I have a feral kitten but know nothing about cats

lawguy

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A few days after Christmas, I was out on my balcony having a cigarette (I know they're horrible for me, no need to remind me) and I heard a kitten crying. She was meowing with an almost desperate tone constantly for about 20 minutes (probably longer but that was when I went back inside). At the time, I couldn't quite make out where it was coming from but it sounded close.

About an hour later, I went out again for another cigarette and was surprised to hear the kitten still crying. I went back inside and got a portable spotlight and returned to the balcony to see if I could figure out where she was. It sounded like my neighbor's yard, but after about 30 minutes of looking, I gave up and just figured that the mother would come back (we have lots of feral cats in the area).

The next morning I got up and went outside and she was STILL meowing!
I felt terrible because the meowing had such a tone of desperation and despair that it made me feel horrible. All in all, about 36-48 hours passed and the kitten was meowing for the entire time.

I work in criminal law right now as an intern as I await starting law school this fall, so I had been hesitant to jump my neighbor's fence as I know the trouble one can get in (and have seen it plenty of times). I couldn't ask my neighbor if I could go back there as they aren't living in the house right now and only come to check on things once a week or so. However, at this point I had to make an ethical decision. It was clear that this kitten's mother was not coming back.... so it was either A) Let the kitten die... or B) Break the law and save the kitten.

I decided that if I went with A, I wouldn't be able to live with myself, so I grabbed a family member and we hopped the fence. Almost immediately, we were able to locate where it was coming from, and after a while, we managed to get the kitten. She was teeny, and could easily fit in the palm of a hand. I took her in my house and quickly tried to figure out what to do. She looked almost dead. Malnourished, dehydrated, and one eye had a horrible infection and she couldn't even open it.

I knew nothing about cats, so I went with the stereotypes. I grabbed some milk and a small plate and tried that..... she started to drink it, but after a moment of thought, I decided that skim milk wasn't going to give her any nutrients. I wouldn't learn for another day that milk was HORRIBLE for her. So I grabbed a can of tuna. She quickly ate the WHOLE CAN (she was hungry!)

I quickly built a makeshift shelter for her to live in until I could read more on what to do.

My mother and I both got online and started reading everything we could. We have a 17 year old dog, so we know plenty about dogs, but neither of us have ever had a cat so we knew nothing.

After some reading, we made an emergency cat formula as per a recipe online and fed that to her via syringe.

The next day we took her to an emergency animal clinic since everything else was closed (it was new years day). The vet determined that she was about 4-5 weeks old. We got some meds for her eyes (the infection had now spread to the other eye) and some medicine for her stomach as the bacteria in her stool was off the chart. The vet wrote down the diet to feed her for the next few days until she was a little healthier.

We decided to take care of her until she was healthy and then get her adopted.

Well, it's been a week since we found her now. She is healthy, and seems very happy. She's also surprisingly affectionate and likes to be with me, which is contrary to what I've read about feral kittens. She purrs when I pet her or when she cuddles up with me and goes to sleep. I've set up the bar area in the living room to be her area and she has her own bed and blanket, food, water, toys, and a litter box.

After talking with some friends at work, I revised the litter box to have wheat based litter instead of clumping clat litter. I didn't know of the dangers of clay litter, and especially clumping clay litter. I also didn't know that tuna was bad for her too. She now eats Science Diet kitten food (canned, not dry) and while I tried KMR kitten formula, she didn't like it as much as the Science Diet kitten food.

She uses her litter box... she plays a lot.... and I think she's happy.

More importantly, I scratched the idea of getting her adopted. She's too sweet. She is now a member of the family. The dog doesn't mind her at all, in fact when he sees her he wags his tail and goes up to lick her (even though he's super old at 17). I think he's adopted her as his daughter.

I've decided that she's going to come with me to law school and live with me wherever that is.

Anyways, that's her story. My only questions now are:

1) How do I make sure that she is getting everything she needs to make her happy and to best socialize her?

2) Why doesn't she drink water? I haven't seen her drink water once and for the first few days I had to force feed her water from the syringe. I decided after that not to force feed her water as I read that cats can get all the moisture they need from wet food.

3) Why is my dog interested in her poop? A coworker told me that he is going to start eating it.... what do I do about that?[

4) Should she be sleeping with me in my bed, or downstairs in her little area? I'd be happy to have her sleep with me, but I worry that it's too cold for her in my bedroom at 67 degrees.

