Stray cat moved its kittens to my backyard

FelinesFriends

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Yesterday was a normal sunny day and I went to look out my back deck to see if the squirrels I occasionally feed were waiting for me. Instead I found a small kitten, and its mother not far away.
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The deck was built over concrete, but the deck also covers a larger area so there are spots small animals can hide in. Such as these cute little fluff balls.
I don’t have any pets. I had two cats but had to put each down one year after the first and it tore my heart and I couldn’t do it again. I’ve made up so many good reasons not to own a cat despite wanting to own two cats. Anyway.
I did feel bad for momma cat so I gave her some wet food. She ate it up. But she is skittish and would not let me near her. She then goes under the deck where the kittens are and growls slowly if I get too close.
Then I woke up today and noticed another kitten.
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I think there might be a third kitten too, but I don’t know. I fed the mom cat more wet food today. She ate all of it quickly. How old do you think these kittens are? How do I ensure they don’t become feral and hate humans? Should I try and feed them wet cat food? What if they won’t come out from under the deck? Can I pet them? How?

Also important, will they hunt the squirrels? Right now the squirrels are bigger than the kittens. Today the squirrels even went up to the kittens standing about 10 inches away. Just staring at each other, then one squirrel went back to grabbing a peanut and eating it on the spot and the other ran to a tree before looking for a peanut. Minimal fear. Could squirrels and cats get along under the right circumstances? At what point would the squirrels be at risk? What do I do about all this?

- Intrigued but Lost
 

StefanZ

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Tx for helping momma and kittens. And squirrells. :) Kittens seems to be around 6-7 weeks.

For the time being, proceed as you do. Give momma wet cat food and water... Kittens will notice you are friendly, docile and totally harmless... So hpefully they wll near you, take food from you, etc...
Do you plan on taking them in, foster and adopt?? Because if not, its possibly better not too foster them too much...

Kittens are hardly dangerous for the squirrells, but momma may potentially be... Giving her food, gives some overall security...
Look, pets in a household, usually do gets friends, even if they are natural enemies...

If you give food both to momma and squirrells, I want to believe she will see the idea: both do belong to the same caretaker, both are de facto family...

Lets hope momma accepts you are trying to foster kittens... They usually...
The problem is, at some moment you will need to take them in... I hope momma accepts this. Its no coincidence semiferale mommas do often come with their 6-8 weeks kittens to their feeder... They understand the feeder is their best chance...

In the long run, it would be nice to spay momma; do a TNR.
 

Sarthur2

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Yes, feed mom and kittens and try to get friendly enough with them to catch the kittens eventually so they can be spayed and neutered and adopted into proper homes.

You’ll need to trap mom in a “Have-a-Heart” trap and get her TNVR’d - trapped, neutered, vaccinated, and released. She can be your semi-feral outdoor cat. She’ll calm down after spaying. Right now she’s still in protective mode towards her kittens.

Cats who are fed will usually leave squirrels alone and just watch them for fun.
 
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FelinesFriends

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Thanks for the responses!!
I might adopt them. :angel:
I would be okay with momma cat as a semi-feral / outdoor cat. The kittens are sooo adorable but I haven’t had a chance to catch them yet. Every time I step outside momma goes under the deck and the kittens follow. I’ll take it slow and let them warm up to me.
I do hope they form a bond with the squirrels. They don’t eat the same food obviously, but I’m gonna try and make a habit of feeding the squirrels and the cats at the same time. The thought of these kittens/cats someday maybe playing in my backyard with the squirrels would be absolutely amazingly adorable.
How long should I wait to get them all neutered and vaccinated? Should I call a local rescue shelter to help? Would the shelter be mad at me for wanting to keep them and not let them take the mom and kittens? What are the costs to get them neutered and vaccinated? We’re looking at 3+ kittens and a cat and I’m on day 2 unemployment, so the potential costs concern me.
 

Margot Lane

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Yaaaaay! I was hoping I’d scroll down and read that you’d adopt them! thank you!!!! if you are worried about costs there are many threads on here which discuss pet insurance, which could in the long run save you a heap.
 

