4 Feral Kittens: Trapping Them Successfully!
© 2019 Ann M Del Tredici A very small female feral cat gave birth to kittens in April. She was being fed by a neighbor and looked very healthy but very pregnant. She disappeared for 3 days to deliver them. When she returned to the neighbor's house, she was ravenously hungry and ate 2-3 times more food than before--so we suspected she had had the kittens. We asked neighbors to watch out for her. Five to six weeks later, a neighbor called to say that the mother cat was in her yard and had 2 kittens...which became 4 kittens as more time passed and they came out of hiding. As we prepared to trap them, the mother cat moved them--apparently to get them closer to the neighbor who feeds her. We started a new plan to trap the kittens so we could socialize them and make them more adoptable. After accustoming them to the trap with feedings inside the disabled trap, we caught all 4 kittens in one trapping. The kittens are 9 weeks old now and we will spay the mother cat this week. She is very feral and we will Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) her back into the colony of community cats. The kittens are very healthy with no apparent problems, no eye infections, and no respiratory problems. The mother and all four kittens are solid black. Update, February 1, 2020 Everyone is doing fine. The mother cat was spayed, vaccinated and microchipped at "Fix Our Ferals" (a wonderful organization) then held in a kennel for 2 days and then released back into the neighborhood community of feral cats. She is still coming to the original neighbor's patio and is fed canned food twice a day. Her coat looks great and she is "filling out." She is feral. The four kittens are wonderful. We decided to keep them all and it has been a great time. Three females and one male--the females have all been spayed, the male neutered, and all vaccinated and microchipped and are indoor-only cats--and 3 of them are completely socialized to humans. One female is still a little skittish--but she's slowly coming around and lets us pet her when she wants it. Update, November 2020 All the cats are doing well. The Mama cat is still feral and is fed wet food twice a day by a neighbor and the 4 kittens, now 1.5 years old, are all healthy and happy as indoor-only cats. They have distinct personalities. The shyest one is much more relaxed now and enjoys our company and being petted--and is very affectionate--and loves our 17-year old male cat--following him everywhere inside the house.
© 2019 Ann M Del Tredici A very small female feral cat gave birth to kittens in April. She was being fed by a neighbor and looked very healthy but very pregnant. She disappeared for 3 days to deliver them. When she returned to the neighbor's house, she was ravenously hungry and ate 2-3 times more food than before--so we suspected she had had the kittens. We asked neighbors to watch out for her. Five to six weeks later, a neighbor called to say that the mother cat was in her yard and had 2 kittens...which became 4 kittens as more time passed and they came out of hiding. As we prepared to trap them, the mother cat moved them--apparently to get them closer to the neighbor who feeds her. We started a new plan to trap the kittens so we could socialize them and make them more adoptable. After accustoming them to the trap with feedings inside the disabled trap, we caught all 4 kittens in one trapping. The kittens are 9 weeks old now and we will spay the mother cat this week. She is very feral and we will Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) her back into the colony of community cats. The kittens are very healthy with no apparent problems, no eye infections, and no respiratory problems. The mother and all four kittens are solid black. Update, February 1, 2020 Everyone is doing fine. The mother cat was spayed, vaccinated and microchipped at "Fix Our Ferals" (a wonderful organization) then held in a kennel for 2 days and then released back into the neighborhood community of feral cats. She is still coming to the original neighbor's patio and is fed canned food twice a day. Her coat looks great and she is "filling out." She is feral. The four kittens are wonderful. We decided to keep them all and it has been a great time. Three females and one male--the females have all been spayed, the male neutered, and all vaccinated and microchipped and are indoor-only cats--and 3 of them are completely socialized to humans. One female is still a little skittish--but she's slowly coming around and lets us pet her when she wants it. Update, November 2020 All the cats are doing well. The Mama cat is still feral and is fed wet food twice a day by a neighbor and the 4 kittens, now 1.5 years old, are all healthy and happy as indoor-only cats. They have distinct personalities. The shyest one is much more relaxed now and enjoys our company and being petted--and is very affectionate--and loves our 17-year old male cat--following him everywhere inside the house.