My outdoor cat had kittens. How can I tell if she's caring for them?

Cats like to have their litter in a very quite, safe, out of the way place like under the house. She may never bring them close to the door, and you'll have to wait to see them when they get old enough to start exploring on their own. At 6-8 weeks they need to have vaccinations and deworming even if they stay outdoor kitties.

It is possible that she is just taking care of her young for now. There are possible complication after birth like imbalance hormones, a kitten not born causing infection, or even eclampsia (low calcium). If you know where she could be hiding, I would try to find her and take food to her. If not, all you can do is wait. She will likely come out when she is ready. I am sorry that she is worrying you and I wish there was more we could do. I hope this helps and you find her soon!

Mino is super proud of showing off her kittens to you. Obviously she trusts you 100% and think that she wants to raise her babies in HER colony and you are part of the colony. Cats often share the care of their babies with other cats. SO I am afraid you are going to have to put a box into your bed room where she can be with you and her babies. If she already has a box where she suckles her babies, then just move that one. Cat mamas are very very clean and there will be no smell or dirt, and the only thing you may hear at night will be purring....that in itself is a wonderful way of falling asleep. I hope this helps. Oh, and make sure you feed her kitten food so she has the best milk available for her babies, and talk to her a lot praising her and telling her how nice her babies are.

It's likely the kittens will be here within the next 1-2 weeks. Here is a helpful link: https://www.petcoach.co/article/pregnancy-diagnosis-caring-for-a-pregnant-cat/ Here is information regarding kitten care: https://www.petcoach.co/article/queening-giving-birth-in-cats/ Lastly, I recommend to have Ring Tail spayed when the kittens are 10 weeks old. A single female cat can produce up to 28 kittens in a year and the female kittens can start breeding at 6 months old. This can quickly lead a population explosion which can lead to viral and parasite outbreaks, some of which can affect humans. many humane societies will offer spay programs for stray cats. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-is-trap-neuter-return/ I hope this helps.

Oh no. That isn't good. Cats are very unpredictable; therefore, I would air on he side of caution and feed the kittens if need be. If the kittens are less than 2 weeks of age you want to make sure they are also kept warm (but don't overheart) and I would recommend wearing gloves when handling them to avoid masking their scent, which can lead to mama cat rejecting them when she returns. It is a foreign place for her so she has an increased likelihood of getting lost or injured while outdoors. You can try to go searching for the Mama cat as well. Take a can of tuna with you to see if you can entice her to return. Also leave a way for mama cat to easily enter the house, if you can, just in case she returns and no one notices. I hope she does come back. Wishing you all the best!

Unfortunately, this is possible. She also may have placed them somewhere outside where the kittens were susceptible to predators. Kittens will not survive long on their own, so depending on how long they may have been without their mother, this situation could be dire. I would spend some time searching the property and the surrounding neighborhood to see if you can find anything that looks like a nesting area. If you can, try and move the kittens back to somewhere that is safe for both them and the mom. Hope this helps.

Hello. Make sure your Momma cat has a quiet, safe & secure area to have her kittens, away from noise, other pets, & weather. You can begin feeding her a good kitten food ( dry or canned ) and continue the kitten food up until the kittens are weaned . This will give her extra calories to maintain her pregnancy & provide plenty of rich milk for her kittens. She will probably not leave her babies for the first couple of days, so make sure her litter box, food & water are close by. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.