stray cat gave birth in my house

Question
There are a few stray cats where I live. My neighbour who has lived in the
area for over 40 years has been feeding them and says they have been here
as long as she can remember. One cat took a liking to us and before we knew
it her kittens were visiting too. We give them some food and they hang out in
our yard, but sleep out in the wild and come and go on their terms. One of
the kittens, she is just under a year, recently got pregnant and last night while
we were busy she snuck inside and gave birth to 3 kittens upstairs in my
bedroom. They are doing well, but am not sure what to do with them. I would
be happy for them to sleep in our garage until they are older and it gets
warmer. The Mommy cat has not been outside to use the bathroom yet, but
has eaten some food I took up to her. Any advice?

Answer
Anna,

I'd recommend putting a litter box into the area where mom and her family are. It's probably best not to allow mom outside for now because there is a chance that she may be hit by a car which would leave you with the responsibility of caring for her babies which is a time and labor intensive task. Ideally mom should get as much of a high quality, holistic cat food made from human grade ingredients as she wants to eat because she's now meeting her own nutritional needs as well as those of her newborn family. Since there is a stray colony in your area it might be wise to consider having the cats spayed/neutered to reduce the population humanely over time. Unfortunately many healthy adoptable cats and kittens are euthanized worldwide in shelters each year simply because they aren't wanted and shelters don't have the time, money or resources to keep these precious souls indefinitely.

If possible and you're willing to take on the challenges of caring for mom and her babies it might be in their best interests to be allowed to stay in a quiet room in your home so that they can grow up in a clean, warm, safe and protected environment. The kittens should stay with their mom and siblings until they're at least 10-12 weeks old, mom will likely wean them sometime during the first 10 weeks of their life. Once the kittens are weaned, their mom has potty trained them and they have started to eat solid foods on their own they can be placed into permanent adoptive homes rather than being allowed to continue living as strays and potentially contributing to the serious pet overpopulation problem that a stray/feral cat colony can cause. It's important to be aware that mom may cycle back into season fairly shortly so it's best to keep her away from intact male cats as getting pregnant right now would be quite stressful on mom's system. If the new family is kept in the garage it's possible that an intact male cat could get in, if this happens he will likely kill or maim the kittens in an effort to bring mom back into season more quickly so that he can mate with her. Right now it's in the best interests of this tiny family to be kept away from other cats in the colony so that mom can recover from the birth of her kittens and the kittens can be as strong and healthy as possible. If mom is friendly with people and comfortable enough to live in a home you may want to consider having her spayed and finding her a permanent home. Mom can be spayed when her milk supply dries up which normally happens 2-3 weeks after she stops nursing her babies.

Newborn kittens are born with very little resistance to viral or bacterial infections and they aren't able to regulate their own body temperature which means that the garage probably isn't the best environment for mom and her nursing litter and in the event that mom does opt to leave for awhile the kittens could potentially develop hypothermia which is another reason that I would suggest bringing this little family inside of the house. I would recommend using a fair sized cardboard box lined with old towels or blankets as a nursery for mom and her babies. If you're willing to keep this little family inside and care for them while mom is nursing I would recommend that you ensure the room that's being used as a nursery is kept quiet, dimly lit and equipped with clean food/water dishes and at least one kitten sized litter pan so that when the kittens are older their mother can begin the process of litter training them.

It's a good idea to thoroughly wash and disinfect the food and water dishes daily in a weak bleach solution - I use one part bleach to five parts water. The litter boxes that are being used should be thoroughly washed, the dirty litter needs to be discarded and the whole litter pan should be disinfected in the same bleach solution at least once a week. Mom needs access to plenty of fresh, clean water every day so that she doesn't become dehydrated while caring for her babies. Mom's need for calories is dramatically increased while she's nursing so allow her to eat as much as she wants to during this time, when she no longer needs as much her food intake will drop off gradually. Mom shouldn't have any problem when it comes to using the litter box provided that you use finely textured unscented clumping kitty litter or even dirt from outside initially.

If mom is a feral cat (feral meaning wild, these are cats that haven't been socialized to see people as friends and will do just about anything to get away from human beings) you'll need to find out if your vet is willing to treat her, some vets won't work with feral cats because there's a higher risk of accidental injury to themselves or their staff. It doesn't sound to me like mom is feral though so this may not be an issue. It might be worth contacting local rescue organizations to find out whether or not they'd be willing to help out with the less friendly cats in the colony by assisting with the cost of a TNR (trap, neuter, release) program which would ensure that the cats were healthy and not reproducing like crazy. Friendly cats and younger kittens can be placed into adoptive homes, some rescue groups are willing to help out in terms of finding potential adopters.

Contrary to popular belief, life on the streets is hard on a cat. Sometimes there are kind hearted people like your neighbor and yourself that are willing to help these abandoned house pets by providing food, water and other necessities. Many people have romantic notions about the lives of stray and feral cats, sadly these misconceptions aren't accurate. Every day in the life of a feral or stray cat is about survival, there's little time for anything else. Some cats may find places that are protected, but intact cats can get into nasty fights over territory to win the right to live in the safer places outside. Unfortunately there are also a large number of people that view stray/feral cats as vermin to be exterminated by any means necessary. There is also a recent trend in gang initiations that requires future gang members to commit an act of cruelty against a stray or free running pet which is horrific to say the least. Cats are safest and live longer, healthier and happier lives if they live in a home environment out of the elements and away from the dangers of human life. The average life expectancy of a feral or stray cat who doesn't get help from people is about 2 years and these cats often die as a result of injuries sustained by being attacked by larger animals, being hit by a car, viral or bacterial infections and unfortunately some of these cats also die as a result of human acts of cruelty.

It sounds to me like this mama cat trusts you and is asking for your help. She could have had her babies anywhere but she chose to come into the house to do so. I would guess that mom knew that she and her babies would be safe and cared for in your home. I realize that these cats aren't your pets or your responsibility but there are ways to help them to have a happier, longer and healthier life. Ultimately I think that allowing mom and her babies to live the lives of pampered pets would be in their best interests. I'm willing to offer tips on finding the mom and her kittens forever homes and answer any questions you may have on caring for a nursing mom and her kittens so please feel free to send any additional inquiries my way.