need kitten advice

[coyote]

Hi,

Our neighbors have a batch of kittens living under their shed. We have talked to them about taking one of them. We are just waiting for them to get old enough. They are just about there, within a week or 2.

But it looks like they all have eye infections. We are now concidering wheither we should try to capture the kittens and get them treatment. The problem is what if the mother is really wild and we can't capture her.

Is it ok to just let the kittens be for now? Try in a week or to 2?

Thanks,
Mary

[Brandi]

They should be treated. The eye infections can just get worse. They all need to be treated at the same time. i would suggest trying to get the mom first. To bad I am not there I have humain traps for this sort of thing. We help out at a no kill shelter. But getting the mom first is best then it is easier to get the kittens
If you try and get the kittens first the mom might take off and then you have to feed the babies. The babies will need a coarse of antibiotic's.And that will help if they have anything else as well. If they have a upper respitory infection (common in wild litter's) it really needs to be delt with soon or they will just get weak. Is there a no kill shelter some place near by that can help?
I hope this helps a bit. If i was there I would be helping you right now.

[mimitabby]

take all the kittens as soon as possible. they might be dead in two weeks. If the mother is tame, get her spayed as soon as possible. If she's wild, she's going to need to be trapped first. Once you have the mother, it's very easy to get the kittens. But every day you let them stay wild, the harder it will be to tame them. There are people who dedicate their lives to helping feral cats, there are probably some in your area. Start by calling a veterinarian.

So let's say you have the kittens now. It's best not to separate them until they are 8-16 weeks old. The older they are when you separate them, the better socialized they will be.
In the wild, cats stay with their siblings and mothers for months. Then they accept other cats better because they become socialized.
I hope you will take care of all these kitties.
Good luck.

[coyote]

Thanks for the advice mimtabby and brandi. I believe the Human Society has some human traps. They might be a great resource to finding cost effective treatment too (including spaying the mom).

I'm hoping I won't need too much luck. Anybody want a kitty? Just kidding, I can't count my kittens before they are caught.

[mimitabby]

I wish you a lot of luck, if you lived closer, i'd lend you a trap.
keep us posted on what happens. I did the same thing, but i didn't spy my kittens until they were about 12 weeks old and i didn't catch them until they were almost 16 weeks. They all had ringworm AND eye infections.

I still have one of them
this is when i first got her:


here she is all grown up:

[coyote]

She is a cutie. Does she ride the bike often?

[spokewench]

Coyote - I'd try to get them captured as soon as possible - with all the "coyotes" real ones and bobcats, etc. in Tucson, they might not last too long down there anyway. Most cats in Tucson don't last long unless they are housecats.

spoke

[farrellcollie]

Your area may also have some cat specific rescue groups who can help and who may help with foster homes for the kittens and the mother. St. Louis has a few of these and I would think your area might too.

[Brandi]

Let us know what happens please!

[coyote]

Well it turns out that the kittens are fine. They just had dust or dirt on their faces. When they cleaned themselves up they did not have goopie eyes and they are not sneezing. They are a lot more active and have started eating food and drinking water. So, we have left all of them there for now. They are in a pretty safe spot. Our neighbors are on about a 1/2 acre property w/ a 6 foot fence all around. The mother and kittens are in an inner yard that has about a four foot fence around it. We are going to get all the information we can about live traps, and the spay and release for wild cats before we go and talk to the neighbors. I'm hoping we will be able to get the mother and kittens in the next week or so.

[mimitabby]

start feeding the kittens in an open box on its side with a towel over it (gradually)so that when you get the trap, you put the food in it and the towel over it and they'll go right in because they're used to the idea. Also, feed them lots of different food now, it will help them be less picky as adults. Glad you are making progress!

[coyote]

Thanks mt, I will do that! Thanks for the advice.

[coyote]

The neighbor caught one of the kittens for us this morning. The kitten is an orange tabby, male. We have him in a dog carrier in a closed off room. We need to get him to a vet and have him looked at. In the very least he has ear mites.

The other 2 kittens and mommy are going to some folks in the neighbor's church, so we do not have to worry them. Turns out that the mother is not feral. She is as sweet as can be.

[mimitabby]

wonderful wonderful! and you got an orange tabby out of the deal!!

let us know what you name him..

[bmccasland]

I vote for Butterscotch. Butters for short.

I miss my orange tabby.....