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My three little ferals

post #1 of 16
10/9/09 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
Just back from the vet, I took a few pictures while I had the chance.

Thumbnails used because the pics are fairly large.






They were fairly good at the vet. Minimal hissing, no bitting or scratching.

The largest one, that you see me holding it's face towards the camera, is the only boy. The other two smaller ones are both girls. The lightest girl doesn't hiss or fuss at all - and seems to be the gentlest of the bunch.

No earmites, no signs of roundworms - but treated for both just in case, and no coccidia! Aside from fleas they're healthy.

None of them have names yet...
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post #2 of 16
10/9/09 at 11:25am
They are adorable!!!

Where did you find these cuties? How old does the vet think they are?
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post #3 of 16
10/9/09 at 11:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KTLynn View Post
Where did you find these cuties? How old does the vet think they are?
DH works for Mars - because the place smells like petfood, and there's always some spilled in the warehouse, it attracts animals. Usually skunks and cats, occasionally dogs find their way over but people tend to take them home pretty quickly.

The kittens were trapped in the warehouse Wednesday, after work DH came home telling me about them saying that they were very young and that animal control was going to be called to take them in the morning (sure death). He didn't tell me that they were OUTSIDE in a trap. It was at least 50F around that time and it later rained that night. Due to the temp and bad weather I didn't even hesitate, they came home with us.

The vet didn't make an estimate, actually. I did - around 7 weeks, which he did agree with.
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post #4 of 16
10/9/09 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
DH works for Mars - because the place smells like petfood, and there's always some spilled in the warehouse, it attracts animals. Usually skunks and cats, occasionally dogs find their way over but people tend to take them home pretty quickly.

The kittens were trapped in the warehouse Wednesday, after work DH came home telling me about them saying that they were very young and that animal control was going to be called to take them in the morning (sure death). He didn't tell me that they were OUTSIDE in a trap. It was at least 50F around that time and it later rained that night. Due to the temp and bad weather I didn't even hesitate, they came home with us.

The vet didn't make an estimate, actually. I did - around 7 weeks, which he did agree with.
I don't want to imagine what it would be like for those poor babies stuck in a trap on a rainy night with no protection from the weather... thank goodness you took them in.

Did animal control place the trap, or the employees? It would be great if mom cat could be trapped and spayed - any chance of that?

At only 7 weeks I don't think these babies are truly feral - you got them in plenty of time for socializing. They may not need much of that anyway, since from the pictures it appears that they don't seem to mind being handled.

So the big question - can you keep the babies or do you need to find homes for them?

I'm so glad these little ones are safe now and getting lots of TLC, thanks to you and hubby!
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post #5 of 16
10/9/09 at 6:35pm
What adorable little babies! And 2 females that won't be out making more babies! Even better - they're healthy!

You and DH make a great team.
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post #6 of 16
10/9/09 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KTLynn View Post
At only 7 weeks I don't think these babies are truly feral - you got them in plenty of time for socializing. They may not need much of that anyway, since from the pictures it appears that they don't seem to mind being handled.

So the big question - can you keep the babies or do you need to find homes for them?
They're feral enough. Very frightened, they'll shiver if held, and still find absolutely nothing pleasurable about being touched. There's no curiosity for me - they prefer to run away. Only today, when very scared, did they mew at all. It really looks like they're too scared to even hiss.

I'll hunt for good homes. Adding three to my number, permanently, in one go is hard and would make it difficult if we wanted to help any other cats. But if I truly can't find homes for any of them, they won't be cast aside. Or they can stay longer till the right home is found.

At the moment, though, we have 4 adult indoor cats, 2 outdoor (one is a female that fights with other cats and the other is sort of a semi feral that I eventually want to at least have indoor/outdoor). Add 3 kittens onto that.

The higher ups have the traps put out. It sounds like mother is more wary and, maybe they don't even know who the mother is. DH said he thinks it might be a bi-color he's seen around but I'm not so sure with their colors.