5) When should I introduce dry food? 8 weeks? Later?

and lastly

6) I've read just about everything I could find on the 'net about cats, but wouldn't mind getting a book. Are there any good books on raising a feral cat out there?
 
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lawguy

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Oh yeah. I forgot to mention.

It turns out that my neighbor across the street found her littermates the day before I found my kitty. They had grouped up and ventured out while my kitten was too scared to do so. She stayed in the bushes. My neighbor took care of the 4 littermates for a few days and then took them to the humane society to get adopted.
 

01boxer

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law guy,

sounds like you are off to a good start. I understand about not wanting to let the kitten go. You get attached so quickly. You def did the right thing jumping over the fence. I am also new to this, like your neighbor I found 4 kittens and decided to keep them all!

I just got the Cat Book For Dummies, if you go to Amazon.com you can get a used one for a whole penny, plus shipping and handling of course. It has almost everything you need to know about kittens and cats......at least in my opinion, like I said I am new to this.....also this website has a lot of good information. I wish you luck and thank you for being such a caring person.

P.S. I like the part about this cat following you to Law School.
 

aswient

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This is terrific that you are adopting her.

Question 1. It sounds like you have already given her everything to make her happy.

Question 2. I hardly ever see mine at the water bowl, thats why I feed mine the wet food, just make sure she always has fresh water whenever she does want it. I also gave my kittens KMR kitty milk that you can get from petsmart, petco, some supermarkets also carry it, it has a lot of vitamins that they need.

Question 3. Dogs due tend to be interested in cat poop. It is true that they do tend to eat it. When my brothers dog comes over I have to put a little gate up or partition so the dog can not get to the box but the cat can get to it.

Question 4. Since she's a baby you could keep her in her own little spot, or you could make a little blanket for her in your room. Where ever she seems the happiest.

Question 5. I always had dry food out for my other cats when the kittens were small. They didn't seem to bother with it until they were about 3 months old.

Question 6. I also have the cat book for Dummies as well as every book thats about cats that I found in Barnes and Nobles

Good luck with your little one. Keep us updated.
 

GoldyCat

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Welcome to TCS.
And congratulations on your new kitty. Do you have pictures?


I can't answer all your questions, but I'll give it a try.

1) How do I make sure that she is getting everything she needs to make her happy and to best socialize her? Sounds like you're doing a good job with that already.

2) Why doesn't she drink water? I haven't seen her drink water once and for the first few days I had to force feed her water from the syringe. I decided after that not to force feed her water as I read that cats can get all the moisture they need from wet food. How much of the canned food are you giving her? She should be fine without extra water as long as you have her on wet food only. Keep fresh water available for her anyway. She may be drinking some when you aren't looking.

3) Why is my dog interested in her poop? A coworker told me that he is going to start eating it.... what do I do about that? No idea. Maybe somebody else knows more about this.

4) Should she be sleeping with me in my bed, or downstairs in her little area? I'd be happy to have her sleep with me, but I worry that it's too cold for her in my bedroom at 67 degrees. I'd say go for it. My kitties all sleep with me and my bedroom is the coldest place in the house. She'll be staying warm from your body heat if she's cuddled up with you.

5) When should I introduce dry food? 8 weeks? Later? If you can afford to continue with wet food only, there's no reason to add dry food to her diet. My kittens actually started eating dry food at about 5 weeks, two or three weeks before they would go near the wet food. Of course, they were still nursing at the time, so the dry was not their main source of nutrition.

and lastly

6) I've read just about everything I could find on the 'net about cats, but wouldn't mind getting a book. Are there any good books on raising a feral cat out there? At this point it doesn't sound like she's really feral, especially since you caught her so young. Just treat her like any other pet kitten. Do a search on amazon and you'll come up with a huge list of books and no way to tell which ones have the information you need. Here is the book I bought before I got my first kitten, and I found it very helpful. This is actually the book that led me to TCS.
 

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Originally Posted by LawGuy


Well, it's been a week since we found her now. She is healthy, and seems very happy. She's also surprisingly affectionate and likes to be with me, which is contrary to what I've read about feral kittens.
Oh my! What a wonderful story!


One can in fact use it as a schoolbook text of exemplary helping homeless sick kittens. Bravo!



The others gave you already good advice. I fill up some.

My only questions now are:

1) How do I make sure that she is getting everything she needs to make her happy and to best socialize her?

