Luck changes for kitties

There's a coffee shop I go to downtown when I have grading to do.
Every 30 to 60 minutes I like to take a break on the patio outback.
Last summer i spotted some cats traipsing around that area into a fenced off adjoining area.
It turns out the cats are feral, but have been willing to accept the food the coffee shop owner leaves out back, underneath a Winnebago-type camper they've been using in the back parking lot for extra storage space.
Well, one of the young cats I spotted last year is probably around 1 year old now. In the past few months, I've been able to get her to allow me to come closer and closer; within 2 feet, then within 6 inches, etc. ... . It usually works best when I have food in my hand, she has the fence in between us, and i put the food down for her.
I and a friend, who helps me grade, were a bit shocked 2 months ago to see she'd had some kittens. I think she only had 2. That's all we've ever seen, though 1 or 2 of the coffee shop employees thought there might have been 3 kittens.
Last Friday, with the gate to the adjoining fenced-in area unlocked, I ventured to see how close the "mama" cat would let me come to her and to her kittens. Without the fence in between us, mama won't let me any closer than 2 feet again. Being feral, she's ultimately looking out for herself if something gets to close to her kittens, I guess.
Well, I was able to pick up 1 of the 2 kittens. Repeatedly. Gently, I carried her out, went around to the back entrance to the coffee shop, opened the door, and called to the owner, then pointed to the kitten.
My hope has been to capture all 3 cats: mama and her 2 kittens. I want them to have a good home. I'd rather they not be separated, if at all possible.
So, I put the kitten back. I told Glen, the friend and grading assistant, that I had been successful at picking up 1 of the kittens, repeatedly. We agreed to meet there Sunday to see if, with 2 people involved, both kittens could be picked up. The idea was to see if we could do this repeatedly. Then, to bring in a third person, one that could try to capture the mama cat as well. Overall, the plan was, once it was known what home all 3 could go to (if they could be kept together), to pick up the 2 kittens and trick mama into following one of her usual escape paths and finding a human just out of sight then having a pet (animal companion) carrier set up that she would accidentally run in to. With the 2 kittens picked up and mama in a carrier, all 3 could go to a new and loving home.

When Glen and I arrived Sunday afternoon to make a test run for the 2 kittens, we quickly found those plans had been ruined.
The gate to the fenced-in area was still unlocked. I walked back to one of the usual area I could find them in, near a stack of wood piled up against the window of a largely unused building near the coffee shop. As I got closer, mama cat moved off, following one of her usual paths. Then I could see part of 1 of the kittens. Something wasn't right. Then I realized I was really seeing parts, in separate spots!
I quickly exited, and told Glen what I'd seen. He figures a dog, or fox (apparently fox sightings are not unusual around here, even downtown at night) went in Saturday night and snagged the 1 kitten. I think that was the kitten I'd manage to pick up and carry on Friday.
Later, Glen went to look for himself. As he did so, I looked more closely at the stack of wood. I saw one of the kittens' head between two pieces of wood. This one lacked the extra orange, just black and white, compared to the kitten I picked up.
So, apparently mama lost both her kittens Saturday night or so. We figure the dog or fox got in, went across some of the wood, while one kitten was nestled inside ... it's movement shifted the wood enough for the kitten to get trapped, and meanwhile the dog or fox was able to then snag the other kitten just after stepping off the wood.

It's disappointing, because just two days before, I'd been able to pick up one of the kittens. I could tell neither was in perfect health. I knew I was close to getting them all at the same time, and I just had to be sure I could get them all in a good home, perhaps the same one.
So close, and then the law of the wild kicks in before I could enact the overall plan.
:(

It's never good to hear of a cat losing her kittens. It has happened to the cats near us a couple of times. The colony of feral cats living in a small patch of woods behind our house are fairly close to tame but when one of them gets pregnant it usually hides in the woods to have the kittens. When they get about six weeks old or so the mother moves them through our chain link fence and puts them under our rear deck.

