KIttens Under my decking!

goodlad

Hey everyone! Just looking for a bit of advice.

I moved into my house about a year ago and there was always a cat hanging around my back garden. Now from the look of the cat it doesnt look stray. Even without me feeding it, it used to sleep right at my back door and relax there almost all day every day. It doesnt let me touch it but its still quite comfortable with me. As in the cat will just sleep on the decking and i could walk out within 2foot of it and it wouldnt bat an eyelid. Oh, i did start feeding the cat in the last maybe 4 months because the cat was starting to look really skinny!

But the other day my GF noticed the cat under the decking. We first figured it was staying there caus the rain but lastnight we heard kittens under it! :eek:

With the help of a torch we were able to count 4 of them. I dont know how old they are but there quite big and not skinny looking. I didnt touch them though because that would need to me to get all my deckin up and i heard i shouldnt touch them caus it will turn the mother off them. That true?

There are several big ugly tom cats around that have attacked the mother cat a good few times and im worried about the kittens now.

After that rant my question is this. Should i just leave them alone and keep feeding the mother cat so she can sort the kittens or should i call the dspca as im worried about them?

BlackCat2008

I don't think the DSPCA will be of much help given the post on this subject the past while but it can't hurt to try, they might tell you you need to trap the mammy before they will come out to get them all.

You can try cats protection, cat aid or kitten adoption their no's are all on Irish animals web site, but as far as I know they only deal with Dublin.

If the kittens are as big as you say they needed to be caught sooner radder than later they will be to hard to catch the older they get.

The 3 rescues above will care for them until they are old enough to be rehomed and will neuter mammy, if mam is Ferrel they will look to release her back out and you can have her released back into your garden if you wish.

If you have to do it alone then you need to borrow a trap and catch mammy first then go get the kittens, have mammy neutered, the vet will be able to tell you how old the kittens are and when they can be taken from mammy to be rehomed. Depending on were you live my vet is looking for kittens to be rehomed and I could pass you on their details.

Given the weather today this is better done sooner radder than later and if in the mean time you can afford it try to give her as much high quality food as possible this will stand to her for her neutering and will be passed on to the kittens giving them a better start.

Hope it go's well for you and don't forget to try and check it's not flooding under the decking, if it is just get them out now and bring them inside if you can leave the back door open with them in a box mammy might come in after them, just shut the door then call DSPCA or one of the rest if you need any more help just post I'll keep watch here for the day.

I'm in Rathfarnham so if your not to far away I may be able to help.

goodlad

Thanks for the reply!

Im not in dublin myself, im in kilcullen in Kildare.
I had checked lastnight if they were down there getting soaked. Luckily the garden is slightly sloped so all the water under there isnt where the kittens are whenever i check on them.

I will look up a vet and see if he will help me out with the kittens if i bring them to him. Im sure i will find one to help even if it means me driving to dublin with them. I just dont want them to get sick being under there.

Well i wont be home until sunday but i have a mate going over to my place twice today and tomorrow to feed the mother cat for me.

Sometimes when its raining out and the mother cat is sitting at the back door i do leave the door open and she comes in and has a sleep over by the radiator in the kitchen!

So the odds on her coming in are pretty good if i did take the kittens in.
Sure i will make some calls to some vet's now around my area and see what they say.

Mother cats won't be put off by you handling the kittens.
It is wild birds your thinking of.

BlackCat2008

If it's OK by you for them to life indoors until you sort them out it would be in the interest of the kittens and mammy if you take the kittens out now and put them in a big box next to the radiator and let mammy come to them and close the door after her. She sounds like she trust you to be around her so she should be OK about the kittens. Most decking I'm aware of is put down with nails radder than screws so you will have to pull it up which could be nosey, you will need to do it slow and as quiet as possible with some one keeping an eye on mammy that she's not running of with them, once you get to them rub your hands in the soil around them before picking them up, pick them up by the scruff of the neck so they think your mammy and they will stay quiet and put them straight into the box and bring them in, when they cry mammy will come into them she'll recognise their scent as well as yours she should be fine with that. If they don't cry just pick them up into your hand and that should start them of, don't worry a mammy cat will not abandon her kittens unless she see's no hope of survival for both them and her they are great mothers. Once you have them they can be aged some what, if the eye's are closed they are under three weeks old if they are open and blue they are under six weeks old, if they are any other colour then there over six weeks and congrats on catching them at that stage if they are. Once you have them in, the SPCA might come and get them or they might allow you to bring them to them.
Once they are in, an old wash basin or oven try will do as a litter tray and keep the box near but not to close to the radiator. If you have to keep them for a while and the eye's are open then they need to be weaned so you need kitten milk for them and about five days after words you can try them with some mashed kitten food.

