What to do with unfamiliar cat that had kittens under our porch

Question

A neighborhood cat had 3 kittens under our porch. I don't know if the momma cat is a stray or just a wanderer, I've never seen her before now. All I know is she won't let us get close. Her babies have cried every morning for a couple of weeks. One of the babies stumbled out this morning, and it's about the size of a standard coffee mug & can't quite walk straight yet (very cute and furry!). One of it's eyes is still closed.

No one is claiming the mother cat.

How old are the kittens (roughly)?

How do I catch all of them?

And what do I do with them once I catch them?

Is it ok to give them milk & tuna fish?

We have 2 dogs (both chocolate labs), so keeping them is not an option.

And letting them become strays is not an option.

I called animal control, and they said if the kittens are too young, they will euthanize them.

Any suggestions???

Answer 1

Put some cat food out for the mother cat. If she eats it, give her more and more. Don't forget about water too. After she eats the food, get a crate, and put some food in it. When you see her go in, grab the crate and close it quick. Now the kittens are vulnerable, and you have to catch them fast! Without their mom they could die. All you have to do is grab them when you see them. Put them in a different crate. You should take them to the vet. The first thing the vet will do is look for a homeing chip on the mother. Is their is no homeing chip, then the cat is probably a stray. The vet will probably exam each kitten, and then she will tell you what to do next. Yes, doing all this will cost you a little money, but it is worth it if you want the cats to live. The cat food for the mother cat will cost about 5-10 dollars. The crates might cost 15-20 dollars. The vet exam might cost 0-30 dollars.

I really really hope this helps!

Answer 2

Leave them alone until they are old enough to be picked up by animal control.

Answer 3

Call the local Petsmart/Petco and see if they have the number of a no-kill shelter/rescue group.

If the mom cat is feral there's really nothing you can do to socialize her, unfortunately. But if the kittens are caught within a few weeks, they can be successfully acclimated to humans and make great pets.

Get a "live trap" (Home Depot or Lowe's should have one and they aren't  expensive)and a pet carrier. Some regular cat food in the trap and you should be able to catch the mom. Then you can go in and get the kittens. Or use the trap for them. It'll be scary, but they get over it.

*No* tuna or milk! The Petsmart?Petco should have a product called "kitten substitute" or something like that, to replace mommas milk.

Hopefully the rescue organization should be some help in finding a foster home for the kittens. They also might be able to find a vet who(free of charge) will spay the mom cat and then you can release her back into the wild.

Unfortunately, feral cats are almost impossible to adopt, and there is a narrow window of a few weeks in which you can "get" the kittens in time.

Answer 4

The sad truth is we have far too many unclaimed cats.

The links are to national no kill shelter databases.  Call the shelter closest to you for assistance.  Let the rescue group know where you believe the momma and kittens are from.  

In the meantime, put them in a box with an old blanket, water and food until a rescue group comes to get them.  To get them out of the elements, put them in a space with air circulation like an outside building.  A soft stuffed animal will comfort the kittens. You already know keeping them is not an option so DO NOT put them in a place where you will see them a lot. Kittens are so seductive, so cute, you will want to love/keep them.

It sounds as if they are no more than three weeks old.  If momma isn't around anymore, than you can give them milk.  Kitten milk supplements are available but expensive.  At about 5 weeks you can transition them to inexpensive moist food which is better than people tuna.  I don't expect you'll have them that long.  Momma can have moist cat food now.  

Also, kittens don't learn the litter box until about 4-5 weeks with momma's help.  You can put a small box with litter to the side.  Litter is quite fun to play in and kittens (w/o momma) will quickly learn what else to do in it.

Thanks for caring about the stray momma and her kittens

Answer 5

id buy special cat food and put it out so they can eat and then call the local shelter and mabey you could adopt them! :D

Answer 6

Why don't you take care of them and buy cat food? Or call an animal shelter.

Answer 7

We sure don't want them euthanized.  I would  put out posters advertising free mama and kittens, put 1 on the bulletin board at the different vet offices if you have several close by.  Put a poster on the bulletin board at the grocery store.  I'm sure someone will be interested.  Do you work?  You could also advertise there.