Expert: Jessica - 11/13/2010

Question
I live in a subdivision in TX, and there is a feral kitten living near my bush. it's about 1 mnth old and a bag of bones. my dad said if I can get her to come to me I can keep her.However, I have another cat and 4 dogs. any tips on getting food to it would be great. thanks!  

Answer
Hi Erin,

Is the problem that your 4 dogs and your cat all go out and have access to the bush where the little one is hiding, so you're unable to put food out for it because the others would eat the food?  If this is the problem, then the only real solution would be to either make the bush inaccessible to your pets or make the food for the kitten inaccessible to your pets.  Both of these would take some work and creativity.  But to catch a kitten who's only about a month old, it should only take a short time.

To make the bush inaccessible to your pets, you would probably need to keep your cat indoors and walk your dogs on leashes.  Having five dogs myself, I know what a challenge this will be!  Remember, you should be able to catch the kitten within just a couple days, so hopefully you can handle a couple days of this inconvenience.  With your pets unable to reach the bush, you can feed the kitten without fear that your animals will get to the food first, and work on catching the baby.

Or, you can try to get a little fancier and build a box to place the food in, with an entrance big enough for the kitten, but too small for any of your pets to get into.  The box will need to be sturdy enough that the dogs can’t tear into it or drag it away.  Sometimes a bird nesting box from a pet store will work okay, but you might need to modify the entry hole a little.  Then you’ll need to find a way to secure it so the dogs don’t run with it, maybe by tying it to the bush.  

I would recommend the first approach, however, because your pets are likely to explore the box, and the kitten may be frightened away.

If something else was meant by your question, please feel free to send a follow up.

Good luck!

Jessica