be no danger to the kittens.
If true, it confirms they dont need to be biological parents. A mating is more than enough...

Oh that is so interesting! I knew about the promiscuity of female cats in heat and also several other species of animals. I knew the other animals were doing it for that exact reason but I didn’t connect that it is the same probable reason for cats until you pointed it out! Thanks!

 

[bklyn]

If you can use a camera down there, I think it could really help. It would be really easy to miss nursing as it doesn't always last long. I use a nest camera and stream it to my phone. It's come really in handy so I not only know who's nursing, but I always check it before going into the room to make sure I'm not interrupting nursing.

Weighing is important too, but it's possible that since she's not comfortable with you that she's becoming bothered by your handling the kittens, and may be withdrawing. Cats do not typically reject their kittens because of foreign scents like other animals do, however if you have no relationship with her then it is possible for that to occur. She can also start to move/hide them if she becomes really uncomfortable. The typical protocol for feral moms at shelter programs near me is to leave the family alone as much as possible as long as they appear healthy, and then TNR mom early (around 4-5 weeks after kittens have begun eating on their own) and socialize kittens at this time (they come around quickly). I'm not sure if you're planning to keep mom or try to adopt her out, but socializing extremely feral cats can take time, and you just want to make sure kittens become socialized.

 

[surya]

I think when you come into the room, it's like if some dangerous criminal was breaking into your house with a knife. They are scared to death and their instincts tell them to hide. So the more you go in there, the more stressed out she becomes. If it is too late now and she is too stressed out to take care of the kittens, they are going to have to be fed or they will die. If you can not do it, you will need to call around and see if there is a rescue in your area that will help, or contact a vet office. But maybe if you leave them alone, she will come down and take care of them. Maybe she is feeding them, as soon as she hears you coming into the room she is hiding. But since she is not eating, she is certainly stressed out. If it was me, I would trap her and put her and the kittens in a kitty condo. I borrowed one from a rescue when I had a feral cat and her babies in my bedroom. Then leave them alone. Or get a camera so you can watch her, if you can afford it, that would be the best option. I see it happen here a lot, kids find kittens, they don't leave them alone, and then say the mother abandoned them. But the mother only abandons them because the kids won't leave the babies alone. I'm not blaming you, I'm just pointing out the need for feral cats to be left alone as much as possible with there babies.

 

[Amstraight87]

I think when you come into the room, it's like if some dangerous criminal was breaking into your house with a knife. They are scared to death and their instincts tell them to hide. So the more you go in there, the more stressed out she becomes. If it is too late now and she is too stressed out to take care of the kittens, they are going to have to be fed or they will die. If you can not do it, you will need to call around and see if there is a rescue in your area that will help, or contact a vet office. But maybe if you leave them alone, she will come down and take care of them. Maybe she is feeding them, as soon as she hears you coming into the room she is hiding. But since she is not eating, she is certainly stressed out. If it was me, I would trap her and put her and the kittens in a kitty condo. I borrowed one from a rescue when I had a feral cat and her babies in my bedroom. Then leave them alone. Or get a camera so you can watch her, if you can afford it, that would be the best option. I see it happen here a lot, kids find kittens, they don't leave them alone, and then say the mother abandoned them. But the mother only abandons them because the kids won't leave the babies alone. I'm not blaming you, I'm just pointing out the need for feral cats to be left alone as much as possible with there babies.

Yeah agreed and I really have tried to just feed mama and leave, but I honestly can’t tell if she’s decided to stop taking care of them or not. I wish I could afford a monitor of some kind but I really can’t. I went down to get their weights and I think my dogs and I will have a quiet day or take a ride somewhere and I’m just going to hope she comes out and eats.

 

[Amstraight87]

The kitten weights range from 105g to 121g and they’re about 5 days old if I’m guessing right. What do you guys think?

 

[orange&white]

That was a helpful chart that laurenfosters posted. I think by 7 days they should be close to 150 grams, so take 20 grams out for day 6 and day 5...the "average" would be at 130 grams on day 5.

I would probably try to get a little supplemental food into the kittens, if you are able to do so.

 

[bklyn]

Weights seem a little low, but what's most important is whether or not they're gaining. The situation is a little tricky now because you don't want to wait any longer if they haven't been feeding, but you also don't want to intervene if she has been feeding and push her over the edge, which is seems like she may be on the brink of.

I would weigh them again tonight, ideally 8 hours from now if possible (since there should be multiple feedings in that amount of time). If any have gained at all, it means she is feeding and I would not yet intervene, even if some have not because they could have just gone to the bathroom, and it's not enough time to know for sure they aren't nursing well.
If they have not gained anything or have lost, I would feed them all some kmr. Weigh them again after feeding them. If in the morning they again have not gained or lost, I would prepare to take over completely, because she likely then isn't making them go to the bathroom either (like in the case with a dried up mom, who still tends to the baby, here she would seem to be ignoring them completely). If she is ignoring them completely, you need to not only feed but stimulate, provide heat, and keep them clean.