BTW: if anyone has any uncommon type name suggestions for a boy and two girls, I'd welcome them. I have enough trouble coming up for one cat name at a time. They'll need names for their next vet visit. The boy, with his facial markings, sort of reminds me of one member's RB kitty... but I can't remember what member it was. I want to say the cat's name was Kitty actually...
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post #7 of 16
10/9/09 at 7:09pm
I'm pretty sure you'll find names you like browsing through here.

This is the link to names that mean Fire (because they're red/orange babies): http://hasani.net.phtemp.com/fire.html

But here's the main page: http://hasani.net.phtemp.com/names.html
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post #8 of 16
10/9/09 at 7:29pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you. I'll have to keep some of those in mind and run them by DH to see if he likes any of them, too. None of the kittens are showing fiery personalities, yet. The one female is a buff-diluted orange, she's more creamy colored.
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post #9 of 16
10/9/09 at 7:41pm
Go to the main page! They have "earth" and celestial names, flower names, names that mean jewel...
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post #10 of 16
10/10/09 at 6:26am
They are adorable. I'm glad you were able to rescue them and hope you are able to find loving homes for them
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post #11 of 16
10/10/09 at 8:48am
Sniff, sniff. They are adorable and so tiny. Good on you for taking them in and trying to find them forever homes. For some reason, the name Selene came to me for the buff girl (goddess of the moon). Keep us updated, please.
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post #12 of 16
10/10/09 at 10:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by myfamiliars View Post
For some reason, the name Selene came to me for the buff girl (goddess of the moon). Keep us updated, please.
That is a nice name, but if I named the one girl kitten that I'd end up naming her brother Helios and her sister Eos. The vet techs would probably say "what? spell that..." and look at me strangely. Not that any current names of my cats confuse them any less.

Made some more progress with the light girl and her brother last night - combing half dead fleas and flea dirt out of them. It left the water a murky blood red. The light girl purred for me last night and her brother purred for me today.
I was able to catch the other girl tonight (she thought she was being smart, sneaking out of the cage) and combed her, too. She's definitely more wild but does respond to gentle handling.

It's been a couple years since I've had any kittens... I had forgotten just how much more they poop than adult cats.

I'll add more pictures soon.
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post #13 of 16
10/11/09 at 12:43pm
I love the names Helios and Eos. I think you should do it!

It's sad that they are in bad condition, but it's great that you're taking such good care of them. I can't wait to see more pics.
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post #14 of 16
10/11/09 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
They're improving already. Minute doses of kitten Revolution was applied the other day and by tonight all of the fleas are 100% dead. They seem to have more energy and be more comfortable already.

A few more pictures.

The little boy:




He purred for my DH a few minutes later. He loves neck and chin scratches.




The most skittish girl. Gentle handling calms her down, and those she won't purr she did stretch out a little for DH and I when we hold her.




Purrs easily - almost too easily. If it wasn't for the fact that she only starts when I comb certain spots, and stretches while I do it, I'd think it was fear type purring. She seems the calmest and showed interest in a milk ring I gave her earlier. She went so far as to start to play with it in front of me. Milk jug rings must hold some magic power over cats - most cats love them.

I think I'm just going to call them semi-feral - they can be picked up like a normal kittens without needing to be scuffed even if they get away from me. They're still very much afraid, but they should be easy to tame. As they gain more trust I'll try to share a few pictures of them playing, right now holding them is the only way to get them to sit still long enough for good pictures.
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post #15 of 16
10/12/09 at 6:02am
they have the cutest faces!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
they'll shiver if held, and still find absolutely nothing pleasurable about being touched. There's no curiosity for me - they prefer to run away.
Yup, this was Penny's exact behavior when I first got her. she was feral - now she asks for cat massages!

I'm so glad you helped these 3 babies
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post #16 of 16
10/12/09 at 9:08pm
They are so beautiful, the little babies. I can't wait to see more pics and hear how they adjust to livin' the good life.
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