cat in barn

....just my .02 cents being I went through this just yesterday,
but trap the mom, and then you'll be able to scoop up the babies,
bring the mom inside to a safe-room in a larger crate (wired dog
crate). Eventaully, take them all to the vet. Also, start finding
homes for the kittens, and plan on spaying the mom.
...thats just my .02, I'm sure there are people better qualfied to
answer your question

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 08:01:49 -0500, INUYASHA ROCKS wrote:

I found a cat in my barn (its the middle of winter here) and she had 4
babies (born not long ago im guessing) what should i do? the mother is
agressive but i don****nt the kittens to die. I never owned a cat ..
what should i do

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Provide Mom a warm bed and plenty of food and some water to drink. This
will do for a start. MLB

Trapping the mother cat is a good idea if you can manage it. You can
sometimes use canned cat food as a lure to get her into a large plastic
sided dog crate and then be ready to close that door quickly once she is
all the way in. However, there are also special cat traps. You may wish to
seek the advice of a vet or someone from cat rescue who knows more about
proper methods of trapping. If you try to trap her and it doesn't go well
she may become frightened and try to move the kittens to another better
hidden location.

Anyway, once she is trapped using a large dog crate or something like a
clean spare bedroom or bathroom works. If you use a bathroom make certain
there are no chemicals around that she or the kittens could get into. And
realize to get her out you will have to trap her again. Moreover, she may
refuse to use the litter box, but in my limited experience ferals will
frequently use a large litter box full of clean non-clumping litter if they
hare kept in a small spare bathroom or some other area similar to that. If
there is a closet or something though they may decide to use that area to
go potty in.

A large cardboard box with a hole cut into the front of it and a clean
towel inserted as a bed can be used as a nest, which she can move the
kittens into once she is contained in a spare bathroom or bedroom. I have
inserted more than one box so that the cat can pick the one she likes best.
Bathrooms work better because usually they are tile floored and it's easier
to clean after the ordeal is over.

Also you might wish to consider using a glove or a towel to scoop the
kittens up after mother is caught to avoid getting your human scent on the
babies. Usually, in my limited experience with ferals though they don't
seem to care -- they still typically care for their young even if you have
touched them.

But it's certainly best to speak with a vet or specialist in trapping and
rescue of feral cats.

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