new born kittens?

Question

I found a litter of 4 kittens in an abandoned house. When I went back to take the kittens, the mother was with them caring for them. The house is definitely a place where rats are so they aren't exactly safe. Should I take the kittens even though the mother is there to care for them? I left the mom food and water so she doesn't need to leave them at all. I also put them in a box with shredded paper so they are warm. There is no way the mom will let me capture her. I have found homes for all 4 if they do live. How long should I wait before taking them if I decide to leave them with the mom? I don't want them to be big enough to escape.

Answer 1

I am not sure re-homing wild cats is a good idea. But if you are going to do it then....
1. The mother cat has to go away from the kittens to hunt and kill so she can show her babies how it is done and to feed for herself. It sounds as though she has an abundant food supply up there with all those rats. I am sure she will protect them from her kittens as she will be aware they are also a threat to her babies.
2. She will start to lose interest in the nurturing sides of things and will leave the nest more and more. This will probably happen around the 4-6 week mark. You could "rescue" the kittens at around the age of 6-8 weeks with no problems as they should be completly weaned from the mother at that time.
BUT
Be prepared these kittens are wild and may put up a fight as well. That is why i am not sure they are going to be much of a pet. But you never know.
The other thing is you really dont know if the female cat has any diseases that she has passed onto her kittens inutero and the the person(s) you give them to is left with a disease ridden animal.
I would have them all checked, wormed and vaccinated by the vet before you give them away.... That would be the responsible thing to do

It is sweet you want to save them but i just dont know that it is the best solution to the problem.

Answer 2

If you have a safe place to take them and the mom I have an idea. By a safe place I mean a shed or somewhere outside of your house. Get a live trap (after something goes in the door will shut) and put the babies in it when the mom isn't around. Only do this if the babys are not able to move around,or put them in a shoebox or something that they can't get out of because if they trigger the door, then that would be bad. When the mom comes back, she will trigger the door, and she will be able to care for her babies. Then CAREFULLY-don't get scratched- move them to a safe place where you can feed the mom.
The mom will probably end up moving them to where you can't find them, but if you keep feeding her, and sitting quietly far away, moving a little closer each day, she will start to trust you a little. Don't try to rush that process, because if you do it will back fire and you might not see her again. Pay attention to the way she acts and watches you, and let her decide when it's okay to get closer. I "tamed" some feral cats and I noticed that they would never turn their backs to me at first, but eventually they trusted me enough that they would ignore me and eat happily. That's when I knew it was ok to move a little bit closer.
IMPORTANT- If you do this, please check the trap every 1/2 hour or so (from a distance so you don't scare the mom if she's nearby) and DO NOT leave it over night.

Answer 3

Touching the kittens might not have been such a good idea cause u shoudlnt really touch baby any animals cause the mother could kill them cause they have your scent on them. i would contact a humane society who would pick them up there selves becasue they no how to properly catch the cat without hurting her. And that way if the kittens or moms have any sickness they could be properly treated at the humane society. And if they do have an illness u wouldnt want to bring that into your house specially since they could have been exposed to rats which carry all sorts of horrible diseases. Untill the humane society can pick them up i would keep leaving food and water for the mama kitty. If they cant come right away and you feel u need to move the kittens to another box or something put the box in the house and let the mama let her move her own kittens. If you touch them not only could she kill them but she could become distressed and move them to another place, even out side of the house which could kill them. U could even let the humane society now u have found homes and they should give the kittens to them when there ready.

Answer 4

Wow - too bad about the rats. Maybe you can put food for the rats outdoors, something the cat won't like, and they will ficus on the food instead of the kittens.

I think 6-8 weeks is the minimum age you could remove them. Otherwise, you'll have to bottle feed them for a few weeks. But one positive, you can have them tested for any diseases. Which you should do, or a new "adoptive parent" should do, since they've been outside and who knows about "mom's" health. Bottle fed kittens are often more used to being handled and therefor sometimes more affectionate when they grow up.

