Help! found feral cat and kittens in my garage

Check your phonebook or with vets for a reputable no kill shelter/rescue.
They probably have someone with experience who can help you out with
catching them. Your plan is reasonable. Actually, mom cat might be able to
be tamed. Many people have had extremely rewarding relationships adopting
and socializing a feral.


"Jamie" wrote in message
...
There are a couple of feral cats that have been hanging around my yard
for a while, one is part siamese, the other an orange cat. I'd been
leaving food out for them as they looked pretty skinny. Anyway,
yesterday I discovered that the siamese cat with three kittens in a
fairly inaccessible corner of my garage. She got scared, hissed at me
and ran off.

The kittens don't look newborn, but their eyes were still shut so they
must be young. I put them on a couple of old towels, and left food and
water nearby in case mom came back. I peeked in the garage this
morning, and saw part of momma cats leg, so she's back. I couldn't see
more, as the area she is in is hidden away.

Anyway what should I do about all this? I don't have a problem with
them staying there for a while, especially as it's been rainy and
miserable here the last few days. My idea is to leave food and water
there, then try to catch the kittens when they're older and get them
nice homes. As for mom, she's wild, but at least I'd want to capture
here for spaying and vaccinations, even if it turns out I can't make a
pet of her.

Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing anything? Finally, one kitten
is a tabby and the other two are white, could the orange cat be the
dad?

"Jamie" wrote in message
...
There are a couple of feral cats that have been hanging around my yard
for a while, one is part siamese, the other an orange cat. I'd been
leaving food out for them as they looked pretty skinny. Anyway,
yesterday I discovered that the siamese cat with three kittens in a
fairly inaccessible corner of my garage. She got scared, hissed at me
and ran off.

The kittens don't look newborn, but their eyes were still shut so they
must be young. I put them on a couple of old towels, and left food and
water nearby in case mom came back. I peeked in the garage this
morning, and saw part of momma cats leg, so she's back. I couldn't see
more, as the area she is in is hidden away.

Anyway what should I do about all this? I don't have a problem with
them staying there for a while, especially as it's been rainy and
miserable here the last few days. My idea is to leave food and water
there, then try to catch the kittens when they're older and get them
nice homes. As for mom, she's wild, but at least I'd want to capture
here for spaying and vaccinations, even if it turns out I can't make a
pet of her.

Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing anything? Finally, one kitten
is a tabby and the other two are white, could the orange cat be the
dad?

Sounds like a plan to me. Your local Humane Society may have humane, "Have
a Heart" traps that they will loan out (for a deposit). Megan
) knows the most about trapping feral cats, so you may want
to talk to her about technique.

If the orange cat is hanging around he probably is the father - are you
going to try to trap and neuter him also?

Hugs,

CatNipped

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"Jamie" wrote in message
...
There are a couple of feral cats that have been hanging around my yard
for a while, one is part siamese, the other an orange cat. I'd been
leaving food out for them as they looked pretty skinny. Anyway,
yesterday I discovered that the siamese cat with three kittens in a
fairly inaccessible corner of my garage. She got scared, hissed at me
and ran off.

The kittens don't look newborn, but their eyes were still shut so they
must be young. I put them on a couple of old towels, and left food and
water nearby in case mom came back. I peeked in the garage this
morning, and saw part of momma cats leg, so she's back. I couldn't see
more, as the area she is in is hidden away.

Anyway what should I do about all this? I don't have a problem with
them staying there for a while, especially as it's been rainy and
miserable here the last few days. My idea is to leave food and water
there, then try to catch the kittens when they're older and get them
nice homes. As for mom, she's wild, but at least I'd want to capture
here for spaying and vaccinations, even if it turns out I can't make a
pet of her.

Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing anything? Finally, one kitten
is a tabby and the other two are white, could the orange cat be the
dad?

Sounds like a plan to me. Your local Humane Society may have humane,
"Have a Heart" traps that they will loan out (for a deposit). Megan
) knows the most about trapping feral cats, so you may want
to talk to her about technique.

If the orange cat is hanging around he probably is the father - are you
going to try to trap and neuter him also?

Hugs,

CatNipped

Sorry, that should have been .

Hugs,

CatNipped

Anyway what should I do about all this?

If you know for sure the klttens are still in the garage and haven't
been moved I would set a live trap (Havahart raccoon size is ideal) in
there tonight and get the mother. You can usually rent these traps,
borrow them from animal control or a rescue group, or buy them at a feed
store.

If there is a way to close down your garage so momma cat can't get out
*at all* that's even better and will allow you some time if she doesn't
go in the trap the first night. If you wait and do nothing now she may
move the kittens, it will become harder to trap them all and you could
very well end up with *more* kittens before you can catch them all.

