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Rescuing feral kittens?

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 12:08 pm
by Spirir3106
Hey all,
So there's a farm near me, and a few months ago, a cat just turned up. We tried to find her owners, we think she got here by travelling in a car, as she's very friendly. We didn't find her owners though, so she's lived on the farm since then.
However, before we got a chance to spay her she ended up getting pregnant, as ferals do. She had 4 kittens, but had them hidden a few times so we never got a chance to catch them until now- they're about 10 weeks now we think.
We managed to get close to them by feeding them and their mother, with the intention of catching and rehoming the kittens and spaying the mother.
Today, after a few weeks, we managed to catch one kitten, a ginger one. We have him in a cat-carrier in one of our rooms, separate from our own cats. We couldn't catch the any others.

Basically, I'm wondering did we do the right thing, just taking the one we could get? We're going to keep trying to catch the others. The mother is very friendly except when you try to catch the kittens. I think a humane trap would be the best bet, as it would be less stressful for them.
Also, I'm worried about the ginger. If we keep him here tonight, how should we go about it? We have a small unused catio in the side of our house to keep him in if we need.
Sorry for long post, hoping for some advice here. Thanks.

Re: Rescuing feral kittens?

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 3:10 pm
by Janey
Hi and welcome. Where abouts do you live?

About 12 years ago I trapped, neutered and released a group of ferals where I live and myself and neighbours have cared for them outside since.

I contacted my local Cats Protection, who came out with a trap and showed me how to use it, then left it with me. They spoke to the local vets, who they deal with, and organised for me to take them in to be neutered, before releasing them back into my garden.

I would say the best thing is to get in touch with a rescue near you and get their advice.

Here you’ll find a list of rescues in the Uk and Ireland:

https://www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-r ... uk-ireland

This link may also be helpful:

https://www.catchat.org/index.php/about-feral-cats


Best of luck!

Re: Rescuing feral kittens?

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 4:10 pm
by Spirir3106
Thanks Janey.
A while ago I contacted a friend who owns a cat sanctuary, and she said she'll take the ginger kitten to be rehomed tomorrow. She's also giving us a trap to borrow to catch the rest.
The mother cat will be returned to the farm after she's spayed, but all four kittens will probably be best off being rehomed entirely as it's not a huge farm and there's not a lot of care/room/food for 4 extra cats to live there.

I'm living in Munster, in Ireland. The links provided were very handy, and I'll be sure to keep them for later use. I reckon the ginger kitten will have an easy time finding a home due to his colouring.
Thanks x.