# I think I really messed up... please help.



## May V. (Aug 19, 2015)

I found two kittens next to a driveway of an apartment complex by my house. This has never happened to me before. My automatic reaction was to grab them and bring them home, then look for the mom. After hours of looking for mom, to no avail, I fed them some canned cat food (I always have on hand, incase of a stray cat).

From what I've read online, you should NEVER remove kittens unless 100% sure mom has abandoned the kittens, after hours of watching them. I didn't realize this was the case and have now had them for a few hours. Is there anyway that the mother cat will sense/smell/hear her kittens and take over care in our backyard? Or do I have to bring them back to the apartment complex driveway area? The area has very heavy traffic and no protection against stray dogs and cars.... And if I do bring them back, will she still care for them after being apart for so long? I really messed up and just grabbed them because they were crying and I was so scared they'd be eaten by the stray dogs, hit by a car or the mother cat had left them there to fend for themselves.

Also, one of the kittens has an amputated back leg, it doesn't seem to bother her too much... I think they're about 3 weeks old, from what I've been reading online. But again, I have no experience when it comes to kittens.

I'm at a complete lost. I would absolutely love to keep them and care for them forever but my fiance is really allergic to cats and I have a rescue dog who does NOT get along with other animals.... If I can keep them in my backyard safely, forever, I will.

Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

If the kittens ate the canned food that you kindly offered then I think they must be older than 3 weeks. I don't think I would advise putting them back where they came from as it sounds very dangerous, but you could go back again with some smelly food and see if mum will come out of hiding. the problem then is that you would need to bring her to your home too and it seems this is not ideal for you.


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## Soozi (Jun 28, 2013)

I agree with Paddypaws it would be too dangerous to return them. The back leg of one of the kittens was probably chewed off by it Mum it's not unheard of unfortunately. I hope you can keep them safe. It would be great if you could get them to a vet to be checked out asap. Please keep us updated.


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## May V. (Aug 19, 2015)

I've still had no luck finding the mother cat. It also turns out the little black and white one, who we've named lil mo, is actually missing both her back paws.

We haven't had a chance to bring the kittens to the vet because my fiancé just had heart surgery and we're saving up everything we can to pay that off....

We definitely can't keep them and it's breaking my heart because I love them so much already. I've read that trying to get them adopted out while they're still so young and extra cute is usually ideal. Plus I want to keep them together, since they seem to love and need each other so much.

I've attached a picture of the cuties.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

Do you know any rescues that could take them in? I would think they need to be checked over by someone knowledgeable to make sure there are no problems, especially with the little one with damaged legs.

It's quite likely that they were dumped though by a callous owner


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## May V. (Aug 19, 2015)

I've contacted multiple rescues, they seem to be too full to take in any additional kittens.

There's also been a new problem. I've been keeping the kittens in a box in my backyard. Every few hours or so I bring out food then take them to a sandy area to use the restroom. Afterwards I lay out blankets on the floor (so it won't bother lil mo' back legs) and have play time for an hour or two.

The issue is while I'm sitting on the blanket the kittens climb, scratch and bite me. It's actually getting to be a bit painful.

I've tried the whole getting up and leaving play time if they start on me. But when I get back after 10-15 seconds they're playing with eachother or wandering, then if I sit back down they always come back to me and start climbing, scratching and biting. Should I not be sitting on the blanket? But when I sit on a chair by the blanket they start trying to climb my leg.

I know this is a training question and I don't plan on keeping the kittens, I just don't want to allow them to form bad habits before they hopefully find their new home.


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## Shrike (Jun 25, 2015)

If they are biting during play you need to be at a distance from them. Use toys on a string for them to stalk and attack. They should also like scrunched up balls of paper to bat about and do the bunny kicking on.
Obviously you need to look at re-homing - have you asked around your social network? 
I'm puzzled by the one without back paws - surely if these were bitten/cut off there would be infection? Is it possible she was simply born without them? If so that would be good as at least then there will be no open wound to worry about and it may influence peoples willingness to take them on. I'm not sure I'd be too hung up about rehoming them together - the injured one may well strike a chord with someone who can't cope with two, whilst the other should be as easy/difficult to home as any other kitten.


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