Use very smelly canned food as bait. Tuna or canned mackeral will work
well. To ensure the cat doesn't get the food without springing the trap,
when you set the trap, make sure to put a newspaper on the floor of the
trap, folded lengthwise so it doesn't touch the sides and covers the
trip plate. Often cats will step over the trip plate if they see it and
will get the food, but not spring the trap. This is a good precaution to
take that will greatly increase the odds that that won't happen.
Check the trap often (if you have a window in the garage you can peep
through so you don't have to keep going in and out and disturb the
mother that would be best) and when the cat is caught immediately cover
the trap with a sheet so she doesn't freak out and injure herself.

Have either a small room (with *all* items that can be knocked over or
broken put away and any hiding spots where you couldn't reach the
cat/kittens made inaccessible) or have an *at least* 2'x3' or larger
wire dog cage set up and put her in it, then go get the kittens and put
them in with mom. If you use a cage you can set the cage up so bedding
is in the back and litter is in the front, which will make it easier for
you to change litter. Regardless of where you put the cat, you'll
probably want to put a layer of dirt on top of the litter as ferals are
used to peeing in dirt and often don't understand what the clay is for.
Once the cat gets the hang of the litterbox you can switch over to
regular litter.

It could very well be that this momma cat is not feral and just scared,
but either way it is a very rewarding thing to bring such cats in and
work with them to get them socialized. If she is feral let us know and
we can teach you how to socialize her, at least enough to where she can
be out and about in your home. As for the kittens, if you get them
inside now they will be easily socialized and adoptable and you can work
on finding good homes for them. Maybe you could keep mom and one kitten
and find a good home for the other two together? You have options, but
the first order of the day is to get these cats inside and safe.

It would also be wise to catch the other cat as well and get him fixed
so you don't have the same problem all over again. If he's a nice cat
you could find a good home for him too. If he's truly feral and you're
up for the challenge, you could socialize him as well. The other option
is, after getting him neutered and vaccinated, to release him and make
sure he has food and shelter.

Megan




"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

"Jamie" wrote in message
...
There are a couple of feral cats that have been hanging around my yard
for a while, one is part siamese, the other an orange cat. I'd been
leaving food out for them as they looked pretty skinny. Anyway,
yesterday I discovered that the siamese cat with three kittens in a
fairly inaccessible corner of my garage. She got scared, hissed at me
and ran off.

The kittens don't look newborn, but their eyes were still shut so they
must be young.

If their eyes are still shut, they're less than 10-12 days old.


I put them on a couple of old towels, and left food and
water nearby in case mom came back. I peeked in the garage this
morning, and saw part of momma cats leg, so she's back. I couldn't see
more, as the area she is in is hidden away.

Anyway what should I do about all this? I don't have a problem with
them staying there for a while, especially as it's been rainy and
miserable here the last few days. My idea is to leave food and water
there, then try to catch the kittens when they're older and get them
nice homes. As for mom, she's wild, but at least I'd want to capture
here for spaying and vaccinations, even if it turns out I can't make a
pet of her.

Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing anything? Finally, one kitten
is a tabby and the other two are white, could the orange cat be the
dad?


What are the chances of closing off the area of your garage where the
kittens are until they're old enough to come out to the feeding station and
eat on their own? This way you can trap the mother with little worry about
the kittens surviving for a day or two without their mother. Otherwise, I
would suggest delaying trapping the mother until the kittens are at least
three weeks old and have a better chance of surviving for a day without the
mother. In the meantime, feed the mother kitten food - it contains more
protein and calcium and phosphorus - she needs as much nutrition as she can
get while nursing and recovering from birthing.

In situations like yours, I generally trap the entire family - its not as
difficult as it sounds. You can use the kittens as bait with a drop trap
that you can build yourself. Just make sure you put the kittens in a kitty
bed in the center of the trap and make sure they're not near the perimeter
of the trap when you trigger it. Commercial animal traps are a little
dangerous for young kittens because kittens tend to follow each other into
the trap - thus when the first kitten triggers the door, it could close on
the next kitten injuring her. Most of the time, I don't need a trap to
catch kittens. If you think a drop trap would work in your situation, I'll
send you the plans along with instructions for transferring the cats to a
cage or carrier.

If you decide on a commercial trap for mom, and you have a choice, I
recommend either a Tru-Catch 36D or Tomahawk 608 or 608.5. All three have
vertical sliding rear doors which makes transfers to cages easier. The The
Tru-Catch 36D and especially the Tomahawk 608.5 are also excellent recovery
cages - the rear door also makes feeding easy. Have a blanket ready - large
enough to cover the trap after the cat is in - this dramatically reduces her
stress. For bait, try Kentucky Fried Chicken (without the bones) yep -
that's right. I and many others have had great luck with KFC!

