Last weekend I found out that we have 3 teeny kittens living under our back porch. There are a TON of stray cats are in this area, and we recognize who the momma cat is, and from the looks of the kittens who that father is too. At any rate-one of the kittens is very friendly..he will come out and totter around, and has even climbed up into my lap. The other two kittens will sit by the entrance to under our porch and hide out and run if I make the slightest move or noise. This kitten is a little skiddish, but will still hang out if I am talking to him or move around. It was a very hot day so we put out some water, and the other two kittens would sneak out when I was not there to drink it, but not this one. I then later put out some wet food for the kittens, and dry food for the mother. The 2 really skiddish kittens came out and ate up both the wet and the dry...the other kitten still did not touch it. Seems completely uninterested. I tried putting his nose into both the water and food to give him a taste, and he licked his mouth off but nothing more. I didn't worry too much because I thought he may still be heavily nursing.

I hadn't seen them all week because I have been at work and they only come out in the middle of the day when it is warm and sunny. Today I came home early and they were out there. They all ran and hid, but the lone one came back out. The other 2 have grown so much in just the one week, but this one seems to have remained the same size almost. I was very surprised to see the difference in the other two after sitting with the one for a while. He still would not touch the water, or food that I put out for them today.

I'd estimate them to be at 5 weeks now. Should I be concerned for this little guy? Should I do anything? I will say, I raelly don't have the money to take him to a vet, and I'm quite positive no place around here will take them without asking for a sizeable "donation". Should I just leave them be? Any tips?

__________________
If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now, quiet! The're about to announce the lottery numbers... - Homer Simpson

I don't know really. But I would definantly continue feeding them .

I'd call a shelter, and ask for advice. Some places have cheap spay/neuter clinics, and if there's a local group that deals with feral cats, they may be able to provide assistance, too. When possible, a spay and release program is the best thing for an area with a feral population, since it keeps births under control, but also keeps a new population from moving in.

Alley Cat Allies This site explores the issue of feral/stray cats and the best way to handle them. Your local shelter should have info about a TNR (Trap neuter release) program near you. The cats should be trapped amd neutered. There is no charge, at least with the group I worked with. Young kittens will probably be adopted out. The mom will need to be released, but she will produce no more kittens. You sound like a very caring person and these cats need this kind of help. You will have a lot more kittens under the porch within a year if nothing is done. I have done this with stray cats at work, so if you have any questions, please let me know.

do you have a cat rescue? We do, and they take feral cats/kittens, adopt out the adoptable and do thier best. I wouldnt want stray cats running around my neighborhood with pets and livestock and children around.
There were feral cats here when we first moved in....we got a cat trap from the cat rescue and dropped them off one by one. Now we get litters of kittens dumped from time to time by people who think they "will let them go in the country".
We try to find homes for the kittens, and even keep a litter box and litter in the basement for this reason (DH and DS are highly allergic). We put out free ads for kittens, and when all else fails, you have the cat rescue...

Edited to add a kitten dumping story....
its the summertime a few years ago. I get in my car to back out of the driveway with the little ones going to camp, and I see this little fluff streak accross the driveway. I get out of the car to investigate, and see another. Then I see a flat ball of fluff where my DH parks his work truck (he ran one over without knowing it, kitten was as flat as a pancake.
I call oldest DS (fromm the driveway LOL, he was sleeping), and ask him to get a shovel and take care of the flat kitten, and help me catch the others..
I call in late to work, return home after dropping of the guys, and DS and I spent over an hour catching the two living kittens.
I look in the closest neighbors driveway and see her DH also ran one over.
The kittens were long hair, a cafe au lait color. They lived in our giant dog crate in the basement (due to dogs and allergies) until we could find them homes.
So if you know anyone planning to "set kittens free in the country", its not the best idea, not to mention a huge burden on someone else.

.

I would be concerned about the kitten not growing, too. Some vets give a free "new kitten check-up". You may want to call around. You'll get the best results for your dilemma if you talk to your local vets and humane society. They should be able to tell you who, or what local organizations, offers the assistance you need. Also, you can go to PetFinder.com and about 1/3 way down on the left is a search tool, "Find Animal Welfare Groups" (in your area). Some places offer free assistance and some offer low cost. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Do everything in your power to get them spayed/neutered, or this problem will just keep repeating itself. Take it from someone who knows. I currently have 8 cats and all of them were strays! (2 of them I just took in this month.)

