Caught Cat, Finally . . . Now Have Some Questions, PLEASE!!

sharilee21

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
6
Purraise
1
I recently posted about trying to catch a stray kitten . . . so we finally caught him using a Havaheart Trap, but here is the situation...

Caught him last night. We had actually given up since the previous nights the food would be gone, the trap would have been set off, but he kept getting away. Needless to say, we weren't expecting to catch him, stopped checking it as much as we had been previously, so he was trapped in it for a bit before we realized it. Anyway, brought it into our bedroom. He was totally freaked out and wouldn't back out of the trap. Held on as we tried to tilt the end so he would come out. Finally came out. Ran to corner of room. Would hiss, so we left him there and put food and water near him. Also showed him litter box, but I don't think he still realizes what it is. I'll get back to tat issue soon. Anyway, so we went to bed, only to be woken up around 3am with him on the other side of the bed meowing. I tried to get him to him, but he was scared and tried to run up shelving unit, but a basket full of stuff fell out on him. Then he ran across the room and climbed up the armoire, were he laid on top. He was hissing at us, so we just talked calmly with him, and let him stay there and went back to bed. So this morning, he was still there. He meows at us, and hissed when you would try to get close. He finally let me start petting his body, and finally I was able to pick him up. He hissed, but stopped. I laid him on my lap and he was scared at first, and then calmed down and laid with me. But its weird, he says right where I put him and doesn’t' want to move. He ran behind the toilet at one point, where I let him lay for a while, but then I went to get him, he hissed a lot, but I got him out and put him in my lap again. But again, he is like scared to move. He laid there without me having to hold him there, and then I got him to move a bit away from me and he didn't run away. He has been laying on the bed since, sleeping a little, hisses at my husband and 17 year old, but only when they get close. But as soon as they walk in the room, his head goes up like he thinks he is in danger. (I did put him in the litter box once, and I walked away, he didn't move, just kind of stood there frozen, so I walked back towards him, and he jumped out and ran under the toilet again.) We did get him one of those round kitty condos, but he peed in that??

Okay, so my questions are as follows...I am not used to cats hissing. I realized he is very scared, and he has allowed me to do a lot with him and is not hissing at me all the time, but still hisses once I a while. He does his at the rest of the family cause he hasn't really had contact with them yet, but will he really ever become socialized if he is hissing this much?? I have 3 other cats, and I am just wondering if h will ever get comfortable. cause all he wants to do is hide in a corner or sit and not move from where I put him?? Granted it has been less than 24 hours, so maybe I am rushing it, but I would feel a lot better if someone could tell me that there is a chance he will can be integrated into the family and be an affectionate, not hateful, cat?????

I have an appointment set for tomorrow a the vet to check for feline leukemia, etc, and to see if it is a girl or a boy, but I would really like some input here. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 Thanks ~~ Shari
 

ritz

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
4,656
Purraise
282
Location
Annapolis, MD
First, thank you thank you for rescuing this kitten. 

I don't have much experience in socializing truly feral cats, though I have helped socialize five month old kittens and two year old stray/dumped cats.  And TNRd about 25 cats.

Based on your description, it sounds as though he/she had some previous contact with humans, perhaps not always good.  Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to pick him up.  Any idea how old he is (the vet should be able to tell you); the younger you get a kitten, the quicker it takes to socialize them.  You should get him neutered/spayed as soon as medically possible.  Assume he has worms and treat accordingly.  I might be inclined to get his urine sampled, in case that's causing the litter box issues.

He is still scared to death.  Hissing is perfectly normal, and will continue.  For now, I would not try picking him up again, but spend as much time near him as possible.  Talk to him, read, work on your computer, play soft music when you're not in the room.  Even ignore him some times.  Feed him at regular, specific times.  See if he will eat from your hand (barely cooked meat really works).  Let him come to you; let him dictate what happens to him.  If he comes to you, pet him a little, let him sniff you all over. Too little is way better than too much.  Put in the room, near him if possible, a smelly shirt you've been wearing.  And later on, your husband's smelly shirt.  And don't integrate him with the other cats for the foreseeable future. 

I don't know what to tell you about the litter box.   Kind of weird he peed in the cat condo but not the litter box.  One thing you might try:  go out to the area where you usually saw him, and dig up some dirt, leaves, etc.  The ground was his litter box.  Maybe also mix in some cat litter. 

Oh it  helps when you trap a cat and/or place him in a cat carrier, to cover the trap/cat carrier with a towel.  The cat feels secure that way.

