Kittens
Now What?
Kittens
Now What?
Kittens are so cute and such an ordeal for a feral colony and the caretaker.
During the first four weeks of nursing, the Mom cat should not be trapped, if possible. If she does get caught, DO NOT release her. Get her to surgery ASAP and advise the vet of your knowledge or suspicion of kittens nursing. Often the vet can tell you if Mom is still nursing and, sometimes, even how many nipples are being used and from that a guess as to the kitten numbers and ages.
If Mom is nursing, the vet will likely advise you to wait 24 hours for the anesthesia to leave her system, and then release Mom. I was told recently (2018) that the kittens were just born and was instructed to release her that night which was 9 hours after surgery. All survived!
While Mom is recuperating, you have the time to look for the kittens. But even this can be a problem:
If you find the kittens and they are very young, under 4 weeks, you are going to have to either keep Mom with the kittens till they can eat food and hope Mom is not too feral and will accept you taking care of her and not harm the kittens or you. Or you can be LUCKY and find a foster parent who will take care of the situation for you.
Or you can release Mom after three days and keep the kittens. But they need to be constantly bottle fed, round the clock and their stomachs rubbed to cause elimination of feces. This is HARD WORK! I gloss over the care as I have never bottle fed kittens, but it is 24/7 work and often emotionally draining as kittens may die.
Probably the best solution is to leave kittens (if found) and just release Mom after surgery to rejoin them. I have read that Moms have no problems with human odor on the kittens, so I suppose one could bottle feed and then replace kittens where found just prior to releasing Mom.
People need to recognize that those who are experienced in cat rescue have gone through all the beginnings – the emotional tug at the heart that caused them to try to tame every cat they trapped (so that cat didn’t have to live outside) probably gave way at some point to the reality of how many cats there are, how many didn’t ever tame down, and forced the need to decide which ones had the best chance of turning around in time. The more rescue you do, the more cats you will find, and the less time you will have for the individual cat. Kittens of 4 and 5 weeks are generally tame in a day – or two :) By 6 weeks they are already more mobile, and learning caution outside with mom, by 8 weeks they are pretty darn quick and running to escape when you try to grab them. And the older they get, the more survival instincts kick in – be fast and wary. So it CAN take longer to tame some of the older ones, and many rescuers don’t have time – or a way to foster so many. The choice then for so many rescuers ends up being not really CAN they be tamed, but “do I have the time, space, and ability to foster and find homes for these kittens”?
If at all possible, our suggestion is to plan on holding all kittens for a period of time to observe their temperament, and see if they just might be some of those instant turn arounds. But how long you hold them matters too – holding a kitten for many months to assess, then turning back out, can actually be worse than doing straight TNR. The kitten has become partially socialized, is likely not to be recognized by the others in the colony, and may have had his survival skills “blunted” (our suggestion is a 2 week assessment period) Time of year matters too – you cannot take outdoor creatures into a heated environment and hold too long before putting them back outside, as the warmth and light inside will cause them to begin shedding their protective undercoat, and lessen their protection against the cold.
It’s a wonderful feeling to see them off the streets and into a home. But if you do not have time, space or ability – do not feel guilty. Straight TNR is already dramatically improving that kitten’s life; when you are able to add the vaccinations, you’ve improved even more.
From community cat coalition facebook
Cute little kittens are playing in your yard! Now the problem. You would like to get homes for these cute little ones (and also get them out of the colony). You need to figure out how old these little ones are. Either put a well known brand of canned product next to the food dish as a size marker, take lots of pictures and ask people or try to figure out the ages from the Kitten Progression webpage on Alley Cat Allies http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=678
If the kitten is over the age of three months, is non-descript (ie not long haired or siamese look-a-like etc) and it is June through August, it will be almost impossible to get a rescue group to take the kitten. Best to trap, get it sterilized and ear-tipped. If during recuperation, the cat appears to have adoption potential, you can call around and see if a home can be found.
If you get a young kitten or cat during the months of winter, most rescue groups do not have kittens and the groups may even be willing to foster the young one for you.
Adoptable Kittens
Now What?
Now the period of 5 weeks to 8 weeks. This is the time the kitten eats on its own and is easy to socialize. I personally think getting the kitten at 6 weeks is the best. Within days to a week, most of the litter is sweet and friendly. But the problem arises, what is their future?
The minute you spot the kittens, start contacting rescue groups. You need to have a place for your socialized kitten to meet potential adopters.
Try Last Hope Animal Rescue(Wantagh), North Shore Animal League (Port Washington), Second Chance (Petco Levittown), All About Cats (Freeport), Bobbi & the Strays (Freeport), Kitty Cove (Island Park) Kat Connection (Baldwin Petco) etc. Visit your local Petco, Petsmart and Pet Supplies Plus stores and speak to the rescue groups there. Wherever you place your kittens, please either give them already sterilized or be sure the group will do it PRIOR to adopting out the kitten. You do not want these little ones to procreate!
Here is the Alley Cat Allies webpage discussion on socializing kittens http://www.alleycat.org/Kittens
Get a box trap (or convert your trap with a string and stick/bottle) and attempt to trap the complete litter in one session. I hate to think of leaving a kitten by itself, particularly if Mom is not around. Once trapped, recontact your rescue groups and email pictures and info such as age, description, socialization status (has it been exposed to children, dogs, etc.)
Be careful not to introduce the kittens to your household cats until the kittens have vaccines and testing for leuk/aids and have been given flea meds or washed in dawn. Talk to the rescue group that is willing to take the kittens about when vaccinations should be given (some groups provide low or free clinics once the kitens have been accepted into the foster program). Be aware that some kittens will socialize overnight, some will take longer and one or two will never be friendly. You may have to cull the unfriendly to avoid impeding a friendly one from getting adopted! Some may have to be released after s/n surgery (10 weeks) if no progress is seen. Once again, try to avoid releasing just one. Often if the rescue group knows the colony is not a good situation for a young cat, they may provide fosters to work on the holdout kitten or may advise you to "hold it and keep working" and may agree to take the kitten months later.
What you want to avoid is friendly young cats with no adoption route and more cats in your house! So keep the communication lines open and be honest with the rescue groups/adopters and hope for the best!