Can a wild/feral mother cat find her kittens if their shelter is disturbed and the kittens scurry away?
On our deck (suburbs) I discovered a mother cat with three kittens using a pile of wood and plastic sheet as shelter. Unfortunately, the wood and sheet had to be moved, and we had to do it at a time when the mom was away and only the kittens were there (not my choice). So when we started the move, the kittens predictably scurried away. Two ran out the yard-gate towards the front of the house, and one retreated further into the backyard out of view. We put the plastic sheet next to the shed, hopefully they can all go live under there if they want. But my concern is that the mom will not be able to find her kittens, especially since our backyard is fenced off (but with holes of course which is probably how the cats came in in the first place). My friend says the mom will find the kittens with no problem because they’re in the vicinity of my house and well, this is just the way it works. But I’m not so sure. There’s nothing I can do about it now, but I just hope that the mom finds the kittens, even if the family can’t survive the fall/winter weather, I would still feel better if the mom finds the kittens and they try to make it as best they can.
Tagged with: cats • fall winter • holes • mom • mother cat • shed • three kittens • vicinity • winter weather
Filed under: Weather
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They should be able to find each other but why not put some food out for them so they will all be drawn to it. If you don’t have cat food try something that will drawn them in like tuna.
Good Luck.
Don’t worry, Mother cats are the most resourceful creatures ever at finding and hiding their babies. I once had one who managed to get her babies into a sealead wicker basket at the bottom of a garbage pile.
Worse case scenario she’ll just have to call for them.
Just leave of a little bit of food. If the kittens are old enough to run, they’re old enough to eat a little (No milk! Try tuna). That will also give them a central point to regroup.