WTH Do I Do With These Little Fellas?

Sooooo yesterday, the cat B keeps around as a mouser was chomping at the bit to come inside, so I let the puppies out, her in, and as I have the door open, I hear the unmistakable sound of kittens meowing. I peek around the corner and sure enough, there are 3 little cream/white and 1 all gray kittens. We thought the mouser cat had been prego, then about 3 weeks ago, her tummy was gone and we've seen no sign of kittens since. Looked in the barns, under the porch, everywhere, but nada. :shrug:

So I bring 'em in, put them in the bathtub with a couple towels to snuggle up on and their momma, and we head off to dinner. Come home later and find a 5th cream/white kitten on the front porch meowing her little head off (entire litter is females.) So we add her to the group and let her get a pull off her mom and head to bed.

I now have 5 kittens in the bathtub, momma in the house (which fluff is not too keen on, mind you ) 3 grown dogs in the house (one of which is healing up from being spayed) and 3 - 14 week old puppies outside who want to come back in.

I have no clue how to care for kittens b/c I've never had them this young ... their momma is mostly an outside cat ... hanging out in the barns and playing with the puppies, and she's a VERY tiny cat herself. B thinks she may not have been able to feed the kittens enough and that's why she brought them to the house. She's had a litter or two die before, he said, so I don't know if she's just a psycho cat that won't care for her young, or just incapable or what.

I'm guessing they're about 3 weeks old. Would it be best to just take them to a shelter or something now so they can be properly cared for? I can't see having 5 kittens running around the house (as a matter of looking out for their own safety with the other animals), and I don't know what to do with them. I don't know where their "home" was outside to take them back to, and I don't know that they'd survive if I did. :shrug:

One things for sure ... momma cat is next on the list to get fixed!

Dayum CC, next thing you know, YOU are gonna come up preggers. I suggest drinking bottled, store bought water and avoiding the local pregnancy inducing water at all costs.

Make momma kitty stay inside and nurse her babies. Otherwise, you'll be the one feeding all of them every 2-3 hours. Next, make an appointment and have her fixed. You'll be doing her a favor.

I'm sticking to coffee!

CC, seriously: take the kittens back where you found them.
Caring for one abandoned kitten is enormous work - caring for five would just drive you insane. Mama will either feed them or they'll die. If she feeds them, now you have to worry about what do do with 5 cats. If she doesn't feed them, nature takes its course and problem solved.

There are enough unwanted kittens in the world.

Chasey_Lane said:

Next, make an appointment and have her fixed.

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And, PS,

vraiblonde said:

CC, seriously: take the kittens back where you found them.
Caring for one abandoned kitten is enormous work - caring for five would just drive you insane. Mama will either feed them or they'll die. If she feeds them, now you have to worry about what do do with 5 cats. If she doesn't feed them, nature takes its course and problem solved.

There are enough unwanted kittens in the world.

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Geeze, Vrai - why don't you just tell her to throw them off a bridge...

But then, you do have a good point. Sad, bad true.

Chasey_Lane said:

Make momma kitty stay inside and nurse her babies. Otherwise, you'll be the one feeding all of them every 2-3 hours. Next, make an appointment and have her fixed. You'll be doing her a favor.

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We're doing that for the most part now. Emmitt is also being the dutiful stand-in dad, just like he did with the pups when they were only a couple weeks old, and standing guard over the kittens to make sure no harm comes to them.

I don't mean to sound uncaring, I just don't think it's a good idea (for the kittens' safety) to keep them inside for very long b/c of all the other animals we have, AND it's not a very big house. They can't just live in the bathtub for the next 3-4 weeks.

vraiblonde said:

CC, seriously: take the kittens back where you found them.
Caring for one abandoned kitten is enormous work - caring for five would just drive you insane. Mama will either feed them or they'll die. If she feeds them, now you have to worry about what do do with 5 cats. If she doesn't feed them, nature takes its course and problem solved.

There are enough unwanted kittens in the world.

