Posted: 6/1/2024 6:00:03 PM EDT
[Last Edit: pavil58ar][Edited]
|
Subject line pretty much covers the details. She had her kittens in a brush pile which is a safe place. They all look healthy although one is the runt of the litter. Really small. I'd like to help her and the kitties out until I can maybe trap them all and get them fixed. So far I am just putting out a handful of Science Diet everyday, sometimes twice a day, since that is what my indoor cat eats. What else or what kind of chow should I set out? The kittens are still young but not super young. Running and jumping, crawling up the bases of the trees.Attached File |
'' THE STRONGEST REASON FOR PEOPLE TO RETAIN THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS IS,AS A LAST RESORT,TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST TYRANNY IN GOVERNMENT.'' THOMAS JEFFERSON
| I’d say any food will be helpful, as long as it’s not Chinese melamine flavored. TSC 4Health is what my cats get and they’re doing well, and it’s a lot less expensive than Science Diet. Purina from the grocery store will be fine, too. I don’t know about stuff like Friskies, Meow Mix, or Paws, but they’re close enough in price to 4Health that I just buy that. I fill an outside bowl every morning and the local ferals eat it up, hopefully keeping them out of the trash bags of people too stupid to buy cans. |
|
Originally Posted By pavil58ar: Subject line pretty much covers the details. She had her kittens in a brush pile which is a safe place. They all look healthy although one is the runt of the litter. Really small. I'd like to help her and the kitties out until I can maybe trap them all and get them fixed. So far I am just putting out a handful of Science Diet everyday, sometimes twice a day, since that is what my indoor cat eats. What else or what kind of chow should I set out? The kittens are still young but not super young. Running and jumping, crawling up the bases of the trees.https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/49488/feral_mother_cat_and_kittens_jpg-3229440.JPG Thermals at night and artillery support in the yard. Go pee around your border and kill anything that crosses it that deserves to die based on it's action. Not joking. Feed mom, and only mom. As soon as you see the kids eating solid food, trap them all and mother goes to get clipped and rabies shotted at the local feral snip service, and gets the top of her left ear tipped off, and you bring her (and possibly them if you took them at the same time) back to exactly where you found her. This will involve tying some food into the very back of one of those trap cages where it cannot be reached with a paw from the back wall of the cage and tying the cage open so it cannot get off. Desentize her and them to the trap. The trap is only left active when you plan to take her / her and them. Keep your ears open for screaming kittens if you get a few but not all of them. If you have to pick one of them up, don't do it wearing anything less than wielders gloves. Ask me how I know.  Than you're going to need to trap-neuter-return the kids. If you do not do this you will get a local population boom. If you do it they will compete with the others for local food sources. If you can, don't leave any food outside in the future. That causes mass kitten litter die offs. I have seen that directly. Population booms above what the food can support. |
13B / 39C X5 / 35M yup reclassed more than once...
Joined:
Sep 2006
Posts:
5875
EE: 0% (0)
WA, USA
| Our Vet says Purina is fine, because it's made in the USA. Of course there are other more expensive brands, but it's your wallet. A source of clean water would be a good thing too. |
Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss.
Robert A. Heinlein
"Leave the Artillerymen alone, they are an obstinate lot. . ."
Napoleon Bonaparte
Robert A. Heinlein
"Leave the Artillerymen alone, they are an obstinate lot. . ."
Napoleon Bonaparte
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
Dec 2005
Posts:
80927
EE: 100% (6)
ID, USA
|
We feed our indoor cats and the feral cats Country Pride cat food from the local feed store. Country Pride is made by Diamond Pet Food here in Missouri. We have caught several batches of feral kittens and their mommas over the years. Most get fixed and adopted out. Some have been returned to the neighborhood. We have found that going them all names and talking to them when ever you feed them helps get the feral cats use to you and makes it easier to catch them. If you plan on trying to adopt any feral kittens then I will suggest putting them into a large dog crate and working with them for 3-4 weeks to get them tamed down. I know most shelters around me will not take feral kittens or will put them down if they are not use to people. I'm lucky that the local shelters and our vet works with us to help with the feral cats. I live in a small rural town of 1,100 that is surrounded by crop fields. I don't mind having feral cats around since they help keep the mice away. Any mice that get past the feral cats are taken care of by our indoor cats. |
DAV lifetime member
NRA Patriot Life Benefactor
NRA Patriot Life Benefactor
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
Dec 2005
Posts:
81743
EE: 100% (6)
ID, USA
|
Originally Posted By FlashMan-7k: Thermals at night and artillery support in the yard. Go pee around your border and kill anything that crosses it that deserves to die based on it's action. Not joking. Feed mom, and only mom. As soon as you see the kids eating solid food, trap them all and mother goes to get clipped and rabies shotted at the local feral snip service, and gets the top of her left ear tipped off, and you bring her (and possibly them if you took them at the same time) back to exactly where you found her. This will involve tying some food into the very back of one of those trap cages where it cannot be reached with a paw from the back wall of the cage and tying the cage open so it cannot get off. Desentize her and them to the trap. The trap is only left active when you plan to take her / her and them. Keep your ears open for screaming kittens if you get a few but not all of them. If you have to pick one of them up, don't do it wearing anything less than wielders gloves. Ask me how I know. Than you're going to need to trap-neuter-return the kids. If you do not do this you will get a local population boom. If you do it they will compete with the others for local food sources. If you can, don't leave any food outside in the future. That causes mass kitten litter die offs. I have seen that directly. Population booms above what the food can support. Exactly. We did this at a rural place where I worked; the idea is that if you trap the cats and give them away, more wild cats will move in. By returning the cats to their original home, they will put pressure on wild cats to stay away. That's a beautiful mama cat! |
"The Creator may be seen in all the works of his hands, but none so clearly in the wise economy of the honey bee."
William Gibson: "The future's here. It's just not evenly distributed."
William Gibson: "The future's here. It's just not evenly distributed."