Ah, kittens age 2-7 weeks are much easier to foster. And sick cats are also easier to get friends with their rescuer - even grown ups - it can go astonishing quick.
So. In every practical aspect see her as a perfectly normal homecat. From now on look into the usual kitten- and cat books. (Although you ARE welcome to keep us updated!
)

2) Why doesn't she drink water? I haven't seen her drink water once and for the first few days I had to force feed her water from the syringe. I decided after that not to force feed her water as I read that cats can get all the moisture they need from wet food.

Good you forcefeed some as she was dehydrated. etc...

3) Why is my dog interested in her poop? A coworker told me that he is going to start eating it.... what do I do about that?[

If you dont bother, you dont need to do anything. Dogs are such, they dont get sick of it. they probably have some use of poop. Although it isnt pleasant if they directly afterwards come and want to slick you in the face!


4) Should she be sleeping with me in my bed, or downstairs in her little area? I'd be happy to have her sleep with me, but I worry that it's too cold for her in my bedroom at 67 degrees.

You can let her sleep with you.

5) When should I introduce dry food? 8 weeks? Later?

It is actually better for her to live on wet food as main food. Btw. Swedish Bozita is rather cheap and good. And having dry food only as fill in.
KMR milk is very good. But also Royal Canins cat milk is nowadays good and is cheaper.
You can if you want give her in the beginning some minced meat. (do you have salomonella in eggs in your country?? if not, raw egg yolk with the minced meat is good.)
Or kitten dry food. Age 5 weeks is common to begin with more solid foods. If she is interested she will ate.


6) I've read just about everything I could find on the 'net about cats, but wouldn't mind getting a book. Are there any good books on raising a feral cat out there?

As I said, she isnt no feral any longer.
But you perhaps want to foster some other homeless / feral with time?

You have apparently a natural gift for it.
And good fosterers are not growing on threes.
 

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You have gotten such great advice, I don't have any other advice to offer but to say reading your story has made me smile!! I hope you have a wonderful life with her-it sounds like you are off to a great start! And I am so happy her littermates were rescued also. Good luck in law school!!
 

laureen227

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most dogs will eat cat poop, given the opportunity. a closed litterbox can help keep this to a minimum. it's because the cat poop has a fairly high protein content, due to cats being obligate carnivores.

 

ldg

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Welcome to TCS and THANK YOU for breaking the law to rescue this kitten!


Of course.... being who we are here, we would have recommended it without a second thought.


You've already gotten great advice. I was going to post what Laureen did - dogs WILL eat cat poop because it's mostly protein and that's what they smell. Like Stefan pointed out, it's not bad for the dog, it's just something we find really gross. Go for a covered litter box.


She WILL be fine sleeping with you if she wants to! She is very small right now and can get into a LOT of spaces and a lot of trouble - so make sure you get down on the ground and look around any rooms she'll have access to - both so you know where she can get to and so you can take care of anything dangerous. We spent a day trying to find a cat that had gotten up under one of the lounge chairs and we were so worried she'd gone out a door and we didn't notice.


You might want to consider a litter box upstairs and down - that way little kitty won't have any accidents by accidentally waiting too long and finding she can't make it to the box in time.


One last thought.... while it is fine and can be healthy to feed cats a wet-food only diet, Gary and I used to keep a really crazy schedule, so we loved free-feeding the dry food and giving them one wet meal of food a day (served as "dinner" between anywhere from 6:00pm to midnight so they didn't get set to a schedule if we were going to be home late). The dry food is good for their teeth, and cats can have plaque problems (they are designed to chew small bones!). So if you decide not to feed her dry food, then do make sure to get her "Feline Greenies" - treats you can give her that are really good for her teeth. http://www.greenies.com/en_US/Produc...eGreenies.aspx (We have a cat that has a plaque problem - and these really are great treats. She also loves having her teeth brushed!)

We didn't know anything about cats either when our first adopted us.
Just remember.... cats are kinda like potato chips that way.... Six years into it, and our 7th rescue just adopted us.

Laurie
 
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lawguy

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Her bad eye is healing fast I'm glad to say (which is good because I personally felt partially responsible for the injury in that I wondered if had I acted sooner in rescuing her would I have helped her avoid damage to her eye). It looks like in another week or 2 it will be healed 100% and she'll have full use of both eyes.

She's been playing a game of hide and seek all day. Is that normal? I know she's not scared of me as she'll happily come up to me otherwise and cuddle, but today she's been finding odd hidey holes and hiding there until I find her. Then when I do and I put her back down, she'll wander off to another hidey hole and wait there for me to find her. I assume this is a game for her? Also, she has been hiding under the bed, and when I go under to look she'll run over to me, touch my hand with her paw, and then run back... almost like "TAG! You're it!"

