Expert: Jessica - 6/28/2010

Question
hi jessica
i hope you can help i have a half feral cap which has adopted us we didn't know to much about cats when we had loads of toms hanging around then she went missing for two days came back nine weeks later she is expecting to drop.The problem is i cant keep her in as she loves it outside and when i do keep her in she just paws at the door and shes not finding a nesting place does this mean she will have the kittens outside and they will be feral 2 as i have homes 4 all the kittens and they all going to be doctored two
please help
         marie

Answer
Hi Marie,

If you can't keep her indoors, chances are rather high she will have the kittens outside, especially if she tends to spend most of her time outdoors.  It would be best to force the kitty to stay inside, no matter how unhappy she seems for now and no matter much she paws at the door.  If you do allow her to have the kittens outdoors, chances are she will hide them, and you may not find them for the first few weeks.  

Every cat is different.  Some cats do have their litters under a bush just outside your door, but most of them will hide their litters far from home for the first several weeks of their lives.  They will only begin to bring the kittens around the house when the kittens are old enough to eat solid food, and they need you to feed them.  By this time, the kittens are about 4-5 weeks old and are already afraid of humans - feral.  If you can catch the babies just at this age, there is a chance you can tame them up to still make pets, but you will need to act quickly.  In just another two weeks or so, they will be too wild to ever fit into most homes.  And even at 4-5 weeks, they can run quite quickly, so you may need to set a live trap in order to catch them.  Also, wear thick gloves to handle them at first, as they will bite.  After a couple weeks of intense human handling, most kittens will settle down enough to fit into a household.

Of course, it's MUCH easier if the kittens are handled every day from birth.  Even if the mother is completely feral, if the kittens are handled each day, the babies will grow up as tame as can be.  Mom may be miserable and paw at the door for a while, but she will calm down after a couple of weeks, and you can rest assured the kittens will grow up safe and tame.  The choice is yours, of course, but in my opinion, this would be the less worrisome option.

Best of luck with the litter!

Jessica