3day old kitten

Question
I strolled in my back yard and heard a baby kitten. I found it in the shed all alone. My first reaction was that it was abandoned. I took in the house and inspected the little one. Eyes still closed and umbilical chord still visible. We had a storm last night so I was very concerned as to why the little one was all alone. I got online and found an emergency formula which consisted of whole milk, egg yolks and oil. After a few hours from the time I thought I was rescuing the little one I fed him, stimulated his genital/butt area,tried burping, put him in a box w/a heating pad and a little stuffed toy. At times it seemed he would fall asleep trying to nurse on the toy. It was so cute. Later, I just happened to look outside in the back yard and seen a grey tabby and I immediately took the kitten outside on the back porch to see if this was mom. As soon as she heard the cries she raced up on the porch...so fast I thought she was going to attack me for taking the little one. She carried it off, back under the shed. I am relieved that the kitten is now with momcat but of course I got emotional because I got attached that quick. My concern now is since I have handled and fed the kitten will the momcat resume the responsibility and not reject the little one?? Should I check on them or will this cause the momcat to move? Then I will never know if the little one survives.

Answer
Hi Chris, if the mom cat took the kitten, then your handling of it has not bothered her at all.If she was going to reject the kitten she would not have even come to the porch to get it.  It sounds like she may have dropped it during delivery as things are rather crazy for cats at that time and then she wanted to gather it up with the others and couldnt find it.
I think checking on the kittens would be a good idea. It sounds like this poor mom cat may be a stray and not too certain of what she is doing. You don't want to handle the kittens or get too close to her but it would be prudent to know that she is still under the shed and taking care of them. Cats that are living outside can easily become prey to wild animals, cars, poisons etc. So, if something happened to her these kittens would be starving and cold under your shed. I would just take a flashlight and as long as you can see the mom cat you will have to assume that the babies are fine..
If you bring her some food she will be calmer about you being there.. but then she will consider you her "owner" and I am not sure if you want that scenario... :)
Although it sounds like you did a fabulous job of foster parenting ! That is not an easy job and many people fail.
Teresa