mom31257 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 We took in a stray cat that had 7 kittens. They are almost 3 weeks old. We are keeping them in our garage in the box they were born in and changing out old sheets underneath. We are going to need to give them all away (or take them to a shelter) and have the mother spayed after they are weaned. She will be an outside cat as the kittens will have to be, too. We keep the door open quite a bit during the day and cracked at night so she can go out to use the bathroom. Here are some questions I have if anyone would be willing to share. How long should we keep them in some kind of box? How and when do we start them on food to help them get weaned? How soon can we give them away? How is she going to react to them leaving? The kittens are going to turn 6 weeks old right around a time that we need to leave town for almost a week. Is this going to be feasible? I know we can find a neighbor to pay to feed them, but I'm concerned about how many times a day they are going to need to be fed. We live in middle GA if that makes any difference. Any advice will be much appreciated. Here's a link to some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I don't have the information you need but they are adorable! When we had kittens many years ago they got out of the box on their own and had to be watched carefully. You never know where they'll be. Your garage would have to be looking a lot better than mine to leave kittens running around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Keep them in a box until they start getting mobile. I can't remember exactly what time that will be, but you will know when they start climbing out. Then you will want to take it away because they may climb out and not be able to remember how to get back in with mommy. As you get ready for your trip figure out how much food they will eat in 24 hours and have the neighbor feed them once a day and do the litter box (with that many cats you will probably need 2 litter boxes.). You will probably want a litterbox for while you are gone. At that point the kittens will be pretty mobile and will get out of your garage and go outside where they could be hurt. Or a dog or Tom cat could come in and hurt them. Alternately, you can fix them a spot on your porch or an outbuilding to avoid the whole litterbox problem. However, keep in mind that other animals could be a hazard. Momma cat will probably be fine with them going away. Most mother cats have had it with being a 24/7 milk bar for that long and will be glad to see them go. Around 4-5 weeks you can give them warm milk. As the days go by, start soaking dry cat food in the milk. The kittens will start eating the softened food and by 8 weeks they will be eating it dry. You can start putting out ads for kittens at 6 weeks of age, but it would be best if they were with mom until 8 wks. Either way, we've had good experience with giving away kitties at 6-8 weeks of age. I am not an expert, but I have raised lots of kittens! We are expecting a litter of kittens any day now ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Try and keep them in the garage , closed door and with a litterbox until you give them away. Kittens are not safe outside and other cats (Toms that would hurt or kill the kittens) and dogs could come into an open garage and harm the kittens. Most of my cats, I adopted when they were 6 weeks old, they were fine with eating dry kitten food. So I would say anytime after 6 weeks old they could be adopted out. p.s. I don't let any of my kittens out until after they have had their first round of shots (not sure if this is necessary, it is just what I do) also I never let kittens outside without one of us humans being with them but then we have hawks, eagles, owls etc. along with stray cats and dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I would be looking into a no kill facility for them if you are having to leave. I would not under any reason at all be letting 7 kittens roam my garage where they could be using the bathroom. Not to mention my porch or the side of the house. I mean could you imagine the smell? Even if they use a litterbox do you really think a neighbor can keep up with all that? I couldn't keep up with it. Kittens are very active they may destroy anything in your garage too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Well....maybe dh should stay home and not go on the trip. I've been worried about all of this. Our garage is not going to be kitten friendly for them to be all over stuff. We have a lot of crates/boxes of sentimental stuff, school stuff, and book cases with lots of books. We don't have any outside buildings on our property. I guess it will be good motivation to get the garage in better shape! When we start feeding them some solid food, how many times a day should be we give it to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 When we start feeding them some solid food, how many times a day should be we give it to them? I'd start with one time a day for the first week, maybe when they are 4-5 weeks old then go to twice a day. When they are 6 wks old, I'd leave out some dry food for free choice and give them milk soaked food twice a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 A mama cat nursing 7 kittens should be fed kitten food so she gets the extra calories/nutrition. Here's an article about weaning kittens. I would skip the cow's milk as it gives some cats diarrhea and moisten kitten kibble with water or a little kitten replacement formula. If they seem reluctant, a little first foods chicken baby food(all meat--no seasonings /veggies) mixed usually gets them over the hurdle. http://www.petmd.com/cat/centers/kitten/nutrition/evr_ct_weaning_kittens_what_to_feed_a_kitten A disposable foil lasagne pan makes a nice size litter box for little ones. Have fun with the kittens. Did you pick one out to keep? We found an orphan kitten in the backyard and took it in. Couldn't bring myself to give him up when the time came to hand him over to the family that was waiting for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 How long should we keep them in some kind of box? Until they're old enough to crawl out. :-) And even though they will be outside kitties, the more you handle them, the better. How and when do we start them on food to help them get weaned? You know, I'd start putting food out when they're four weeks old. And water. They'll figure it out pretty quickly, even if you don't mash their faces in the food or dunk them in the water. Please don't do that! How soon can we give them away? If you leave out food and water, they'll be eating everything by the time they're six weeks old. And believe me when I tell you that you should have the mama cat spayed when the babies are six weeks old. Yes, even if they are all still with her. Cats will go into heat *while they are still nursing.* Ask me how I know this. :glare: How is she going to react to them leaving? She'll miss them, but she should be fine. The kittens are going to turn 6 weeks old right around a time that we need to leave town for almost a week. Is this going to be feasible? I know we can find a neighbor to pay to feed them, but I'm concerned about how many times a day they are going to need to be fed. We live in middle GA if that makes any difference. Well, that's when the mother should be spayed. It would be better to spay her a week before (when the babies are 5wo) instead of waiting until you get back. The babies can still nurse if they need to. Leave the food out all the time. And water. Then your neighbor can just visit to make sure there's still lots of food, rather than worrying about how many times a day they should be fed. When you're ready to say g'bye to the kitties, put an ad in the paper and sell them for $5 each. People will pass over free kitties to pay $5. I dunno why, but it is so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbug Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 If you get one of the pet play pens you can keep kittens contained in it with a simple car cargo net draped over the top. We got two kittens at 7 weeks (although it is recommended to wait until 9 - 12 weeks) and they were containable in a pet pen with a cargo net clipped onto it with clothes pins up to about 10 weeks in age. Cats don't like to try to cling to anything that would put them upside down, so, as long as your pen utilized some kind of netting angled 45 degrees they'll stay in it. You can probably rig something that Mom could jump in and out on her own. Kbug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 But you wouldn't want to chance getting tangled while you are out of town. If you are going to give them away why not make arrangements with a no kill shelter before you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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