Can anyone here guide me on feral kittens and all it involves, please?

[herding cats]

I have a mommy cat who brought her babies to me 4 weeks ago. She's tame and I'm sure she was once a loved house cat before she came into season and they tossed her. She's very young and I'm guessing this is her first litter.

I first saw her on my deck. She was hiding behind a flowerpot waiting for me to water, I'm guessing so she could get a drink.

I lured her out with food and real water and gave her love. She was tame and had obviously been loved once. Which was when I noticed she was a dried up recent mommy. No milk nor signs of recent nursing, but she had been feeding babies not long ago. She was skin and bones. Truly a starved kitty on the edge. I assumed she'd been giving her all to keep her babies alive, and they'd passed in the excessive heat, sadly.

I felt guilty for not meeting her sooner and did my best to provide for her from here out.

Then 2 days later I saw she was making milk and 2 nipples were being sucked. My quest to find the babies began. I crawled through brush, under out buildings and my deck. I kept coming up empty handed. She kept coming in each evening for food and water, but I had no clue as to where the surviving babies were.

Then the heatwave hit again and I was sure they'd die. I cried. A lot.

I was sure these never seen baby kittens couldn't survive out in the wild in these outlandish temperatures. My heart was broken for them. I just kept feeding and watering their mother, which was all I could think of to do.

Then, she brought 2 sweet kittens up to my back door. She meowed loudly until I noticed and responded. They were completely feral little babies. But, set out cans (they were tiny babies) and began trying to create some form of relationship.

This was a month ago. I can pet them (barely) when I feed them now, but I'd greatly appreciate help with how to make them more tame so I can take them to to the vet, etc?

[Ocelot II]

1. Lots of information about feral cats here:

https://tinykittens.com/projects

[herding cats]

2. Thank you.

I'll read there that. I am in uncharted waters for me right now. I deeply appreciate the help. ❤️

[fierywoman]

7. Tiny kittens is amazing and extremely knowledgeable and compassionate.

[GP6971]

3. Send a DM to Siwsan.

She raises ferals.

[herding cats]

4. Brilliant.

I don't know how she slipped my mind.

Thank you old friend. Much appreciated!

[GP6971]

5. No problem!!

And good luck!!

[IcyPeas]

6. Agree with Ocelot II here's a playlist of 23 videos on handling ferals you may be interested in. 🙂

Siwsan is also an excellent resource. Good luck.


Here's the playlist on TinyKittens channel with videos about ferals.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvM3djAZtdHTbUrW1xgM7R5dxQbdqQ2yU

[Duppers]

8. Best of luck to you keeping these babies alive.

Especially in this heat.

Please keep us posted.

(I'm an atheist but I feel like praying for every critter in the world needing help to stay alive.)

💕 to the critters & those providing life-support for them.

[HelpImSurrounded]

9. Keep feeding and being present during feeding

Food is a powerful bonding agent. The more the kittens connect you to food the more they will tolerate you. Try to sit with them while they eat and pet them while they eat. If you can lure them inside with food, do it. That will be a big step for them and require big trust.

The more contact you can make, the better. Pick them for just a moment and set them down. Over time you'll be able to do more. Get mama into your lap and they will follow her lead.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Kudos to you for saving the kitty and her babies. And I thought of Siwsan as well.

And I'm aware now that there are videos online for socializing ferals. I wish that I knew that when I first found my Felix as a kitten back in 2014. He was not a true feral since I saw him (as I was told by a woman who works with ferals), but he was also hungry and I had treats. But he refused to be caught and was an expert escape artist. I would never have caught him without the help of a guy who worked in the store and his wife who came to pick him up - she had a basket nd he had gloves. I originally found him in a supermarket parking lot one night on my way home. When I took him to my vet the next day, I was told he was about 7 weeks!

These are the videos I wish that I had. Best of luck and keep us posted! Oh! And I got Felix a toy very much like that first one she showed, he loved it...

[MichaelSoE]

11. The first thing that popped into my head is that mom and the kittens need to be spay/neutered

If this is not taken care of soon, there are going to be more kittens and moms to worry about.

If available in your area, there may be organizations that can either do it for free or help defray the costs.

Mom should not be a problem as she seems friendly enough. The kittens should be caught as soon as possible. At such a young age the longer you wait the harder it will be to acclimate them to "domestication"

Right now you have a great head start and I hope all works out for all involved.

[allegorical oracle]

12. Have reared about a dozen feral kittens and have found that they all have their individual

personalities (like all cats, eh?).

Found that generally, as mom goes, so goes her babies. Of my last litter of four feral kittens, the three males were sweet as could be; the lone female (also the last born) never accepted handling. She stayed close to her mom at all times. They lived with me for 18-20 years...died of old age.

Build trust. Found that handling several times a day worked well. I'd set them on their back in my lap, tickle tummies and massage their feet quietly as I watched TV. The feet and the sides of the face contain scent glands, so the kittens and I were exchanging our scents as I rubbed them.

Currently have a single male feral cat that I took in about three years ago. He's neutered, of course, but our first year together was a bit difficult. He remains, aggressive. His little "temper tantrums" appear to occur when he's not getting my attention. He'll suddenly run up behind me and bite or scratch me. I ignore it, and after he's settled down, I get my kitty brush and give him a nice soothing rub-and-brush session. His behavior returns to sweet...until the next time he feels ignored again.

Good luck. You're a kind person.

[thatcrowwoman]

13. Thank you, herding cats, for caring and sharing.

My first thought was Siwsan, the ferals-and-their-kittens whisperer.
Looks like you’ve got lots of good info from the animal lovers here on DU.
Best of luck to you and the ferals. Your good heart will lead you.
Sending you comforting vibes, with love and light and sweet Shalom.
🕊thatcrowwoman