We were feeding a feral cat who had 4 kittens someplace in the woods behind our house. At about 4/5 weeks, she brought them up on her deck. We were able to capture three of the kittens and give them to a cat-angel society who will domesticate them, have them spayed and neutered, given their shots and eventually adopted out. Feral cats around here live an average of 2 years and we wanted to give these kittens a chance at a good life with a family.

However, the kitten that got away is always with the mom and at about 14 weeks is still nursing. We leave food out for them all the time and it has been eating both wet and dry food for weeks. After it finishes, it goes over to its mom and nurses. The mom is getting quite thin and we also suspect she went into heat a few weeks ago and may be pregnant again. We would love to be able to catch both of them and have them neutered and given their shots, but so far we have been unsuccessful. I am very worried about the health of the mother. She is a beautiful Himalayan who we have become very attached to and try to provide food and shelter (dog house) as best we can. We do not understand this behavior as I thought that they weaned all their kittens themselves.

Has anybody else had a cat that would nurse their kitten this long?

The cat may be nursing, but not receiving milk. That does happen. It is like a pacifier situation.

This is a huge concern. A mother cat needs a lot of nutrition in order to nurse and stay healthy. It's obvious that this cat is not getting enough nutrition, and that the kitten is literally sucking out the bit of nutrition she is getting.

Is there an animal catcher in your area? Most places, especially places that have a lot of wild animals like racoons, feral cats, skunks, have a humane animal catcher. You can actually rent humane cages to catch these animals, and most times the service will include removal and relocation of the animal once it's caught.

Of course in this case you'd want to catch, and then bring the cat and kitten to shelter where you brought the other kittens.

The only real concern is for the mother cat. Having her spayed is a must, but it may be impossible for her to become tame enough to adopt out. She may always be a feral cat. But if she's spayed at least she won't be adding to an ever growing population, and she will also live longer.

Look in your yellow pages, or Google, and find an animal catcher that you can rent a trap cage from.

Good luck. :)

Many communities now are seeing the benefit of a program called T-N-R (Trap-Neuter-Return). Feral cats are trapped, neutered, and then returned to where they were found, as long as the community (i.e. several residents) agrees to provide food and shelter for them. If no one is willing to feed them, the cats are socialized if possible and homes found, even if that home is on a farm.

Many animal shelters will provide a kindness trap for free (if you are willing to do all the work and then continue to care for the cats), as long as you are willing to place a deposit on the trap (and you'll get that money back when you return it).