Three-week-old kittens

Question
Hello. Our neighbors cat who had been recently staying with us gave birth in a box in our garage. We did not know they were there until about three weeks, so we guess that is how long they are been there. My main question is should we begin handeling them and if we should leave canned kitten food out for them?

Answer
Lindsey,

I would suggest that you inform your neighbor (tactfully of course) of the new kittens that their cat has given birth to in your garage. If your neighbor doesn't want the new family I would suggest that you ask permission to borrow mom and bring her and her babies indoors. If you don't start handling them soon they will become feral and it can be difficult to teach them that humans aren't so bad after all. In terms of the canned food the kittens really aren't quite ready for that yet. At 3 weeks or so of age the kittens need to nurse from their mother, they are still dependant on mom for many of their needs (they will however be ready in another 3 weeks or so for canned kitten food and their first tastes of kitten kibble). I recommend that if you are feeding mom that you feed a good quality kitten food which will help supply her with the nutrition that she needs to meet her family's needs. Once the kittens are weaned (around 6-8 weeks of age) they will actually learn to eat kitten food (wet or dry, dry is better for their teeth) from their mom. If you take responsibility for these kittens (if the owner of mom refuses to) I would recommend that you put notices up in veterinarians' offices as soon as possible to make sure that you have potential homes lined up for them as soon as possible. It is in the kittens' best interests if you can find them homes without admitting them to the shelter system as cats and kittens tend to have very high euthanasia rates in shelters. Unfortunately there just are not enough good homes for all of the kitties who need them. I would recommend that you speak to your neighbor politely about spaying their kitty so that she doesn't continue to contribute to the serious pet overpopulation problems that exist right now. There are medical benefits to spaying and neutering which include a decreased incidence of reproductive and mammary cancers and infections as well as reducing unwanted behaviors such as breeding, urine marking, caterwauling, fighting and wandering. I do hope that your neighbor chooses to help their cat and her kittens by making sure that everyone is healthy, safe and has a forever home. Hopefully this information is helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again. I would also appreciate if you wouldn't mind keeping me updated as to how the situation turns out. I also enjoy receiving pictures of the cats and kittens that I have the privilege of helping through this site.