Maybe you could ask someone to borrow a cage to trap either the mom cat, or those rats. If you catch the rats, just take them to a field. Don't kill them.

Answer 5

Wow. Well. There are so many factors. Is it cold? Is it dirty? How young are they. They could all potentialy be taken or left and probably would survive. Everything adapts to its enviorment. They could fight the rats, gain immunities, fend for themselves. Or you could take them, bottle feed them, and nurse them as a newborn child. Which would need constant time and would get spendy. Kittens eat often during the day and need constant warm. I have no doubt that the mother can take care of them. Watch them. Keep an eye, and if the situation gets worse then take them. Atleast try to wait until they are weened before seperating them from their mother.

Answer 6

you need to catch the mother first and then get the kittens and take them to the humane society or animal shelter or they will be moved by the mother over and over. Call the humane society and they will bring out a trap that is humane to catch mom and then the kittens will be able to be caught, call them back and they will take them all to a safe indoor place to be and the kittens will have human contact and all can be spayed and neutered and fed by mom.

Answer 7

The best thing you can do is try and catch that momma. Babies need their mothers milk for the first 8 weeks for the nutrients she has in her milk. I had to care for four newborns after the mom left about a week into it and it wasn't easy. You have to feed them with a bottle, and then you have to use cotton balls to message their genitalia to make them defecate, which is what the mommy does with her tongue. We also lost one of them because their immune system wasn't strong enough. But yeah I suggest trying your hardest to catch the mom. Try getting a few people to help you in capturing her, and if that doesn't work call up animal control and ask if they can help you catch her so you can take her to a good home for her and her babies.

Answer 8

You should leave them alone. Remember, cats are SUPPOSED to eat rats. Anyway, the mother cat will take care of them. What else are mothers supposed to do? By interfering, you're just messing with their habitat. I'm sure that the mother chose that spot for a reason.

Plus, you don't need to worry. They already have food, the rats!

Answer 9

Rats carry nasty a_ss diseases including Rabies. I highly doubt mama is properly vaccinated. Any sickness mama has will pass onto her wee ones.

Your on the right tract though with the food, water, milk, warm box, ect. Let mama see you when you supply her the vittles. She will associate you with food and shelter and kindness.
TRUST needs to be established then you can begin the process of hetting ama and her wee ones outta that dump.

Taking the kittens is good and all BUT what about mama? Who will be there in the next 6 months to save her second (or 3rd or 4th) litter in that abandoned house? She NEEDS to be spayed/vaccinated too. It would be cruel to take her kittens (no matter how old) and leave her in a rotten posistion to suffer the elements of stray cat living and a life of being bred (literally) to death.

Save them all please.

Find a place that will help capture them ALL humanley and care for them medically untill they can be adopted out (with ALL of their proper medical needs cared for) and the same chance at a good life goes for mama kitty too.

Call EVERY animal related agency in your town/city and ask 21 questions and don't give up because a phone was hung up on you. It is easy to say "NO" to you OVER the phone is it not? So try to do your footwork in PERSON (if possible).

Obviously mama still needs to care for them for the time being that is why it is a triple emergency to get ALL of them outta dodge and into a good, no kill shelter ASAP.

If your city/town is unable to serve the needs of it's strays then by all means hit up all surronding towns/city's.

I hope you live in a populated city/town.

Just because the mama is scared does not mean she is "Wild" or "Feral" or "Unworthy"...Wouldn't you be scared and untrusting in her posistion in life. Especially with her wee ones?

I live in a very populated city with TONS of strays/ferals and they eat garbage/food set out for them. Rarely rats/mice/birds unless they are killing them to do their inbred thing.
They got to be STARVING STARVING to resort to eating rats/mice/birds.
They live in the inner city not the freakin jungles of South America.

Answer 10

You should either take the mother and the kittens, or contact a humane society to pick them up. If mom is still looking after them, they aren't ready to be separated yet.