Expert: Tina - 10/15/2008

Question
Hi, I have been adopted by a wild cat in ,my garden! She is now pregnant and has become very affectionate with me, circuling around my legs and lets me stroke her. However, I really want to bring her in the house to have her kittens and make her comfortable, she is only recently pregnant. How can I tempt her inside? I am so desperate to get her in so i can look after her! Thank you and please help me here

Answer
Hi Susan,

It is wonderful of you to take care of this feral cat and to help her have her kittens.  What an honor that she has chosen you to be her midwife :)

First please bookmark this page and read it:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_giving_birth_to_kittens.html

You will probably need to trap her with a safe trap to bring her inside, after a quick visit to the vet to make sure everything is OK with her and her kittens. She does not sound very feral since she is rubbing on your legs, but sometimes it takes time for feral cats to become completely tame to where you can pick her up - so trapping is the fastest and easiest way to do this. You can usually borrow a suitable trap from your local humane society or from a local feral cat care group. The website below has listings by area of groups that can help you.

Find a feral cat care group in your area:
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=444&srcid=379

Guide to trapping a feral cat:
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=285&srcid=191

If you choose to let her have the babies at your home and then find homes for them, you can have her spayed afterwards as well as the kittens when they are 8-12 weeks old. Most vets advocate early spay and neuter because that way they are done before they are adopted (no chance of them making more kittens) and also they recover much faster when they are younger. You will need to keep the mother cat and all her kittens indoors for their own safety and to prevent her from becoming pregnant again.

A mother cat will attempt to hide when she gives birth, so watch out when the time nears she will try to slip outside. You can provide her with nesting materials - a simple cardboard box with old towels, blankets or shredded newspaper will do. Most cats instinctively use a litterbox even if they have not lived indoors before, but it's a good idea to confine her to one small room at first, with a large litter box filled with clumping clay UNSCENTED litter. I highly recommend Cat Attract litter, which contains a herb that attracts cats - it is great for making sure an outdoor cat knows to use the box:

http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Cat-Attract-Problem-Training/dp/B0009X49IC/ref=pd...

Once the kittens are born they will be fed by their mother for at least 6 weeks, then they will start to experiment with solid food. They can eat the same food as their mother, I recommend a high quality meat based canned food for the lactating mom and the babies. Wellness, Nature's Variety and Innova Evo are excellent choices.

It's a lot of work to find homes for the kittens once they are 10 weeks old you can start to place them. It's best for them to be adopted in pairs when possible, kittens play with eachother and entertain eachother. Hopefully whatever local feral cat group you contact can help you find good homes. It usually takes experience in adoptions to be able to decide who is a good home - people are not always what they seem! Make sure the kittens are spayed and neutered before they are adopted, so you know the cycle of homeless cats is ended.

Your local shelter may have a low cost spay neuter clinic you can use, if not look on http://www.spayusa.org for vouchers

Finally, there is the option of having the female cat spayed at this time, which will involve abortion of her kittens. If you are unable to commit to finding the kittens homes after they are born, this is an option you can discuss with a vet. Cats can have as many as 10-12 kittens, so be aware that finding homes for them may be a lot of work. Shelters will euthanize kittens under 8 weeks, and generally are always full so even cute healthy young kittens are not guaranteed to be adopted before their stay is up.

The mother cat you can either keep yourself indoors or outdoors after she is spayed. She can become pregnant again immediately after giving birth so do not let her out until she is spayed or there will be more kittens!

Again than you for looking out for this homeless kitty, good luck with everything!

Tina