Two mother cats causing me concern

[gleason]

One of the outdoor cats had kittens 4 weeks ago. I found the kittens and left them alone. I checked on them almost every day. She was taking good care of them. The other day she moved them and I'm not sure where that might be. We live in a rural area.

In the meantime, another outdoor cat had kittens in our garage. She had four but one was dead the next day. Two others didn't look like they were doing very well and I wasn't sure they would make it. One seemed to be doing okay. Two days after she had them, she moved them somewhere outside.
This is my concern. I feed and water the cats in the garage every day. I went out this morning and both mothers were laying in a comfy spot in the garage. Looked like they were there for quite awhile. I checked periodically and they still have been in the garage. It is now late afternoon. It has been raining today and I can understand them being in the garage but my concern is that they are not going out to feed the babies. How long can babies go without being fed?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Not much you can do but keep feeding the moms so they expect food/water from you - they might actually bring the babies closer by eventually. It is not atypical for mamas to move their kittens, especially if they sense some sort of threat to them.

However, it is not to say that these kittens aren't stowed away in the garage somewhere that you don't realize. Any nook or cranny that is not visible could be where they are. Or they are merely leaving when you are not aware to feed the kittens wherever it is that they have them 'stashed'. At 4 weeks, they are mobile, so if they are still around, they will be showing up soon.

You can search around a bit in other areas of your property that are good hiding places, but if you do find them, just leave them be.

Keep us posted on what goes on!!!

 

[gleason]

I was just out in the garage and saw one kitten moving around. I put out a trail cam to see if the others might be out there also. I hope so cuz I will feel bad if something happened to the other 3.
As for the other mom cat I have a feeling none of her kittens made it.

 

[gleason]

Only one kitten in the garage.

 

[dahlia]

Any luck seeing any of the other kittens?

 

[gleason]

No sign of the other kittens. Mother cat has been in the garage with the one kitten. I would have thought she would of brought the others if they are alive. I wouldn't think she would have one in the garage and others someplace else. These kittens are 4 weeks old and would be moving around. This single kitty seems lonely.
We do have coyotes around and an occasional wolf. There's also coons and eagles and hawks.
As for the mother with the newborns, I think she was depressed for a couple of days. All week-end long she just laid in the garage. She barely ate anything. She seemed better yesterday as she was finally eating more and going outside.