Sarthur2

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You’d need to call around to get spay and neuter prices. Google your area for “low-cost spay/neuter” local to you. Try SPCA, Humane Society, any vets with specials, etc.

As far as rescues and shelters, you’d also need to call and ask if they offer services without relinquishing the felines.

Good you are keeping them!
 

Furballsmom

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Try sitting on the ground outside for a while on occasion.

Kittens will notice you are friendly, docile and totally harmless
They'll still follow momma's lead of scurrying back under the deck, up to a point/age but over time kittens begin to become more adventurous and independent, and seeing you on the ground at their level will prompt curiosity :)
 
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FelinesFriends

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Second day in a row the mother seems to take a break from her kittens around 3pm and heads off somewhere for an hour or two, leaving her kittens behind. I took the opportunity to test if they’re weaning and put some wet cat food out for them. They ate it! But I also saw them nursing this morning. So I’m now guessing they’re 6-7 weeks old.
I had about 5 super healthy squirrels in my backyard all day, never bothered by the mother or kittens.. until the mom came back around 5pm. She spotted a squirrel along the fence and went hunting. Got within a few inches of the squirrel before I got outside and *softly* yelled “Cat!”:vibes: And it was enough to make her stop and turn around and look at me. Squirrel got away.
Took me months to train the squirrels to take a walnut from my hand, so now I’m torn between the more lovable cat/kittens and the squirrels that I’m basically now just luring into the cat’s den. Won’t be long before the mother catches one of them.
All that said I did get in touch with a rescue service. There’s a service that will come trap them and take them in to a foster home until they’re 10-12 weeks and can be spayed and neuter and vaccinate, and they say the foster home will help make the kittens human friendly, and then help find them homes. And if I ask to adopt them I get first dibs. As it turns out there are about 5 or 6 kittens and I’d want two of them. But now I can’t decide when the “right time” is to have this service come and trap the mom cat and kittens. When they do I won’t see the kittens for another 6 weeks or so. And they said the mom cat will be relocated to where they deem is safe. I don’t know how I feel about all that – what is the right way to do this?
I feel like they’ll be separating the mom from the kittens a week or two too early. But what do I know? I also feel like if I wait too long, the kittens will risk becoming semi-feral. Less adoptable. Plus I really don’t want to watch the mother cat torture a squirrel to death that I’ve lured into my backyard with tasty walnuts and corn. I just want the kittens and squirrels to get along haha and I want to go about this the right way, not feel like I’m rushing something that could “ruin” the kittens when they’re adults.
Should I let the rescue service trap them sooner than later? Or give it another week and wait until the kittens are mostly fully weaned??
 

Margot Lane

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I feel protective of any feral family. My instincts say sooner rather than later but that’s just b/c there are so many dangerous foxes, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, hawks etc where I live. Also they need to be wormed snd what about fleas. And it’d be great to get mom spayed too. Can mom go w the kitties?
 

di and bob

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Please trap them eventually, mama ASAP as soon as they are a few weeks older, and kittens around 5-6 months. It IS a big undertaking, I didn't think i could do it, but got all 6 of mine done. Tractor Supply had the most affordable live traps, or maybe you could borrow some from your local shelter. If you don't get them neutered and spayed you will have 30 cats next year, they multiply like rabbits.
You might get a squirrel feeder to feed the squirrels off the ground, they would be safer that way. I have had squirrels and cats coexist peacefully for years. squirrels are NOT helpless prey, they have paws to grip and huge teeth, cats learn quickly not to mess with them. i had to break up one fight in my life, and the cat was the loser......PS if mama is full of good food, she would be less apt to hunt. you might leave out some high-quality dry too! Kitten food is higher in calories and nutrition.
 
