Oops! It Turned Out He Was A She And Now We Have 5 Feral Kittens Living On Our Deck

[Kwoodson59]

We've had a number of stray/neighborhood/feral cats that enjoy the shade under our deck, the kitty condo on the deck and the food and water we started putting out. Recently, just one cat has been hanging around. We thought it was a male and probably about 8 months old. Imagine our surprise when we found 5 kittens underneath the cover of our outdoor sofa. I'd say they're about 3 weeks old. Their eyes are still blue, they can wobbly walk and their ears aren't flat. We have them in a cardboard box with bedding. I want to know how often the mom should be feeding them? We're giving them plenty of privacy but I'm not sure they're getting enough nourishment. Mom is still very skittish but I would like to give her some flea protection to pass along to the kittens. Also, what kind of food should mom be eating? At what point can I can take the entire brood in to be vet checke and in the case of the mom, spayed? Thanks for any advice

 

[hannah1989]

Is it not possible for you to take mom and babies inside? Being so young they are prey to any animal and is highly dangerous really?

 

[hannah1989]

Also mom needs to be fed on kitten food if possible.

 

[daisyd]

I agree to try and bring them inside ! Do the kittens look healthy ? There are many threads on here about kitten and mum care . @Sarthur2 can you refer to links as I'm still not sure how to attach and concious this is what we should he doing rather than linking you guys in ?

 

[StefanZ]

Agree with the above posters. As you DO have the kittens collected, it shouldnt be no big deal to take them (and momma) inside. Momma will copy, as long as you do everything respectfully.

The best flea remedy is Advantage II, its good and not dangerous. There may be others too, but this we KNOW is OK. We also know some brands arent OK...

In nature, the kittens really dont suckle much, its enough of effective suckling a couple of minutes. Rest of the time is really for pleasure... So it may look as momma isnt there much, but still they get enough.
The easiest to know if the kittens gets enough and are OK is to weigh them. A healthy kittens should add 10+ grammes a day...
So this is another reason why its conventient to have them inside. You can weight them, you do foster them...
And yes, mommas almost always do copy if you are respectful and for example weight the kittens nearby so she sees there is no danger to them. Even most ferales straight from forest.

 

[Kwoodson59]

Mom is on kitten food. We won't bring them inside because we have a resc

We've had a number of stray/neighborhood/feral cats that enjoy the shade under our deck, the kitty condo on the deck and the food and water we started putting out. Recently, just one cat has been hanging around. We thought it was a male and probably about 8 months old. Imagine our surprise when we found 5 kittens underneath the cover of our outdoor sofa. I'd say they're about 3 weeks old. Their eyes are still blue, they can wobbly walk and their ears aren't flat. We have them in a cardboard box with bedding. I want to know how often the mom should be feeding them? We're giving them plenty of privacy but I'm not sure they're getting enough nourishment. Mom is still very skittish but I would like to give her some flea protection to pass along to the kittens. Also, what kind of food should mom be eating? At what point can I can take the entire brood in to be vet checke and in the case of the mom, spayed? Thanks for any advice

 

[Kwoodson59]

We have our own rescue cat and as our last rescue feral who was an indoor/outdoor cat that got lymphoma and died by the age of 2, our vet really doesn't want our cat mixing with ferals that haven't been vaccinated. They don't appear to be losing weight and mom is still on kitten food. SHould I also be giving the kittens water or is mother's milk enough?

 

[StefanZ]

Yes make water accessible. Shallow little plate

 

[daisyd]

Ok, can you keep them secure at least where they Are ? Can you secure your deck ? I only say as someone on here was in a similar situation and one day the family went and one of the babies didn't make it

 

[Willowy]

Lymphoma isn't contagious . I'm not sure what your vet is talking about. But anyway, you don't let new cats mix with your resident cats---can you keep them in a spare bathroom or guest bedroom? The survival rate for kittens raised outdoors isn't great :/.

 

[Kwoodson59]

Mom is on kitten food. We won't bring them inside because we have a rescue cat in our house. Our previous feral that we brought inside ended up with l

Lymphoma isn't contagious . I'm not sure what your vet is talking about. But anyway, you don't let new cats mix with your resident cats---can you keep them in a spare bathroom or guest bedroom? The survival rate for kittens raised outdoors isn't great :/.

We know that lymphoma isn't contagious and our previous cat had been vaccinated for leukemia, I just think our vet likes to use healthy caution. That's why our new cat is strictly indoor.

 

[StefanZ]

If necessary you can use a big cage as an extra quarantine. Either to double up the isolation, of if you dont have suitable rooms.