One time the mother didn't move them in time and something got to her nest and killed all her kittens. They were almost to the age where she would have moved them. We were sitting out in the back yard when she carried one of the dead kittens over the fence and over to us as if she was asking us to help her fix it. That just about broke our hearts. We went out and searched for the rest of the litter but only found one other also dead. We think she had four but we couldn't find the others.
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PROUD MEMBER OF Team Starfire World BOINC

This is horrible and heart breaking, Yes I know It does and can happen and in fact It has happened for far longer than I've been alive, Still It's a sad thing to hear about.
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BSG Anthem
My Facebook page

@Sarge -
Sorry to hear your efforts came to nought. But at least you made the effort to help them.

Maybe the next time......

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

@Sarge -
Sorry to hear your efforts came to nought. But at least you made the effort to help them.

Maybe the next time......

And counterpoint. One of the feral cats at work has three kittens. All four are presently safe. We are looking for homes for the kittens. They are still a bit too young to be away from Polka Dot, their mom. Polka Dot is just wild enough that we are likely going to let her go back to hunting mice. We know it is at least her second litter. The dad is Michael Jackson. He isn't completely feral, we think he was once owned but since abandoned. He got his name because he was filthy black when found but turned into a nice white kitty after a bath. Unfortunately he seems to get into a lot of fights.

This is all so sad indeed.

Living along the river, I've seen many feral cats over the years.
The problem: uncaring, lazy b**tards that drop them off to fend for themselves,
rather than taking the time to deliver them to a good shelter.
Of course this is the same ilk that doesn't have them spayed or neutered.

I don't know how it works in other states, but here in PA cats fall under the jurisdiction of Game/Wildlife Commission-
rather than animal control, i.e. dog catcher. (I believe this has not changed since)
We learned this when we (I & neighbors) made an attempt to do something about the feral population.

Most of us who have cats keep them indoors for this reason,
as well as the abundant indigenous wildlife that may carry rabies.
The county of PA where I live has a high rate of reported rabies cases,
as it is predominantly rural farmland and woods with an occassional city here and there.

It is so sad.
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BETTER THE WORLD ~ PAY IT FORWARD
...

This is all so sad indeed.

Living along the river, I've seen many feral cats over the years.
The problem: uncaring, lazy b**tards that drop them off to fend for themselves,
rather than taking the time to deliver them to a good shelter.
Of course this is the same ilk that don't have them spayed or neutered.

I don't know how it works in other states, but here in PA cats fall under the jurisdiction of Game/Wildlife Commission-
rather than animal control, i.e. dog catcher. (I believe this has not changed since)
We learned this when we (I & neighbors) made an attempt to do something about the feral population.

Most of us who have cats keep them indoors for this reason,
as well as the abundant indigenous wildlife that may carry rabies.
The county of PA where I live has a high rate of reported rabies cases,
as it is predominantly rural farmland and woods with an occassional city here and there.

It is so sad.

Sarge you tried to do the right thing-I'm sorry it didn't work out.

Sarge you tried to do the right thing-I'm sorry it didn't work out.

Once I was able to get the one kitten, I should've taken her home. But, I can't change what is.

Sarge you tried to do the right thing-I'm sorry it didn't work out.

Once I was able to get the one kitten, I should've taken her home. But, I can't change what is.

So file that under "Lessons Learned" for the next time. And as uli said, don't beat yourself up. You did what you thought was right. The bad outcome was Not Your Fault.

About a month ago, I was able to take in a feral kitten from across the street. I will probably post pictures, and perhaps video, as we see luck turn for the kitties.

About a month ago, I was able to take in a feral kitten from across the street. I will probably post pictures, and perhaps video, as we see luck turn for the kitties.

Pretty cat, I see Yer cat has a rat play toy already, still very pretty.
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BSG Anthem
My Facebook page

Pretty cat, I see Yer cat has a rat play toy already, still very pretty.