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- Jan 26, 2024
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Hello,
I am currently feeding 2 nursing feral cats.I didn't write down exactly when I started feeding them, but probably late December. I have 2 feeding stations where they have access to food and water, and a motion activated trail camera which I observe them with. I know these cats are nursing as I have trapped them before and seen that they are lactating (engorged teats, one of the cats also had lost some hair around the teats). I did release them, as I hadn't seen any kittens at this point and had no idea of their age or location, and did not want to risk young kittens perishing if I didn't find them.
One of the two cats, the black cat, I have seen her kittens twice. Once at the start of January when they appeared to be roughly 4 weeks old, and again a few days ago where they must have been about 7 weeks old. I intend to catch mother and kittens, however the mother doesn't appear to be bringing them to the feeding station regularly. I have got the mother coming to the feeding station and eating inside unset traps daily, but I am worried about what will happen to the kittens if I catch the mother without them. I thought that the mother cat would bring the kittens routinely, and I could catch the kittens and mother all at once, or get the kittens first and then the mother later. Is this normal that I am not seeing the kittens at the feeding station more? I have not seen the kittens ever apart from these 2 times on the trail camera and I don't know where their nest is. I don't believe it would be easy to go looking for the nest either, as we are on a large rural property with long grass. One possibility I have thought of is that the mother cat is taking her kittens to the other feeding station (the food from both stations is being eaten, but among the other nursing cat and the various wild animals, I don't know by who unless I have the camera there), but coming to this feeding station (where I have the camera) without the kittens, although I don't know why. I have recently shifted the camera to the other feeding station, so I will see if this is right.
The other cat, the tabby, I have been feeding for not quite as long as the black (by a week or 2 at most, I have also been feeding her since late december), but have never seen her kittens. She did appear to be nursing when I caught her. I assume that maybe her kittens are still a little bit young? The youngest they could be is about 4-5 weeks old, as I have been feeding her for that length of time. I have no evidence that her kittens are alive, although I would like to think so. I also wondered int he case of the tabby, perhaps the evidence or nursing was from a previous litter that had already been weaned? Would the teats still have been engorged as they were, though? I also would have thought I would see them around at the feeding stations if that was the case, but I might be wrong.
When I released these cats I had the assumption that I will feed them, and then once the kittens are old enough and starting to wean, the mother cat will regularly bring them to the feeding station, and then I could trap the kittens & mother and get the mother spayed ASAP. I'm starting to wonder if this assumption is wrong? Or maybe I am just being impatient?
Also, there is a feral tomcat around too. I see him only occasionally at the feeding station. He isn't trap shy, but it's unpredictable when he will show up. I need to catch him, and I probably could if I just left the traps set for 2 weeks or so, except I would be much more likely to catch the 2 nursing cats in that timeframe, which if I need to release them because of their kittens, I don't want to do for the problem of trap shyness. There was also another tomcat in the area, which I trapped at christmas (he is taming into a lovely pet, so I have not released him).
I have some feral cat experience, but every time the kittens were walking around in the same area or with their mother, and I was able to just trap them all straight away. So I don't have experience with this kind of situation, and I'm kind of at a loss. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable people than me will have a better idea of what to expect and what I can do for these cats.
I am currently feeding 2 nursing feral cats.I didn't write down exactly when I started feeding them, but probably late December. I have 2 feeding stations where they have access to food and water, and a motion activated trail camera which I observe them with. I know these cats are nursing as I have trapped them before and seen that they are lactating (engorged teats, one of the cats also had lost some hair around the teats). I did release them, as I hadn't seen any kittens at this point and had no idea of their age or location, and did not want to risk young kittens perishing if I didn't find them.
One of the two cats, the black cat, I have seen her kittens twice. Once at the start of January when they appeared to be roughly 4 weeks old, and again a few days ago where they must have been about 7 weeks old. I intend to catch mother and kittens, however the mother doesn't appear to be bringing them to the feeding station regularly. I have got the mother coming to the feeding station and eating inside unset traps daily, but I am worried about what will happen to the kittens if I catch the mother without them. I thought that the mother cat would bring the kittens routinely, and I could catch the kittens and mother all at once, or get the kittens first and then the mother later. Is this normal that I am not seeing the kittens at the feeding station more? I have not seen the kittens ever apart from these 2 times on the trail camera and I don't know where their nest is. I don't believe it would be easy to go looking for the nest either, as we are on a large rural property with long grass. One possibility I have thought of is that the mother cat is taking her kittens to the other feeding station (the food from both stations is being eaten, but among the other nursing cat and the various wild animals, I don't know by who unless I have the camera there), but coming to this feeding station (where I have the camera) without the kittens, although I don't know why. I have recently shifted the camera to the other feeding station, so I will see if this is right.
The other cat, the tabby, I have been feeding for not quite as long as the black (by a week or 2 at most, I have also been feeding her since late december), but have never seen her kittens. She did appear to be nursing when I caught her. I assume that maybe her kittens are still a little bit young? The youngest they could be is about 4-5 weeks old, as I have been feeding her for that length of time. I have no evidence that her kittens are alive, although I would like to think so. I also wondered int he case of the tabby, perhaps the evidence or nursing was from a previous litter that had already been weaned? Would the teats still have been engorged as they were, though? I also would have thought I would see them around at the feeding stations if that was the case, but I might be wrong.
When I released these cats I had the assumption that I will feed them, and then once the kittens are old enough and starting to wean, the mother cat will regularly bring them to the feeding station, and then I could trap the kittens & mother and get the mother spayed ASAP. I'm starting to wonder if this assumption is wrong? Or maybe I am just being impatient?
Also, there is a feral tomcat around too. I see him only occasionally at the feeding station. He isn't trap shy, but it's unpredictable when he will show up. I need to catch him, and I probably could if I just left the traps set for 2 weeks or so, except I would be much more likely to catch the 2 nursing cats in that timeframe, which if I need to release them because of their kittens, I don't want to do for the problem of trap shyness. There was also another tomcat in the area, which I trapped at christmas (he is taming into a lovely pet, so I have not released him).
I have some feral cat experience, but every time the kittens were walking around in the same area or with their mother, and I was able to just trap them all straight away. So I don't have experience with this kind of situation, and I'm kind of at a loss. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable people than me will have a better idea of what to expect and what I can do for these cats.