I found some kittens in a trailer next to my house.

[Isolder74]

When I was coming home last night, to find the power out, I heard a cat crying in the area between my house and the next. I then got out my flashlight and followed the sound to find a kitten inside a Ac unit on a trailer bound for the dump. I then proceeded to find two more kittens. the neighbors helped me put the kittens in a box and we noticed a cat hanging around where we found them. We figure it was the mom and are hoping to catch her so she can go with the kittens when the ASPCA comes to get them in the morning.

[Vizen]

Wow. Kittens! :smallbiggrin:

So have you figured out how your going to catch momma luigi cat yet? And are you going to keep the kittens?

[Isolder74]

nope and I can't. The kittens are too young for me to take care of properly.

[Jinura]

Then let them stay with their mother for a few weeks, and then... At the first moment of weakness. You take the kittens and run! Kittens get a free 5+ cuteness bonus you know right :P

[Isolder74]

I need to catch mommy cat first.

[Eldan]

The problem is, cats are hard to catch, and from my personal experience, she might abandon the kitties when you take them away. The best course would probably have been to leave them there until they were somewhat mobile, I'm afraid. Of course, if the trailer had to be moved anyway, not a possibility.

How old were the kittens? Eyes open, able to walk?

[Jinura]

I know it's hard to catch them :P Got cats myself, loved the days when they were less than a year and could run around for hours in the living room chasing a plastic mouse.

[Isolder74]

The trailer was heading to the dump tomorrow. It's lucky I found the kittens. The AC unit would have been crushed soon after.

[Hazkali]

I have conflicting emotions. On one hand, you almost certainly saved some innocent lives. On the other hand, you've saved three more recruits for the inevitable feline uprising.

As much as I'm not a "cat person", good for you, and good luck catching the mother cat.

[FoE]

Perhaps you should hold on to the kittens just in case you have to prove your evilness somehow. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.Ptitle6vgp6b47) :smalltongue:

[SMEE]

Lure her with food.

Since she's clearly a stray cat, she must be hungry, and a tasty meal would be irresistible.

[Cubey]

You must ensure the kittyfolk stay warm. Of course, a blanket or something like that will only make it more likely for the mother cat to abandon them, if it means they'll get human scent on them.
You have already called ASPCA. This is a very good measure.

Like said above, the best way to lure the mother cat in is with food. Cats are always hungry. It's what being a cat is all about - eating.

[Isolder74]

The neighbor has cat trap and set it up. We hope to have mom with her kids by morning.

[Zherog]

I recently went through a series of unfortunate events that started with a cat getting into my attic, proceeded into said cat having kittens in my attic, followed by said kittens falling between the walls and getting trapped.

That fun fiasco lead to several holes in my wall so the exterminator could get said kittens out. (they were newborns, their eyes weren't open yet.) Aforementioned exterminator then set a trap for mommy.

First, we caught a possum. :smalleek: In our attic. :smalleek: :smalleek: Finally, several weeks later, Mommy took the bait and entered the trap.

All of that was followed by having to do repairs on my family room.

Here's what I learned, that may help you.

Cats are really damn paranoid and really damn smart. Even if she's hungry, there's a good chance she's not going to go into the trap. She'll continue to hunt and scavenge elsewhere. I'd keep baiting the trap with food, but you should also see if the SPCA has a blanket or towel or whatever that the kittens have been laying on. If so, put that in the trap; the scent may lure the mother in.

[dish]

I really hope you or the ASPA people manage to catch the mama cat. (Actually the ASPA people might have some experience or advice to share about that - so definitely talk to them about it.)

It is possible to hand-rear a kitten from only a few days old - I just managed it with my most recent foster kitten (he's now seven weeks and fighting fit), but having them with their mother is definitely the best choice.

I'd suggest handling the kittens as little as possible, putting them in a clean box and leaving them in a sheltered spot close to where they were found for a few hours with some nearby food to try to lure the mother back. But it's probably too late for that.

Anyway, good luck. I hope all goes well.

[Yarram]

(If it was Australia, you'd probably have no choice but to make them go "blup blup blup" at the bottom of a pond, because feral cats eat all of our native wildlife. (Before anyone snaps at me, that's what most of the farmers do around here when they find them) ASPA must run like WIRES in Australia... Maybe they'll get adopted out.)

