Went outside over two hours ago to put the childrens bicycles away and I'm afraid a cat has had 5 kittens in our shed, I've gathered the kittens in (lovely by the way) mainly because it's been going so cold on a night time. Asked around to see if anyone owns her and apparently a house down the road was repossessed and neighbours are saying she got left behind, mummy seems very friendly but a bit worse for wear she's covered in bites and scratch marks ears are totally feathered!. Any idea's on how I can tempt her to come in?  I'm at a loss, I've put the kittens in a box inside the conservatory with the doors open, she can see that they are there put some food down and she still won't come in, been trying for over 2 hours now :(

Don't know much about cats but I'd probably put them back in the shed with blankets etc for the night and watch from inside the house to make sure mum goes back in. The kittens must be desperate to be fed. Might be warmer in the conservatory, but not much good if she's too scared to come in. Have you tried coaxing her in with something like tuna?

Not sure what else you could do really. Tomorrow you could phone the RSPCA and report a stray cat and kittens and I think they'd come and collect them..? I'd put them back in the shed for the night though and try to close the door with mum inside.

Good luck!

Ahh bless them,think i would put them bavk in the shed,as they will need feeds off mum,cats dont like there kittens being moved ,hope all goes well.

Sheila.

I've managed to coax her in, she's asleep now with her babies in the conservatory.
Now another question, I never planned on having a cat especially one with bambino's but the children are smitten! :D  Can I let her back out? More importantly will she come back? When can she be spayed?  I know hardly anything about cats, is there any tests that she will need being as she has been left to fend for herself, if so what tests? Would it be a good idea to get her and the kittens checked out by the vet sometime within the next few days?

Glad you got her in,you will need a litter tray so mum can teach the kittens toilet training,not sure when mum can be spayed,how old are the kittens?if they all seem healthy at the mo leave them for the time being so they can settle undisturbed,there are people on cd who breed cats,not sure who they are.

Sheila

Dont let her back out as she can get preganant straight way.
Please keep her in and wait for the more experienced members that will be along very shortly with info :)
Good on you for rescueing them :) :) and hope the cat breeders will be along ver soon to help you :) :)
Lea :)

They were not in there yesterday so I think she had them in there sometime today the shed door has been left open most of the day because of the children pulling their bikes out, hubby has also been pottering in and out ( men with their toys and what not! ). She had them in our dogs old baskets, baskets that were placed up there after we lost our dogs, lucky I was the one putting the bikes back as the children usually tend to throw them on top of the baskets, or in them!
She's settled right down now being left undisturbed just sent the hubby out for some cat food LOL.
I coaxed her in with some Pilchards in tomato sauce fussy girl didnt seem to want Tuna!  She's a real sweetie, the kittens are adorable, but very, very lucky they were found and not squashed by the childrens bikes I'm not really a feline kind of person, but I think I could get used to having her around if she chooses to adopt us! :)

Lea is correct - she can't be let back out as she will become pregnant again, that's probably why she's sporting all those 'wounds', cat mating can be a bit of a vicious affair and you don't know how many toms have mated her.

If you can get her onto a good complete diet (Royal Canin sensible) and cat food this will be better for her than tuna, she & her kittens need extra feeding and tuna has no taurine in it & if in brine, is quite salty (Cat's don't drink enough).

As for spaying, I'd ask your vet and Cat's Protection may be of assistance to you.   Good luck & keep up posted.    What colour is she & what colour are the kittens?

She's a grey tabby with a white flash down her face with a white bib (very pretty apart from her ears) there are two black kittens, two grey tabbies and a pure grey kitten, lovely little things surprised how plump they were considering how long people have said she's been straying. I have no idea what sex they are I wouldn't know where to start LOL.  I won't let her out now until she's been spayed, I think I'll move her up the stairs sometime tomorrow (Will this be okay? Or won't she appreciate being moved?) just so she hasn't got so much of an easy acsess to the doors that open up to outside the conservatory could be dicey especially if she tried to make a play to get out as the youngest wouldn't think before opening the doors. Hubby didn't know what sort of cat food to buy so he's brought alsorts back, looks like she's going to be spoiled..he's already put three different varieties down so she has her pick...LOL

Whereabouts are you MollMoo? A friend of mine has been desperately looking for a grey kitten for ages.

Hi there. I agree with the others dont let her back out. I would ring the cats protection league to get their advice.....if you are keeping them you will need to "box" the kittens in so they dont escape to much round the house....many dangers lurking in the house. The kittens will need vacs & a litter tray is a good idea to help house train the cats....many cats can be fussy though with cat litter. A scratch post will be a good idea for the kittens otherwise furniture & curtains will be used. When the kittens are weaned they will need bowls of kitten food (im sure you'd know that) & water needs to be down all the time. One thing to keep an eye on is that all the kittens are being fed by mum. Felix & whiskas websites give away free kitten packs....felix has a guide book which has diagrams to help determin the genders....if not a vet can also do this. A cat carrier is also a good thing to buy. As long as they are warm & fed they should be fine. Good luck & well done for caring for them! :) 

Pedlee, I've sent you a PM ;)

Hubby didn't know what sort of cat food to buy so he's brought alsorts back, looks like she's going to be spoiled..he's already put three different varieties down so she has her pick...LOL

awww, that made me smile. 

