Expert: Dear Tabbi - 7/22/2009

Question
In the spring we opened our usually closed off garage.  A mother cat happened to get in and bolted when the door was opened.  I found 3 baby kittens - - not very old.  I called out vet - - after a  few hours of back and forth conversation, the mother had not returned, and they determined the kittens could not survive if there was not intervention.  They asked me to bring them in, and they would either find a surrogate mother or bottle feed them.  I did, but 2 weeks later, we were cleaning out the garage and I had found another kitten.  Apparently she had moved it prior to my finding the original kittens- - maybe ready to abandon it - - I never heard it cry - so it may have had a problem and the mother was originally willing to abandon itand let it die.  The kitten appeared in good health, so the vet said the mother must be taking care of it since that was the only baby she had.  I put out food because I knew the mother needed nourishment.  The mother did take care of her baby and things seemed fine.  The mother later took the kitten o and was gone a few days.  I figured that she was teaching her baby the facts of the wild.  They returned - - - then a couple of weeks later they disappeared again and the mother returned but the kitten did not.  I figured she "kicked it out of the nest"  She is now back and spending more time in the garage.  I still feed her, and I try to communicate with her.  I blink my eyes, and she responds - - and she will let me get closer, but not too close.  She now appears to be larger  - - probably pregnant.  Where do I go from here?  I feel a bond with her that I developed over 4 moths that I find hard to break.

Answer
Audrey,

The mother cat did not return the first time because you were there. She put them in your garage because she thought it was safe. She would have returned in a few hours.

The only thing you can do is try to trap her and get her spayed. Call the SPCA for help or a feral organization. They usually will loan the traps, and tell you how to TNR (trap/neuter/release). I do it at the racetrack often with the feral cats there.

The mother is starting to trust you. It can take months for you to make headway. It is a slow process that takes a lot of patience, but it is rewarding.

Look up this link and click on the feral articles. You can get some further information about them here:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole link into your address bar)

http://petplacestation.com/articles/?tag=carol-jacobi

Tabbi