Stray cat had kittens in my garden

carfiosaoorl

My daughter heard them crying yesterday and we found them in the dog kennel (no dog out there). The mother cat came back after a while and I left food and milk for her. She went away again this morning and I had a look in at them. I think one of the kittens is dead, the other fairly miserable looking
There are also a lot of other stray cats out there Im afraid they will hurt the kittens while mother is away. Is it in a cats nature to do that? Not sure what to do with them

paddyandy

You are the only friend they have while she's away .Remove the dead one while she's not there .

planetX

Is the mother tame? The very best thing you could do would be to borrow a carrier and bring them to a vet - kitten probably needs a shot of antibiotic, both would need worming, and the mother needs to be neutered as she will soon be pregnant again. Maybe you could get in touch with a local rescue if you need help with that?
At the very least keep feeding her, but don't give cows milk. Unfortunately unless someone steps up there will just be more kittens to follow.

carfiosaoorl

The mother isn't tame, she is very nervous. She came back earlier and I put food out for her again but when I closed the back door she bolted again. The food is gone now but not sure if she ate it or other stray. I'm kind of afraid of going out there too much in case she leaves them altogether.
I was afraid someone would say to take away the dead one. Should I really do that or will she deal with it herself? We had a dog once who buried her pups when they died.

golden lane

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

The mother isn't tame, she is very nervous. She came back earlier and I put food out for her again but when I closed the back door she bolted again. The food is gone now but not sure if she ate it or other stray. I'm kind of afraid of going out there too much in case she leaves them altogether.
I was afraid someone would say to take away the dead one. Should I really do that or will she deal with it herself? We had a dog once who buried her pups when they died.

when you give her food...make sure you touch it.....she will associate your smell with food.........it is usual for some wild kittens to die....she may only have enough milk to feed one........

let nature take it's course.....later if you fell l;ike it..take it to the vets......

toadfly

Where bouts are you living OP?

carfiosaoorl

TillyGirl wrote: »

Where bouts are you living OP?

I'm in Waterford

ryan84

Can you contact local rescues to see if they can help. If you are happy enough to let her stay living around I would contact the waterford spca to organise getting her spayed as soon as she can go away from the kittens. City vets also rehome kittens so might be able to help.

Also only leave out water and never milk.

Give her kitten food as I think its best for nursing mothers. (someone can correct me if I am wrong about this)

elainee40

ryan84 wrote: »

Can you contact local rescues to see if they can help. If you are happy enough to let her stay living around I would contact the waterford spca to organise getting her spayed as soon as she can go away from the kittens. City vets also rehome kittens so might be able to help.

Also only leave out water and never milk.

Give her kitten food as I think its best for nursing mothers. (someone can correct me if I am wrong about this)

Ryan is correct never give a cat MILK, unless its actual cat milk, as milk does more damage than good, (runs the inside out of them)

Also Kitten food is best for nursing mums as has more vitamins and protein in it.
If the babies are crying they must be about 3 to 4 weeks old, they will start moving soon also. If mum is wild if these kittens are not moved from her before about 7 weeks they will be wild too unfortunatly. If you go to them when mammy isnt here rub them down and talk to them they will begin to trust you.

realtinh

Hey there,
I seem to be having the same problem. Three kittens in our shed, mother is very nervous and scared of us but seems to be taking good care of her kittens. I suspect they are about 5 weeks old.
I really want to take the kittens because there are a lot of stray cats around and the last stray kittens got diseases and colds so easily, but I'm not too sure how to hand rear kittens?
I'm thinking of taking them inside and feeding them myself for a few weeks. They are very scared and spit at me every time I go near so I want to get them used to humans as quick as possible.
Any advice would be great. thanks:)

planetX

The kittens only need 3 more weeks with their mother - why not shut them all in the shed, feed the mother and let her continue feeding the kittens. Seems pointless to hand rear kittens when the mother is feeding them fine. Block the door with your foot as you go in and out. Put in a litter box, give her as much food as she'll eat, some blankets. Ideally get a worm tablet into her food too, and if you can tempt her into a carrier please consider getting her neutered or you'll be facing the same problem again in the future.

ladypip

I give my cat Lactose free milk, its cheaper than the whiskas milk and its the same thing. You could try give the mammy cat some?

realtinh

planetX wrote: »

The kittens only need 3 more weeks with their mother - why not shut them all in the shed, feed the mother and let her continue feeding the kittens. Seems pointless to hand rear kittens when the mother is feeding them fine. Block the door with your foot as you go in and out. Put in a litter box, give her as much food as she'll eat, some blankets. Ideally get a worm tablet into her food too, and if you can tempt her into a carrier please consider getting her neutered or you'll be facing the same problem again in the future.

I had thought of that alright. The kittens were just so scared every time I went out to them that I worry that when it gets to eight weeks that they wont be able to socialise so I wont be able to find them good homes, or neuter them.

The mother is far too scared. She is one of a few female strays we have. We have been trying for a while to get them used to us with food but they definitely wouldn't come as close as getting into a carrier.
I've contacted the local rescue centre and they have a really long waiting list for cat traps so I'm kind of at a dead end. I just want to give these kittens the best possibility of getting to a good home soon.

I give my cat Lactose free milk, its cheaper than the whiskas milk and its the same thing. You could try give the mammy cat some?

That's a great idea. Thank you:)

Pumpkinseeds

It really helps if you can get them used to your scent. If you have an old jumper or towel with your scent on it you could put it out where they're sleeping. Also handling the food and plates you use for them will have your scent on them and gradually they'll associate you with food. Its really about handling them and getting them socialised with people. The more used to people that they are, the easier it will be to find them homes. Time and patience.