Info on Feral Cats

[Bari_d]

We have a Mom and two 12 week old babies living under our porch - could use advice on when to try to capture, etc., so little ones won't run away. Need to get Mom spayed, etc.

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[catranger]

I would try to capture them as soon as possible to get the kittens socialized.. so they can be adopted out easier. I believe they are also old enough to be spayed at 12 weeks, but I'm not sure. Are they eating regular cat food? An excellent website that you might want to look at for help is http://www.alleycat.org for the Alley Cat Allies and there is much info on feral cats including humanely trapping them. Good luck! You are doing a great thing!

[Pieper's Mom]

Our local shelter furnishes humane cages...you might call yours and see if they offer something similar.

Originally posted by Bari_d:
We have a Mom and two 12 week old babies living under our porch - could use advice on when to try to capture, etc., so little ones won't run away. Need to get Mom spayed, etc.

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"Cats are rather delicate creatures and can have many ailments, but I've never heard of one with insomnia." Joseph Wood Krutch

[lovemypug]

I agree that you should try to get these kittens into human hands as fast as possible. You may have a problem with mom if she is feral, try borrowing a humane trap from an animal control group in your area. If you can't catch mom, take the kittens anyway, even if they aren't weaned. You can buy formula and the tools for feeding the kittens at any good pet store. Time is of the essence for these kitties, the sooner you get them, the better off they'll be. If you allow them to mature without human contact, it will be hard (if not impossible) to tame them. I speak from experience. One of my cats had a kitten outside, I didn't know about it, and by the time I did she was unapproacable. I now had a feral cat living on my property, she would eat the food I left outside, but I was never able to touch her. She abandoned her first litter as soon as they were born, her mother adopted them at first, but then her own kittens were born and she abandoned them too. Now I was trying to raise four very small kittens who had been abandoned twice. One of them made it, she is a very sassy 13 year old cat today. Over the years, I have intercepted a number of her litters, raised them myself, and without exception, they have all made wonderful pets, including the two eight year old brothers Mr. Underfoot and Pixel I also kept. I found good homes for the others.

[Bari_d]

Thanks everyone...we had a problem last weekend - dogs running loose. Took Mom 4 days to get the courage to come back here to where she knew food was, etc. Now they are back staying on our property (luckily we live out on the country, woods, etc.), but you never know when something like the dogs will occur. We have a trap and are working on getting them familiar with the porch that we can try to catch them. Did I mention that Dad is with them too? Quite a challenge - catching/neutering, etc., all four. Thanks again for all the help.

Bari

[barbee10]

Originally posted by Bari_d:
We have a Mom and two 12 week old babies living under our porch - could use advice on when to try to capture, etc., so little ones won't run away. Need to get Mom spayed, etc.

That sounds familiar. My Maggie, a stray, was living under my parents steps for a week. When my dad saw that she had left her hiding place he plugged the hole she was climbing through. Little did he know she had had kittens under there. We all heard them cry for their Mommy. When he realized and removed the plug, she gathered all her babies and one by one she carried them in the house. They all had resiratory problems from breathing in dirt, but they all survived. After a trip to the vet they were all better and we found all the kittens good homes. I kept the mom, Maggie.

[pickles]

i had momma kitty feral & 3 babies under the next door vacant house. i continually went out to feed them 4-5 times a day to let them know that is where the food source was comming from. i would run my hands thru their food to get my smell on it. and kept moving the food closer & closer to the steps & door on our home. i woul take out a string to get them to play, & when they got closer & closer to the string i was then able to capture them i then took them to our converted garage/studio & kept them there until then got use to noise like music etc. until i was able to bring them in doors. we also now have 3 beautiful kittis & the momma plus our in door kitty. we had all their shots & sapying done & have become wonderful family members in our house-hold. but you must get them soon...they are still shy of others that come to our home, but they are wonderful with us. you can also go to your vet & ask them if they have a carrier type trap to catch them in. this usually doesn't cost you unlike the humane society that charges you a fee. good luck..i know these little ones will appreciate the love you have for them...

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pickles