Semi-feral Had Kittens 5 Weeks Ago, No Sign Of Them.

[Lurancy]

There's this stray semi-feral barn cat who comes over and she trusts me to pet her-- it took a year. She had kittens on June 22/23, she left overnight and came back skinny. I haven't been able to find them even though I've looked many times in our outbuildings and have tried knocking on other people's doors. Tweety comes over to eat, drink some water and relax for a few hours. She's nursing something! Is it normal for a cat like Tweety to keep her kittens away so long? I wanted to see them before they were too mobile so that I could get them used to humans!

Another concern I have is that there's a lot of ag spraying going on and knowing the kittens are sheltered somewhere while the planes are flying would make me less anxious!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Thanks for feeding the semi-feral barn cat. Hopefully one you know she has weaned her kittens, you will be able to trap her and get her spayed, before she gets pregnant again.

Have you tried following her to see if you can find the kittens? One tip I've read, is to play kitten crying sounds on your phone, and that could make the mama go to her kittens.

If they're 5 weeks old, they are really at the age that they need to be socialized. Hopefully you'll find them soon.

 

[StefanZ]

The situation is quite common, semiferal momma hiding her kittens.
Usually she will take them to your place soon now, any week. You ARE after all her feeding source and her friend.

 

[surya]

They are very good at hiding them. Watch her to see where she comes from and where she goes. They usually have the nest not too far from where the mother is getting food. In order to be able to easily tame the kittens it would be best to trap them around five weeks of age, when they can eat on their own and bring them inside your house. Then you can get them fixed and adopted. The kittens will be able to start eating wet food around four weeks. Eventually the mother will start bringing the kittens to eat at your feeding station. Many kittens do not survive outside, because there are so many dangers. Another option, If you can find the nest, would be to gather up the kittens and trap the mom and bring them all inside. You would need a dedicated room to keep them in, or a large cat condo, since the mom is semi-feral. If you do that, you can keep the mom and babies together longer, which is better for the kittens physical and social health.

 

[Lurancy]

...

Have you tried following her to see if you can find the kittens? One tip I've read, is to play kitten crying sounds on your phone, and that could make the mama go to her kittens.

If they're 5 weeks old, they are really at the age that they need to be socialized. Hopefully you'll find them soon.

We've tried following her multiple times but she zig zags around and she'll fake going one way, then another way. My dog loves cats (and Tweety likes her) so I tried bringing her along to help find the kittens but she was no help, she just wanted to hang out with me.

I did play videos of kittens mewing but she acts indifferent except to walk over and sniff the phone. I think she knows they're not her kittens but wonders why my phone sounds like kittens!

 

[Lurancy]

The situation is quite common, semiferal momma hiding her kittens.
Usually she will take them to your place soon now, any week. You ARE after all her feeding source and her friend.

I hope so; I want to get Tweety and her babies fixed when it's time.

 

[Lurancy]

They are very good at hiding them. Watch her to see where she comes from and where she goes. They usually have the nest not too far from where the mother is getting food. In order to be able to easily tame the kittens it would be best to trap them around five weeks of age, when they can eat on their own and bring them inside your house. Then you can get them fixed and adopted. The kittens will be able to start eating wet food around four weeks. Eventually the mother will start bringing the kittens to eat at your feeding station. Many kittens do not survive outside, because there are so many dangers. Another option, If you can find the nest, would be to gather up the kittens and trap the mom and bring them all inside. You would need a dedicated room to keep them in, or a large cat condo, since the mom is semi-feral. If you do that, you can keep the mom and babies together longer, which is better for the kittens physical and social health.

About the only socialization she had before last year was "humans=food", she screams like she's being killed if she accidentally wanders in the house. She just started hanging around regularly in the past few months. If I find the kittens I'll set up a little house in one of our sheds to see if that keeps them near. I want to get the babies used to being indoors and get them and Tweety fixed when it's time.

 

[rubysmama]

Once she weans them, they'll need to eat real food, so hopefully she'll bring them to you soon.

 

[Lurancy]

She didn't allow anyone to get this close to her while lying down, let alone take her picture!
View media item 421550

 

[Lurancy]

She brought them here! One little white one with beige/cream on its ears and a little calico. The calico's skittish but the white one tolerated being petted. They must've gotten food somewhere other than here before...

I have to keep our cats in because she won't tolerate their presence at all.

 

[surya]

Those kittens will be old enough to be taken away from the mother soon. For feral cats, it is recommended to remove the kittens at five weeks of age, because they can be easily tamed. If not they will become feral. Kittens don't take up much room, you could keep them in your bathroom until you get them tame and then find a rescue to get them adopted.

 

[Lurancy]

Those kittens will be old enough to be taken away from the mother soon. For feral cats, it is recommended to remove the kittens at five weeks of age, because they can be easily tamed. If not they will become feral. Kittens don't take up much room, you could keep them in your bathroom until you get them tame and then find a rescue to get them adopted.

I'm a little iffy on doing that, yet. Tweety's pretty protective right now.One of them (turns out there's FIVE) will actually let me pick him up and hold him. Two of the others are curious and will sneak behind me, then take off when they see me look at them.

The remaining two are easily spooked, one just took off into the weeds along a field of corn and soybeans that flanks the property. I heard it meowing loud and Tweety didn't seem too concerned so I guess he'll come back when he's ready? (;ﾟдﾟ) Or she'll go get him?

Apparently I forgot how to add; they're seven weeks old. June 22 was the last time I saw her still pregnant so I use that day as their birthdate.

 

[surya]

If they are 7 weeks old, you can trap them and tame them. You could put food in a carrier and close the door on them or borrow a trap from a rescue organization. They will be easily tamable, but you will have to do it right away. Under two months is the optimal age for taming them. You have the opportunity to give them a much better life as a pet. Feral cats outside have very short lives.

 

[rubysmama]

Here's a couple TCS articles on Ferals that may be helpful, Lurancy

Should You Try And Tame A Feral Cat?
Handling Feral Cats

 

[Lurancy]

They're nine weeks old now. I saw Tweety kick one of the bigger ones away from her nipples. She still nurses the smaller ones. All five are less skittish. They just trot away if the humans get too close rather than bolt. The one that tolerated being picked up and held is having none of it.

Tweety and babies are adopted. The people want some cats for their barn; these guys are accustomed to outdoors and barns. The new humans are talking about their setup for the cats, which is so luxe it makes my housecats sound like they're roughing it. Hopefully these guys won't avoid the traps despite them being food-motivated.