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I agree there are enough unwanted kittens out there, and I wanted to smack B in the head for not having her fixed a long time ago, but ya know the "backwoods-farm" stereotype ... there ya have it. Momma getting fixed is not a choice -- it's gonna happen.

As for returning the kittens to where I found them, they were on the front porch of the house, and I know darn good and well they weren't born there. Momma either brought them here or they followed her somehow. And with 6 dogs coming and going (3 of which are puppies who will do god knows what to them), I don't think putting them back on the front porch is safe. I can't see just 'ditching' them back outside which is why I was thinking of taking them to a shelter or SPCA.

crabcake said:

I don't mean to sound uncaring,

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You're not being uncaring - you're being realistic and sensible. If Mama is an outdoor cat, she can't feed kittens she can't get to. But them in a box on the porch and Mama will move them if she wants them somewhere else. Don't care for them and don't get attached unless you want five more cats.

vraiblonde said:

You're not being uncaring - you're being realistic and sensible. If Mama is an outdoor cat, she can't feed kittens she can't get to. But them in a box on the porch and Mama will move them if she wants them somewhere else. Don't care for them and don't get attached unless you want five more cats.

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I am trying to be realistic about it ... we definately don't want 5 more cats and I know if we keep them indoors and I get attached, 5 more cats is what we'll have ... we've already got our hands full with the dogs and puppies, and I still have my indoor cat (fat-ass fluff) plus momma cat outside.

Putting them in a box outside now is out of the question ... in this heat, they'll be dead in an hour and I just can't do that.

I think I'll call around to the local shelters and see if they'll take them and get momma cat to the vet STAT for a snippin'.

Open a Chinese restaraunt.

FromTexas said:

Open a Chinese restaraunt.

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Down here it's Mexican restaurants. B suggested we just renovate one of the barns for all the pets, stick a "Pet Shelter" sign on it, and call it a charity for tax purposes.

This is exactly why I have always gotten my pets neutered/spayed as early as possible ... so I or the community doesn't end up with a bunch of unwanted animals. He's b!tching about how many dogs we have, but it was his b!tch who had 'em, and now it's his cat with the litter of kittens.

crabcake said:

I am trying to be realistic about it ... we definately don't want 5 more cats and I know if we keep them indoors and I get attached, 5 more cats is what we'll have ... we've already got our hands full with the dogs and puppies, and I still have my indoor cat (fat-ass fluff) plus momma cat outside.

Putting them in a box outside now is out of the question ... in this heat, they'll be dead in an hour and I just can't do that.

I think I'll call around to the local shelters and see if they'll take them and get momma cat to the vet STAT for a snippin'.

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Won't the shelters want momma with the kittens to feed them?

crabcake said:

I think I'll call around to the local shelters and see if they'll take them and get momma cat to the vet STAT for a snippin'.

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There has to be a local rescue group that will take them in, give them the appropriate care, shots, worming, etc. and find good, loving homes for them. I got my kitty from a rescue group in St. Mary's and he's microchipped just in case. However, Mommy loves him too much to let him run around outside and get kidnapped or run over.

morganj614 said:

Won't the shelters want momma with the kittens to feed them?

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Probably, although, they could already have a nursing mother.

Ship them to Dems, isn't she the bring them in and give them a home no matter what lady?

At what age can kittens be separated from their mother (for nursing purposes)? We saw a girl leaving the vet the other day with a kitten a little smaller than these and I was shocked, but afterward, thought maybe it was abandoned or perhaps they just brought it in for a problem exclusive to that kitten (i.e., a broken leg or something).

Would it be unreasonable to expect a 3-4 week old kitten to drink milk off a saucer? :shrug: I have no idea since I've never done this before.

crabcake said:

Would it be unreasonable to expect a 3-4 week old kitten to drink milk off a saucer? :shrug: I have no idea since I've never done this before.

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It's not unreasonable, but the mothers milk is always better. Ask Pixie what type of diet she would give them. :shrug:

If the kittens have made it to 3 weeks, then momma is feeding them. She brought them to the house because she feels they'll be safe there. I had a stray cat bring her babies to me once.

Keep the kittens until they're old enough to be given homes. K.I.S.S.