New Kitten, Maybe Feral

I recently adopted a kitten from the Humane Society. They said he was 2 months old, but he may be a little older. He's giving me very mixed messages at the moment.

First off, at the Humane Society, in the meeting room, he was very cuddly and purred when I held him. He was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (not really, he's a short-haired black cat), and I wasn't anticipating any problems. The Humane Society assured me he was negative for FeLV and FeLeuk, and that he had been dewormed, neutered, and had his first vaccination.

When I got him home, I isolated him for 24 hours (I have 6 other cats),  but the next day, when I went in to feed him, he was eager to get out of the room, so I let him out. There was only a little bit of hissing with the other cats -- for the most part, he immediately accepted them, and they him, with no problems. He does growl and eat like a fiend when I feed them, but they are sharing a bowl peacefully. He doesn't hide, and he's really very confident -- I think he was born to be an alpha cat.

So what's the problem?  He will allow me to pet him for a stroke or two, but gets very upset if I pick him up, and immediately starts biting and scratching and growling. On the other hand, he does cuddle with me in bed. And he makes a beeline for the door if I open it. Fortunately, I have a 2-door entry hall (my son called it the "cat-lock"), so if he gets into the entry hall, I can get him back in the house and close the first door before I open the second door to go out.

So it seems to me that some of his behaviors are feral-like, and some not. And I'm really not sure where to go with him -- I'd LIKE to be able to pick him up, or have a good petting session, but I really don't know how to get there. I used to show cats, and pedigreed cats are bred to be handleable -- this is the first time that I've adopted a kitten that I didn't raise or almost raise myself.

Let me assure you that he DOES have a forever home -- if he turns out to be unhandleable, he's still going to be taken care of, but I WOULD like some help in seeing if I can help him adjust to having a human in his life.

Thanks!

Natalie ._c-

Hi and welcome!

Cats are individuals.  Some like petting, some not so much in the beginning.   I think quite so many kittens arent really fond of cuddling.  Some strokes and being nice and friendly, yes, but not prolonged cuddling.

Who knows, in his earlier life he perhaps was with a child family, who did carried him waay too long??

So he has learned to scratch and bite to get out.

Another theory could be, he was taken from mom and siblings too early, and hadnt learned to bite very gentle...  But no, he apparently is well socialized with other cats, so he is no traumatized by alone upbringing.

He reminds me of my oldest resident. Home bred pedigree, friendly to us in the family, but very shy to foreigners, AND doesnt like to be carried (a little better with wife, his Ma, than me)..

(this behavior does reminds much of fostered ex-ferales).

He being friendly he may threaten some, but doesnt bite nor scratch purposefully, but him climbing out, you can be severly scratched if you try to held him (like I did got scratched once at the vet...).

He was neither fond of petting when he stood on the floor. But he accepts if he is comfortably lying on a sofa or such....   There we had nice scenes: me wanting to pet him, he on floor seeing I want to pet him, he jumps on a bed, and lets me pet him a while.... 

And yet, although shy, dont like to be carried, and fertile, we did had him at shows, and he did got his Champion title...      

It became better and better with time. Now I can held him in my embrace some minute, and he purrs and kneads and shows he not only stands it just because he is friendly, but in facts enjoys the embrace.   Of course, I must release him after a while, preferably before he gots impatient..

Nowadays he even accepts to be cuddled on the floor.  

So, let him be for now, slowly and friendly making him used with your cuddles. Do it preferably when he is comfortably, perhaps lying somewhere up.    Be careful not to outstrech beyond his patience, preferably end the cuddles before he loses patience.

If the biting and scratching hurts, you can mark it so he knows it hurts.  You can surely find info on this in this forum, and in the Behavior forum.  That is a quite common problem!  Rather easily solved.

If the biting is more playful than for real, it is not sure it is a big problem.   Or??

Tx for adopting this little guy!  Especielly as it also probably means you do have one place less for a show cat / breeding queen.

