Well, my guess is that the kittens are around 3-4 weeks old if their eyes are open completely AND they made no attempt to run from you.
Three suggestions: you could put the kittens back and let mama take care of them. She will probably move them now that they have been discovered. You probably won't be able to find them again.
2nd suggestion: try to catch mama in an animal trap baited with tuna, mackerel, or sardines. Some humane societies will let you borrow them...then bring her and the kittens in to a confined area of your house.
3rd suggestion: if you can't catch mom...finish rearing the babies yourself. Of course, it is best for them to stay with mama but Weigh out the situation...one mom running free, having babies OR one mama plus all of her untamed kittens...running free and having babies!
Assuming you don't catch mom:
If the babies are between 3-4 weeks old, you can offer them some canned food and see if they will take to it. I would also get them some kitten replacement formula...see if they will accept it from a dish(a flat plate works the best) continue to offer it to them for a few weeks. If they won't readily drink on their own use a child's medicine syringe...bottles can be very difficult for kittens to catch on to!
Here are a few sites to help you determine their age and how often they need to be feed etc.
http://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.h鈥?/a>
http://www.leblink.com/~wescom/handrase.鈥?/a>
http://www.caring4kittens.com/index.html
I do believe it is best to have mom rear her own young BUT when you are dealing with an unsocialized stray or feral cat...you must weigh out the final results. If these babies do not become socialized with humans, they will become feral, reproduce and you will soon have zillions of cats!Any advice on how to capture a mother cat, I found her litter in my shed this morning?
You shouldn't have done that if you knew the mother was around. Try taking the kittens back to where the mother is, leave them in the box or crate you have them in and just keep a distant eye on them. If they aren't weaned yet the mother can do a better job raising them than you can; and if you take the kittens from her now she will just wander off and all to soon come into season again and start making more.
If you want to do this properly, call you local ASPCA to try and come pick up the mother and the kittens; or get a live trap, put the babies in the trap and capture the mother along with the babies.
The mother is going to wait for the right moment and start moving the babies if she can get to them.
I know you meant well, but unless you want to raise the kittens on a bottle you would do best to put them back where you found them for now. She'll come back again wen she thinks the coast is clear.
Call the ASPCA or some other animal control center. They can possibly trap the mum but you have to act fact or the kittens will die from lack of milk and attention from mum. Better you had left them alone. The mother cat is likely feral and will not make a good domestic cat. If you disturb them she will abandond the kittens and that is the last you will see of her.
The damage may have been done - you cannot keep the kittens away from mum for more than 4 hours. They need feeding like any infant.
For now I would do as others have said let them go in the shed so mom can feed them. Then contact a local Cat Rescue group that deals with Feral cats, you can find one under shelters on petfinder.com. They will help you trap her and re-home the kittens. Most SPCA are over flowing with Cats %26amp; Kittens right now and may not have the resources to help you.
Put them back and try not to handle them with your bare hands she will come back and nurse them once your gone. Wait tell the kittens are old enough to venture out of the shed on their own and then see if you can find someone that wants a pet? Oh, and if it gets too hot in the shed the mom will move them to a cooler spot on her own.
Find a ';Have-A-Heart Trap';, which is a trap you put cat food in and when the cat goes in it slams shut without hurting the cat. Then you can let the cat go by pulling the lever. Ask your friends and neighbors to see if they have one, or the hardware stores carry them. Sometimes vets or the humane society have some that you can rent. We use these all the time to catch the local strays and take them to the APL. Good luck! I hope i helped~~God bless~~
you should ether buy or rent a human trap and put cat food in it and check it every 2 hours and win ever you get her put her in a quite space with the kittens with food water and a litter box then contact a non kill animal shelter and you need to by special formula for the kittens if the mother is not feeding them because the would starve to death
I WOULD LEAVE THEM BE.
I HAD THE SAME SITUATION. I CONTINUED TO FEED THE CAT AND KITTENS WET FOOD AND PLENTY OF WATER.
THEY WILL GET USE TO YOU.
WHEN THE KITTENS ARE OLD ENOUGH TO START CLIMING THE FENCE, THEN IT IS TIME TO EITHER GET THEM HOMES OR TAKE THEM TO A NO KILL SHELTER.
JUST MAKE SURE THEY ARE WEANED. AND I RULE THAT THEY ARE READY BY THEIR ABILITY TO CLIMB THE FENCE.
IN TIME, THEY WILL BECOME FRIENDLY TO YOU AS YOU ARE FEEDING THEM. AND HOPEFULLY.....SO WILL MOM...
BUT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO MOVE MUM AND KITTENS.......
BEST OF LUCK...................
try tempting her with food and treats shes probably scared because you have taken her babies away from her open the door to the carrier and let her see them she will probably come up in her own time.
please answer my question
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind鈥?/a>
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