Need Help With Feral Kittens!

[squawk31]

At my job a feral cat gave birth to kittens behind the dumpster. These kittens are a few weeks old at this point, we believe they are about 5 weeks. Tonight me and a few other people decided to capture them and bring them to a shelter to get adopted. We had traps and bait and headed over to the dumpster in the evening. Except the kittens weren't there. They are on and off it seems, sometimes their behind the dumpster and sometimes they arent. I want to get them captured asap, and tonight we managed to trap the mother. Who seems to be about 4 months old. I'm worried the kittens won't show up at all if the mom is gone. They weren't here tonight, so I don't have high hopes for tomorrow. Please any advice would be appreciated. Is it common for 5 week old kittens to live on their own? Will they come back? How can I get them to stay long enough to trap them? Thanks!

 

[Norachan]

The kittens won't be able to survive without their mother. They usually stay with mum until they're about 12 weeks old, often longer than that.

Can you keep leaving food for them behind the dumpster? Something soft and strong smelling, either canned kitten food or some KMR. At five weeks they won't move very far away, but if their Mum isn't there they will be hiding and waiting for her.

Now that you have Mum you can use her as bait to catch the kittens. This video shows how to use kittens to catch a feral mum, but you can do it the other way around.


Keep leaving the food out, even if you don't see the kittens at first. If they're still alive they will be close by, just hiding and hungry.

 

[squawk31]

The kittens won't be able to survive without their mother. They usually stay with mum until they're about 12 weeks old, often longer than that.

Can you keep leaving food for them behind the dumpster? Something soft and strong smelling, either canned kitten food or some KMR. At five weeks they won't move very far away, but if their Mum isn't there they will be hiding and waiting for her.

Now that you have Mum you can use her as bait to catch the kittens. This video shows how to use kittens to catch a feral mum, but you can do it the other way around.


Keep leaving the food out, even if you don't see the kittens at first. If they're still alive they will be close by, just hiding and hungry.

Thanks! I got some wet food and headed over to feed the kittens. But then I ran into a problem. Some lawn people came to the property and cut all the bushes down, including the ones the kittens lived under. Now with the bushes gone, im worried the kittens ran off and won't return. Im really hoping they show up, since we've fed them before. Theres a lot of forested areas around, its almost too much to search. I don't want the poor things starving to death. Maybe we'll try to use the mother as a lure.

 

[Norachan]

What are your plans for the mother cat? Is she suitable for re-homing or are you going to spay and release her?

If she has already been spayed I suggest you release her back as soon as possible. If the kittens are still alive she will be able to find them. If they've been without their mum for 3 days they might not have made it, but being reunited with mum is probably their best chance.

 

[squawk31]

What are your plans for the mother cat? Is she suitable for re-homing or are you going to spay and release her?

If she has already been spayed I suggest you release her back as soon as possible. If the kittens are still alive she will be able to find them. If they've been without their mum for 3 days they might not have made it, but being reunited with mum is probably their best chance.

The mom is going to a home, she can be domiscated. We found where the kittens are hiding and have been feeding/giving them water. I'm currently trying to trap them right now, using the water bottle trick.

 

[Norachan]

That's great!



Good luck, please keep us posted.

 

[squawk31]

C

That's great!



Good luck, please keep us posted.

Can do!

 

[squawk31]

UPDATE:
Found another feral on the property, tabby gray and white. She just showed up today, probably lured here from the food I laid out. Planning on trapping her soon.
I left some wet food out and went to check on it, I saw one of the kittens eating it!
He was alone, and I didn't see any other kittens around. I quickly set up a trap, I'll be checking it soon.
After I set the trap I drove off, and saw another kitten. This one was at a neighbouring business. Pure cinder. I approached it slowly and it ran into the bushes, I saw another one do the same. I have no idea if these are the same kittens. But its good to know they're around.

 

[catsknowme]

Any updates??

 

[squawk31]

Any updates??

Yes actually! I talked to an employee from the neighboring business, and he told me all the kittens live in the bushes behind their place. I went back there after hours and caught 6 kittens! There appears to be 8. Another kitten fell into a bucket full of diesel oil. One of the employees rescued it and adopted it. Theres one more kitten at rbe location, but he won't come out around people at all. I still havent caught the little guy.

 

[Norachan]

Wow, that's great! You've been doing a really good job.

One way that you could trap the remaining kitten is to use either bedding that his siblings have been sleeping on or their used litter as bait.

Hope you can get him soon.

We'd love to see some pictures too.

 

[catsknowme]

Fantastic update!!! You are a real hero & are making a HUGE positive difference for the kitties as well as your community.

 

[peabarnes]

The kittens won't be able to survive without their mother. They usually stay with mum until they're about 12 weeks old, often longer than that.

Can you keep leaving food for them behind the dumpster? Something soft and strong smelling, either canned kitten food or some KMR. At five weeks they won't move very far away, but if their Mum isn't there they will be hiding and waiting for her.

Now that you have Mum you can use her as bait to catch the kittens. This video shows how to use kittens to catch a feral mum, but you can do it the other way around.


Keep leaving the food out, even if you don't see the kittens at first. If they're still alive they will be close by, just hiding and hungry.

 

[peabarnes]

Hi. I was reading your post and I hope you don't mind my asking you a question since you seem to be knowledgeable. I live in Pennsylvania. The winters here can be harsh. There are several feral cats in the area and I put food out for them. I want to create a shelter for them to keep warm. Any suggestions on what kind of box, materials, insulation to use? It can get down to 9 degrees F. (rarely) or up to a balmy 45 degrees in winter here. It really varies. The average temp. is around 25 degrees F. And it can get very damp with many days of rain in succession. Lots of snow too. Any ideas on how to help these cats survive? I hope that mother cat and kittens thrive. Thanks for any input.

Patty B.

 

[catsknowme]

A lot of people in the NE make shelters from large plastic tubs filled with oat straw. My area has temperature extremes so I drape very large tarps over an old swingset, creating a "longhouse" - in the winter, the 'A' shape pushes the warmed up air back down. I put a variety of shelters inside the longhouse.

 

[Norachan]

Hi P peabarnes

My cats have a couple of modified dog kennels lined with extra cardboard and straw. The straw makes a great bedding as it dries out quickly and doesn't get mouldy as fast as hay of blankets would.

Another way you can make a shelter is with a rubber maid container. This video shows you how.


If possible put the shelter up on a couple of bricks. It will be warmer if it's raised off the ground. Position it close to a wall or under a deck where it will get extra protection from the wind and the rain.

As long as cats can stay dry and out or the wind they're pretty tolerant of low temps.

 

[peabarnes]

Wow! Great ideas!! I will try this. thanks heaps!