Hi !
Ive been taking care of this feral cat (feeding her and keeping her company) for several months. She ended up getting pregnant and had kittens a few houses down. She eventually brought the kittens to my backyard. When the kittens got too big for the place she had them in, she tried moving them into the tree lining in our backyard. There’s dogs and the covering did not protect them at all from the elements. So, I took the kittens in and the mom came in no problem. The feral cat (the mom) only shows affection to me out of anyone in the house and has always been completely okay with me handling the kittens if needed. Lately, she’s been going into heat (earliest opening we have to take her to get spayed is 6 days from now). She started panting, keeps on wanting to go outside (which we let her and then she comes back in when she’s ready) and trying to bring her kittens outside. She’s in a nice, quiet (relatively quiet) room, and they’re under the bed in a box to keep it dark and have them in one spot. My family keeps trying to see the kittens when she’s eating in the other room or hanging out with me outside, and the mom keeps hurrying back inside to make sure they’re okay. I keep telling my family to stop, but they tell me that the cats need to get used to them. The kittens are a little over two weeks old, but the mom has been stressed out today and still has no problem with me being by her kittens.
For perspective of how feral the mom is:
She started out in January not wanting to be by anyone, but we were able to feed her outside. Eventually she started eating inside around me and two other people in my house. About three weeks ago she started rubbing against me, but she has not done that with anyone else yet. Now she stays by me even when I take her outside, and comes back inside whenever I come back inside. She has never hissed, scratch, etc, but she purrs and triller
Edit: I forgot to ask what I wanted to ask in this post hahaha. What do you feel is the best course of action I should take for this little Kitty family ? We’re planning on taking care of all 4 of the kittens if possible
Edit 2: She has explored the house several times and after a few months got more and more used to being inside with the door closed, to the point where she would stay for a few hours before wanting to go back outside after eating
Edit 3: there’s a tom cat that comes visit the backyard as well, which is probably bad with her going into heat
Ive been taking care of this feral cat (feeding her and keeping her company) for several months. She ended up getting pregnant and had kittens a few houses down. She eventually brought the kittens to my backyard. When the kittens got too big for the place she had them in, she tried moving them into the tree lining in our backyard. There’s dogs and the covering did not protect them at all from the elements. So, I took the kittens in and the mom came in no problem. The feral cat (the mom) only shows affection to me out of anyone in the house and has always been completely okay with me handling the kittens if needed. Lately, she’s been going into heat (earliest opening we have to take her to get spayed is 6 days from now). She started panting, keeps on wanting to go outside (which we let her and then she comes back in when she’s ready) and trying to bring her kittens outside. She’s in a nice, quiet (relatively quiet) room, and they’re under the bed in a box to keep it dark and have them in one spot. My family keeps trying to see the kittens when she’s eating in the other room or hanging out with me outside, and the mom keeps hurrying back inside to make sure they’re okay. I keep telling my family to stop, but they tell me that the cats need to get used to them. The kittens are a little over two weeks old, but the mom has been stressed out today and still has no problem with me being by her kittens.
For perspective of how feral the mom is:
She started out in January not wanting to be by anyone, but we were able to feed her outside. Eventually she started eating inside around me and two other people in my house. About three weeks ago she started rubbing against me, but she has not done that with anyone else yet. Now she stays by me even when I take her outside, and comes back inside whenever I come back inside. She has never hissed, scratch, etc, but she purrs and triller
Edit: I forgot to ask what I wanted to ask in this post hahaha. What do you feel is the best course of action I should take for this little Kitty family ? We’re planning on taking care of all 4 of the kittens if possible
Edit 2: She has explored the house several times and after a few months got more and more used to being inside with the door closed, to the point where she would stay for a few hours before wanting to go back outside after eating
Edit 3: there’s a tom cat that comes visit the backyard as well, which is probably bad with her going into heat