[Felixaar]

(If it was Australia, you'd probably have no choice but to make them go "blup blup blup" at the bottom of a pond, because feral cats eat all of our native wildlife. (Before anyone snaps at me, that's what most of the farmers do around here when they find them) ASPA must run like WIRES in Australia... Maybe they'll get adopted out.)

This is really one of the few things I actively dislike about our country. Things like that, or trying to stop canetoads, or culling kangaroos... it just pisses me off. Not only because people are killing innocent animals, but also because humans are once again trying to mess with the environment. It works in a way we don't understand, and we have to stop trying to make it do what we want. It just makes things worse.

edit: oh, and to the OP - zer well done on saving those kittens. Best of luck catchin' tha mama.

[Coidzor]

Hmm. Worst comes to worst, might get something to make a stir-fry with.

That's pretty new to me, though. Usually they don't have their babies in metal boxes full of things that could chop them up...

What did you end up doing with them overnight?

[Isolder74]

We kept them in a box on the porch hoping to get mommy's trust.

It seems to have worked because we have caught the mother now and the family is all back together. Of course we managed to do it after the ASPCA office closed so they are spending the night together at the neighbor's house.

Their little girl seems to have fallen in love with the littlest one of the kittens.

Edit: we had managed to get the cat to let my pick it up last night until the Power Company's truck showed up and scared it out of my arms. :smallfurious:

[Coidzor]

Hmm, how big are they again? palm of a man's hand size? length of most of a man's hand?

[Isolder74]

they are the size of my palm.

[742]

the key to catching cats is coordination, you need at least 2 people, three in an open setting, and you need something to flush the cat out of open spaces; a firecracker on the other side of the car, a hose into the bush. or you can take the soft approach with food and an old fashioned cat trap.

[Coidzor]

Let's just hope you found all the kittens to begin with...

[Yarram]

This is really one of the few things I actively dislike about our country. Things like that, or trying to stop canetoads, or culling kangaroos... it just pisses me off. Not only because people are killing innocent animals, but also because humans are once again trying to mess with the environment. It works in a way we don't understand, and we have to stop trying to make it do what we want. It just makes things worse.


Then again, it does allow us to use awesome euphanisms like "Blup blup blup at the bottom of a pond."
More seriously, I'm not against it, because we already screwed up the environment by introducing canetoads and cats in the first place, and we're just trying to fix it. Aboriginal people (I swear there's sposed to be a better name for them, but I forget presently) have been fixing the environment to their liking for over 40k years.

[Isolder74]

Let's just hope you found all the kittens to begin with...

I hope so too. We look pretty good and didn't find any more of them in the trailer. I had to take the AC unit apart to get the first kitten i found out so I'm pretty sure that there are no more in there.

[Zherog]

If she let you pick her up, she's not feral. That's a good sign for her adoptability. She may be somebody's pet, actually, who got out and got knocked up. :smallwink:

[rubakhin]

I had a situation like this earlier in the summer. There were four stray kittens in the factory yard where my parents work. The people at the factory just kept an eye on them and put out food for a week or two until they were old enough to move, and then I ended up taking them in. They're still here for now (as a matter of fact, all four of them were trying to sit on my lap at once a little while ago). It's best if you can catch the mother. They weren't able to catch the mother at the factory, but she did seem to want to cooperate with the people. They found the nest when some guy nearly ran over one of the poor kitties with a weedwhacker. After that, the cat moved the wee ones where the workers could see them, and she always took their food.

Oh, and there's special milk for kittens that I used to feed the cats with for a while. I think you can just pick it up at some pet stores. It's cow's milk that's been treated somehow so that it resembles cat milk. If you wind up taking care of them, you should ask the animal services people if they know where you can get this milk. They're not big enough for solid food yet.

[Isolder74]

If she let you pick her up, she's not feral. That's a good sign for her adoptability. She may be somebody's pet, actually, who got out and got knocked up. :smallwink:

Well she might be a left over of the house's previous resident, a crazy cat lady.

[Zherog]

That's a possibility. But the point still stands -- she's clearly not feral. That greatly increases the chances of her and the kittens being adoptable. I know, for example, that Pennsylvania law requires feral cats that are captured and brought to the shelter to be put down. The fact that she's comfortable with human contact proves she's not feral, which gives her a better chance.

[Coidzor]

And they're probably not going to kill her and nurse the kittens by hand either since she's not feral. Which is probably for the best.

Hmm. Damnable crazy cat ladies.