Trapping Unweaned Kittens

[surya]

There are some kittens I need to trap under an abandoned couch by some dumpsters. They are only four weeks old and are not eating sold food yet. I would like to catch the now because they are not in a safe place and are likely to get run over by a car. I see them when I go to feed a group of cats and the mother has always been around. Since I can not lure them into a trap with food I am looking for suggestions on how to catch them. They are not in a place I am willing to spend a lot of time hanging out. I was thinking of dangling something in the trap to see if they would go in to play with it. I know if I get too close the mother will heard them back under the couch again. Any suggestions?

 

[Sarthur2]

At 4-5 weeks you may be able to simply pick them up. If not, they will surely be hungry for soft food in the next week or two and may go into a trap of their own accord.

Do you plan to trap the mother as well?

 

[surya]

I am waiting on permission to trap the mom (the rescue I work with has to have the money to get her fixed). I can't just pick them up with the mother there, she will run them off. I have to keep my distance or they will scurry under the couch. If they were asleep and the mother wasn't around I think I would be able to reach under the couch and pick them up. But the mother is always around when I am over there. I forgot to mention the mother is feral. It will be easier if I am allowed to trap the mother too. I guess I'm a little nervous if I try to get them and fail, she will probably move them and then I won't be able to save them. You are right though, if I wait another week they probably will start eating wet food, I was just thinking about trying today.

 

[surya]

I got permission to get the mom next week, so I'm going to wait till then.

 

[Sarthur2]

I think that's a good idea. The babies still need her anyway.

 

[surya]

Yes they do, I wish I could keep them together longer, but I can't.

 

[surya]

I'm hoping to be able to get the three kittens this week. Today I got close to one of them. I put some canned food in front of them and one of the kittens ate it, yay! They should be around five weeks old now.

 

[surya]

I did not have any luck yesterday. It didn't help that a lady came over to look at the kittens when they were close to the trap and the mom cat moved them under the couch. I could have trapped the mom, but I was afraid I would not be able to get all the kittens and I would have to let her go. Then I found another batch of five kittens. It seems impossible for me to get these kittens as I can't get close to them and I can not stick around in the area for any length of time. I can't leave a trap, I have to use the bottle method and be there to set it off, because the moms will just get caught. I am depressed about the situation.

 

[Sarthur2]

Perhaps when the kittens are eating soft foods soon you can trap mom and return her the next day after spaying. Meanwhile feed the kittens.

Then begin trapping the kittens, as they will be hungry and probably enter the trap easily.

I know you wanted to get the kittens now for easier socialization, but if you have to wait, just adjust the plan. You can still get them all eventually.

Same for the other group of kittens. How old are they?

 

[surya]

They keep the mothers for at least a week when they fix them. The kittens are not in a safe place and some will probably die before I can rescue them. I want to save them all. It hurts me to see them disappear. The other batch looks to be about five weeks old as well.

 

[Sarthur2]

I did not realize that. I thought it was a one-day TNR. Sorry!

 

[surya]

There are only two under the couch now. The best case scenario, maybe the lady who sabotaged me yesterday grabbed one. I am trying the bottle trap method, but the kittens will not come near me. This isn't working. I don't know what to do. I don't have a lot of time to spend on this and even if I did, I can only stand around with fly's swarming around me so long. I'll have to wait till they get older and braver, but there will be a lot less of them by then and that kills me.

 

[surya]

I was able to rescue three of the kittens yesterday. Yay!

 

[Sarthur2]

That's good news! How many are left?

 

[surya]

That's good news! How many are left?

There is another batch of five and there is another mother cat that has kittens back in the brush (that I haven't seen). It is too hard to look back there, so I will have to wait till those ones get old enough to adventure out.

 

[surya]

The mom is most likely FIV positive. That dampens my spirits a little. She has become a friend. I don't know about the kittens yet. The have colds and got Convenia shots.

 

[Sarthur2]

Why do you say that mom is most likely FIV positive?

 

[surya]

The first test they did, they took blood from the mom and one kitten together. It came out positive for FIV. They ran out of the test kits, so they couldn't do another today. They said the mother is missing a tooth. I wasn't there, this is what the rescue lady who took them to the vet told me. So they think she does, but it is not confirmed. There was another kitty I trapped in the same colony who was FIV positive.

 

[Sarthur2]

Are you saying that they combined the mom's and the kitten's blood?

 

[surya]

That's what I understood. Weird huh? Maybe they do that to save money?