Fostering semi-feral kittens - advice

In a chat with a Cat Protection League worker today, the discussion came up about fostering semi-feral kittens of approx 6-9 weeks of age to socialise them before rehoming. I have been meaning to get in touch with CPL for ages to see if I can be of any help to them in my spare time and just got round to it today. They told me that this is the area they need help with in the next month or so.

To those of you involved in this kind of work, can you give me some advice please? I know its early days yet... I have to be foster checked etc. if I decide this is the way I'd like to help out

1) I have experience of socialising/caring for kittens....I had Boris, Theo & Amelia from birth. But I have never dealt with semi-ferals. I can understand that semi-ferals will need more time, patience etc...but is it the same type of general kitten care involved as raising non-feral kittens?

2) Im told that the semi-feral kittens are vaccinated, vet checked, wormed and defleaed. I so want to help these little furbabies out as I do have a room I can give them all to themselves and lots of love and attention...but my hubby mentioned the risk of illness spreading to our 5 cats at home. If the kitties are vaccinated, and mine are too, is the risk of spreading illness between all cats (in respect of the main cat diseases) alleviated?

3) When socialising semi-ferals, am i right in thinking that the emphasis is on human contact rather than having them mix with other household cats? By this - Im trying to ask whether my cats should or should not be in contact with them at all.

4) My Olivia is due to give birth any day now. All her babies have homes lined up with my family and I'm keeping one. But for the next 3 months there is likely to be approx 10 cats in my house (my 5 and Olivia's kittens). I have the room in my house and the time and interest to help out with the semi feral kitties (I was told it would most likely be 2 they would give to me at one time if they they thought I was an appropriate foster meowmy). Is it a wise move to take on 2 little ones with the new kitties here? My instinct is to say, I can cope fine...in fact i want to do it. But again my hubby has told me 'Think well..if you want to foster do it after Olivia's kittens have gone after 3 months'. Who is the voice of reason? (The thing is...the CPL are looking for help soon as its kitten season)

Sorry if my questions sound lame/ignorant. I just want to help the CPL and just trying to find out if fostering is the best way for me.

Originally Posted by minxie

In a chat with a Cat Protection League worker today, the discussion came up about fostering semi-feral kittens of approx 6-9 weeks of age to socialise them before rehoming. I have been meaning to get in touch with CPL for ages to see if I can be of any help to them in my spare time and just got round to it today. They told me that this is the area they need help with in the next month or so.

To those of you involved in this kind of work, can you give me some advice please? I know its early days yet... I have to be foster checked etc. if I decide this is the way I'd like to help out

1) I have experience of socialising/caring for kittens....I had Boris, Theo & Amelia from birth. But I have never dealt with semi-ferals. I can understand that semi-ferals will need more time, patience etc...but is it the same type of general kitten care involved as raising non-feral kittens?

2) Im told that the semi-feral kittens are vaccinated, vet checked, wormed and defleaed. I so want to help these little furbabies out as I do have a room I can give them all to themselves and lots of love and attention...but my hubby mentioned the risk of illness spreading to our 5 cats at home. If the kitties are vaccinated, and mine are too, is the risk of spreading illness between all cats (in respect of the main cat diseases) alleviated?

3) When socialising semi-ferals, am i right in thinking that the emphasis is on human contact rather than having them mix with other household cats? By this - Im trying to ask whether my cats should or should not be in contact with them at all.

4) My Olivia is due to give birth any day now. All her babies have homes lined up with my family and I'm keeping one. But for the next 3 months there is likely to be approx 10 cats in my house (my 5 and Olivia's kittens). I have the room in my house and the time and interest to help out with the semi feral kitties (I was told it would most likely be 2 they would give to me at one time if they they thought I was an appropriate foster meowmy). Is it a wise move to take on 2 little ones with the new kitties here? My instinct is to say, I can cope fine...in fact i want to do it. But again my hubby has told me 'Think well..if you want to foster do it after Olivia's kittens have gone after 3 months'. Who is the voice of reason? (The thing is...the CPL are looking for help soon as its kitten season)

Sorry if my questions sound lame/ignorant. I just want to help the CPL and just trying to find out if fostering is the best way for me.

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i think it is AWESOME of you to even CONSIDER helping out especially with semi Ferals considering all the work that it will take trying to socialize those babies, but with Olivia due and you have 5 of your own... I think it might be too much for olivia... and you. Your going to have lets say 5 kits running around plus your grown 5 then if you take in the fosters. I say wait until Olivia has had them and weaned them, then go and take in a few litters! when is she due BTW?

Originally Posted by minxie

3) When socialising semi-ferals, am i right in thinking that the emphasis is on human contact rather than having them mix with other household cats? By this - Im trying to ask whether my cats should or should not be in contact with them at all.

