Pics of our feral kittens..Fraiser and Niles

Here are some pics of the kittens! Vet says they're about 8weeks old, but I think closer to 7. We found them a couple of weeks ago and they seem to be adapting well, in spite of the various colds, eye issues, flea problems, worms, etc. they had. They've gone in for their first vaccinations and been wormed twice already. We aren't sure if we're keeping both or just one yet. Although, I'm hoping for both.

I just got the collars in the mail today. They are from national leash company. They're the only ones I could find that would adjust small enough for the kittens.

Art
p.s. as you can tell by the number of pics, the black kitten (fraiser) was a little bit sleepier, so easier to photograph.

Awwwwwww how precious they both are. They have the sweetest faces!

Where in Alabama are you?

Awww! They are absolutely adorable!!

Oh my gosh, they're such cute kitties! Are they going to be solely outdoors or are you lettin' them in your home?

Thanks for the comments!
We're keeping them inside only (the pics are of them on the screened in back porch). Right now they're confined to the guest bedroom, but we are going to let them free-roam the house some now that they have the bells on so we can track them.
Pami: We're in smiths station AL.
We've been lucky so far, that our big cat (Toby) likes them. He will actually groom them like a foster-mr. mom.

Art

You have Frasier and Niles, I have a Daphne Your boys are just too cute! Just love that age

Originally Posted by artgecko

Thanks for the comments!
We're keeping them inside only (the pics are of them on the screened in back porch). Right now they're confined to the guest bedroom, but we are going to let them free-roam the house some now that they have the bells on so we can track them.
Pami: We're in smiths station AL.
We've been lucky so far, that our big cat (Toby) likes them. He will actually groom them like a foster-mr. mom.

Art

Click to expand...

Welcome to TCS! I am in Birmingham!

A lot of male cats will take on the role as a foster 'mom' and it is really just the sweetest thing to see.

Welcome Again to you and yours and let me know if you need any help with anything.

Aww! They are so beautiful!

Wow, they are adorable. And those names are eerily spot on. Frasier looks like he's wearing a little tuxedo, and Niles seems just a bit put out by the whole situation. Hah.

How feral are they at this point? They looked pretty comfortable having you so close. Is there another thread about them that I can read?

I haven't posted another thread about them yet. We've had them for ~2...make that 3 weeks now. They were standoffish when we first got them out of my grandmother's back yard, but seemed to become pretty much comfortable with us within the first 4-5 days. Now they act like regular tame kittens... I think we got them at just the right time, as their eyes were open, they could walk around, and they started using the litter box within the first day we had them; but, were still yound enough not to "hiss" at us.

My grandmother had been feeding two feral cats in her yard, georgous calico and tortoishell cats (I wish we had found them young enough to tame). One of them (of course) had kittens. My grandmother saw a dog (who got into her backyard) kill two of the kittens and was understandably upset.

We went over to dispose of the bodies and found these two. We couldn't leave them there to the same fate as the other two, so figured we'd better rescue them. I wasn't planning on getting a new cat any time soon, much less a kitten, but these were "dropped in my lap" so to speak.

We're trying to socialize them as well as we can and get them used to being handled, held, groomed (nails, ears, etc), so that they will make good pets as older cats... I am not sure if we'll be keeping both, so I'm hoping that they'll end up being pretty social to strangers so they'll transition easier into a home, if need be.

So far, frasier is the more outgoing of the two. He will come up to you, "talk" to you and generally want to be fussed over (he'll also climb into your lap. Niles is more aloof with pretty much everyone, but will enjoy being petted ocassionally. He seems to be more active and playful. I'm hoping that he'll become more social with time.

I'll try and keep you guys updated on who stays, goes, etc. and with new pics as they grow. We'll be keeping both of them until they're at least 12 weeks old. I'm also hoping to get whichever one (or both) we keep neutered while they're being boarded at our vet's while we're on vacation in the end of july. So I'd better make up my mind quickly.

Art

I bet it wouldn't be too hard to trap the other two adults that are outside and get them in and spayed and everything. Just get a humane trap. You really should try to get them spayed so they don't keep on reproducing. Once you started feeding them indoor and show them that you care they will probably be fine. They aren't true ferals, otherwise you would barely be able to even look at them and they would run off and hide. The kittens aren't either because they wouldn't have adjusted so quickley if they were true ferals. They just sound like strays that someone threw outside or left when they moved or just someone's cat who had kittens outside.

Well, I know that the two adult females have been outside (in the vacinity of my grandmother's back yard) since they were kittens last year (we didn't see them as small kittens, but first as subadults). The kittens belonged to one of the females for sure and were young, so must have been born outside (probably under my grandmother's house). She has been feeding the two females for about a year, which accounts for them being so accustomed to her.

We are looking into a local spay/neuter/return rescue in our area and will be seeing if our local shelter offers a low-cost spay/neuter program for seniors (as neither my grandmother or our family can afford to have two feral cats spayed at full cost). If we can get the spay/return organization to work with us, they may be able to trap, spay, and then foster the cats until they are tame enough to place. Unfortunately, we don't have room for them at our house...I'm pushing it with 2 kittens right now (one of which I may not be able to keep).

Thanks for your response.
Art

Well, I thought that I'd post and vent...
Both of the boys are now showing their third eyelid in one of their eyes. This, after treating them with antibiotics (for general runny eyes about 1.5weeks ago), antibiotic eye ointment (same time period as the oral meds), and having their first vaccination and being wormed.

I know that I should probably take them into the vet for this, but, as I have been seeing entirely too much of our vet lately (and can't afford to keep taking them every week or so), I think that I'll wait this out a couple of days and use some of the antibiotic eye ointment that we have left from the previous treatment.

I've read that this can be a sign of tapeworms, and as Niles and Frasier were both just given a dose of wormer (for that) and are due for their second dose on the 29th, maybe tapeworms are the culprit, or maybe it's just a continuation of the cold/eye infection they had previously.

I'm just hoping that it is not herpes or leukemia related, as the vet said they won't be old enough to test for that until they are about 12 weeks old.

Argh, If it's not one thing it's another.

Thanks for letting me vent,
Art

Art,

I am very sorry they are under the weather, post that same info Health & Nutrition where there are people who will probably be able to help you.

I decided that I'll be taking them to the vet tomorrow (hopefully in the morning)...frasier seems to be getting worse and I don't want to risk him going downhill fast... I'll post in the health/nutrition forum tomorrow depending on how things go at the vet's.

Thanks,
Art