Fostering ferals

poohnpglet

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Hi there! I am a fairly new foster mom working with a local rescue group. This is my 3rd batch of kittens, but my first ferals. I got them at about 12 weeks old and they are about 14 weeks old now, 2 girls and a boy. I am keeping them in my master bathroom together because I really have no other way to house them separate from my cats.

I am looking for any advice you all can give me to help gain their trust and socialize them. If they cannot be adopted out, I do not know what will happen to them. They are adorable babies. 2 girls and 1 boy. The girls look Siamese and the boy is solid black. I have named them Lily, Jasmine and Leopold.

They are not mean or aggressive. They will hiss when I enter the room, but but stop pretty quickly after I begin talking to them, then they just cower underneath the back of the toilet and stare at me. They have let me pet them and pick them up, but only briefly and they are shaking and their hearts beat so fast, that I feel badly scaring them so much and I put them down. I have a radio in the room with them as well as a night light. I go in and read and sing to them, as well as just sit there silently. I have toys in there for them and I have heard them going to town with the toys when I am not in there. Always, the minute I enter the room, they scatter behind the toilet and stare. I give them treats, but they will not touch them until I leave the room.

I really want the best for them as I suspect that underneath all that fear and mistrust are some amazingly sweet kit-cats. So, any advice/tips/tricks of the trade you can offer would be wonderful.

Thank you!
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by Poohnpglet

Hi there! I am a fairly new foster mom working with a local rescue group. This is my 3rd batch of kittens, but my first ferals. I got them at about 12 weeks old and they are about 14 weeks old now, 2 girls and a boy. I am keeping them in my master bathroom together because I really have no other way to house them separate from my cats.

I am looking for any advice you all can give me to help gain their trust and socialize them. If they cannot be adopted out, I do not know what will happen to them. They are adorable babies. 2 girls and 1 boy. The girls look Siamese and the boy is solid black. I have named them Lily, Jasmine and Leopold.

They are not mean or aggressive. They will hiss when I enter the room, but but stop pretty quickly after I begin talking to them, then they just cower underneath the back of the toilet and stare at me. They have let me pet them and pick them up, but only briefly and they are shaking and their hearts beat so fast, that I feel badly scaring them so much and I put them down. I have a radio in the room with them as well as a night light. I go in and read and sing to them, as well as just sit there silently. I have toys in there for them and I have heard them going to town with the toys when I am not in there. Always, the minute I enter the room, they scatter behind the toilet and stare. I give them treats, but they will not touch them until I leave the room.

I really want the best for them as I suspect that underneath all that fear and mistrust are some amazingly sweet kit-cats. So, any advice/tips/tricks of the trade you can offer would be wonderful.

Thank you!
How great that you want to help these kittens. There is a really good PDF on socializing feral kittens that you can find here:

http://www.alleycat.org/resources_care.html#10

Good Luck,

Katie
 
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poohnpglet

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Thank you. I had read that and I am doing those things. I just feel as if we have reached a stalemate - they haven't really progressed any from last week. I will keep trying though!
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by Poohnpglet

Thank you. I had read that and I am doing those things. I just feel as if we have reached a stalemate - they haven't really progressed any from last week. I will keep trying though!
Most important thing is time....feral kittens can take more time than other kittens so don't be discouraged.

Katie
 

barbb

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Actually it is pretty good that they are not hissing and growling at you. I had a group of 3 feral kittens much younger than those, and one of the three was growling and hissing just like an adult. The second one was fearful but more so than what you describe. The third one was completely friendly and not at all feral-acting.

Katie is right on about the fear thing. It may take a while for them to come around.

The thing I found that was most helpful was playing with them using a string on a stick or a peacock feather. My feral kittens became so engrossed in playing, they forgot I was there. Also they began to associate me with all the good things. And the playing built up their confidence in the face of this big huge person on the other end of the toy. After a play session I would lie down and they would come closer and sniff me.

The other thing I did was to give them their wet food closer and closer to me, so that they got accustomed to being nearer to me.

On the picking up thing, I only did that with the one who was friendly. I don't know if it is good or bad for you to pick them up. The only thing I can suggest is that if you do pick them up, make sure you have a string or something in the other hand and move it around like a toy, so they will be inclined to forget you are holding them. Then they will associate being held with play sessions too, possibly, assuming this works for you.
 

momofmany

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When you pull feral kittens past the age of about 6 weeks old, it takes longer for them to adjust. As Barb mentioned, some feral kittens turn right around without any effort at all. Others take much longer. The hardest time I had with feral kittens was a pair that I pulled inside about 10 weeks old and they had already picked up a lot of feral habits from their mom. Most of the feral kittens I've pulled have been 6 weeks or less (the ones less than 6 weeks old were orphaned or abandoned).

To add to Barb's tip on food: I like to get them to the point that they are eating out of my hand. It starts with bringing their food closer and closer, then I switch to feeding them off a spoon held in my hand, then directly off my fingers. By licking your fingers they are getting a good taste of you (so to speak).
 
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poohnpglet

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Thank you all again.

I got one of those dangly-things on a stick and have been playing with them. They really seem to like it, but they never forget for a minute that I am on the other end of the stick.

I have given the treats and the food and have worked up to the point where each of them will lick wet food of my fingers (but will not take a solid treat). I have tried lying still on the ground to see if they will approach me, but no go so far. Also, even if I was just in the room feeding them or whatever, Lily and Leopold will hiss every time I re-enter the room. But, hope springs eternal and I will just stick with it.

I did manage to get some photos though.


This is Lily. She is the bravest and the most skittish all at the same time. She is always the one with her paw out under the door, but then the first one to run and hide!



This is Jasmine. She is very laid back and goes with the flow.She never hisses and will always come out for a treat.



Leopold has my heart. He is the tough guy of the group, so very scared and stand-offish. He is the last to play, the last to come out for food and rarely lets me get close. I work on him the most.
 
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