Stray Cat Brought Her Kittens Inside Our Home

[Gerry21]

Hello

I would like to get some advice as our situation a bit unusual.

A stray cat brought her kittens inside our home while the front door was open. She stays with them under the stairs which is like a storage space. The mother doesnt let us come near her or the kittens.

I have set up towels, food and water inside the storage area. The kittens are entering their 4th week and start moving around. Any advice on what we should do next would be appreciated. We are thinking of buying a cage to keep them inside with the mother... only thing is I am a bit worried the mother wont accept it as she is scared of us when we go near her or the kittens.

She has been living with the kittens inside the home for 3 weeks and does not make contacts with human.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes, this is a bit unusual. Shy semiferales whom accepts to be inside once catched, for her childrens best, is common. But they do normally copy. Others whom please themselves in is quite common too.

But you have neither of this - a protective, defensive momma whom went herself in, but doesnt copy nor cooperate although so long has gone, and she notices nobody is threatening...

Or ARE there threats? Making her feel the situation is uncertain and she must stand on high guard in full protective mode?

A radical solution is; get away the momma - perhaps by trapping and spaying, and returning outside; while you keep the kittens and foster them. Keeping them as own or adopting out when they are of age. Do it all by yourself or with cooperation of some suitable shelter nearby. The fostering part you must prob do yourself.

Cage is a good idea, but it should come earlier. Now the kittens begins to be moveable... Let them move into their own room? She will perhaps feel more secure with four walls, and nobody else save the caretaker coming it - not until she has landed. Soon enough you will be forced to begin and foster the kittens...

You can always try with a Feliway diffuser. Also calming and relaxing music. Whatever you do, you can do these two parallelly.

Some ideas. I hope others will join in.

 

[StefanZ]

Im keeping to think about this momma. I presume she was threatened by some even more hostile threat outside. As she moved her nest, children and everything.

She is probably very intelligent, above the average. She recognized - totally justly - it could be lesser bad to move into the lions lair, and in there by active defence, manage her litter.
Compared with taking the risks outside - I presume there WAS something extra bad.

That also means, if you want to do a peacefully solution with keeping her with her children and perhaps even try to foster her too - you must work with her stress.
As she being into high protective mode the whole time, must be literally loaded with stress hormones...

That is why Feliway and calming music comes in handy. Also, making your outmost to reduce any stress. Had you tried with talking friendly with her? Making friendly sounds? Dont look straight at her eyes, look on her body instead. Dont hover with hands above her. Its better to strech forward your fist - its almost look of a head ready to exchange friendly bumps.

 

[Gerry21]

Hi
Thank you so much for answer. She lives with the kittens right under the stairs that goes to the second floor which is between the living room and kitchen. There is often noise around from us just living in the house. Maybe thats a threat. Also having to leave the front door open for a while, an other male cat from the streets tried to sneak in the other day and she had to chase him out. There are also often other stray cats who are waiting in front of our house since she moved in.

The first couple days she was in panic mode. After bringing the kittens inside she try to come out of the house at night by jumping on the windows. She broke the moskito net and glasses on the kitchen counter. We would just open the door and let her go out. She would come back inside after 20 minutes or so only when no one was around. She always made sure no one was looking until she went back to her kittens and never went straight... she would pretend to go an other way and make a sudden turn... We had to go out for a day so i put dirt and leafs inside the litter as I saw on the internet and she used it. She has since calmed down and doesnt jump in the windows anymore. When she is outside the house for her time off from the kittens she is not so scared of us. Wont let us touch her but she will stay couple meters out and just look what we do. As soon as she gets back inside the house to her kittens she becomes aggressive toward us if we come near the small entrance under the stairs. We would obviously like to socialize soon with the kittens, but not sure what is the best way. She does look very smart. I will try to post some pictures later on. Just the way i saw how she protected her kittens made me feel a lot for her and I dont think i would be able to chase her out and keep the kittens only.

