'Help! A Stray Cat That Comes To Me Daily Had A Litter Of Babies In My Compost, What Should I Do?': Reddit Thread Gives Heartwarming And Helpful Advice To A Crazy Cat Lady In The Making

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Mar 26, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

What would you do if you woke up with a litter of kitties near/in your house? We, personally, would be shocked. Full-panic mode, calling anyone that's free to tell us what to do and/or help us with our next step. This author also had many good questions: Is it safe to touch the kittens? Will the mother disown them because of the smell of a human on them? What should we do with the kittens, and even the mother?

Thankfully, the internet is a bountiful source of information with a lot of helpful people (sometimes). They calmed down the author and actually gave him good advice (as well as some funny ones)! Yes, you can touch the kittens, no the mother won't disown them, and it's best to take them in to an animal shelter and get the mother spayed so the cycle doesn't continue. Most said to adopt the kittens (we definitely would), and that "You don't choose the crazy cat lady life, the crazy cat lady life chooses you."

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  • 01
    Facial expression - a stray cat was coming to my home daily for pets, i started feeding her a little and now she put her babies in my compost. I think i shouldn't touch them so do i just let them here?
    via u/Rare-Yoghurt36
  • 02
    Cat
    via u/Rare-Yoghurt36

    Wowwwwwww, the author couldn't ask for a cuter litter of little babies to adopt. They're soooooooo cute, and they even come in all different colors! 12/10 would adopt and treat them like the princes and princesses they are.

  • 03
    Font - NtlDerpFoundation +2. 18 hr. ago Does the mother allow you to pick her up or can you usher her to a room in your house? If yes then take her inside if you have a spare bathroom to host her in. Then get a box with some old towels in it and grab the little nuggets. Feed the mother wetfood and offer water, litterbox and some scritches and then phone around to find a shelter or rescue to take them in if you don't think you can help mom-cat raise her babies. If you want to help then look at th
    via u/NtlDerpFoundation

    We love helpful and knowledgeable advice. The internet can be a great place for help sometimes, even if most of the time it's just a bunch of people screaming into the void. Good thing they actually helped this time! 

  • 04
    Font - Stayupbraj 17 hr. ago Sounds like you've been chosen, enjoy them 2.0k Reply Share
    via u/Stayupbraj
  • 05
    Font - cultured_banana_slug 13 hr. ago 32 My last cat cursed me from bey... Yep. Mom cat sees OP as a safe fellow-cat to watch her little meeploafs. If she didn't trust OP, OP wouldn't even know what the babies looked like. 1.5k Reply Share
    via u/cultured_banana_slug
  • 06
    Font - 20 hr. ago Contact a rescue center or become a crazy cat lady :-) nuttnurse 6.4k Reply Share
    via u/nuttnurse
  • 07
    Font - dw444 18 hr. ago . This is how my family ended up with 12 cats. 2.7k Reply Share
    via u/dw444
  • 08
    Font - - 16 hr. ago I see you've requested the crazy cat lady stater pack please find enclosed 4 kittens mother and vouchers for nuttnurse desexing. Thankyou for shopping at crazy cats Dotcom 1.0k Reply Share
    via u/nuttnurse
  • 09
    Cat - International_Win375 +1 - 16 hr. ago I would be so excited. My cat will be 23 this summer. My dad rescued her as a tiny kitten that had fallen from a garage roof niche. Here is our princess Smokey.
    via u/International_Win375
  • 10
    Font - exoinsect 19 hr. ago Break the cycle of overpopulation by getting them to a rescue and trapping mom and taking her in as well. 2.5k Reply Share
    via u/exoinsect
  • 11
    Font - These_Burdened_Hands · 19 hr. ago · edited 17 hr. ago stray Is Mom Feral? Do you know if you have feral Cat Colonies around you? If Mom is coming back regularly & it's not frozen outside, I wouldn't move them. If Mom trusts you, I'd still be very careful. (I've seen small outdoor cat shelters for this exact situation.) I'd get a few cans of kitten wet food just in case, so you have them. (I can't quite tell age, do their eyes open? Do YOU know when they were born?)
    via u/These_Burdened_Hands
  • 12
    Font - I'd definitely get in touch with my local cat rescue. If for not other reason than Mama needs to be TNR'd (spayed & released back.) Even if mom is doing a great job, cats are good at hiding issues. There's a community of foster folks; a shelter may give you food to give Mama, maybe keep an eye on them &/or take them to be TNR'd before reproduction age. (Best when feral cats can be "trapped, neutered, released.") Those babies have a chance to not be feral, but they still need their mom. I'
    via u/These_Burdened_Hands
  • 13
    Font - (I had a preggo homeless cat push her way inside my apartment! Wouldn't leave my side, gave birth ON my lap. I socialized her babies, administered basic shots, and placed all 3 kittens into stable homes (I thought...) Had to take Mom to a No-Kill shelter. She WASN'T feral, a neighbor "let the whore out." Beware that can happen too!) Good luck, thanks for caring. Hope others give good advice! Edit: clarification
    via u/These_Burdened_Hands
  • 14
    Font - cultureShocked5 17 hr. ago 1. They are at least few days old. 2. PLEASE contact local shelters and rescues. The mom and babies need to be fixed. Otherwise they will keep reproducing and many of them will die very painful deaths. 3. For now what you can do is put food out for the mom close to them. Nursing mom's need A LOT of food. 4. Do not take the kittens if you cannot trap the mom with them- a rescue with have resources (e.g. a special cage) to trap mom. Kittens are much better off wit
    via u/cultureShocked5
  • 15
    Font - -mmmusic- 17 hr. ago as you have said in other comments, the mum is stray, not feral, so i would advise either taking them inside and caring for them there, and taking them to a vet if you can afford, or, take them to a shelter and explain the situation and that you cannot care for them and they are strays. if you do take them in, be sure to get the mum spayed, along with the babies when they are old enough. the first thing to do would be to give them somewhere safe and warm, get some foo
    via u/-mmmusic-
  • 16
    Font - OneHumanPeople 16 hr. ago You very much do touch them. You bring her and her babies inside and feed her much much more.
    via u/OneHumanPeople
  • 17
    Human body - CheesecakeNo1581 16 hr. ago You can touch the kittens; she won't reject them or abandon them.
    via u/CheesecakeNo1581
  • 18
    Font - richal 13 hr. ago Touching them is a GOOD idea actually, assuming you don't want them to become feral! The more they're used to your scent/human scents and are handled, the more comfortable they'll be with people. If you're committing to this and bringing them in/helping mom care for them/getting them fixed and adopted out, I would suggest handling them all daily. They are somewhat fragile like any baby creature, but you won't hurt them by picking them up. They're trying to huddle up and
    via u/richal
  • 19
    Font - SammieCat50 14 hr. ago You need to trap mom & get the kittens. The kittens can adopted & live a nice indoor life somewhere. Maybe mom could too but if not, mom needs to be fixed. I started feeding a feral cat years ago. I noticed him in the middle of a freezing winter & his fur was missing in patches. It didn't take long for him to start letting me pet him & I brought on him in the summer when a bad storm was approaching. He was fiv+ & the vet couldn't tell how old he was but at least he
    via u/SammieCat50
  • 20
    Font - Livingston052822 11 hr. ago . Keep them! But get them fixed as soon as they are ready. Otherwise it'll become a mess. I have the momma and her entire litter .. 2 years old and going strong.
    via u/Livingston052822

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baby Babies advice adorable cat Cats baby animals crazy cat lady animals cute adoption aww kitten heartwarming helpful cute kittens cute cats mom Reddit mother reddit thread
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