country cats

I live in rural sw colorado and am new to outdoor cats. I have one male which wonders off for a couple of days every now and then but always returns. I have one female that has given birth to 3 kittens abourt 3 weeks ago. 1st litter. They both have been gone for a couple days. She usually stays, but now I am con cerned about the kittens, they are fat now but if mom does not return I will have to feed them myself. My concern: is it normal for the mother to wonder off for food and leave her kittens for a few days? These are outdoor cats and like I said she never leaves, but I think she went into 'heat' again.
Thanks for any help.
"New to outdoor pets"

Outdoor cats are in danger from many things so it is possible that she will not be able to return. Please watch after the babies but more importantly, those babies will need to be netered to prevent the cycle of kitten births to escalate.
If mom was nursing the babies and they are only 3 weeks old I doubt that she went into heat yet, but she should be spayed before she does go into heat again or you will have even MORE babies.

I don't know about the mom leaving her babies, but I do know an un-neutered male will roam.

Best be, like Jen says, if you don't want more unwanted kittens, trap all of them and get them neutered ASAP. Also, kittens often find homes when placed in shelters, so if you get the kittens trapped, try and get them to a shelter where they can be adopted out. If mom and dad are feral, the best bet is to re-release them after their neutering. Feral cats are quite often put down at shelters because they are hard to adopt out.

Please browse this website thoroughly and you will find advice given to others that will be very helpful in your situation.

However, #1 priority is to get them fixed!

Welcome to PT and please feel free to ask more questions. :)

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Originally posted by jenluckenbach
If mom was nursing the babies and they are only 3 weeks old I doubt that she went into heat yet, but she should be spayed before she does go into heat again or you will have even MORE babies.

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I was asking about a local cat in a similar situation and my vet said in some cases mum cats can be back in heat as early as 21 days after giving birth :(

Topaz, the Orange Borg Queen, has shown signs of being in heat. And there has been a scruffy male hanging about. They can be pregnant with one litter while nursing another.