Does that mean Kitty trusts me?

Question
QUESTION: Yesterday a Cat I've been feeding for over a yr,
started meowing loudly from my backyard where she's spends most of her time  hanging out,
I went outside and started talking to her
she meowed back at me alot more than usual
She had moved 1 of her 5 month old kittens
from an old ford we have to our water heater,
Then lil by lil she moved the rest in full view of me
I've been able to go outside with her and  the kittens while they are starting to look around outside the heater.

Most mornings for months now I find her waiting at my back door
and she even rolls on her belly,and meows sometime.
Only things she hasn't ever done
is stay close enough to let me touch her
She'll come inside my living room but won't stay but a min.

Today the kittens are 5months old,
I can only  keep them till they are old enough
to be taken from mom.but I read
its time to start weaning from just moms milk
Should I try to give them some food??

Thank you for any advice

ANSWER: Hi Francine.  I'm guessing the kittens are actually five weeks old, not months, right?  Around five weeks is the time when mom will usually bring the kittens around to her food source to show them how to start eating on their own.  If the kittens are five weeks old, they are right on target, and she should offer them some food.  I strongly recommend canned food at this age.  The kittens only have milk teeth right now, and hard food is too difficult for them to chew at this age.  It could lead to choking.  If it's not possible to provide canned food, soak dry food in warm water for several minutes before leaving it out for the kittens.  

If the kittens are five MONTHS old and they're still nursing, mom has babied them for far too long!  But this does happen with some cats, especially those who have lived in colonies and have had many litters.  You need to try to get these kittens off of mama as soon as you can, as nursing at five months old is unhealthy for the kittens and for mom.  The kittens need a balanced kitten food.  Mom should eat kitten food until the kittens are no longer nursing.

The fact that she's allowing you to see her kittens certainly indicates that she's trusting you more.  It also is interesting that she'll enter your home.  For her to enter your territory leaves her vulnerable, and this indicates that she has developed some faith that you won't harm her.  This is another sure sign of trust, even though she's not ready to be petted yet.

I would strongly recommend that you try to catch the kittens as soon as possible and begin handling them frequently.  At five weeks of age, the kittens are already going to be very quick and quite wild at first, hissing and spitting.  You need to tame them down within the next week or so, or they are going to be just as wild as mom in just two weeks.  By eight weeks old, if the kittens have not had intense human contact, they will be considered largely impossible to tame.

Good luck!

Jessica



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jessica.Yes the kittens are 5 "weeks" old sorry about the mistake
re:"I would strongly recommend that you try to catch the kittens as soon as possible and begin handling them frequently"
I would luv to be able to do that, but I'm confined to a wheelchair.
Today after talking to all the kittens on/off all day,
2 of them came very close to my chair, 1 did this at least 5x
the kitten  started off staring at me for a few mins on/off
then ran up to where my rightfoot is ,and would stay for a min
then at least 2 of the 5x he seemed to come when I encouraged it.

Could that be a way for me to tame the kittens,since I can't reach down
to touch or pick them up??

My mom was with me watching the kittens and the mom cat didn't react,
but she is scared of my mom so my mom doesn't want to upset her.
by trying to touch or pick up the kittens for me.

Thanx again for any advice!!

ANSWER: Any kind of contact you can encourage, verbal or physical, is helpful. Ideally, try to encourage some physical contact so the kittens don't become skiddish.  You can interact with the kittens physically by using toys such as ribbon wands or feather wands, but if your mom could also establish some trust with the cats, that would be great.  Hand-feeding treats can be a great tool to earn trust quickly.  The kittens will need to be caught very soon for their own safety.  As the kittens are now leaving the nest regularly, they are much more likely to encounter predators and disease.  Most outdoor kittens don't survive the first few months of life, and finding homes for them soon will help ensure they don't become one of the sad statistics.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jessica
I'm not sure whether to wait till the kittens are gone before trying to catch the Mom so she can go to Fixnation and get spayed.
I don't want the kittens to get more scared by seeing their mom trapped.

Also My cat who is about a yr old,has been curious enough about the kittens to sneak up and check them out when they would sleep,
Yet he will hiss and run from them
when they try to get close to him.
I'm considering keeping 1 of the 9 week old kittens that lets hold her for mins at a time,and isn't afraid to come close and play with me.
I just worry about my Cat accepting the kitten

Any advice would be appreciated

Answer
Hi there.  It's really recommended that the kittens be fully weaned for at least 10 days before the mother goes in to be spayed.  This makes the surgery easiest.  If the kittens are nine weeks, they are probably still suckling here and there, and the mother may still be lactating.  In an ideal situation, the kittens should go to new homes before the mother gets spayed.  But mom could become pregnant at any time, so you run a big risk each day that the surgery is delayed, as well.  It's a tricky situation, to be sure!

If the situation was mine to deal with, I would set the trap and see who I got.  If it's a kitten, send it off to its new home, and if it's the mom, send her to Fixnation.  The vets will let you know if the mom seems to be lactating heavily.  Be sure to tell them that you had to trap her to get her there.  This way, they should be willing to spay her if she is still lactating a bit and VERY IMPORTANTLY, they should use dissolvable sutures or no external sutures, so you won't have to bring her back to have stitches removed.  Remember that she'll need to stay indoors at least overnight after her surgery, as she'll be recovering from anesthesia.  She will have difficulty with balance, etc.  I like to keep my spays indoors for recovery for at least 4-5 days, personally, but I'm not sure if this will be possible for you.

Surprisingly, the cats don't tend to be too put off by the traps once their food source has been established.  They may disappear for a day or so but will typically come back around once their bellies start rumbling.  So I don't think you have to worry too much about scaring the babies off.  However, do be very sure that on the day you set the trap, someone will be around to check the trap every hour or two.  Even if set in the shade, a cat can easily overheat in the trap, as the sun moves, and the shade shifts, and the cat works herself up.  Once the cat is trapped, she should be moved into a cool spot in the house or a basement or garage and the trap should be covered with a dark blanket or towel to calm her (line underneath the trap with a trash bag in case she has an accident).

As for your cat's accepting the kitten, I think it's a great sign that he shows interest in them while they're sleeping.  Cats are slow to accept change in general, but the fact that he is initiating contact with the kittens at times (albeit while they're asleep) indicates that he would probably be open to a relationship with a cat, as most cats are.  Just be sure to make the introduction slowly.  The kitten should be kept in a cage or separate room for most of the time at first.  It's fine to allow your cat to hiss and run away if he chooses.  You may want to create some pleasant experiences between the kitten and him, such as treat time and play time, so he will have some positive associations to make with the kitten.  Try feeding them both special meals at opposite ends of the same room at the same time, gradually moving their bowls closer together.  Also play with them together with feather teasers or ribbons.  Fortunately, cats usually accept kittens quite quickly, and kittens don't come across as much of a threat to them, so you shouldn't have to separate them for too long.  But when you can't be there to supervise, you should keep the two separated until you're sure they're getting along perfectly.

Good luck with everything!

Jessica