I have been asked by several readers this one question. “There is a queen and a litter of kittens on my property, what now?”
Everyone who rescues has their own system. Some people believe that trapping the mom and securing the kittens at the earliest age possible allows the kittens to be easily handled. I suppose that is true. If you were a baby and your mom was taken away from you suddenly, you would go into shock and be easily handled as well. I just don’t ascribe to this method.
Any time I have a litter of kittens and a queen on my property, I leave her kittens with her until she and I have formed a bond and she brings them to me. They always do on their time frame, not mine, and I learned over time to stop panicking if the kittens get over the 4 weeks of age time frame. They can still be handled and socialized, but staying with mom, they learn valuable lessons that only she can teach them. I am a poor substitute.
This is my method and it has served me well over the years. It has been refined over time to be more effective. Perhaps, it might help you as well if you are struggling with what to do now~
I feed the queen on a schedule daily. At least five separate times, I visit her feeding spot, leave her food and water. She comes to expect the visits and I see her waiting in the bushes or under a piece of farm equipment, waiting for that now familiar pop of the cat food can, or the rattle of the Friskies box. I always announce myself first, either by popping a can, or shaking a box of food before I pour. Nearby on the ground spread out is a blanket (a thick one depending on the terrian,) After I set the food out in cookie sheets- I do not feed in bowls, but have learned that flat feeding surfaces are easily accepted, I lie down on the blanket on my back and just wait. She will come and eat, and through it all I lay quite still. If she hisses, I don’t react. If she inspects me, I don’t move. I am a rock- silent and still and waiting.
Over time, I change position until I am sitting up. At no time do I even look at her because a direct stare to a stray cat is like inviting her to a fight at the ok corral. If we do happen to catch each other, I slowly blink several times, lower my head then look away.
She gets used to me and how long it takes really depends on me. If I am impatient and wanting her to accept me now, she responds by backing away. It is her time sheet not mine she is keeping. So I work slowly not expecting anything earth-shattering to occur and that is when I usually get a head bump or two.
Once she knows I am not there to hurt her, she comes to me willingly and I still will not touch her or stare at her. I know from experience that the very minute I reach out to touch her- she will dart away and vanish and I am back at square one. Slow and steady wins this race.
After the kittens are born, I increase the times I feed her. I also give her kitten replacement milk to sustain her as nursing is hard on her. When she is ready and asl long as I stay low on the blanket, she will bring them to me. They generally climb all over me and I still don’t move. It will take days before I begin to touch them ever careful of mom and her protective ways. I have been struck by a new mom and it came fast and calculated. I never saw it coming, but I felt her wrath for days afterward.
There is a rhythm to this procedure. It is like breathing, the yin and yang of life. It is slow measure movements, wearing your love on your sleeve and soon I am rewarded with a lapful of kitties ready to leave mom. They have learned from her how to hunt, when to be quiet, when to play. How to go to the bathroom and how to socialize with others. Thats when they come indoors and get individual attention. I do enough bottle feeding every year to understand the true importance of the queen being in the kittens lives- and instead of asking God “What now?” I trust in Him and the knowledge He has given me to work with these wonderful creatures.
Thank you! I have been following the same process with this litter of kittens – not sure if I was taking things too slowly. I also have sat among the group without touching and not making eye contact, lowering my head, etc until they trusted me. Now I can handle all but 1 of the kittens as well as the queen. They greet me at the front door every morning and evening for their breakfast and dinner. I’ve also been feeding an afternoon meal around 3:00pm-4:00pm to hold them over until dinner. They are now 13 weeks old and very social among each other. I’ve enjoyed watching the queen teach them how to hunt and watched her bring them their first chipmunk (hard to watch the first time, but I know it’s the ‘circle-of-life’.) I love to watch them play on the front porch! They practice their stalking technique on my dog – who is very good around the group and doesn’t react when they rub up against him or pull on his tail while he is trying to do his business in the yard. Mom is close by at all times and has also come to trust the dog. Neither she nor the kittens trust any other person. This worries me in regards to letting them go to new homes. I don’t want to separate the kittens until I know they are truly ready to leave their mother, and even now at 13 weeks old I don’t have a peace about taking them away.
I really appreciate today’s post – thank you for your help!
God bless you for what you do.
Natalie, at thirteen weeks, you can separate her from her kittens. She will eventually run them off- the males first and her methods won’t be as gentle as you scooping up a kitten and giving it to a waiting person eager to meet this kitten and begin a life together. I keep a cat carrier close once the kittens are about 10 weeks old- I start feeding kitten food inside the carrier and once the kittens are going in and out freely, I will just close it up and hustle the trapped kittens into the house into a waiting room away from mom. Waiting longer than 10 weeks to separate mom from babies just puts the babies in jeopardy. The queen will tire of them and run them off where they can become food for predators and targets for toms. Bless you, for what you are doing because it aint easy.
hello!
I stumbled on your blog doing searches for information on hissing cats.
We took in a feral about 8 weeks ago. We got her from a feral nueter release program who happened to have this one mother cat who could not be returned to her original location. We were in need of a barn cat for rodent control. We had originally wanted a cat that was just a little bit friendly. but this one needed a home so badly that we took her in.
we have her enclosed in the garage, and have been told to keep her there for one to two months. we have planned her release day for friday, the 4th (being independence day and all).
She is very feral, and has come to accept us coming in and out of the room. she watches, and lets us approach her perching spot. but she hisses if we get to close.
We are eager to see if she will just take off, or stick around with us for awhile.
Really interesting to read all of your stories.
Weese- PLEASE do NOT release this feral on July 4th-6th. She is going to be terrified from the fireworks and you will never see her again. Wait at least three more days until all the smoke and firework residue is no longer in the air (they are so susceptible to these smells) and they totally hate it.
Before the nonsense starts (sorry but I hate the fourth of July because of the terror it creates in animals) Put a radio into the garage and put it on white noise or static. This will help her not get so freaked out with the explosions and whistles going on.
Thank you for rescuing her- but again, if you release her on that day- you won’t see her for a very long time if at all.
Dear Weese,
I, too, took in a feral cat about a year and a half ago. She had a litter of 3 kittens, we were feeding her and the kittens in an office park where my husband works. She left, and we continued to socialize and take care of the kittens. Two always stayed around and we eventually caught them and now they have a wonderful home and are very happy. We put a trap out for the third kitten hoping to catch him, but the mom cat came back and went right into the trap. She looked terrible, we took her to the vet, had her spayed, shots, dewormed, she was very wild. I did not have the heart to put her back with winter approaching. I brought her home with me and put her into a sunroom that is connected to my house. She hid for the first few months, but never did any damage, used the litter box and never tried to get out. Now after all this time, she is the sweetest cat ever!! She meows whenever I walk into her room, she LOVES to be petted, and enjoys the company of my house cats. She has come so far from the scared, wild cat I brought into my home. She is part of our family and it has been such a rewarding experience. Now another cat has come to my husband’s office, we have cared for him all winter long, he is very crafty and will not approach the trap, but we are hoping for the same result with him.