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Depending on how feral the kittens act, I have found that the opposite is true. If they are very feral, some rescue groups will separate the kittens from each other, so that they don't mimic the behavior of each other. Feral behavior sort of feeds on itself, and if one won't tame up, the others might follow its lead. Since kittens learn so much from other cats, pairing it up with a fully socialized cat that has a lot of interactions with humans is a great way to teach a feral kitten that humans are not that scary. You want to get interactions with people, but sometimes you have to do it thru a social cat.

I have seen feral litters separated into different foster homes to get them thru socialization. My suggestion would be to watch the behaviors of the kittens very closely, and if one of them is really hard to socialize, try to find a different foster home for it.

Originally Posted by minxie

In a chat with a Cat Protection League worker today, the discussion came up about fostering semi-feral kittens of approx 6-9 weeks of age to socialise them before rehoming. I have been meaning to get in touch with CPL for ages to see if I can be of any help to them in my spare time and just got round to it today. They told me that this is the area they need help with in the next month or so.

To those of you involved in this kind of work, can you give me some advice please? I know its early days yet... I have to be foster checked etc. if I decide this is the way I'd like to help out

1) I have experience of socialising/caring for kittens....I had Boris, Theo & Amelia from birth. But I have never dealt with semi-ferals. I can understand that semi-ferals will need more time, patience etc...but is it the same type of general kitten care involved as raising non-feral kittens?

2) Im told that the semi-feral kittens are vaccinated, vet checked, wormed and defleaed. I so want to help these little furbabies out as I do have a room I can give them all to themselves and lots of love and attention...but my hubby mentioned the risk of illness spreading to our 5 cats at home. If the kitties are vaccinated, and mine are too, is the risk of spreading illness between all cats (in respect of the main cat diseases) alleviated?

3) When socialising semi-ferals, am i right in thinking that the emphasis is on human contact rather than having them mix with other household cats? By this - Im trying to ask whether my cats should or should not be in contact with them at all.

4) My Olivia is due to give birth any day now. All her babies have homes lined up with my family and I'm keeping one. But for the next 3 months there is likely to be approx 10 cats in my house (my 5 and Olivia's kittens). I have the room in my house and the time and interest to help out with the semi feral kitties (I was told it would most likely be 2 they would give to me at one time if they they thought I was an appropriate foster meowmy). Is it a wise move to take on 2 little ones with the new kitties here? My instinct is to say, I can cope fine...in fact i want to do it. But again my hubby has told me 'Think well..if you want to foster do it after Olivia's kittens have gone after 3 months'. Who is the voice of reason? (The thing is...the CPL are looking for help soon as its kitten season)

Sorry if my questions sound lame/ignorant. I just want to help the CPL and just trying to find out if fostering is the best way for me.

Click to expand...

First, thank you for fostering these kittens!

I fostered semi-ferals last summer. I quarantined them in their own room, as I had 5 of my own cats. You never know what diseases they may have; plus, I think it's best to gradually introduce them to the "regular" cat population, if you choose to do so (I personally think it's important to socalise them with both humans and other cats prior to adopting them out.) I would make sure that your "regular" cats are up to date on all of their vaccinations first (I'll tell you my horror story with FeLv later). At the same time, get the foster cats tested for Feline Aids and Feline Leukemia (FeLV) and distemper, and FIP, and any others tests your vet recommends, and also get the appropriate vaccinations (remember tha FelV shots are a 2-part process, with a 3-week interval between them, so you can't mix your cats until the 2nd shot), and a rabies vaccination (I noticed that you are from the UK; is this done? I read somewhere ages ago that rabies has been eliminated from the UK).

I'm big on the FeLV thing, as one of my fosters was a faint +. The other 3 in the litter first tested -; the adoption agency told me it was ok to mix them with my cats (not all of whom were up to date on the shot--I was just going to take them in for this, when the fosters arrived). Actually, my vet said that, if the postive ones were quarantined, even if my cats didn't have their FelV shots, there was really no risk of FelV being passed to them--but if I had to do this again, I would've made sure they had their shots--foster kittens can "escape" their quaratine! Anyway, following the agency's advice, I let the other 3 out--but started to think perhaps they were wrong--the - cats should be re-tested in 3 months, as they were expsoed to FeLV. Sadly, I was right--2 re-tested a faint + 2 months later, and had been around my other cats (who tested - then). All the - cats were vaccinated.

