Caring for 16/18 week old feral kittens

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carea

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I was so happy when I found this site and I am hoping that someone will be able to offer me some words of wisdom....
Up until recently I have never been around cats (sans pet sitting for a friend). Approximately 3 weeks ago I captured 5 feral kittens (They were in my neighbor's backyard and the conditions were horrible.) They are all from the same litter, but each one's temperment is distinct. Currently, they are all in 2 cages in my kitchen. I have been able to hold and pet four of them. (One within the past 2 days - this one is terrified though and not progressing very well/speedily.) Kismet is the most advanced and she now allows me to pick her up, hold her, and she purrs contentedly when I pet her. (She is a very loving kitten and I feel blessed that she is here.
) The others are much more resistant and scared. The process now includes feeding them via a spoon 1x/day (They get normal wet/dy mixture, but I use a gourmet catfood on the spoon to enhance the bonding process.) I hold 3 of them 10 minutes each on a daily basis and we play 1-2 times a day for 15-20 minutes. The runt is very skittish and hisses and cries when I try to pick her up, so I have been reluctant to scare her that much. I am getting concerned because those that I have been holding have not reached a point where they like being pet (only Kismet does). In fact they generally seem to despise it. In order to get them out of the cage, I have to scruff them and then hold them via the scruff when I pet them. They are too scared to eat when out of the cage - I am trying whatever tricks possible to make the experience pleasant. They will play within the cage and love it. Is there anything more I should be doing/can do? I don't have a lot of time left and hate seeing them in a cage for this long. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated - I don't want to give up on these guys.
 
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Originally Posted by CareA

I was so happy when I found this site and I am hoping that someone will be able to offer me some words of wisdom....
Up until recently I have never been around cats (sans pet sitting for a friend). Approximately 3 weeks ago I captured 5 feral kittens (They were in my neighbor's backyard and the conditions were horrible.) They are all from the same litter, but each one's temperment is distinct. Currently, they are all in 2 cages in my kitchen. I have been able to hold and pet four of them. (One within the past 2 days - this one is terrified though and not progressing very well/speedily.) Kismet is the most advanced and she now allows me to pick her up, hold her, and she purrs contentedly when I pet her. (She is a very loving kitten and I feel blessed that she is here.
) The others are much more resistant and scared. The process now includes feeding them via a spoon 1x/day (They get normal wet/dy mixture, but I use a gourmet catfood on the spoon to enhance the bonding process.) I hold 3 of them 10 minutes each on a daily basis and we play 1-2 times a day for 15-20 minutes. The runt is very skittish and hisses and cries when I try to pick her up, so I have been reluctant to scare her that much. I am getting concerned because those that I have been holding have not reached a point where they like being pet (only Kismet does). In fact they generally seem to despise it. In order to get them out of the cage, I have to scruff them and then hold them via the scruff when I pet them. They are too scared to eat when out of the cage - I am trying whatever tricks possible to make the experience pleasant. They will play within the cage and love it. Is there anything more I should be doing/can do? I don't have a lot of time left and hate seeing them in a cage for this long. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated - I don't want to give up on these guys.
Click to expand...
Here is a link to a really really good article on socializing kittens:

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

Also...don't forget to try to trap mom so that she can be spayed.

Katie
 
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carea

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Hi Katie -
Thanks for the article -definitely some helpful information.... We will be catching the mom soon, the goal is T-N-R for her (she may be too feral). Any tricks of the trade that I should try - do I really wait for them to come to me and just continue to pet them where they feel safe versus, pulling them out of the cage to pet them? Also, there's no way I can keep all of them and need to find them good homes - the concern is that they are getting too old to be adoptable.
Hopefully that is not the case.

Carrie
 
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http://www.alleycat.org/pdf/socializingferal.pdf

This link that Katie recommended is right on when it says that kittens over 10-12 weeks can take much longer. It also says to separate them from each other and spend time alone with each one.

I was going to say the same thing based on my own experience. I have had an adult feral cat in my back yard almost 2 years. He trusted me but never let me touch him. Then after he had a tail injury and I had to trap him again and then nurse him in my home after his surgery, he bonded to me and now he is very socialized and loving.

If this hadn't happened - being dependent on me and isolated from the other outdoor cat- I don't know how we would have reached this bonding point.

Also, our 4th indoor cat is IMO feral. We adopted her because she was returned by her original adopter and we realized she needed special attention.

We were working with her in a room by herself and she was coming around, and at a certain point we decided to let our cats and her mingle to make her more comfortable (because feral cats normally prefer other cats to people!). Finally we just let her join our kitty pack. While she does love us, I strongly believe if we had kept working with her alone, she would have bonded with us much more and faster.

There is an advantage to having one socialized kitten in your group, in that the other kittens can see you interacting and so they know you are trustworthy, but it is not enough for them to come forward for petting. I do firmly believe you need to separate them per the article, if possible. That is my tip
.

By the way, I have also had feral kittens, one socialized and the other two feral, and they were younger than yours I think. I know how very hard it is with them hissing and growling- and so tiny to be doing that! You deserve a medal for your good work!
 
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Thanks for your insight, Barb. A medal, no, - sometimes/often I feel like I'm floundering and have no idea whether they will eventually be able to go to homes. I'd be happy if they just didn't look so terrified when I take them out of the cage. One of the kittens that is more fearful makes me laugh -not because he is scared but because he has such spunk - when I take him out of the cage, he sits in fear the entire time I am petting him and doesn't move at all.
Then as soon as I put him back into the cage, he turns around and hisses at me.
But while he is hissing, I try to talk nicely to him and he stops mid-hiss and just looks at me. He really seems like a sweet cat, but truly doesn't like touch - yet....

It's wonderful that the older cat from your backyard came around after being injured - it gives me hope for the mom. It was very nice of you to take him in and nurse him back to health. (I'm sure in some way, he feels indebted to you.)

Thanks again,
Carrie
 
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