Lastly, she seems to be trying to communicate with me. She'll sleep for an hour or two, then get up, look at me, and make this little teeny "meow" sound a few times, which I figured out seems to mean "I'm hungry."

In all, everything seems like it's moving in a positive direction with her.

I've also gotten some attorneys at work interested in adopting her littermates which is good. I'd personally like to adopt one so she'll have a friend from her own litter, but I'm living with my family for a few more months and I highly doubt they'll be ok with another one living with them, even if only until I move to wherever law school is. Asking to keep this one was pushing my luck as they feel a dog is enough animal for the house.
 

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Originally Posted by LawGuy

Her bad eye is healing fast I'm glad to say (which is good because I personally felt partially responsible for the injury in that I wondered if had I acted sooner in rescuing her would I have helped her avoid damage to her eye). It looks like in another week or 2 it will be healed 100% and she'll have full use of both eyes.

She's been playing a game of hide and seek all day. Is that normal? I know she's not scared of me as she'll happily come up to me otherwise and cuddle, but today she's been finding odd hidey holes and hiding there until I find her. Then when I do and I put her back down, she'll wander off to another hidey hole and wait there for me to find her. I assume this is a game for her? Also, she has been hiding under the bed, and when I go under to look she'll run over to me, touch my hand with her paw, and then run back... almost like "TAG! You're it!"

Lastly, she seems to be trying to communicate with me. She'll sleep for an hour or two, then get up, look at me, and make this little teeny "meow" sound a few times, which I figured out seems to mean "I'm hungry."

In all, everything seems like it's moving in a positive direction with her.

I've also gotten some attorneys at work interested in adopting her littermates which is good. I'd personally like to adopt one so she'll have a friend from her own litter, but I'm living with my family for a few more months and I highly doubt they'll be ok with another one living with them, even if only until I move to wherever law school is. Asking to keep this one was pushing my luck as they feel a dog is enough animal for the house.
Yeah I understand about parents not wanting animals. I look after my elderly mom and she refuses to have ANY animals in the house. Tell them that two is hardly more trouble than one and it will help keep the single kitty out of trouble AND provide her with a sociable playmate. She needs to learn how to be a cat.

ETA: yes she is playing games with you. Hide and seek, tag, chase - those are all kitten games.
 
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lawguy

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Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about getting one of her littermates. I know my folks and respect their limits. They won't budge, I don't even have to ask to know that.

What I may do however, is when I take her with me to law school and once again have my own place, I may adopt another cat at that point in time.
 

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Hi Law Guy it sounds like you are doing a great job with the kitten. I'm a 2L student. I hope to work in business law someday. I have two cats and it is also good for a cat to have a friend. Adopting another cat in future could work well for you and her.
 
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lawguy

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As per request, here is a photo I took.

This is my dog hanging out with the cat (or visa versa, whichever you want to call it).

My dog has no problems with her. He won't be going with me to law school because he's so old that I fear displacing him would be the end of him, and he loves living with my parents (he's particularly attached to my mother and this photo was taken of the two of them in her lap).
 

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She's a darling little brown tabby! Again, bless you for saving her. The dog is cute, too!
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by LawGuy

I've also gotten some attorneys at work interested in adopting her littermates which is good.
Splendid! If these attorneys pet is a ex-homeless, they will hopefully in future be open minded for the good and beneficial work TNR- and rescue groups are doing. And problems hereabout.

Chase mercilessly after the dumpers and animal-cruelty villains. And rescue & adopt these dumped and homeless who did survived and can be rescued, make TNR-on rest. Together with spaying of homecats who are not determined for breeding.
This is a working program of ethics and decency useful for most, including City Councils. Christian values if you want to put it this way (in fact also Jewish and Moslem values too!
).
It is NOT necessary to kill off the homeless, and especially not the survivors, these who actually do manage to live homeless - in contrary to what is sorrowfully done all too often.
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by LawGuy

What I may do however, is when I take her with me to law school and once again have my own place, I may adopt another cat at that point in time.
Yes, sounds good. You do it.
Next time you perhaps want to try with a older, shy semiferal. It IS more difficult then a little kitten, but you have apparently "the knack" for it.


Besides, you will have your homecat to help: it makes it a lot easier to foster a shy semiferal - or even a feral.


Congrats and thanks once again!


Ps. Please scratch the dog behind the ears from me. He is doing a wonderful job, helping you help that little one.
 