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FelinesFriends

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If you don't get them neutered and spayed you will have 30 cats next year, they multiply like rabbits.
:grouphug::cloud9::insertevillaugh:
I’m already stressed out enough with the kittens I apparently have. 30 kittens would ruin me.
I may have also befriended a crow awhile back. She is NOT happy. The squirrels are super healthy and it’s good to hear they can defend against cats. The mother cat may have been shooing it away thinking it was too close to her kittens. Hard to tell.
This is too stressful for me and I think I will finally call the service. Maybe in a day or two. Moving is stressful enough for cats, I’m just concerned about traumatizing the kittens by trapping them and having them yet again moved to a foster home for human touches until they can be adopted. I’ve seen way too many kittens that grow up to be skittish and afraid of humans, making them pets that you never see until they’re hungry.
 

Furballsmom

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The kittens will be able to handle the move--they'd have to anyway for their spay/neuter. Besides that, it's another thing they need to become familiar with.

As I think you already know, the only way to avoid skittish fearful kittens is to socialize them through early repeated contact with people. That's all there is to it, whether it's you that does this by starting to sit and lie on the ground so they begin to approach you out of curiosity, or at the foster's or both, but it needs to happen fairly soon :)
 
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FelinesFriends

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I finally got a chance to pet one of the kittens for about 10 minutes while the mother was out pottying or getting some away time from the kittens. I got him to start purring and all I wanted to do was pick him up and bring him inside with me. I’m definitely adopting that one.
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Once I figure out the other one I’ll adopt, then I’ll make the call.
I’ve also decided that if the mother cat is to be “relocated” elsewhere then I will adopt her too, and let her be my full-outdoor cat while the other two kittens will become indoor/outdoor cats.
I just don’t see how a foster home can be a better place for those kittens than where they are right now, despite me wanting to snatch them up and bring them all inside to snuggle in a warm safe home. It’s so weird but that 10 minutes with the kitten now makes me feel horrible that they have to be outside under the deck when I know they’d be so happy and warm and comfy inside, if not for the very protective mother cat who won’t let anything near them when she is around. But I suspect once she is spayed too, she too will calm down.
it’s kind of funny how stressful this is. I can see why the mother cat is stressed out too.:touched:
 

Mia6

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I finally got a chance to pet one of the kittens for about 10 minutes while the mother was out pottying or getting some away time from the kittens. I got him to start purring and all I wanted to do was pick him up and bring him inside with me. I’m definitely adopting that one.
View attachment 451635Once I figure out the other one I’ll adopt, then I’ll make the call.
I’ve also decided that if the mother cat is to be “relocated” elsewhere then I will adopt her too, and let her be my full-outdoor cat while the other two kittens will become indoor/outdoor cats.
I just don’t see how a foster home can be a better place for those kittens than where they are right now, despite me wanting to snatch them up and bring them all inside to snuggle in a warm safe home. It’s so weird but that 10 minutes with the kitten now makes me feel horrible that they have to be outside under the deck when I know they’d be so happy and warm and comfy inside, if not for the very protective mother cat who won’t let anything near them when she is around. But I suspect once she is spayed too, she too will calm down.
it’s kind of funny how stressful this is. I can see why the mother cat is stressed out too.:touched:
I bet that 10 mins petting baby was amazing! I haven't petted a baby in quite a while💝

When my Vincie Girl had 5 babies she gave birth in a closest i had prepared for their birth. I had 4 other cats and
she let each of them look at the babies.
 
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Sarthur2

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I urge you to go ahead and get all the kittens inside as soon as possible, and they will stay healthier and happier as inside-only cats forever.

Mom needs to be trapped and spayed ASAP, or she will be pregnant again if she’s not already. Begin feeding her inside a trap with the door open, then close it one day and get her spayed. As soon as she is trapped, cover the trap or crate with a towel so she will calm down. If you use a wire trap, put newspaper or cardboard on the bottom so she does not hurt her paws.

Once she is spayed, keep her inside with her kittens while she heals. Since she is accustomed to going out, she may choose to be indoor / outdoor for herself.

Please begin to take action as I can assure you that things will not get better on their own for this lovely family that you’ve grown to love.
 

Cat McCannon

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If you love your cats, do not let them outdoors unsupervised. On the average, indoor/outdoor cats live half as long as indoor cats.

Do a search of this forum for threads about cats getting outside and disappearing. There's a lot of heartache in those threads.
 
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