Help Needed from Experts with Momma Cats and Kittens (Cross Post from DL Lounge)

[avebury]

Cross posted form DU Lounge.

Here are the facts:
I have no previous experience dealing with a cat momma and her litter.

One of the neighborhood stray apparently decided my yard was her home and she became an unwed mother today. I am not sure how many kittens yet. She is sweet and has let me pet her in the past. She can be a bit skiddish, does not want to be picked up but has been sociable with me.

She picked a building in my backyard as her birthing center. When I discovered her there I put a small dish of food, a water dish, and a baking pan with some kitty litter (in the hopes that if she has to do her chores while in the building she will use it).

What I am hoping it to be able to socialize the kittens to make them adoptable (once they are old enough and fixed) and then trap Momma and get her fixed. If she is not adoptable I will let her stay in my yard with the building as her bad weather hangout.

For those of you who are experienced dealing with Momma cats and their babies:

1. How much time should I give her before I attempt to handle the kittens? I don't want to overdo it, just handle them enough to make them sociable. I don't want to upset Momma too much or cause her to abandon the litter.

2. How long do most Momma cats take before they will leave their babies to go eat? I don't want to expect meals delivered to her "birthing center" on a regular basis but I am trying to give her a chance to settle in as a new Mom.

3. If, after a few days I stop bringing her food so that she will come out to my front porch to eat, would that be a good time to go and handle the babies?

4. The babies are in a safe location but I am afraid of what will happen when they get older and more mobile. If any of them get into my backyard and my dogs find them I am pretty sure that the dogs will kill them. I am not letting the dogs out unsupervised and I am trying to get them outside, do their chores and go back inside. I will try to walk them more over the next few weeks to make up for the decreased yard time. With stray/feral cat situations, how many weeks do I need to leave them with their mother? I really don't want to take them away too soon but it is really important for their long term safety for them to be socialized, fixed, and found homes.

Any advice on dealing with this situation would be greatly appreciated. If it weren't for my dogs (Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix and terrier mix) I would bring Momma indoors if she could adapt to giving up life outdoors. She is a sweet cat. Unfortunately, the dogs aren't interested in any more roommates.

[ginnyinWI]

1. good for you for helping out!

First, I would go into the building with momma there, and see if she will allow you to pick up her kittens briefly. If you are providing food and water and all, she may feel that you are a friend and allow this. Normal domesticated mother cats will allow you to handle their kittens right away.

She will rest for a while after the births, and after all, has most likely eaten each placenta so will be full for a while. Having food and water in the building is a very good thing. Once the babies are a little bigger she will leave them for short periods. Do you have the kittens in a box? It would be good to have them somewhere that they can't climb out of until they are bigger. Something like a large open box with 12" high sides would be ideal, and throw and old towel in the bottom. Then you can leave the building open enough for her to get in and out freely, to do her business outdoors. She will lick each kitten's bottom to make them pee and poop and lick them clean until they are eating solid food and starting to use a litter box themselves. If you could locate a plastic litter pan that would be a great way for the kittens to learn to use one. A baking pan doesn't sound big enough, though I may be wrong.

Again, I'd handle the babies when she is there. Usually she leaves them sleeping in a clump together with full tummies, and it would be a shame to disturb them when they need to sleep. But handling is important and you should try to do it every day. When she comes back to them, she will call to them and lick them to wake them up. You could handle them a little at this time, or else after they've fed.

Ideally, kittens will stay with their mothers for a full 12 weeks. This gives them a chance to learn all the cat manners and mature. A lot of people will adopt out 8-week-old kittens, and if you must do this it would be okay, but keep in mind it is a little like a 12 year old human going out on his own instead of waiting until he is 18. The are physically ready but not completely ready emotionally.

At the shelter I volunteer at, a kitten has to weigh two pounds in order to be big enough and old enough to be spayed/neutered. That is usually at about two months old. The mom can be spayed when she is finished nursing the kittens. If you know of a good no-kill animal shelter, you could just take them there, where they would get all the care they need and be placed in good homes. Given the situation with your dogs, this might be better than trying to do it all on your own. A shelter will usually test them for FIV and FeLV, give them microchips, spay or neuter, and maybe give them some if their first immunizations. They also should screen people who come to adopt, as far as having permission to own a pet where they live, etc. to avoid those kinds of problems.

[TygrBright]

2. What a great idea, good for you!

I'm not an expert in kitten care or the management of feral kitties, but a couple of years ago we did adopt a kitten from a shelter, and he was part of a litter that someone brought in.

What I do know is that although he bonded with us right away and is sweet and demanding and (occasionally- he IS a post-adolescent, after all...) affectionate, he has a very active startle reflex and a strong distrust of large moving objects, sudden loud strange noises, unfamiliar people (he ran the first time he saw me in my large-brimmed gardening hat!) and so on.

A friend who does rescue work says this is not unusual among kittens who had no human contact at all during their first few weeks of life. A little human socialization very early on presumably gives them a better context for us large, strange creatures!

appreciatively,
Bright

[hamsterjill]

3. Alley Cat Allies

Check out Alley Cat Allies at www.alleycat.org and I think you will find some good information. If you don't find the answers to your questions on their webpage, please email them.

Thanks for caring about this little family!!!

[easychoice]

4. Listen to ginny

I own several apartment buildings and I have raised several litters of kittens.Her response to you is almost verbatim to what I would have typed.
I take care of the vet bills and I have a vet that was sent from heaven to help vaccinate and find adopters.

What ginny told you is basically what I do except I use Banana boxes because they have a top.I just duct tape the holes closed and make sure the entry hole is large enough.When you start handling the babies you may be amazed how rapidly the Momma warms up to you.I have most of them sitting in my lap by the third day and I have dealt with some really hard cases.
Keep them together as long as you can and handle/play with them often.
Enjoy them while you have them,they are a true joy and a gift.

[avebury]

6. Momma does not seem to want me too close

to her and her babies. I have started to take a lawn chair into the back building and sit a little ways off to talk to her. I have some storage boxes that I had to get into this weekend and I just went about my business and she seemed ok. Today went better. I decided to let her get used to me being around but not actually approaching her. Hopefully she will let me near the babies in a week or so when their eyes open and the start getting around more.

[easychoice]

7. This will turn out fine -- Baby Steps...

Mom has to be diligent and protective but the fact that you can visit with her means she is building trust.
I just love these surprise families and conning the Mommy into trusting me.
Just be sure to pour on the chow and keep her in fresh water,sooner than later you will be playing with kitties and mom will be OK with that.

[IrishAyes]

5. Not a single word worthwhile to add

But I did enjoy reading everything. I tend to be late into conversations because in good weather I try to limit most of my DU time to weekends. As a retiree, I find it all too easy to stay on this website half the day.

[Warpy]

8. By the time they're 6 weeks old, Mama will be taking long breaks

from them and weaning them, bringing them first dead prey and then live prey, so they learn how to hunt.

Handling the kittens at any time could provoke Mama into moving them, but at 6 weeks, they're able to walk and run and you'll have a good idea where they are.

6 weeks is also about the youngest you can safely take kittens in to socialize them. They'll need kitten milk replacer along with their kitten food and will likely need a little help getting the point of a litter box, but it can be done.

The best way to socialize feral kittens is to play with them and wear them out. As they get drowsy, scoop them into a lap and get them used to human smells and a few pets here and there. The process with kittens is usually a quick one.