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That little kitten really is cute. Good job with everything! The hide and seek game appears to be normal behavior and cats seek out little spaces in the home where they can hide and also play. When she comes out to find you or tag your paw she is just making sure you are still around to protect her! congrats again!
 

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It sounds like you're trying to do the best you can (and that's all any of us can do) for a little life that was literally dumped into your life. It sounds to me like you may be in a poem I wrote:

-----------------------------------------

LOST...AND FOUND

Dear God...
Or Allah...
Or Bast...

Or Whoever answers
The prayers of kittens.

Please help me.
It's a big, cold world,
And I'm a tiny, cold kitten,
Hiding here, under the bush.

<I hear you, little one.>

What did we do wrong?
Why did they throw us out
Of the warm house
Where Mama is?

They put all six of us
Out here, alone.
We huddled together
All night, in the cold.
But my brothers and sisters
Have all stopped moving.
It's getting very cold,
And the rain is soaking me.
I don't know how to find food,
And I'm so tired.

<Your brothers and sisters
Have gone to a good place.>


Please help me!
Will I go there, too?

<Not now, not yet.
Cry out, little one.>


Help me! Help me!
Here! Under this bush!
I'm hungry! I'm cold!

<Louder, child.>

HELP ME! SOMEONE!
ANYONE! I'M LOST!
DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!
I WANT TO LIVE!

<Look in front of you.>

I see big shoes!

<I put them on the path to you.>

I see a face!

<I turned it toward you.>

Ah, warm hands have picked me up!

<They know kittens well.
They needed a new little one,
Like you,
To fill a hole in their heart,
And an empty place in their home.>


They have put me in their coat.
I will love them.
My purr will warm us both!

<Farewell, child.
Your prayer,
And theirs,
Were heard.>



--Mike Blanche

-------------------------------------

Now, cats are very different from dogs. They're not herd or pack animals, so they don't have a lot of the social habits you know from your experience with dogs. Some experts theorize that our cats bond with us as their "mother," which is the only caring relationship they normally have through their lives, and even that is usually pretty short.

You should definitely be feeding the little one a good kitten food. She could eat dry food already, but if you do research (and, as a law student, I'll bet you're good at that!) you'll find that wet food is probably better for the cat in the long run, although much less convenient for you. One thing cats MUST have is taurine, which is a nutrient that is destroyed in cooking, so it has to be added back to any cat food. Dog foods don't have it, usually, so an actual cat food is necessary.

Also, I recommend (as do many others) that you not let the cat go outside. It's a big, cruel world out there (just read through our "Crossing the Bridge" section of the forum), and the modern domestic cat is not equipped for it and actually harms the environment, mainly by killing birds. The cat that goes outside has an average life span of about 6 months, while the indoor cat has an average life span of over 14 years. If you want that furry little bundle to keep your bed warm for a lot of years, indoors is definitely the way to go.

Oh, and as I've recommended to a couple of the other guys here, have your initial post printed up on a T shirt and wear it wherever you want to meet the women!
 
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lawguy

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

She's a darling little brown tabby! Again, bless you for saving her. The dog is cute, too!
Is she a tabby? I don't know how to tell. She's not really brown though. She's more grey with a very light underbelly and dark grey/black lines and spots. Here's a better photo of her. Maybe this will help identify what kind of cat she is (and while we're on the subject, any good sites I can read to learn more about the different types of cats so I'll know in the future?):




Originally Posted by mrblanche

It sounds like you're trying to do the best you can (and that's all any of us can do) for a little life that was literally dumped into your life.

Also, I recommend (as do many others) that you not let the cat go outside. It's a big, cruel world out there (just read through our "Crossing the Bridge" section of the forum), and the modern domestic cat is not equipped for it and actually harms the environment, mainly by killing birds. The cat that goes outside has an average life span of about 6 months, while the indoor cat has an average life span of over 14 years. If you want that furry little bundle to keep your bed warm for a lot of years, indoors is definitely the way to go.

Oh, and as I've recommended to a couple of the other guys here, have your initial post printed up on a T shirt and wear it wherever you want to meet the women!
It's true that she was literally dumped into my life. However, she's much more of a gift than a burden.

As for not letting her outside, does that mean not taking her outside supervised for a little while so she can play in the grass? I assume you meant not having her live outside as opposed to ever going outside? She's definitely going to live indoors, but I would like to let her outside to play as she stands up at the glass doors looking outside like she wants to go explore. I haven't let her do that yet though as the vet said she needs to get a little stronger before she can be outside at all.

As for the t-shirt.... I'm not sure that's going to get me women.
 
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