Do keep us posted what happens.  We care.  As you do.
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,999
Purraise
10,648
Location
Sweden
Yes, like you suspect, you did rushed the things.

so for example, you shouldnt not force him out from the trap.  The trick is to just open it, and he would go out at his own time.

Next tip is to kitten - secure everything.  Like you child-secure. So he wouldnt not get this basket falling down on him, increasing his stress...

Make for him some place to hide a little, but where you can pet him anyway.  Say a cat igloo, or a side turned cardboard box...  This will be his little security-zone.

The litter will come with time, they dont pee much when nervous.

What sort of litter do you have there?  Classical cat litter of clay is best.  You can have some leaves or even some dirt (=earth) in, so he recognizes.

Good you are taking him to the vet for check up etc.  Dont let him met your residents before he has a clear bill of health, and preferably some quarantine period.  As homeless, you must count he does have different parasites - even if he is hopefully healthy.

And to your question, if it is possible to foster and socialize him.   SURE!  He has already made big steps forward, although your mistakes and this stress almost in extremis.

The key is to take it easy, have patience, love, time...  He must be unstressed.

About petting there are two schools; one says semiferal kittens are best fostered by cuddling them as much you can, ie sort of force cuddle them.

Most of our forumite fosterers believe in a more slow approach, where the fosterling himself comes forward.

When thy quarantine time is over, you can have help from your residents.  He will see you pet and cuddle the residents, and they arent dying from it...  You can even do it during the quarantine.

Have him in the trap and them loose around.  Or set a net in the door, so he will see out you interaging with cats.

When its time for meeting your residents - we will take it then. But again - slowly, and let it begin with the friendliest of your residents...

Good luck!   *vibes*
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

sharilee21

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
6
Purraise
1
In looking at pictures online, I think he is about 4 months old?? Maybe older, not sure. The vet can tell me more tomorrow.

He has been laying on the bed all day. He has relaxed, stretched out, with his stomoach showing. I was always under the assumption that cats only lay on their back with their stomach showing if they are secure and trust you?? I think he is just really tired. He is still unsure of others, and hisses if they get close. He only hisses at me now if I accidently do something ubrupt. But he hasn't even gotten up to walk around yet?? I am sort of used to kittens wanting to explore their new environment?? I think he is in shock and very tired. Hopefully not too tramatized, poor boy. I'm missing my kids basketball game tonight because I don't want to leave him alone. I am waiting for him to show some type of movemen so I can introduce the little cat litter box. He already peed, but he hasn't yet pooped. I figured he would sleep and get up when he is hungry or had to poop. Just waiting patiently now...

Thanks for any and all input! I have my fingers crossed. My other cat is not happy not being able to come in the room...

~~Shari  
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
Oh this is NOT a feral kitty! He will socialize with the rest of the family just fine, with time!

And

THANK YOU! for rescuing him! :heart3: :rub:

He sounds like he is going to be one sweet kitty. This guy has obviously had contact with people - and if that young, got abandoned or lost, and he's just scared.

Right now, his whole world has been turned upside down.

As the others have suggested, contain him to one room, give him places to hide that feel secure (though he may not need them long if he was stretched out on the bed!), and just spend as much time in there as you can, but not necessarily paying attention to him.

Cats are all about territory. And before trusting you comes feeling comfortable where they are. So he needs to feel safe, first and foremost. And having a clean litter box, food and water - and associating you as the person providing for his needs - will all come together. :) Just let him go at his own time. :heart3:

But YES! the smelly shirt is wonderful. And put it under his food dish... or leave treats out on it for him... this will help him associate your scent with comforting things, things he loves. :)

As to the litter box... in addition to putting a layer of dirt over the top (I recommend potting soil, because it doesn't have bacteria or bugs or whatever in it), I really recommend two, at least at first. Having been outside for a while, this boy is not used to peeing and pooping in the same place. Also, if he pees outside the box again, try to soak some up on a paper towel, and put it in the litter box. Having the scent there will help him figure it out. Same thing if he poops outside the box - put the poop in the box, so the scent is there. Cats are very scent oriented. :nod: Which is also why it is imperative you use an enzyme cleaner to clean up any messes - you have to completely remove the scent to his nose, so the smell of his scent doesn't encourage him to keep going outside the box. :nod: And get him neutered as soon as possible. :lol3:

Aw, such a wonderful thing you're doing!
 

rafm

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
959
Purraise
40
Location
Texas
I'm going to give you a little different thought process and that is that this kitty is terrified. That is why he doesn't move when you pick him up or set him somewhere. It is good that he isn't hissing as much but the constant state of alertness, even when you think he is resting, as evidenced by his head popping up. That is exhausting for a kitty and one of the reasons he is sleeping so hard.

