when will he get more confident?

Hello

My feral kitten which is about 5 months acts very brave most of the time but he always retreats when hes faced with my other cats. When will he have enough confidence to not run away when another cat approaches? Other adult cats often bully him around most of these cats are just other ppples pets that are allowed to run free. But when i feed him i have to stand there and make sure another cat is not going to steal his food.


Anyone else have this problem with young cats being bullied?

That will give him confidence. He's five months old, and knows full well he's not up to facing off adults. Taking him off the street is the only remedy.

Yeah it is also likely that is not his territory and it is claimed by the other adult cats first. So he does not have "rights" there.

If he were to stand up to the adults outside they would beat the stuffing out of him. It is good you are there to supervise him.

If he is an indoor outdoor cat he probably won't ever "own" territory outside, so it is better if you don't feed him out there. Maybe feed him inside and let him out for a little bit, but not at night when he would have to invade other cats' turf for a sleeping spot.

Originally Posted by chausiefan

Hello

My feral kitten which is about 5 months acts very brave most of the time but he always retreats when hes faced with my other cats. When will he have enough confidence to not run away when another cat approaches? Other adult cats often bully him around most of these cats are just other ppples pets that are allowed to run free. But when i feed him i have to stand there and make sure another cat is not going to steal his food.


Anyone else have this problem with young cats being bullied?

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Your kitten is acting like any other young member of a cat colony. He is not a coward but a sensible kitty. The adult cats are also acting normal. They tend to put the young ones in their place. When your kitten gets to be 1 or 2 years old, he will be a teenager and will start wanting to have a more dominant rank in the group. If he succeeds he will own a turf and if not, he may end up being the alpha's next in command.