Of course leaving them with mom is ideal, but sometimes its just not possible. I've been in similar situations myself where I was forced to make a decision without having enough time to understand fully the situation. I didn't want to intervene because they are always best with their mother, but ultimately decided to. I had to weigh the risk of bottle feeding (which is difficult for many reasons) with the risk of them not nursing at all. If there's a substantial risk that she has not been feeding them, then at 5 days old you have to make a decision as quickly as possible because time is of the essence. Monitoring their weights over these next 24 hours will be critical. Feeding them tonight if they're not gaining will likely continue to stress her, I would try to do it out of sight/out of earshot in case she is still feeding them either fully or intermittently.

 

[Norachan]

The important thing is that they gain weight every day. If they start losing at this age, or even if they are not gaining quickly enough, they won't make it.

Do you have a shelter that would accept the kittens as orphans? Could you take them to your vet and have the vet feed them for you and show you how it's done?

I'm really in favour of having mothers care for their kittens whenever possible, but if you think there is a real danger that she hasn't been down to feed them in the last 24 hours you need to step in and take over.

They'll definitely need your help to empty their bladder if they've been without mum for a long time.

Easiest way to do this is get a bowl of warm water, wet some cotton wool balls, hold the kitten belly down on the palm of your hand with their butt facing away from you. Gently tap their butt and genitals with some warm, damp cotton wool balls. They'll probably pee straight away so have some newspaper or an old towel in place underneath them.

 

[Amstraight87]

The important thing is that they gain weight every day. If they start losing at this age, or even if they are not gaining quickly enough, they won't make it.

Do you have a shelter that would accept the kittens as orphans? Could you take them to your vet and have the vet feed them for you and show you how it's done?

I'm really in favour of having mothers care for their kittens whenever possible, but if you think there is a real danger that she hasn't been down to feed them in the last 24 hours you need to step in and take over.

They'll definitely need your help to empty their bladder if they've been without mum for a long time.

Easiest way to do this is get a bowl of warm water, wet some cotton wool balls, hold the kitten belly down on the palm of your hand with their butt facing away from you. Gently tap their butt and genitals with some warm, damp cotton wool balls. They'll probably pee straight away so have some newspaper or an old towel in place underneath them.

I felt she wasn’t helping them eliminate so I stepped in a couple times and did so. Only got pee but I figured it was better than nothing and I got some of them to latch and feed from a syringe filled with formula. I was really trying to stay away for the most part though and I took my dogs out for the night for a last ditch effort to get mom involved again. If she hasn’t shown signs of coming out and eating (and hopefully caring for the kittens) I will probably bring them somewhere to take them or for guidance at least. And I need to figure out how to help their mother too. I’m quite worried about her. This just turned out to be a mess and I only wanted to help.

 

[orange&white]

Don't fret! You're doing a great job. You said yourself that the garage where she first moved them is not a safe place for them. You've done all you can do to keep momma and the litter safe and well-cared for. I've read lots of stories here showing that trying to help a feral cat with her litter can be quite discouraging at times...so that's a perfectly normal feeling.

It's good you are getting them to eat some and helping them pee. Hopefully momma cat will come out of the ceiling soon.

Hang in there!

 

[Sarthur2]

 

[talkingpeanut]

I might have missed this, but are the kittens in an enclosed nest? Like a crate with a towel covering three sides? I wonder if there is anything to be done to make mom more secure.

 

[Amstraight87]

I might have missed this, but are the kittens in an enclosed nest? Like a crate with a towel covering three sides? I wonder if there is anything to be done to make mom more secure.

I ended up putting them in a box and put a sort of blanket fort up for mama. She prefers her hole though.

 

[surya]

Do you have a laptop and a smart phone? If you laptop has a webcam, Maybe you can use skype to watch the kitties, if you have a webcam on your laptop? I found this, but it's from 2013:

How To Keep An Eye On Your Dog Using Skype | Supertintin Blog

I'm not sure if it would work, I'm not that technical, just a thought.

 

[Amstraight87]

Do you have a laptop and a smart phone? If you laptop has a webcam, Maybe you can use skype to watch the kitties, if you have a webcam on your laptop? I found this, but it's from 2013:

How To Keep An Eye On Your Dog Using Skype | Supertintin Blog

I'm not sure if it would work, I'm not that technical, just a thought.

I had that same thought and got excited because I thought you’d know how to do it lol. I’ll google it tonight and see about it. I’m on my way back home now hoping mama came out and ate and fed her kittens.