[keschy]

I posted last week about a stray cat who I think has had kittens. After reading a lot about it there seems to be little doubt of that now.
She has been coming to the house to eat every day, usually once a day. The last couple of days she has been coming a few times a day and Desperately wanting to come inside. My husband has allergies so we can't let her in but I set up a blanket and box in the storage shed for her to move in if she wants to. She was in there earlier smelling everything and checking out every little corner.She spent a lot of time just lying around in there purring and looking pretty cosy!
Someone told me that when they act like this it could mean she is ready to bring her kittens here. Does this sound right to you? I have never had a cat with kittens so I'm not sure. If she is indeed bringing her kittens here, what do I need to have available besides the blankets and box? Do I need a litter box in there for mom & kittens?
Also, the shed has outside access, is that Ok? Are raccoons a danger to the kittens at all? And lastly, do I need to be worried about catching worms or mites or anything from handling the cat and her kittens? I know it's a lot of questions but I don't know anything about this and I really want to help her! Thanks a lot!

[mechanicaleden]

Hi,
From your response to "Mother Cat had Kittens in a Shed", it seems she has in fact moved them into the shed, which is great! You shouldn't need a litter pan if mom has outside acces... it depends how old the kittens are. If they're still crawling or unsteady on their feet and unable to leave the box, their mother will be stimulating them to urinate and defecate, and... eating their, uh, products. Some feces or urine will also probably get on their blanket, so if they're that young, they should have their blanket changed every day. If they're old enough to be following her around, you can provide a shallow litter pan for them to learn in. If the weather's chilly, a heating pad on low, under a few blankets would be nice for their box... but there probably isn't a place to plug it in, if they're in a shed. They should be OK without it... it depends on their age and the weather. It's OK for the shed to have outside access, since mom would probably be miserable cooped up, but ideally the whole family would be indoors. You still might want to consider calling your local humane center and/or animal control to come pick them up, so they can be placed in foster care until the babies are old enough to go to homes, since it seems you can't take them into your own home. Foster care really would be best for them. Living outdoors, they are at a higher risk for disease, parasites, extremes of temperature, predators (like raccoons), etc. Mom is also at risk of being killed by an animal or a car, in which case the babies would be orphaned and would need to be bottle-raised by people, which is time-consuming and not as good as the real thing. In terms of parasites, I would definitely suggest washing your hands after handling the kittens, but as long as you stay clean, you probably won't get any external parasites, like fleas or mites. It is highly doubtful you would get internal parasites, like worms, just from handling them, but still, wash up afterwards.

Good luck!

[keschy]

Thanks for your reply! I would love to take them to a shelter but all the ones I have called are full. I am on a waiting list for one and it will be 2-3 weeks. The kittens seem to be about 5 weeks old from what I have read etc. I really want to bring them inside but aside from my husband being allergic our apt. building will not allow pets that are under a year old. They are staying in the storage shed and have not left it. I have not seen the mother go anywhere near the road (it is pretty far away from where the shed is)and she is with the kittens 95% of the day. I put a litter box in the shed, hopefully she will use it and teach the kittens to also. I am touching the kittens as much as possible to try to socialize them. Thanks again for your help!