Best of luck lets know how you get on. Hope this helps

goodlad

Small update on this.

Getting the decking up isnt possible, the screws were put in with some magical super gun r something! haha!

But yesterday 2 of the kittens wandered out from under the decking, i picked one up and the mother cat just sat beside me while i held the kitten. She didnt seem to mind at all

My bro had a real sort little bed from when he had kittens we have the 2 kittens in that. They seemed happy enough there. I checked out their eyes and they both still have blue eyes so that means they are under 6 weeks?

We have them some kitten milk lastnight, one of them go into it but the other just didnt want any at all. I was planning on bringing them to the vet later so he can tell me there age and tell me what to feed them.

Is it ok to have the kittens this young away from the mother cat? If it is but just means feeding them special stuff thats fine, i will get them whatever they need.

Lauragoesmad

All I want to say is Fair play to you for being such a good person, OP!! Plenty of people would have rang the exterminator. Good on ya for looking after the kittens and watching out for the mammy cat!!

goodlad

hehe, thanks!

Ah i just love animals, i always have.
Im hoping to keep 2 of these kittens but if thats not possible i will still look after them for a few weeks until they can be givin to my local vet and re-homed.

Glowing

Hey how about some pics?!

goodlad

I was going to take some pictures lastnight but it was pretty dark in the room n i didnt wanna have the flash of a camera blinding the little guys. But i will take some pictures today when i get home from work and post it tomorrow.

goodlad

Another update.

I brought the 2 kittens to the vet. He says they are about 5-6 weeks old.
He gave them a worm tablet and checked them over and they are doing great

The black one is real funny. he wants to explore the whole house and he eats loads of kitten food and kitten milk.

I got the white one to finally eat a few minutes ago, he was curled up on my lap and i had some dry food that i left to soak for about 30 mins, i hand fed him a good bit of it! haha.

Oh, here are the pics!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30313370@N03/

Glowing

Aww fair play to you, they're adorable!!!

Did you say there were 4 altogether? Are there still 2 more under the deck?

goodlad

Originally i thought there were 4, but i couldnt be sure because i could only see them through the gaps in the decking boards.

There is def still 1 under there, he is brown and black stripes on him.
I was really close to getting him to come out earlier today. I had food left at the gap. He poked his head out, grabbed a bit of food and ran back in. Im sure i will get him soon though!

BlackCat2008

They are lovely fare play to you, you now need to start putting the food futher and further away from the decking until you can get him, don't be afraid to let mammy into see the two you alreay have and leave food around them for her, she might surprise you and bring the other kitten in herself, as did one in my grand mothers back garden I caught two and a few days later I looked in the basket and there were three. You sound to be doing a fine job with them already and hope you catch mammy soon as she will go back in to heat soon if the kittens are weaned and there are males hanging around. Heat up some chicken and fish so they give of a better smell and see if you can't get a lend of a fishing net to catch him.

Good luck.

Kotick

Kittens love to play so you could dangle a sting or a feather wand or tap a leaf near the opening and I bet that last kitten will come out. Or, oldest trick in the book, get a ball or a rock or a small bit of food and toss it out a ways and kitty will unknowingly run for it. Careful when you snatch this last kitty though cause from my experience, the longer they are without human contact, the more skittish they become.

Those pictures are just precious! I love kittens! The last few kittens that I adopted from a pound were about that age. Small enough to fit in one hand.

goodlad

THe little black one wasnt happy at all when i first managed to grab Her. She was hissing at me like mad, but after about 5 minutes of rubbing her she totally relaxed. Seeing the 2 of them i get the feeling the black one can see a lot better than the white one.

I had actually brought the little white one out the back garden yesterday while the mother cat was there. I just sat down on the edge of the decking and the mother cat came over and licked the little cat on the head while i was holding him! it was so nice it almost made me feel guilty! :rolleyes: damn cats being cute! haha!

I will give the idea of letting the mother cat in to see them a shot, i just hope she doesnt try pic them up and do a runner. But i will see how it goes anyways.

Its was hours of entertainment lastnight just watching the 2 play with each other, there little run is so funny! :D

BlackCat2008

As the colour of the eye's change the eye's become more focused and before you know it they will have found the opening to the bottom of your trouser leg and try to climb up they are lots of fun, but do remember how young they are and that sleep takes them over in the blink of an eye, I have too two month old's crawling around me as I write this and I just got nipped in the chin to pay attention to.