Thank you

 

[talkingpeanut]

Please don't let mom outside anymore, and please don't let other cats into your home at the moment. She can already get pregnant again.

Have you been sitting near the entrance and reading out loud and talking to the cats? I think mom needs the opportunity to come to you and to see you interacting with her kittens.

 

[Sarthur2]

As the kittens begin exploring, spend time with them so they become fully socialized to humans and can be adopted.

As they gain independence from mom, she may become more friendly. She has been in full-on protective mode for the sake of her kittens.

Do not let her out until she is spayed. You have stray tom cats hanging around because they detect her hormones and are hoping to mate with her. They will go away when she is spayed.

Thank you for caring for this mama cat and her babies!

 

[Gerry21]

Thanks for the replies.

We will try to keep her inside. When should we bring her to get spayed?

We do talk to her all the time and she is fine with us from a distance unless we get close to the small entrance where she keeps her kittens. I don't see her letting us touch or play with her kittens anytime soon, that is the problem. We were only able to see the kittens while she was doing her daily outdoor activities.

the mother near the small entrance under the stairs.

the kittens couple days after she brought them in

the kittens couple days ago. They starting moving a bit so we had to put a bigger box for them.

 

[mazie]

They are adorable. As they grow, they are going to need more freedom to explore in a controlled, safe environment. The mom obviously trusts you and your family. So as to not overwhelm her, have you and ONLY you as her human to interact with her and her kittens. As mentioned above, talk to her, sit with her and her kittens, slowly move to the kittens to at least get mom to allow you to touch, hold her babies as she feels comfortable with your presence. Eventually she will see you as non-threatening and allow you to touch her as well. The more you make your presence, the faster she will accept you. Even if you just sit on the floor or on a low stoop that is close to the ground, reading a book would be a great way to start. As mentioned above, talk softly to her and her kittens. The idea is to get her used to you and to accept you as hers and her kitten's human. Are you feeding mom at least 3 cans of wet food per day? (My mom cats demanded 5 cans) and have cat kibble available to her 24/7? Is there a litter box and of course water in the room? I know these are obvious necessities, but just asking.

 

[Sarthur2]

Mom cat should be spayed when the kittens are 8 weeks old.

She may go into heat before then, so just be sure she does not go out during the cycle. And she will still be able to nurse after her spay.

 

[Gerry21]

They are adorable. As they grow, they are going to need more freedom to explore in a controlled, safe environment. The mom obviously trusts you and your family. So as to not overwhelm her, have you and ONLY you as her human to interact with her and her kittens. As mentioned above, talk to her, sit with her and her kittens, slowly move to the kittens to at least get mom to allow you to touch, hold her babies as she feels comfortable with your presence. Eventually she will see you as non-threatening and allow you to touch her as well. The more you make your presence, the faster she will accept you. Even if you just sit on the floor or on a low stoop that is close to the ground, reading a book would be a great way to start. As mentioned above, talk softly to her and her kittens. The idea is to get her used to you and to accept you as hers and her kitten's human. Are you feeding mom at least 3 cans of wet food per day? (My mom cats demanded 5 cans) and have cat kibble available to her 24/7? Is there a litter box and of course water in the room? I know these are obvious necessities, but just asking.

Thanks for the advice. Will try that. She is eating mostly hard food and have water. Have put the litter in the main room as she is hiding with the kittens in a very small room that you have to crawl to get in.

 

[mazie]

Did you say the kittens are about 3 weeks in age? Mom is going to be looking for a larger space than under the stairwell any day now. If you can move her and the kittens into a small, quiet room and have mom's litter box, food and water in it would be more suitable for the whole family. Are the kittens in some sort of bed or nest? Also, if you can, mom would benefit from wet food added to her diet. She needs all the energy and good nutrician she can get.

