kittens!

there's a cat we've seen in our back yard since we moved into our house almost two years ago. today it ran after our dog and attempted an attack. I was fine with this. the dog needs to learn to leave cats alone. so I went outside to see what was up. that's when I noticed four little kittens. no wonder she attacked the dog. I put out some kibble and water for them since mamma is probably nursing and is alittle thin looking.... my question is this: how can I catch them so i can get them to an aspca shelter? they are cute as hell, and will get homes really fast. any suggestions?

Tranquilizer gun?

Actually, I'd just leave them be. Sounds to me that these are a feral cats and just like all wild things in nature, they know how to live fine in the wild. Oh, and you probably should stop feeding them because they're now gonna be yours for the rest of their lives. They aren't going anywhere once you feed them. It's the summer time so they should be able to deal with the outside weather fine. As for food, being that mama is feral, she knows exactly how to find food.

Feral cats being wild, do not make good pets(feral kittens included). They are not domesticated and usually can't fully be taught to be.

Try to contact an animal rescue group and ask if you can borrow a feral cat-catching cage. (They are used to catch them so they can be spay/neutered to help control the homeless cat population and are either adopted out if possible, or released back to where they were if they are too feral.) I don't know if there's an official name for the cages, but they look like the have-a-heart mouse traps. You put food in it and when they go into it to eat, the cage closes them in. That would be better if they are older kittens and for the mother. If they are really young, they should be easier to catch. However, I wouldn't suggest bringing the mother to a shelter...a feral cat would immediately be put down. Really, though, it's up to you how rough the mom is. The kittens should be fine though.

Cat Nip? Dope them up and just pick them up while they're tripping!

get a trap and put some cat food in it, and then take them to wherever. that's what we used to do

A trap or carrier will work and a can of tuna has always worked for me. Local shelter should be last if you can't find home for them. Goat milk is another good thing too.

I'm thinking about trying to catch all of them and getting them spayed and neutered and just letting them be in the backyard. mamma cat is VERY ferral, and her babies don't seem too keen on people... whatever happens they will ALL get fixed so they don't breed.

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Originally Posted by a_small_death

A trap or carrier will work and a can of tuna has always worked for me. Local shelter should be last if you can't find home for them. Goat milk is another good thing too.

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no cat in my care will ever go to a kill shelter, not ever. I was raised around cats, and my grandparents were huge cat advocate people. like presidents of organizations big time... I'd rather leave them be and keep feeding them and get them fixed than take them to a kill shelter.

yeah, one of our cats is a ferral cat. it's not so bad, but if your planing on the fixing thing you gotta get them to the vets...................good luck with that

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Originally Posted by VoltaireBlue

no cat in my care will ever go to a kill shelter, not ever. I was raised around cats, and my grandparents were huge cat advocate people. like presidents of organizations big time... I'd rather leave them be and keep feeding them and get them fixed than take them to a kill shelter.

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Phew *takes away sweat from my forehead*, good you already know that. :)
Animal shelters are cruel. We had those issues here in Sweden. They were too cruel to animals, and people complained and got somehow better standards but still it's fucked up.

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Originally Posted by Mr Karl

yeah, one of our cats is a ferral cat. it's not so bad, but if your planing on the fixing thing you gotta get them to the vets...................good luck with that

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thanks. I'm trying to figure out how to trap them. I'm thinking my local aspca might be able to help me with a fool proof plan.

Remember: nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool

You've got it all wrong. Cats lay eggs.

http://backstage.draftlight.net/6F0B2AL71A/categgs.jpg

I'd listen to Alias. Cats and the saving of them are kinda her thing.

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Originally Posted by Lady Alias

Try to contact an animal rescue group and ask if you can borrow a feral cat-catching cage. (They are used to catch them so they can be spay/neutered to help control the homeless cat population and are either adopted out if possible, or released back to where they were if they are too feral.) I don't know if there's an official name for the cages, but they look like the have-a-heart mouse traps. You put food in it and when they go into it to eat, the cage closes them in. That would be better if they are older kittens and for the mother. If they are really young, they should be easier to catch. However, I wouldn't suggest bringing the mother to a shelter...a feral cat would immediately be put down. Really, though, it's up to you how rough the mom is. The kittens should be fine though.

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this is what I'm going to do. I'll have them spayed and get thier shots and just release them back into the yard.....

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Originally Posted by Mindgames

You've got it all wrong. Cats lay eggs.

http://backstage.draftlight.net/6F0B2AL71A/categgs.jpg

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that is soooo damn cute. I used to have a cat that looked like that.

Eggs hatched by a black cat?! Witchery is afoot.

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Originally Posted by VoltaireBlue

no cat in my care will ever go to a kill shelter, not ever. I was raised around cats, and my grandparents were huge cat advocate people. like presidents of organizations big time... I'd rather leave them be and keep feeding them and get them fixed than take them to a kill shelter.

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This is why I say "last". Where I am at unfortunately we don't have a humane shelter in bumsvilles nowhere. here we have a fresh litter from the neighborhood kittens. Damn person next door I know will try and take to the local shelter and I hate seeing it. The cat population here is on the rise and the damn town doesn't want to deal with the cost of a humane shelter. They think easier to depose of the poor kittys like garbage then to find them good homes or to fix them if no home can be found. Hell my cat gabriel was a stray and a runt. Now he's an abnormally huge and happy kitteh! Just watch them and hopefully you don't have ass neighbors like mine.

since you've been feeding them, if you leave the food inside a cardboard box on it's side, they will just crawl in there. leave hte box in a sheltered location and hte momma will notice how safe the box is and that's where the food is and move the kittens in. once they're safe in the box just pick up the box and close it. it might take a few days or even a week or two to gain her trust, but it's worth it and it's humane.

~k

Are you going to name them as well?