After you trap the mom and *before* you neuter her, use some of her used
litter as bait to trap the male(s). After she's neutered, used litter won't
work as well.

Before you trap the cats, make arrangements with your vet *first* - make
sure he'll work with a feral - many don't. If he's familiar with ferals,
he'll know you can't exactly make appointments. Ideally, try to find a vet
who works with ferals - preferably a vet whose experienced in early-age
neutering so you get the kits neutered at 8-12 weeks. Nothing is worse than
having a cat in a trap and no vet to neuter her. So make all the
arrangements before you even set the trap.

Next you'll need a recovery and nursing area - in pinches I use a baby
playpen (flea market or garage sale $5- $10) with black construction mesh
tacked to the bars and a 1" x 1" frame over the top also covered with
construction mesh. The top is secured with hinges on one side and a
hook-and-eye lock on the other. You can also cut off the bottoms of a few
bars to make sliding a litterbox in and out for cleaning easier. Do the
same for food and water bowls.

On the other side of the pen, you can place a large carrier with the gate
open and tied to the bars. The carrier will not only provide a save haven
but will also make releasing mom (if you release her) easier. She'll be
used to going into the carrier voluntarily to sleep safely. While she's in,
untie the gate and close it with a broomstick - you can follow the same
technique with a carrier whether you use a playpen or large cage.

The kits are definitely young enough to tame. Don't separate them from each
other for at least 8 weeks as this is the socialization period when cats
learn to interact with each other. Separating kittens too young will make
them difficult to get along with other cats when they older. Also, try to
handle the kits as much as possible - this will make them better with
humans.

Speaking of ferals - I'm late feeding my colony - so I gotta run! I'm sure
others here will give you additional information.

Best of luck!

Phil

"Jamie" wrote in message
...
"Phil P." wrote:
What are the chances of closing off the area of your garage where the
kittens are until they're old enough to come out to the feeding station
and
eat on their own? This way you can trap the mother with little worry
about
the kittens surviving for a day or two without their mother. Otherwise,
I
would suggest delaying trapping the mother until the kittens are at least
three weeks old and have a better chance of surviving for a day without
the
mother. In the meantime, feed the mother kitten food - it contains more
protein and calcium and phosphorus - she needs as much nutrition as she
can
get while nursing and recovering from birthing.

It would be relatively easy to put up some kind of enclosure to keep
the kittens from escaping. It might be difficult to build one high
enough to hold mom. I think she entered the garage by way of a side
door that often doesn't close properly, I could easily secure it so
she couldn't get out.


If you can, the best way to go is keeping the family together until the kits
are old enough to eat on their own and can survive for a few days without
mom.



I'll pick up some kitten food later today.


Excellent. Kitten food is the most nutritious - you also may want to add a
little vitamin C - but not enough for mom to detect.



In situations like yours, I generally trap the entire family - its not as
difficult as it sounds. You can use the kittens as bait with a drop trap
that you can build yourself. Just make sure you put the kittens in a
kitty
bed in the center of the trap and make sure they're not near the
perimeter
of the trap when you trigger it. Commercial animal traps are a little
dangerous for young kittens because kittens tend to follow each other
into
the trap - thus when the first kitten triggers the door, it could close
on
the next kitten injuring her. Most of the time, I don't need a trap to
catch kittens. If you think a drop trap would work in your situation,
I'll
send you the plans along with instructions for transferring the cats to a
cage or carrier.

Please send me the plans and instructions.


They're on the way in PDF format. Let me know you received them.




After you trap the mom and *before* you neuter her, use some of her used
litter as bait to trap the male(s). After she's neutered, used litter
won't
work as well.

Will she even know what to do with litter? This is definitely a feral
cat. On somebody elses advice a put out a pan of garden soil, don't
know if she's used it yet.


Urine-saturated dirt or leaves works well, too - probably better. Its the
scent of intact female urine that's important.




Before you trap the cats, make arrangements with your vet *first* - make
sure he'll work with a feral - many don't. If he's familiar with ferals,
he'll know you can't exactly make appointments.

OK, I'll do that. Is this the type of situation in which vets tend to
offer discounts? I'm thinking that the costs of vaccinations,
deworming, spaying, etc for four cats might get expensive.


Some vets offer free or very low cost neutering and vaccinations to people
and groups who work with ferals and TNR. Some vets even have mobile clinics
that service large areas. Let me know your area and I'll try to locate one
for you.



