Mamma Hiding

We just rescued a 6 month old mamma and her 2 5 week old kittens from a place that had 9 littlers of kittens. The problem we are having is that the mamma will hide in a corner. She will let you pet her for a little bit but thats about it. I know she is not used to having people around. She is eating and nursing the kittens and using the litter box. But Ive been trying to figure out a way to coax her out to warm up to us. Ive tried the cat toys and string but she ignores it. Any ideas on how to get her to warmup to us? The kittnes are fine they aare playful and love to be held. TY

Mom cat needs to warm up on her own time-table. Don't try to force the issue, as much as you would love to pet her, cuddle her, etc.

If they are isolated in a room, sit on the floor, play with her babies, talk to her, take a book or a magazine and read out loud, take a laptop in there and work but don't make eye contact, give/offer her treats.... She is young and scared - she has to come to understand that you're not going to hurt her and that you are her friend.

I"m sure others with much more experience than me will be along shortly to help.

I agree with AddieBee.

The most important for momma is to take care of her kittens. NOT to play with you. Even if she is a kitten herself.

So let her be, let her hide some. Make her nest so it is somewhat sheltered. Preferably a cat igloo in it. Or something like that.

If she is unstressed and recognizes you arent threating, she will let you handle her kittens. And even pet her some.


More advices later, but this is the key.


Tx for helping them!

I agree with everyone's advice. I'm fostering my first group of feral kittens right now, and I have to wait for them to come to me.

I have to ask, what happened to the other mothers and kittens?

Definitely make sure she is in a room. I gave my future MIL one of the feral borns from around my place. She was tame, but born feral so not used to many people. The cat is named Maggie, my future MIL is Nancy. I had Nancy put everything Maggie would need in her bedroom. Nancy basically just moved right into her bedroom too, she ate in there, watched tv and brought her computer in there so she could talk to Maggie constantly. A feliway diffuser helped too. We let Maggie do everything at her own pace.

The poor mom cat must be scared out of her wits right now! You don't know what kind of human contact she's had before, and if it was negative, you can bet she'll be afraid of "big scary humans" for a while.

Always work on their schedule, not your own. She will come around when she has trust in you, and she won't build that trust if you try to force yourself on her. As AddieBee put it, sit on the floor with her (cats are intimated by things higher than they are), don't make eye contact with her (it is deemed a threat by cats), and if you by chance catch her eye, slowly blink your own eyes (that is a cat greeting). Read aloud to have her used to your voice. Don't make any fast motions, and just let her come to you.

And as Stefanz suggested, a cat igloo can be a great spot for her to hide, but if you don't want to invest in that, a big box, placed with the opening on its side will also work. She needs a spot to get away from you for a while. Don't take it as an insult, she's just scared.

Wet food can be a great bribe also. Feed her at the same times every day and try to get into a regular routine with her when you feed her and visit her. Cats love routine - it calms them down and helps them build up their trust in you.

I have been working with Sadie the mamma. She is really coming around. She has came out of hiding and will let us pet her. She'll walk around lay on the couch and sit in the window but the furthest she will go is the dining room but thats better than her hiding behind the love seat. We did get a cat playhouse but shes not interested in it, but her babies Gigi and Calleigh love it. She still likes to hiss and act like shes vicious. She craves attention when the little ones are around. We havent tried to pick her up yet, hopefully next week. But thinkgs are looking better us all.