My suggestions are as follows:

Slow down. Stop touching him, picking him up, and approaching him. Come in the room, talk to him, sit quietly with him reading softly so he gets used to your voice. Encourage everyone in the house to do the same.

Get some fun interactive toys to lure him to play. Toys like 'da bird or laser pointers are quiet and quite irresistible to kittens. This will help him bond with you. But as tempting as it will be, DO NOT reach out to pet him or pick him up.

Find a treat that is very special to him....and irresistible, like tuna and only give him that treat when you or your family come in the room. He will begin to associate you with good things. If he doesn't approach it while you are there, leave it for a bit. It may take him a little time to forge the association.

The hissing is completely normal. You've had him inside for a very short period of time. It can take some cats days, some weeks and some, like my current girl, years to trust people. It all depends on their personality and how they are handled from the beginning. Our girl Claire came to us at 7 weeks with a brother and sister. Her brother and sister were quick to socialize and within a week or so of being with us, they were hanging out in our laps, running to meet us and purring when we talked to them. They were adopted into a wonderful home together. Claire on the other hand.....it has taken her 4 years to sit in my lap. She is extremely sensitive and shy and that contributed to her slow progress. We did everything the same with all 3 of them, but they responded differently.

Slow down, think of things from his tiny view of the world. He was eating, a door slammed, he couldn't escape, these huge smelly things picked him up then dumped him out of a cage. He jumped onto the closest thing to a tree he found and something fell on him. Then these huge beings keep picking him up, making weird noises and putting him in a sandpit. He has NO CLUE what is happening. He is experiencing new noises, smells and a completely new visual world than what he knows. That is scary stuff.

You are doing a great thing, don't get discouraged, I'm sure he'll come around in no time.
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
I'm going to give you a little different thought process and that is that this kitty is terrified. That is why he doesn't move when you pick him up or set him somewhere. It is good that he isn't hissing as much but the constant state of alertness, even when you think he is resting, as evidenced by his head popping up. That is exhausting for a kitty and one of the reasons he is sleeping so hard.
Oh I absolutely think this is the case. :nod: I also found that even as they begin to feel safe, they sleep hard, often for weeks. Poor things have been struggling so hard on their own... they need a lot of space and time. :nod:

My suggestions are as follows:
Slow down. Stop touching him, picking him up, and approaching him. Come in the room, talk to him, sit quietly with him reading softly so he gets used to your voice. Encourage everyone in the house to do the same.
Get some fun interactive toys to lure him to play. Toys like 'da bird or laser pointers are quiet and quite irresistible to kittens. This will help him bond with you. But as tempting as it will be, DO NOT reach out to pet him or pick him up.
Find a treat that is very special to him....and irresistible, like tuna and only give him that treat when you or your family come in the room. He will begin to associate you with good things. If he doesn't approach it while you are there, leave it for a bit. It may take him a little time to forge the association.
The hissing is completely normal. You've had him inside for a very short period of time. It can take some cats days, some weeks and some, like my current girl, years to trust people. It all depends on their personality and how they are handled from the beginning. Our girl Claire came to us at 7 weeks with a brother and sister. Her brother and sister were quick to socialize and within a week or so of being with us, they were hanging out in our laps, running to meet us and purring when we talked to them. They were adopted into a wonderful home together. Claire on the other hand.....it has taken her 4 years to sit in my lap. She is extremely sensitive and shy and that contributed to her slow progress. We did everything the same with all 3 of them, but they responded differently.
Slow down, think of things from his tiny view of the world. He was eating, a door slammed, he couldn't escape, these huge smelly things picked him up then dumped him out of a cage. He jumped onto the closest thing to a tree he found and something fell on him. Then these huge beings keep picking him up, making weird noises and putting him in a sandpit. He has NO CLUE what is happening. He is experiencing new noises, smells and a completely new visual world than what he knows. That is scary stuff.
You are doing a great thing, don't get discouraged, I'm sure he'll come around in no time.
:yeah: :nod: :heart3:
 

jtbo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
2,676
Purraise
854
Location
Finland
Also don't look into eyes, that is still the hardest thing for me, looking into eyes is challenge/treat and might make him think that you are going to attack on him or even eat him. Any fast moves are scary, fingers are scary, he thinks them being huge claws, imagine being reached upon by huge claws and that is how cat sees your hands, fist is much better, oh yes cat world is the upside down world, cheeck toward cat is good, kind of avoiding to look directly to cat is good and indeed fist is better than open hand, standing is bad, but much better than being on knees and reaching over the cat, it is scary when huge monster reacher over.

