need help

I just got a new wild cat. My parents were feeding this wild cat around there house. The cat had kittens so I decided to take 1, my first cat.

The cat spent close to 18hrs in a box & didn't eat or drink
anything as far as I know. I put him in a seperate room
with food & water, plus a litter box, a post to scratch, and
some stuff he can hide under.

So far its been about 3hrs he hasn't eaten any food & he just sits in a corner looking scared. He doesn't run when I enter the room he just looks really nervous.

I'm guessing the cat is around 1month or maybe alittle
older. This is a wild cat, do I need to worry about flea's
at all. Should I get something for that?
Should I also worry if he doesn't eat soon?
I put some canned food for him, should I maybe give him
something else?

What about toys? I have no other pets in the house.

Thanks for any feedback. I've had dogs before, but I've
never had a cat, and a wild one to boot. So I just want
everything to go as smoothly as possible.

Hello,

This is what I did. I have had to bring in and find homes for 15 kittens.

At first I brought them into the upstairs bathroom with a board blocking the door so they could not get out. Until my wife complained about losing her bathroom. So then I made a small area in the basement for them. I did not give them boxes or anyplace to hide. I figured with them being feral kittens, they were kind of trained to hide in places. I wanted to break them of that, at least until they got use to people.

I would try to spend as much time with them that I could, just talking and doing things around them. Lay on the floor and read a magazine, and talk to the kitten about it. They get use to you and the sound of your voice.

If the kitten is 8 weeks old, they should have started to eat by themselves, they still could have been nursing from mommy. I would try leaving a bowl of dry kitten food, plus maybe put down a portion from a can of wet food. If you can get ahold of the kitten I usually would try to put the kittens nose in the food. That way the kitten will lick the stuff off of her nose and think ohh this tastes good. You can also try to pretend to eat some your self, this way the kitten might see you doing it and try it herself. If she still has not eaten you can go to the pet store and buy some kitten formula, take an eye dropper and feed her.

With the litter box, place her inside and scratch her feet in the sand. If you have not seen her go to the bathroom anywhere, you might have to make her go. Take a warm wet rag and gently rub her underside near her butt. This is what mom does when they are young to make them go to the bathroom. Do this in the litter box, so that way her scent will be in there.

I usually give the kittens some fluffy balls and some mice to play with. I try to stay away from the ones with cat nip or a hard center. One of the fluffy cow dolls that dogs play with are good too. We have two dogs as well and the toys that they did not play with i gave to the kittens. An old robe tie tied to a door handle makes a great toy also.

Also I have gone to the pet stores and bought the cheap carpet scrathing post, usually around $7-12. I take it home and take the carpet base and move it to the top, and then get a board and attach it to the bottom. This way they have a scratching post with a nice pertch for them to climb to and sit on. And i didn't have to spend $40

They more time you spend with the kitten the more they will get use to you. And a little pet here and there doesn't hurt. Since they are small you can pick them up and hold them and pet them, for a few seconds and they let them walk off on their own. Basicly they have not seen humans and have been taught by mom to hid from everything.

Hope this helps.

What you describe sounds quite usual with shy homeless / ferales. Even some shy upbringed home cats can act almost like that!

You are doing everything right!



Ps: dont look directly at him, look a little besides him. You can however blink slowly, and also yawn some. No raised arms in the beginning...


Good luck!

I should add that the way he got in my house went
all wrong. He was in a box in the trunk & got loose,
so I noticed him loose in the trunk & had to grab him.
He put a few nice holes in my finger before my dad grabbed him behind the neck & put him in his room.

My parents had noticed before they took him that he was
the most outgoing cat of the 3 kittens. But today he still
hasn't eaten and he just sits in one spot when I entered the room. The whole experience has really freaked him out I think.

But thanks for the replies. I will try some of the suggestions.

Keep spending time in the room ignoring her and as mentioned do not look at him. Feral cats take this as threatening.

You mentioned that it was 4 weeks old (about 1 month old) ?

Are you certain the mom cat already weaned her kittens? That may be a
reason he is not eating. Can you put some 'kitten replacement milk' out for him and see if he will drink that.

A kitten that young will get dehydrated and have health problems if it goes too long without food or water.

This site may help. http://www.kitten-rescue.com/

Hang in there and keep asking questions. You did a great thing taking this baby in and giving him a safe life with love.

Well the kitten starting eating last night. I also
put the water dish right up to his face & he drank alittle.
He also drank alittle on his own later. My only problem
now is he keeps crying. I'm sure he just misses his
mother, so hopefully it won't last.

He didn't eat the food right away either. I'm alittle worried
that its not good to leave the canned food out for a long
time. There's no food in his room now, I'm thinking I
shouldn't feed him for awhile so he's hungry when I do &
the canned food doesn't just sit there for hr's & hrs.

Has kitten been vetted yet? He/she may have URI (upper respiratory infection from virus) that is giving him / her poor sense of smell. Cats will not eat, if they don't SMELL food.

Try the following: get some KMR or kitten replacement milk (Petsmart/Petco and other pet stores carry it), mix some stinky tuna juice in with the cat food and top with a bit of WARM (to touch it shoud be warm) KMR.

Sometimes warming the food makes it more stinky and therefore edible.

Also remember your kitten was used to momma hunting and feeding raw food(s). I found Baby food to be a HUGE hit with my kittens, I used Gerber no. 2 meats with NO ONION or GARLIC powder in it. (That's very important).

I also tried one on raw ground beef, and She ADORED it, it became her
special treat food...

Anyway, try these tips and tricks....

Originally Posted by newcat19

I'm alittle worried
that its not good to leave the canned food out for a long
time. There's no food in his room now, I'm thinking I
shouldn't feed him for awhile so he's hungry when I do &
the canned food doesn't just sit there for hr's & hrs.

Click to expand...

Right, I think I agree with you.

Besides, bringing the canned food with you will connect you with the food - a very powerful help in socializing even the most ferale cat!