Suggestions for possible 6-cat rescue???

Ok, here is my situation. This morning, a neighbor called and said his dog had found five kittens a 'few weeks old' and their dead mother in an old vehicle out on his bac property. He asked me to come 'get them out of there'. When I arrived, the dead cat with the litter was NOT the mother, as it had obviously been dead for months, and the kittens are not weeks old, but maybe a week old (no eyes open yet or anything). There is no sign of the mother, so far, but the kittens were all plump and clean, so she is likely still around. The local animal shelter will not attempt to locate the mother, and kittens that young will be gassed automatically, so it seems to be up to me. The neighbor said I could have a couple of days to see if we can figure out anything on the mother, but he wants them gone. What do I do? How do I go about waiting for/catching a more than likely feral mother (she's pretty far removed from the nearest house, so has probably been surviving by hunting, and isn't just a roaming pet)? Or should I just take the kittens and try to bottle feed them?

I'd start by leaving food there for the momcat - then she will learn to stay closer.

You can also see about borrowing a livetrap, though I would hate to scare her with kittens that young.

I'd say feed her for several weeks, til the kittens are older...then live trap her. By then, you might get to see her and judge how tame she is.

This means you have to get Grumpy to allow more time. ;)

She will likely see you setting out the food also!

Keep posting about this...

Someone will have some great ideas here!

Catty1

If their eyes aren't opened yet, that means they're probably about a week old. MUCH too young to be without their mama. The eyes start opening on the 2nd to third week.

You might try and put the kittens in a Have-A-Heart trap in the area you found them. Put them in the very back of the trap so Mama has to trip the plate once it's set. If ANYTHING will get the mama's attention, it's the squealing of her own babies. Once she finds her babies, she won't move.

Call a local shelter and ask if you can borrow one. You may have to put a deposit on it, but at least you'll get it back when you return it.

If they SEEM healthy and aren't in harms way, my hunch is telling me to leave them there. The mama is around somewhere or those kittens wouldn't be alive.

If you decide to taked them in, you'll have to bottle feed them KMR every 2-3 hours, for at least 4-5 weeks before they're weaned to kitten canned food/KMR mixture. It's a big commitment and I've done it. It's like having a baby all over again.

Good luck. Please keep us posted.

If you need more help, just PM me.

If grouchy insists they go and go NOW, I would get the kittens NOW and then try to trap the Mama. But I would talk to him and see if he would give it more time but if he refuses, I wouldn't leave them there for him to "dispose" of.. What are they hurting there anyway? Out on the back of the property in a old car, what harm are they doing. I would ask him that and also explain that you need to trap the Mama and that will take time. The Mama needs to be trapped and fixed to prevent more kittens so in the long run, it would be better for everyone.

http://www.feralcat.com/trapinst.html

I have been leaving food, and it is being eaten, but still not so much as a glimpse of mama cat. The neighbor is still grousing, but hasn't given me another ultimatum yet. Heading over to leave food in a minute. I have been only leacing a tiny bit... don't want to leave enough that it sits there and draws a coyote, raccoon, or fox to the kittens. I hate leaving them there, but I am still hoping to take the mother at the same time. I am going to visit the shelter in the morning to ask about cage rental... thanks for the link, Laura's mom, looks like a lot of good info! I live next door to what a lot of people would call a 'cat lady', and I mentioned them to her, and I think she'd be able to help some if I had to bottle-feed them for a while. I'll let you know after I check on them again. Thanks for the advice!

She moved the kittens from the front seat to the back of the vehicle... you don't think she'll take off with them, do you? My hear just dropped when I didn't see them at first...

Left some more food. 2 of the kittens have their eyes open, the other 3 haven't even started yet. One is a brown tabby, one is a brown tabby and white, one is very dark, looks almost like black and white, but has tabby marks up on it's face, and then there is a black one and a smokey gray one.

Just a couple of weeks, and they will be easier to raise...and maybe momcat will show her face by then. I am sure she knows your scent, and maybe has spotted you.

As for Grouchy, try a big smile and say: "It's going very well - any day now!"

LOL

Catty1

Went out to check on them this morning. She hasn't moved them again, so I feel a little better. I handled them a little, mostly to check for fleas, make sure mom was cleaning up after they went potty, and all that... definitely not used to humans :p , they started hissing loudly with mouths gaping open :rolleyes: . Very scary ;) . Only the little brown and white tabby didn't, that one was pretty calm and nonchalant about being handled. I left a little bit more food. The neighbor saw me out there, but didn't come out to say anything, so... another day.


ETA: one of these times I'll remember to take my camera with me so I can share a picture with you.

Thank you for keeping us updated. I have been checking into this forum every day to see if there was a new post from you. It's good that the mother cat is associating your smell with food and no harm done to her kittens. I believe, as Catty1 suggested, that has seen you. The fact that you are visiting frequently is, hopefully, reassuring your neighbor that you will take care of the whole family and free his property of their presence. Good work! and Good luck!