Good for you for taking on this responsibility.  Not many people would do that I am afraid.  Props to you!!!

I would give her a couple of days to settle in then off to the vet for a check just to make sure mom and kittens are ok... you could also feed kitten food while she is nursing since its high in calcium or something for lactating mothers. I def would make her an inside cat, they really have no need to go out doors and this way you will always no where she is...  Pretty easy to sex them the males have a space more so then the females http://www.pawsonline.info/sexinga.htm this link should help. I love grey kittens and orange ones- those are my favorites... They must just be adorable and good on you for taking them in :)

Hi I have had a couple of litters from my cat a few years back and it is easier than puppies!

Def keep mummy cat in with a litter tray i would also strongly recommend putting her into a large ish cage enclosure type thing too. If she becomes unhappy with where the kittens are she'll start to move them and will climb quite a height with each kitten in her mouth to get over obstacles. I came home to find them all moved to behind my dressing table from the conservatory, how she did it i'll never know.

It also wont be long before the kitties begin to get quite mobile and will also climb and jump on things. From memory their eyes open earlier than pups and will eat around 2 - 3 weeks, they will aslo start to use litter tray by themselves. No training required, no being out in the garden in the dark and rain saying things like 'be busy' then getting odd looks from neighbours!

Feed mum on good quality cat food (the same as you would your dog but in cat food) AG cat is good as it contains Taurine which is important for cats. Mine has this plus high meat content wet food.

As for sexing, one litter i had great trouble with - turned out they were all girls and thats why i couldn't tell the difference!!!! its all to do with just having 2 little holes a small sapce a part or a hole and a slit - I THINK but please dont quote me on that.

kittens are gorgeous to watch when they start to play and very funny, bet you keep one.

Just wanted to wish you luck.  :-)  Glad that she found you, she picked the right shed. :-P

I had this happen to me and my vet was brilliant, he treated both mum and kittens for free (i do love my vet) would strongly recomend a cage though as she will steal her kittens as soon as possible.

Linda

as you can see from my avator i have a beautiful black cat called angel. my friend found her and her 3 brothers under a tree in her garden last summer. she left them were they were but put food out for the mother cat. they looked to be about 3 weeks old. the mother cat disapeared after a while so my friend took them in and reared them. i fell in love with angel straight away. she had a few skin probs but they cleared up and i brought her home when she was around 7 weeks. my hubby wasnt best pleased he prefers dogs lol.........but guess whos knee she sleeps on! her brothers found homes through rescue rangers whom my friend contacted.........
(she already had a dog and 3 cats of her own) they kept in contact and one boy went to a good home alone.....the other 2 who were inseperable were homed together.

I think the kittens may be a little older than what I first thought, their eyes have started to open ...how old would people here say they are?
Mum and kittens were seen by the vet yesterday morning and are otherwise healthy, mum was also tested for feline leukemia and the feline aids virus, got to wait a few days for the results vet said better to be safe than sorry being as she had been left for a while to fend for herself.
We've been trying to think of names for her.
The children want us to keep one of the black kittens because he is so big and tubby, they want to call him "Bloata" can you imagine me calling him in from outside   I'll either get laughed at or punched on the nose.......LOL I really don't know who it would be more cruel for, me or the kitten

o Mollmoo was'nt she lucky to have found you and your family,but please keep the black kitten and call him/her Bloater,I am imagining all the brilliant stories you will have to tell later on,when calling him/her,
Wendy

Not having bred any kittens yet, I would have to give an approx guess that they are about 2 weeks old.

Glad that all is well with mum and baby's and yes they are very lucky to have found you,no expert myself kittens maybe 3 wks,is mum cleaning up there poo's?

sheila.

Well done to you!!

What a lovely kind selfless thing you have done, don't underestimate your actions not many people would have done the same you obviously have a very kind heart! :-)

She's a very attentive mum, loves being with her babies infact she's never too far away.  She and the kittens were frontlined yesterday as I was being bitten by what I thought at first were midges but they were infact fleas, had one of the critters jump on me yesterday so yet again the long suffering other half was sent out after coming from work :-D  She seems very happy in her new home and we have decided to keep back two of the kittens, rang our vets and they cannot spay her until her milk has dried up so it looks like she staying in with us for a while (not that she seems too bothered about going out again) I thought she may have bolted for the door when open infact she's the other way, don't seem too bothered preferring her home comforts.  I don't think she's really that old either, she discovered the joys of watching the tropical fish swimming around Monday so it's been fish T.V since then, she's now called Tibby :)

Ahh what a brill mum you are to them as well.

Sheila.xxx