Have fun and I hope you get the other one soon, Koticks plan is also worth giving a shoot too.

BlackCat2008

Ash Animal rescue in Wicklow have put out a cry for help they are struggling just to feed the animals and have already begin to rashen out what they have left, so I need everyone's help in different ways I know there is something on this list that everyone could give a hand out with so please try, we are so good at sending charity abroad now our own Irish animals are in critical need.

I have meet this couple who run this shelter on a few occasions and I can tell you all now they should be the ones in charge of all the shelters in Ireland as they care for these animals like they are there own children, they are a non profit, non kill shelter who rescue from pounds as well to try to save as many as they can, they never turn an animal in need away no matter what so on there behalf I am going to start a food drive and rehoming drive to try to help them out.

They are in need of help asap not next week or when ever we all feel like it but yesterday. They have done so much already and need this support, they tuck in 120 cats and kittens in the space of two days last week and this has really pushed them over the edge they were clinging to by their finger nails, I can't express the urgency of this matter, it is all our responsibility to help look after our Irish animals and support the shelters like Ash who have found them selfs in very dark times.

Here is a list of how you can help volunteer :

I need people with vans and large cars etc. to pick up food from the drop zones and bring it to ash for those who live a good distance I will try to arrange for some one to meet you's half way to carry on to ash.

I need drop zones set up all over the country in local schools, community centres, shopping centres or houses that are central to local villages.

Posters will need to be done up to inform people of this drive.

People will be needed to stay at drop zones to take in the food and thank people for there kindness and wait for the food to be picked up.

Talk to your local schools and see will they ask pupils to donate food or bring in a euro or two for a non uniform day, and smilier for these in big companies.

I need you to ring your vets and see if anyone is looking for new pets and ask them to give you can have there no.s so you can confirm that they haven't already got one and ask the vets if we could drop the new pets into them for the people to collect them there.

If you are thinking of getting a new pet and you can't find them in the pounds please consider adopting from ash first.

If you are any good with computers please take some time to save this massage and put it up on every site you think I may get a response from.

If any one can think of any other way to help if it's even to pack shopping, run a jumble sale or shake a bucket please call me on 085 749 7145 for assistants there will be many schools, shopping centres and companies that will require evidence that this in a genuine cause and I will need their phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mails to get this to them so your plans can go ahead.

All and any of your help will be welcomed.

You can also go to http://www.ashanimalrescue.com and make a donation there, they are in real distress.

Hope this is OK to put up mods they need all the help they can get.

Sorry mods can you please put this in it's own tread I don't know how I stupidly mixed it up.

goodlad

Another update and this one is kinda strange.

I held my door open a few mins ago while the mother cat was there. she looked in and seen the 2 kittens. it took her a min to get confidence to come into them but she did. She went over to the white kitten and the kitten attacked her!! :eek::eek::eek::eek:

It hissed at her and start trying to claw her, the mother cat hissed back and bolt out of the house!

Now the little kitten is freaked out! he is hissing and clawing at me! God i feel terrible now about letting the mother in

BlackCat2008

goodlad wrote: »

Another update and this one is kinda strange.

I held my door open a few mins ago while the mother cat was there. she looked in and seen the 2 kittens. it took her a min to get confidence to come into them but she did. She went over to the white kitten and the kitten attacked her!! :eek::eek::eek::eek:

It hissed at her and start trying to claw her, the mother cat hissed back and bolt out of the house!

Now the little kitten is freaked out! he is hissing and clawing at me! God i feel terrible now about letting the mother in

Don't feel bad about it the kitten probably just got a fright and thought it was one of the toms and she may be just unsure they are hers as now they have the small of you's and the vets on them don't fret over it. It's a naturel reaction.

Any luck getting the last one ?

FearDark

This thread is crying out for a lolcat!! Please someone do it

goodlad

I got the 3rd kitten!!! :D:D

Literally 15 mins ago. Its sunny out so we figured take the 2 we had out onto the grass to play in the sun. After about 5 mins the 3rd one had come out from under the decking. Im guessing he heard them.