 

[Gerry21]

Did you say the kittens are about 3 weeks in age? Mom is going to be looking for a larger space than under the stairwell any day now. If you can move her and the kittens into a small, quiet room and have mom's litter box, food and water in it would be more suitable for the whole family. Are the kittens in some sort of bed or nest? Also, if you can, mom would benefit from wet food added to her diet. She needs all the energy and good nutrician she can get.

They will be starting their 4th week this weekend. We have 1 spare guestroom on the third floor. I will try to move them there.

Thanks for the advice

 

[daisyd]

Please do try and move them to the guestroom so they can be secure. I'm worried she will up and leave with them when they are mobile and there are too many dangers out there ! They are adorable! There's 4 of them ? Just the fact she watches you is a great start as she is working you out ! Maybe when you move them to the spare room you can put a chair in there too and hang out in there. One guy on this site rescued a feral and her kittens . He did the same thing and after a while the mum cat would watch as he played with the kittens in front of her !

 

[Gerry21]

There's only 2 kittens. We will try our best to socialize them. Thank you

 

[daisyd]

Gosh sorry how dim of me ! They look different colours in both pictures ! Well done .

 

[Gerry21]

Hi
I just want to give a small update. We have made some good progress with the mother. She now tolerates when i come close to the kittens most of the time. She still biting me once or twice a day but not a strong bite.

The music seems to have helped a lot. They are still staying under the staircase because i feel she would have been depressed locked in a room. I make their space a bit bigger every 2 or 3 days by moving the boxes. She seems fine with it.

We did try to keep her inside but she was really depressed and on the fourth day locked inside she just stop eating for a whole day. I still let her go outside but she now stays only 5 minutes in the front yard then goes back inside.

The grey one is still a bit weak on his back legs. He does not walk properly, but the white one is very strong already and climb the boxes. Should we be worried about the grey one?

Just a couple questions:

We will keep them under the stairs as the mother seems to like it there, but I will make the space bigger step by step. They should be fine, the space wont be too small. When should I start to put a small litter box inside for them to learn? Also will the smell of the litter bother them as they sleep and live in the same space?

The kittens still hiss at me every time I come to touch them, is this normal? Also if I carry them outside their space to play they get very scared and shake.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[daisyd]

Hi sounds like the kittens need a little more socialising ... Hopefully they will stop hissing the more they see you ! Do you spend time sat near them ? The kittens should both be walking steady by 4 weeks - I'd keep an eye on it if you can

 

[Alejandra Rico]

They are so cute! And momma is a beauty, I hope you manage yo Bond with her this week, it seems that she needs a good human to take care of her.
I would say that the issue of moving to the guesst room os for the kittens to be able to explore without their mother being worried about them. Keeping then in a closed room can help you with your relationship both with the mom and the babies.
Good luck and keep sharing progress and pictures!

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like mom and babies are doing well right where they are. The kittens are only 5 weeks now, right? They still need to be with mom most of the time anyway.

You can go ahead and put a litter box in their area. Are the kittens eating soft wet food yet? Once they begin eating solids they will need a litter box. Is mom fed in this area as well?

Continue doing as you are doing. Mom feels safe where she is for now.

If she goes into heat though, she may go outside and not return right away, so be careful with letting her out.

 

[Gerry21]

It sounds like mom and babies are doing well right where they are. The kittens are only 5 weeks now, right? They still need to be with mom most of the time anyway.

You can go ahead and put a litter box in their area. Are the kittens eating soft wet food yet? Once they begin eating solids they will need a litter box. Is mom fed in this area as well?

Continue doing as you are doing. Mom feels safe where she is for now.

If she goes into heat though, she may go outside and not return right away, so be careful with letting her out.

Hi
The kittens are just starting their 5th week today. We havent given them any food yet. Should we start?

The mother's food is there inside the stairs but out of reach from the kittens as their space is blocked by boxes. I have been expending their space slowly by slowly depending on her mood. When they first came the space she chose was tiny.