It is so different world with so different rules than it is almost impossible to not make mistakes, but one can learn from them.

Being close without paying any attention is best, getting cat to know your smell and to connect that to good things is very good, that is why smelly t-shirt under food bowl is good, cat connects smell to food and food is good thing.

I did work with feral so that I slowly took food out from can and put it to bowl while cat was watching, I never did as much as even peeked towards the cat, just concentrated to can, food and bowl, talking constantly like to baby who needs to be encouraged to eat, when can was empty, I did put bowl forward and backed up a bit, all the time I did stay on my knees and kept fingers curled as much as possible, then I did put my cheek towards the cat, closed my eyes and waited until cat had eaten enough, repeat 100 times or maybe it was even a more until I did stop spoon above the bowl, curious one then did sniff it, after many days quickly grabbed food from spoon and did go to eat further away, finally eating from the spoon. It took months and cat was not captured either, so any mistake and cat was gone, until later came back, also exposure to me was only those times when giving food, so with cat indoors it should be lot faster, I think.

Aim to be harmless one that has no interest to cat and cat will become curious and eventually to trust you, give food and you win their hearts, I think that by following that success is more likely than by making cat do something,

I think it is better wait for cat to come and bump on you with his head, then cat is ready to be touched. Before that event cat probably is thinking that you are about to eat him, that is all they know in wild, eat or become eaten, either it is prey or hunter, so is life of cats on wild, now you must teach that there is also something else in a world, that way things go easier.
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,999
Purraise
10,648
Location
Sweden
talking constantly like to baby who needs to be encouraged

Good post.

Right, I agree completely.

It dawned on me a minute ago Im not sure if anybody of us mentioned talking a lot in a soft, friendly voice.  Cats do understand this language: moms do have sounds to kitten-babies.  Friendly toms do have much sounds courting females.  While unfriendly toms just take what they want....

So yes, a lot of friendly talk does often marwels, not only in human world but also in the shy cats world.

Or you can sing in a soft, friendly voice if you can and prefer.

JTbo compared the situation of you the possible predator, and him the prey, the possible food...

You dont communicate with the prey, the  food to come.  You just hunt and attack it.  So if you talk friendly, if you try to communicate, it is NOT a hunting situation....  You may be sneaky, so some variness is necessary, but you are not hunting on it...

Good luck!
 
Last edited:

jtbo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
2,676
Purraise
854
Location
Finland
JTbo compared the situation of you the possible predator, and him the prey, the possible food...

You dont communicate with the prey, the  food to come.  You just hunt and attack it.  So if you talk friendly, if you try to communicate, it is NOT a hunting situation....  You may be sneaky, so some variness is necessary, but you are not hunting on it...
Exactly, silent = hunt, calm voice = not hunt. As well as straight back = no danger, not straight back = preparing to jump on to prey, well kind of, there is more to that too, but general idea is such. Also putting chin down is preparing of some defensive action, while keeping chin up, so neck is exposed is sign of trust and also showing that one is not interested in attacking.

Nothing is still quite exact, everything is more or less around there, or kind of such. They will listen heart beating, inhaling and exhaling and also try to see signs of muscle tension to judge what one's intentions are, their hearing and smelling is very good, eye sight not so great, but then they see the air moving around them and all movements that cause air to move, so their view of world is different and we lack ability to produce smells as a cat and we lack of tail, whiskers and ears that are cat world communications, so we have to work with body posture and sound that are only ones we can make, oh yes and eyes, very slowly closing eyes while looking a cat and then turning head to side is telling I love you and wish you no harm, I trust you, that makes good progress from my experience.

Also I have got good experience by pointing, I point to direction where I want to go, then point me and then again direction where I want to go and there is no spooked cat when I leave etc. They learn lot of gestures and many words, just repeating that always when going to move somewhere teaches them what my intentions are, even there is no tail telling which direction I'm about to go.

Some things that came to me again afterwards. It is quite satisfactory when cat learns my communications and it is also making easier for them to come and trust, but it is not quite easy and if there are others seeing or hearing they will think I'm crazy, but it really does not bother me, it is they that are missing a lot :lol3:
 
Top