To sum up, I eneded up keeping the fosters (FeLv+ cats are very hard to adopt out, and frankly, I fell in love with them--and one vet told me that if the others were vaccinated, there should be no risk to them). They have turned out to be delightful, affectionate, fun cats, who get along well with the "regular" cats (apart from Jasime, who hates any other cat anyway!) In fact, all but one of cats (I have 9) were feral or semi-feral, and they are great pets. However, I think that this is not always the case with ferals. Perhaps I was just lucky. I would just try to socialise them at leats with humans, which may takes months of patience--and, even then, they may never quite trust humans. Let them develop at their own pace; don't force them--for example, trying to hold them, if they don't like it. On of my semi-ferals doesn't really trust us yet--but very slowly, he's getting better. I just accept the fact that he may never be a lap cat like the others.

When I would enter quarantine, the fosters would be hiding in corners in the bookcase--all I would see would be these yellow glowing eyes, and hear hissing. I would just ignore that, and just talk in a normal everyday voice, to get them used to me. I didn't try to touch them, etc. I woudl spend time every day inthere, watching TV, and just babble on to them, "Hey, Smudge--you wanna watch the History Channel? Let's see what's on." Eventually, they would come out to the center of the room, and mill around, "accidentally" rubbing against my chair or my legs. The lure of cat treats at a certain time every night whilst doing this helped! (Incidentally, Smudge, the one who hissed at me at first (the most!), now is very loving toward me--he sees my getting ready for bed, then jumps to my side of the bed, waiting to wriggle delightly on his side, and then falls asleep in the crook of my right arm!--he's "helping" me type this right now!)

I hope all goes well with your cats!


Happy Easter,

MargeCat

Originally Posted by Jaclyn4238

i think it is AWESOME of you to even CONSIDER helping out especially with semi Ferals considering all the work that it will take trying to socialize those babies, but with Olivia due and you have 5 of your own... I think it might be too much for olivia... and you. Your going to have lets say 5 kits running around plus your grown 5 then if you take in the fosters. I say wait until Olivia has had them and weaned them, then go and take in a few litters! when is she due BTW?

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On reflection, I think you are right. I will wait until the kittens have been weaned and have gone to their forever homes. She is due any day now. I have a feeling its today...but then again, I've had that feeling all week and no show !

Margecat - thanks for the great advice too! One reason I'll wait is because of the FelV/FIV risk you mention....Olivia's kittens won't be vaccinated until 10-13 weeks..so its not fair on them to expose them to risk of illness (I did think about that point yesterday, but thought that i could get round it as I could try to keep my cats and any semi-feral kittens very isolated from each other on different levels of my house) bt just to be safe, I'll wait.

Hubby was right (oh dear I can hear the 'I told you so's' now). I guess after speaking to the CPL yesterday I got quite excited about the prospect of being a foster. And when its comes to cats, the more the merrier is my opinion. But I have introduced a cat to my household in the past and we had an outbreak of intestinal bacterial infection...which was not very nice for the cats...so I do want to avoid any future risks to my cats.

From Margecat's response, I know its something I'd love to do. Even if its just with one semi-feral kitten at first. The challenge, achievement and one-2-one care I would really enjoy.

Yes, so I have a plan of action - sort Olivia's babies out then ask about getting one semi-feral kitten to start with (if I deemed to be an appropriate foster) and I'll get Felv/FIV tests arranged for that kitten.

Marge cat - I also have another question - I'll pm you if thats ok?

Thanks for your responses

I think what you are considering is a wonderful thing! It is very rewarding when you see a kitten so terribly frightened and you are able to help them become a loving pet ready for a new home! I have had a similar experience.

We had 2 semi-ferals at my shelter (Laverne and Shirley). Shirley started to come around very quickly, but Laverne wanted nothing to do with humans. We seperated them into seperate foster homes and I took Laverne. They came to the shelter at 4 weeks and I brought her home at 7 weeks. At first she was very spicy and really frightened. I think seperating them made all the difference. Laverne was feeding off of what little fear Shirley had and wasn't able to come around while they were together.

At the time we (DH and I) kept her in a large dog crate in her own room. She was so afraid that if we left her out she would find a crevice to hide in and she would never come out. We found that putting the dog crate on a table put her at our level so we weren't towering over her when we walked into the room. This helped alot with helping her to not be afraid when we walked into the room.

Also, for the first few days we never opened the cage without a food treat. Her treat of choice was turkey and liver baby food. The smell is so strong she couldn't pass it up. We would put it on a small baby spoon at first and soon she was licking off our fingers. Once she was eating we could then pet her and she would purr. Once purring we could pick her up. She started to love the cuddles and really wanted to be out of the cage! Can you blame her?

We blocked off a small area in our hallway (all doors closed) and let her loose to play with toys and us. We gradually increased her "allowed areas" of the house. We found that whenever she went somewhere new, she was frightened and would hiss and spit until she was comfortable. It was important to let her explore and figure out the space on her own terms. It eventually got to the point that we only caged her at night and when we weren't home.

We were very careful to keep her seperated from our other cats as we weren't sure how that would go. She was tested at the shelter and was very healthy. We gradually introduced them and it went ok, not great but good enough that they could be out at the same time as her as long as we were supervising.