I put him into the bed and the other 2 kittens came running over, the black one just threw his paw over the new kitten and went asleep! aaawwwwww

Im leaving them for a little while in the bed together then will go give the new one some attention. Just must not get attached to the new one caus i cant keep 3. Even though the gf is fighting me on that! lol

Chong

Can we get some more pics, esp of the new one.

melbourne

Good on ya mate, your good deeds to those little kittens will come back to you many times over. Just remember to enjoy it as they grow up so quick, however my 18month old cat still has me laughing at him when he does the crab walk!

miss_shadow

aww what a great little story
i started feeding a female cat in my apartment, i then moved around the corner and she found me..although she was timid again as i adopted a crazy little female kitten who tried to attack her :D funny to look at but i felt sorry for the stray for trusting me and then being shut out.
anywho, the stray female got pregnant and started coming into my house, then there was about 5 other cats coming in for food!!! it was insane.
so i successfully shut out the other cats who wern't stray just greedy buggers and hoped that the stray female would trust me again and have her kittens near me instead of outside.
she had her kittens and i continued to feed her (loads), and always tried to see where she went after leaving my house, but a few days later, i went to the post office and saw her laid out on the road, someone had run her over. i was absolutely devistated and couldn't sleep for a couple of days thinking about those poor wee kittens.:( the weather was really bad too, cold, windy so i couldn't hear them yelping for their mum :mad:, and i'm getting teary just writing this :P:P. so i guess they are not alive either now.

LisaO

Fair play to you! They are lovely - the black one looks very cheeky!

goodlad

I was going to make a new thread but figured since the back story is on this thread i would just post here.

I tried to catch the mother cat a few times over the last 2 months with no luck! And im pretty sure she is pregnant again!! :eek::eek:

I feel pretty bad caus she still comes into the house sometimes but runs out if i come into the room, but even in the lashing rain she is standing outside the back door completely soaked!! i would of thought she would go somewhere out of the raid!

My question is, am i mad thinking if i buy a small kennel and put it out the back will she use it? I could start putting her food (i still feed her daily) into it to get her used to it, maybe stick a blanket in or something aswell for her.

I dont want her having more kittens under the decking! My hope is if she gets used to the kennel she might have them in there which would be a damn sight better than under decking in the winter.

MsFifers

It might be worth a try, but cats being the cranky divils that they are, more than likely she won't go in.

It can take months to win over a cat, but keep feeding her - if she runs outside, leave the door open with the food bowl immediately inside the door, and ignore her completely. Go to the other side of the room and keep your back to her/get busy with something else. I bet she'll eventually sneak back in for more food. Just keep ignoring her. Don't try to touch her. Let her come to you.

I'm minding a stray cat that only now, after 3 months of feeding it, will come close enough for me to stroke her. Its such a great feeling when they finally trust you! (Even if its just for 30 seconds!)

goodlad

She is real comfortable with me, sure she does be eating the food while im still getting it from the tin to the bowl, hehe! Link an inch from my hands.

When she is eating i could stand right next to her and she just eats slower while keeping an eye on me to see if i lean down and try touch her.

I think i might give the small kennel a shot, im sure i will find an inexpensive one so if she doesn't use it i wont be too out of pocket. And if she does use it then its money well spent.

BlackCat2008

Fair play to you for looking out for her still, have you tryed to get hold of a trap to catch her ?

How are the kittens doing ?

goodlad

The closest i got was with the kittens carry case, its massive so i had put the mothers food in that a few times to get her used to steeping inside it to eat. I tried to close it behind her a few times but she managed to run before i got it closed.

I would of kept trying that but didnt want to wreck the trust she has for me now by frightening her too many times.

The kittens are doing great! So big now! the white one looks like a small kat now rather than a kitten (if that makes sense) , haha!

Hours of entertainment watching then play for hours. They love sleeping on my lap aswell, hehe! Its helping me not smoke so much aswell caus i dont have the heart to lift them off me when there asleep so i get stuck on the couch till they wake up, haha!

BlackCat2008

You sound tobe doing a great job, are you anywere near Baltinglass ? I can lend you a trap to catch mammy. I don't know Kildare to well but I could arrange something to get it to you.

Sage'sMama

Moonbaby wrote: »

Mother cats won't be put off by you handling the kittens.
It is wild birds your thinking of.

You are a star for looking after the kittens they are adorable! I hope you manage to catch the last one!

goodlad

Ah i got the last one a good few weeks back, my mate is looking after that kitten now, she is completely the runt of the litter! hehe!

I think she is easily half the size of the 2 kittens i have now, kinda funny when he brings her over to play with my 2 and ya can really see how small she is.

@ Blackat, thats a great offer for the trap.