My other concern is if this might affect the health of my cat. The
garage is one of his favorite play areas. He hasn't been allowed in
there since I discovered the kittens, but he may have had contact
before I found them. It's also possible that he may get in again.
There's a door between my kitchen and garage which is used several
times a day as the washer/dryer, chest freezer, and some hobby
materials are all in the garage. If there is further contact what
health issues should I be aware of?

You probably should continue to restrict his access to the garage until you
can have the mom and kits tested when she's neutered. If your cat is an
indoor/outdoor cat and up to date on his shots, he should be ok. Even
unvaccinated adult cats are highly resistant to FeLV. However, I'd err on
the side of caution and keep the cats separated until the new cats are
tested.

Kitten season is here - so this may not be your last rescue! Your garage
may turn out to be a gold mine for trapping females and providing a safe
shelter for newborns. If you can trap and neuter more females, you'll be
doing Catdom a world of good. You're already off to a great start!

Best of luck.

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
nk.net...

Kitten season is here - so this may not be your last rescue! Your garage
may turn out to be a gold mine for trapping females and providing a safe
shelter for newborns. If you can trap and neuter more females, you'll be
doing Catdom a world of good. You're already off to a great start!

Best of luck.

Phil

Just wanted to chime in and second Phil here. Thank you, Jamie, for doing
this! The more people who TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) the less cats there will
be dying horrible deaths in the street or euthanized at shelters.

Having feral cats picked up by animal control just doesn't help the
problem - it won't even reduce the number of cats in you area since when 10
cats are removed from an area and euthanized, 10 *other* cats will move into
the area. Even if you can't "tame" ferals and bring them inside out of
harm's way, if you can TNR them they will keep other non-neutered cats out
of the area since cats are territorial and eventually the population will be
controlled by attrition.

Again, thanks - you've doing a wonderful thing!

Hugs,

CatNipped

I saw someone advising you to trap the whole family, which is good advice.
It was NOT good advice to suggest you take the kittens and use them as
bait. What you do NOT want to happen is to have the mom abandon the
litter. Set the trap a comfortable distance from the kittens with stinky
food, catch mom, THEN gather up the helpless kittens and reunite the
family in a secure indoor place. You may well find the momcat is not
feral, by the way.

I hope you call me. I do this sort of thing all the time and want to help
you.

Sharon Talbert
Campus Cats
206-524-7326

Sharon Talbert wrote:
I saw someone advising you to trap the
whole family, which is good advice.

Yes, it is important to get the whole family and get them *now.*

It was NOT good advice to suggest you
take the kittens and use them as bait.

I agree and also posted a simple plan that would get the mother, and
then she could go get the kittens.

What you do NOT want to happen is to
have the mom abandon the litter. Set the
trap a comfortable distance from the
kittens with stinky food, catch mom,
THEN gather up the helpless kittens and reunite the family in a secure
indoor
place. You may well find the momcat is
not feral, by the way.

ITA with everything you said and posted the same. There is no sense in
waiting and risking abandonment or worse, that the mother would move the
kittens. I hope the OP contacts you for further assistance since you are
close to her area.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

"Sharon Talbert" wrote in message
.washington.edu...

I saw someone advising you to trap the whole family, which is good advice.
It was NOT good advice to suggest you take the kittens and use them as
bait.

It must be good advice because I've used a drop trap w/the kittens
successfully many times to catch the momcat. You've never used a drop trap
with kittens, have you? You might want to try it before you say its not
good advice.

Do you know what a drop trap is and how it works? A drop trap is much
larger (3' x 3' or larger) than a live trap. The kits aren't put 'inside'
the trap and the momcat doesn't need to 'enter' the trap - the kits are out
in the open and easily accessible to mom - which increases the sensation for
her to move the kits.

In fact, a drop trap is often the only way to trap a trapwise cat or mom and
her kits. Mom must enter the drop zone to smell her kits to know they've
been handled. Its also the only way (other than a net) to trap a specific
cat.



What you do NOT want to happen is to have the mom abandon the
litter.

If a momcat is going to abandon her kits, its usually after she smells
they've been handled. She must enter the drop zone to do that.

Set the trap a comfortable distance from the kittens with stinky
food, catch mom,


And what if the kits follow each other into the trap and the second kit gets
crushed by the trap door? And what if the mom is trapwise?


THEN gather up the helpless kittens and reunite the
family in a secure indoor place.

This presents the same risk of abandonment from handling and moving the
kits.


I hope you call me. I do this sort of thing all the time

Apparently not with a drop trap. Try it, I'm sure you'll find it very
effective. If you'd like plans to build a drop trap and instructions how to
use it and transfer the cats from the drop trap, let me know.

Phil