As it turns out we are not fit for fostering...we kept her!!! Today she is still a spicy little one (now known as Pepper) and is contantly antagonizing my older two. Even though Misty and Claire are not even two yet, I had forgotten what it was like to have a kitten! She will still hiss at strangers (especially the vet!) if they advance at her too fast. If they let her come to them on her own time she is great! It definitely changed our household, but what a great thing to see her come around. That first purr (3 days in) and the first time she held her tail high and confident what such a wonderful feeling. She is now cuddled in my lap as I write this post!

If you decide to take on this challenge I think you will find it incredibly satisfying and rewarding! Do keep us updated on what you decide to do!

Jen

Originally Posted by minxie

On reflection, I think you are right. I will wait until the kittens have been weaned and have gone to their forever homes. She is due any day now. I have a feeling its today...but then again, I've had that feeling all week and no show !

Margecat - thanks for the great advice too! One reason I'll wait is because of the FelV/FIV risk you mention....Olivia's kittens won't be vaccinated until 10-13 weeks..so its not fair on them to expose them to risk of illness (I did think about that point yesterday, but thought that i could get round it as I could try to keep my cats and any semi-feral kittens very isolated from each other on different levels of my house) bt just to be safe, I'll wait.

Hubby was right (oh dear

I can hear the 'I told you so's' now). I guess after speaking to the CPL yesterday I got quite excited about the prospect of being a foster. And when its comes to cats, the more the merrier is my opinion. But I have introduced a cat to my household in the past and we had an outbreak of intestinal bacterial infection...which was not very nice for the cats...so I do want to avoid any future risks to my cats.

From Margecat's response, I know its something I'd love to do. Even if its just with one semi-feral kitten at first. The challenge, achievement and one-2-one care I would really enjoy.

Yes, so I have a plan of action - sort Olivia's babies out then ask about getting one semi-feral kitten to start with (if I deemed to be an appropriate foster) and I'll get Felv/FIV tests arranged for that kitten.

Marge cat - I also have another question - I'll pm you if thats ok?

Thanks for your responses

Click to expand...

Of course you may pm me! I'd be happy to help.

MargeCat

Originally Posted by Calico76

I think what you are considering is a wonderful thing! It is very rewarding when you see a kitten so terribly frightened and you are able to help them become a loving pet ready for a new home! I have had a similar experience.

We had 2 semi-ferals at my shelter (Laverne and Shirley). Shirley started to come around very quickly, but Laverne wanted nothing to do with humans. We seperated them into seperate foster homes and I took Laverne. They came to the shelter at 4 weeks and I brought her home at 7 weeks. At first she was very spicy and really frightened. I think seperating them made all the difference. Laverne was feeding off of what little fear Shirley had and wasn't able to come around while they were together.

At the time we (DH and I) kept her in a large dog crate in her own room. She was so afraid that if we left her out she would find a crevice to hide in and she would never come out. We found that putting the dog crate on a table put her at our level so we weren't towering over her when we walked into the room. This helped alot with helping her to not be afraid when we walked into the room.

Also, for the first few days we never opened the cage without a food treat. Her treat of choice was turkey and liver baby food. The smell is so strong she couldn't pass it up. We would put it on a small baby spoon at first and soon she was licking off our fingers. Once she was eating we could then pet her and she would purr. Once purring we could pick her up. She started to love the cuddles and really wanted to be out of the cage! Can you blame her?

We blocked off a small area in our hallway (all doors closed) and let her loose to play with toys and us. We gradually increased her "allowed areas" of the house. We found that whenever she went somewhere new, she was frightened and would hiss and spit until she was comfortable. It was important to let her explore and figure out the space on her own terms. It eventually got to the point that we only caged her at night and when we weren't home.

We were very careful to keep her seperated from our other cats as we weren't sure how that would go. She was tested at the shelter and was very healthy. We gradually introduced them and it went ok, not great but good enough that they could be out at the same time as her as long as we were supervising.

As it turns out we are not fit for fostering...we kept her!!!

Today she is still a spicy little one (now known as Pepper) and is contantly antagonizing my older two. Even though Misty and Claire are not even two yet, I had forgotten what it was like to have a kitten!

She will still hiss at strangers (especially the vet!) if they advance at her too fast. If they let her come to them on her own time she is great! It definitely changed our household, but what a great thing to see her come around. That first purr (3 days in) and the first time she held her tail high and confident what such a wonderful feeling. She is now cuddled in my lap as I write this post!

If you decide to take on this challenge I think you will find it incredibly satisfying and rewarding! Do keep us updated on what you decide to do!

Jen

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That's lovely to read about Pepper! And a really good insight into feral behaviour - thanks.