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Wild cat has kittens in my crawl space opening.

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B Calm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:24 AM
Original message
Wild cat has kittens in my crawl space opening.
What the hell do I do now?



Here the wild mother cat finds out that I found them.

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Mizmoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:29 AM
Response to Original message
1. Mom will probably move them
now that she knows that you know.
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B Calm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:32 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. I hope she moves them somewhere far off..
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:31 AM
Response to Original message
2. She might move them ..
Having done this a few times, I would steal them and bottle feed them.. then take them to petSmart to be adopted..Get a have-a-heart trap and spay Mom.. No more baby kittens..

If you are not interested in this option, you will soon have wild-crazy kittens that will be hard to catch, and Mom will deposit another litter in about 5 months..and by then, any "girl" babies will do likewise.. You will soon be overrun with kitties..

It may sond harsh to kidnap her babies, but it's a very humane thing.. Probably only one or two will even survive for long in the "wild"..

If Mom is tame, you might be able to get her adopted too:)

If you decide to let nature take its course, you might put an old blanket inside the window well so they're not on the cold ground..
and of course if water collects there, they migth drown..

Kittens.. cute as anything, but heartbreaking too..

..
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B Calm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:34 AM
Response to Reply #2
4. Mom is wild as hell.. You'd have to tranquilize her to get her to the vet
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:36 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. The traps have a carrying handle on them
and you just take her trap and all to the vet. The vets remove her, and they recover from the surgery very well. We kept our slutty Mom-cat in a spare room for a month, trying to tame her..to no avail.. and finally let her back out.. She's still "with us" for food and shelter..but that's it.
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B Calm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:40 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. That is a great idea. I have a friend at work with a live trap.
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cornermouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:41 AM
Response to Original message
7. These look too small to kidnap right now.
Edited on Sat Jun-04-05 06:44 AM by cornermouse
Wait a couple of weeks till they're old enough to drink out of a dish, but before they're able to move faster than you to kidnap them. If you try now, you're probably going to lose some or all of them due to lack of nourishment.

And actually, while you're waiting a couple of weeks, if you can reach them, I would make a point of physical contact every day so they know you. They're going to be less likely to run away when you want to move them out.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:46 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. Petsmart sells kitten milk, and you have to feed them every 2 -3 hrs
but it's not as hard as you would think.. I bottlefed 2 consecutive litters..9 kittens..
All you need is a heating pad (on low setting) with a folded towel on it, and a damp washcloth to help them go potty..It's only a pain in the beginning, and they are easy to teach the litter box and real food techniques..

We bought a large dog crate and used it for all our babies when they got "mobile"..

A wild kitten with fleas and eye infections is not easy to place, but a healthy one hand raised is:)
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cornermouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-04-05 06:50 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. Yeah, but 3 or 4 weeks old is easy to de-flea and
medicate and has had the benefit of mommy's milk.

Of course, it is your decision. Just putting in my 2 cents.
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