Hey guys, need some advise please! I've never taken care of a pet before, but recently there has been a feral cat that has been keeping her litter of kittens (5) around the building I live in. I had saw them around a few times and sometimes when I see the kittens without their mother I catch them and pet them for a minute or two and let them go. I've recently discovered that 2 of the kittens had been taken by one of my neighbors who kept one and gave the other to a friend. I entertained the idea of taking one to live with me but I felt kinda guilty about taking it from the mother. However, 2 nights ago I discovered one of the kittens had drowned in a bucket filled with water left out at the back of the building. That same night, I decided to take one of the kittens as I figured it's life will likely be easier with me, so I caught one of them and brought it home. Put some blankets in a cardboard box, borrowed some dry sardines from a neighbor and have been rationing that out to it for two days now. I leave the sardines and a bowl of clean water out in front of the cardboard box and replenish it as necessary. I also put together a makeshift litter box out of a big tubberware container filled with soil/small pebbles from outside. I warm up water in a bottle every now and then and place it in the box Incase it's cold.
The first night it was very scared and just hid in a corner of the cardboard box. However it has quickly began warming up to me. Yesterday it began wandering my apartment, allowing me to pet and caress it as it purrs and climbs up on my shoulders and rubs against me. I even took it with me to a friend's house with a bunch of people there and it began wandering around there in a timid fashion but wandering nonetheless. I felt like all is well, but I noticed that when I was holding it as we were leaving my building, it tried to jump out of my arms vigorously and I restrained it from doing so. I assume that it recognized the outside of the building as it was born here and had the urge to go back to it's first home and mother. Then on the way back to the building, I saw the mother sitting in front of the entrance. She was staring at us and the kitten was staring at the mother as well. Even as I passed the mother the kitten was turning its head back around to look at her and tried to jump from my hands. I felt like some horrible baby stealing monster. Once we got into my apartment, it was fine again I let it go and it went to it's box to eat some more sardines, drink water, took a poop in the litter box and had an alright night. I can't stop thinking about the mother though. Can you all give me your opinion on whether I should keep it or return it? Or some middle ground where I return it to it's mother and wait to see if it wants to come back around me or just put food out for them?
Also, I'm confident the kitten has fleas and ear mites at the least. I have it a bath yesterday and I saw one of the fleas come to the surface of her coat. I had suspected it due to how much itching it does and that confirmed it. Also it's ears have a bunch of black specks in it and a quick Google search suggests it is likely ear mites. At the moment I'm too broke to take it to a vet to get it flea and ear mites treatment and any other shots it might need. I would be able to do that at the beginning of June when I have some money come in but unfortunately not before then.
So with all that to consider, I need some advise because the thought of it's mother out there hating me for taking it's baby is really weighing on me.
Btw I keep referring to it as it because I am not sure of it's gender. It seems quite shy of it's private part area and keeps covering it when I try to look so I've just left it alone in that regard.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/gp2tr2/advice_on_feral_kitten_ive_taken_in/
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