Just looking at Google maps and it says im only 25 mins from Baltinglass if i head down the M9 then onto the R747. Never been down that way but im sure the trusty satnav would get me there, hehe!

The Sweeper

goodlad, first as a cat-owner I say thank you for all you've done so far for your cat and kittens.

Next step, some advice.

One un-neutered female cat can be responsible for almost half a million other cats - through her own litters, their descendents and so on - in just seven years.

You need to catch the mom and have her neutered - if you can't afford it, phone until you find a no-kill shelter who will take her in and neuter her. Same goes for the kittens - every one of them needs to be de-sexed.

It's vital that you stop these cats from breeding - and not just for the sake of the underside of your own deck.

You're a kind person to have offered them the kindness you have to date - it would be equally great if you could extend that to catkind by doing what's best by the cats and kittens themselves.

goodlad

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

goodlad, first as a cat-owner I say thank you for all you've done so far for your cat and kittens.

Next step, some advice.

One un-neutered female cat can be responsible for almost half a million other cats - through her own litters, their descendents and so on - in just seven years.

You need to catch the mom and have her neutered - if you can't afford it, phone until you find a no-kill shelter who will take her in and neuter her. Same goes for the kittens - every one of them needs to be de-sexed.

It's vital that you stop these cats from breeding - and not just for the sake of the underside of your own deck.



You're a kind person to have offered them the kindness you have to date - it would be equally great if you could extend that to catkind by doing what's best by the cats and kittens themselves.

Well my kittens will be neutered as soon as the vet calls, i think its 5 or 6 months old, cant quite remember. They got boosters and cat flu injections n everything already.

Well hopefully i will sort out getting a loan of the trap from blackcat and will have the mother cat neutered.
I cant really afford it but i guess i can cut back on some drinking for the month so i can afford to get the mother neutered. Its worth more to me sorting her out than getting drunk for 1 night, hehe!

All i can say is god help the poor vet if they try get a hold of the mother cat. As friendly as she is to me, when anyone else walks near her she runs a mile, so i can see the vet getting clawed like mental! :eek:
I just hope the vet doesn't refuse to go near her if she does get frantic and attacks.

The Sweeper

No, you'll probably find she may calm right down at the vets - terror of a new place makes aggressive cats very biddable.

Be careful of the 5-6 months thing - a female cat can have her first litter as young as four months if she's healthy and well-fed. Plus she'll go into season every 2-3 weeks after her first season - seriously, cats breed like rabbits! If you can afford it, see if the vet will do it sooner, or if a local no-kill rescue will take them on. Otherwise, keep them inside-only so they can't be mated by local un-neutered tom cats, or you'll have another possibly-four-kittens on your hands, all needing homes and de-sexing...

Alun

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Be careful of the 5-6 months thing - a female cat can have her first litter as young as four months if she's healthy and well-fed. Plus she'll go into season every 2-3 weeks after her first season - seriously, cats breed like rabbits! If you can afford it, see if the vet will do it sooner, or if a local no-kill rescue will take them on. Otherwise, keep them inside-only so they can't be mated by local un-neutered tom cats, or you'll have another possibly-four-kittens on your hands, all needing homes and de-sexing...

Agree 100% with this. If they're roughly 6 weeks old now, then waiting until they're 6 months will bring you into early spring when the tomcats start to go on the prowl again after their 'winter break'. I can speak from experience with our two who started showing signs of getting horny at only 4 months, and trying to keep them in against their will when they're like that can be a real problem .. they can sneak between your feet and through the most minuscule gap in a barely open door before you've even blinked :pac:

Alun

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

No, you'll probably find she may calm right down at the vets - terror of a new place makes aggressive cats very biddable.

It can vary .. sometimes it's the ones that are real scaredy cats at home that can go all passive when at the vets, but the ones that are all soppy and gentle that turn into rabid, scratching monsters when the vet tries to stick that needle into them. I have the scars to prove it

goodlad

Well i dont let my 2 kittens out of the house at all.
They have hopped out the back a few times over my foot when im coming in but i grabbed them pretty fast and brought them back in.

They seem happy in the house all the time anyways, always playful and have seemingly endless energy reserves! lol

I just double checked with my Vet and they will be neutered at 4 -5 months old.There about 3 months old now (i think).

I will sort the mother out as soon as i get the trap.

The Sweeper

Excellent - well done and good luck. If everyone took as much care of their own cat as you are taking of animals that were lucky enough to end up on your doorstep, the sad problem of the domestic cat wouldn't be as bad as it is.

dirtycode

Poor little things! Kittens break my heart.