I didn't want to start a new thread so I hope it is okay that I post this here. Our backyard has become a gathering place for cats. It is hard to tell which are someone's pets and which ones are feral. We live in a town where people don't have a problem with setting cats free when they no longer want them. There are volunteers who will trap cats and take them to the SPCA to be neutered or spayed and then release them.
We just discovered a nest of kittens in one of our flower beds. I don't know how to tell how old they are. I'm guessing about 4 weeks. The mom comes and goes. I'd like to be able to rescue them when they are weaned but I don't know how to know when that is. I'm worried that if I wait too long, they will leave and be feral.
I found a pregnant super tiny black cat in my waste bin. She never saw the inside of a house and was terrible terrified by human beeings, so she was totally shy and had flees and other terrible things on and in her. I REALLY do not want to know what happened to her. So no way to let her check, basic medication were prescipted by descriptions via telefonem applying was pure horror. I called her Zenzi of nine as a tribute to seven of nine. Long story short:
I sort of adpoted her as far as it was possible, and finally managed to persuade her to come into our house. She chose the cellar and lived there until the kittens came. (I felt terrible about that, but she was comfortable with it). As she had the opprtunitiy to come and leave the house whenever she wanted (we built an exit for her), she left her kittens alone beginning from the first day of their life, beginning with very short periods, then extending them. Having no experience with kittens, I was terrified. The vet told me, that this would be ok as long as the cat returns within hours (! not minutes! - depends on the age of the kittens, but with 4 weeks, Zenzi was away for 2 hours, then fed the kittens and went again) and that cats do that, but that I should be aware, that cats tend to carry their kitten into another nest after a few weeks (she mentioned 4 weeks- this seems to be the age of your kittens.). In the early stage they search for a place where the kittens can't be eaten by other animals, dark, tiny, like a hole (here you have your zylinder).
She told me, that it would be extremely important to domesticate the kittens, otherwise they wouldn't have any chance to bond to human beeings. I have her voice in my ear since then " please , I really BEG you, do not allow Zenzi to carry the kittens away!"- hahaa. Funny advice with a cat that tried to climb the wall up (SIC!) after seeing a house from the inside the first time in her life, totally disturbed by everything.
The vet also told me, that the cat searches another SAFE place for the second moving if she thinks, place one is unsecure. So I waited and hoped. Zenzi moved into the first floor and went on leaving the house whenever she wanted to. Nice time in my life, as I was Mrs. "open the cellar-door, close the cellar-door, open the cellar-door" for her to leave the house as until she died she never understood the principle of a frontdoor, so I have a good impression how often she left and how long she was away sometimes.
So: it is total normal behaviour to leave the nest for cats. They will return. Do not, I repeat NOT touch the kittens until they leave the nest by themselves for short walks and lookarounds(around 6 - 8 weeks). The cats smell the different taste and tend to abandon the kittens or carry them away I was told by the vet and I followed the rule. With 8 weeks we brought all kittens to the vet for a check up and shots. Zenzi and the others cats (later) weren't happy about that (we never managed to bring Zenzi to a vet, not in two years) but accepted that, I guess they - sort of- trusted us and we knew that with 8 weeks a kitten can be adopted by nice persons, so abandoning wouldn't cause that harm as in a younger age.
Since and while Zenzi of nine I gained (unfortunatelly) a lot of experiences in this field. (again: animals tend to come to my house). Living in a very small village, with lots of farms and unneutered cats in the neighbourhood I had a lot of cats sitting around, in need for help, food and medicine*. (there wasn't one the last monthes so I hope people are changing over here). I repeated the "kittens" game in different ways. All of them behaved like Zenzi of nine.
As long as the cat returns to the kitten, everything is all right. Mommy cat knows exactly what she does.So don't worry too much and don't try to solve that problem, it might happen, that the cat carries her kitten away again and then they won't have a chance to be domesticated and so to find a good place.
Kittens bond naturally to human beeings in the age of... hmmm I would guess 6 weeks or so. Once they are used to you beeing around (just seeing you), they will start to come over and play. That is quite everything I did with my kittens and all of them are perfect little soulmates to their owners now.
(one of Zenzis daughters has 3 sweet little kitten now by herself. All other kittens were adopted by caring nice people and all of them except two are safe and healthy. The other 2 are dead, one killed by a dog and one was hit by a car. I was sad about that.)
* I have a sort of an impression why they fled their homebase on a regular basis, but I really do not want to tell you why, as it would disturb you. So - just in case you might ask yourself: tHere, cats have lots of reasons to search for a safe place for the kittens.
All I have been writing refers to wild cats. Domesticated cats don't have a problem with human beeings touching the kittens. But wildlife cats are... anxious and untrusting.
Ah: feeding the kittens will attract other animals as foxes (or whatever lives in your area that eats kitten). So mothercat will either try to eat everything by herself or try to burry (? don't know the exact word) food so that no animal will be attracted. 4 monthes seems to old for me to domesticate, but I can only rely on that I have been told by the vet. Later on ( I'd say with 6 weeks around) you can start feeding them, that bonds them to you and mommy cat will graciously receive the goodies from you, as she doesn't have to bring birds and mices. (Be prepared, they teach the kittens "proper" hunting by bringing a living creature into the nest... that is not funny)
And - even if that sounds very very very harsh and hard hearted- in case that you'll find another cat with newborn kittens in your garden (once one comes, the others follow, at least this is my impression) and one of the kittens won't be fed by mommycat: don't bond too much to that little creature. We had that two times, and fed the kitten by ourselves with a recipe from the vet, but both kittens died. Just in case.... I was so devasted as the kittens died, don't let that to near to your heart. And just in case somebody finds that threat looking for advice: every 2 hours feeding in the first weeks during night also!. The recipe contains as far as I still know oil curk and egg yolk. You can buy special breeding catmilk for kittens in animal stores or at the vet´as well. It costs (over here) around 10 euros / bin and holds for weeks.
Good luck! If there is a question, ask me, I can call my vet for you but please mind the time difference, here it is 22:49 right now.
Sorry for my English, it is late and English is not my mothertoungue.