About 3 years ago I brought in 3 sisters, similar to the ones you have. 2 of them were very skittish (Sissy & Ginger) and the other (Maggie) was more outgoing though still had that feral instinct. Ginger lived under my DS's bed, only coming out to eat, drink, and potty (when the coast was clear), for the 1st week after we brought them in. Maggie was the explorer. She was the first one to make it from under my DS's bed (on one side of our home) to on top of my bed (on the other side of our home) in a gradual progression over the course of 3 days. Sissy fell somewhere in the middle of Maggie & Ginger's trustfulness. Today, 3-yrs later.... Ginger disappears when company comes over, even regular visitors. Maggie & Sissy will warm up to them if they visit often enough. But, Maggie will still instinctually try to dodge my hand at first when I go to pet her, sometimes. (LOL) And, she'll often want you to pet her at arms length, so she can get away if danger should arise. Unless the petting is her idea, then she's all over me and wont leave me alone. Therefore, I think Maggie displays more of her feral side than the others.

I forgot to mention, Maggie is my avatar.

.

__________________
No outfit is complete without cat hairs!

~~~MsMiser

(I'd be more shocked, but there's a limit of only 10 images per post.)

Brenda! It's too early in the a.m. to put that image in my head. (LOL)

"flat ball of fluff"..... That's the saddest thing I've heard.

.

__________________
No outfit is complete without cat hairs!

~~~MsMiser

My parents also have a feral cat with kittens living on their property. They've guessed them to also be about 5 weeks old. Last weekend the mother moved all the kittens except 1. She left him on my parents porch. He's been crying for his mother, but she doesn't get him. My parents have started feeding him and he's already tame. You can hold him and he comes right up to you. My dad said he had some drainage from his eyes and wonder if the mother purposely abondoned him because something is wrong. They were going to wait a couple more days and if she didn't come back for him, they were going to take him to the vet. I think they'll probably keep feeding him but he can't come inside because my dad is allergic to cats. He'll just have to be an outdoors cat.

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

sorry, I didnt mean to do that...I love animals, and was shocked and upset (and even yelled at DH, even though it really wasnt his fault). I think thats why he felt guilty and let me keep them to find homes for them, even with the allergies instead of taking them right to the shelter...I was more concerned with the little guys seeing the kittens and freaking out....

Don't be sorry! It's important that people know what happens when they abandon or drop-off unwanted kittens. As you said, it does create a great burden for others. Several years ago, one of my brothers use to live in the country when 3 kittens mysterious appeared at his home. My SIL is also a cat-lover and she started feeding them. Then one morning when my brother started up his car to go to work, he heard some awful sounds. One of the kittens had crawled up into the engine and got "chewed up" by the motor when he started the car.

I love my kitties (even the stupid one ), who were all strays. But, it is a burden for us to care for 8 cats. (Cat litter is expensive, not to mention all that scooping!) I think some people just don't realize what a mess they create when they don't spay/neuter their cat. A lot of people think that just because they have a male cat, who can't get pregnant, there's no need to "fix" him (or they just don't want to incur the cost). They may believe it's the responsibility of the female cat owner to have her spayed instead. They may not realize (or just don't care) how many feral cats he has impregnated over the course of his life. Well, these feral female cats don't have an owner, so who's responsibility is it now?

In the words of Bob Barker... "Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered."


Edited to add:

Sorry about my tangent above. What I meant to say..... When you started telling your story, I was in a happy place, picturing cute little balls of fluff running about, being adorable. Then, WHAM! You hit me with the "flat ball of fluff" and slapped me out of my happy place. I guess I just wasn't expecting it. (LOL)

.

__________________
No outfit is complete without cat hairs!

~~~MsMiser

Sometimes kittens just don't do well, they don't eat right, put on weight etc. Vets sometimes call it "failure to thrive" which I suppose is a polite way of saying they've no idea why - but the little guy or gal probably isn't going to make it. We've rescued stray kittens who had that problem, and ones that did ok. It could be he's still nursing, it could be someone else is feeding him a different flavor of food he prefers. He could just be one of the ones thats not going to make it.

If you're lucky when you call around somebody will be able to help take the kittens and try to get them tested/vaccinated etc. You can't always save all of them though, and I say that as someone with 6 rescued cats living in my house, and a stack of pictures of the ones who didn't make it. My vet once told me fully half or more of each feral litter didn't make it to young adulthood, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself when I couldn't save any particular one. Its not advice I like to hear, but I believe him.

There is one other option, the littlest kitten could actually be up to 1 week or so younger then the others. With mother cats there can be some varience in when each kitten in the litter is conceived and by whom. If he looks a lot like momma then well um, daddy could be granddaddy, or uncle as well (I've had a litter where that was the case, almost all of them didn't make it but mommy is doing well 7 years later). If he was the last one conceived he could just be premature and with kittens 1 week is a huge difference. Only time will tell. Good luck with the little one.

__________________
Meddle ye not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crispy, and taste good with Ketchup!