But it IS my experience many breeders and pedigree owners do gladely help homeless, even adopt at least one ex homeless, as long as there is no danger of contagion to their purebred residents.   

Good luck!    *vibes*

Welcome to TCS . AWWW what an adorable little black beauty you have found. Such a cute face he has :love: Please do not worry so and rush petting and cuddling with him. This can be very typical behavior from a new kitten adopted from a shelter and brought home to a completely new environment. Gosh - I would have recommended keeping him in the safe room for a few more days - regardless if he wants out or not. The reason I always keep them separated for at least two weeks from the resident cats is to make sure they are #1 healthy and have no URI's coming on - #2 have a negative stool check (after two weeks from the last deworming) and #3 so that the kitten/cat can bond with you during those two week's of confinement, feel safe and secure, and trust that you are his new loving momma :heart3:.

He does not sound feral at all. He just sounds like a typical, scared kitty and does not want to be restrained - that is what holding is to him at the moment. As long as you can pet him, and he is cuddling on your bed - then that is all you can expect from the little guy right now. Let him decide when he want's more. If you keep trying to pick him up, this will just intimidate him. It took me eighteen months to finally hold my Perkins and even now he will never be a lap cat. Some kitties just don't want to held in laps. It is really too early to say which way this kitten will be since he has only been at your house for a few days. He has six other cat's to figure out too, on top of a new environment and new people. Lot's going on. Just be patient and I think you will see in the days to come that he will be more willing to be held. He sounds really sweet to me - and the biting is just his way of saying - "Please don't pick me up - I am scared" At the shelter, most kitties want to be held and cuddle and get out of their cages. When you bring them home - they are completely distracted and disoriented with this new world around them. He just needs more time to relax and get comfortable!!

p.s. THANKS for adopting this cutie - and I just adore black beauties. :heart3:

I think with his big ears, he cant be feral. He (or his parents whom surely also had big ears) would freeze to death when homeless. Big ears being a big chilling device.  It doesnt matter much for home cats, but is a big no no for all animals living outside in cold climate.

. Or at the very least and best, freeze these ears off.  Unless you live in a warm country, of course.

Nay, the most probable he had some sort of home, but owners didnt bothered to seek much after home, but either dumped directly, or begged the shelter to take him.

Congratulations on the new kitten and thank you for choosing to adopt. He's really adorable. I love those ears It doesn't sound like this kitten is feral or even semi-feral. If he was he'd have no contact with you at all and would be afraid of you. He just sounds a bit feisty and may be having a hard time adjusting to everything. I think we forget that we actually expect quite a bit from our pets that we would never expect from a human child. We would never throw a human child in with a pack of cats and expect them to play by the cat pack rules. Yet we expect little kittens and puppies to play by human rules at very young ages. I don't think you need to worry about this little guy though. As he gets older he will change and he will also get more comfortable with you and the other cats in time. He clearly had cuddliness in him. He's been through some pretty traumatic things in a pretty short time so I would just give him time.

Of course every cat is an individual and are all different. Some just doesn't like to be held. One of my cats is not much into being held. She'll squirm and want to get down when I pick her up but lately, just the last few months, she has started to allow me to pick her up and will even jump up in my lap which she has never done in the three years I've had her. She used to be a very spunky cat but lately she has calmed down and seems to have grown up quite a bit.

You could try working with the kitten to get him more used to being held and to improve your relationship. I would recommend that you start having daily play sessions with him just the two of you. The more play sessions the better. You can also start rewarding him for being petted and being held. For getting up in your lap he gets a piece of tuna or whatever he likes. Then he gets more the more he does what you want him to do. This way he will associate sitting in your lap and being held with something positive.

Do you have any cat trees or shelves or something else he can use to sit high up and move around the room without having to step on the floor? Having that could make him feel more comfortable and in control which in turn will calm him down. His behavior may be due to feeling insecure. See if you can put up some shelves up around the room that he can sit on. Installing a Feliway diffuser and adding some Rescue Remedy to the water could also help. Most of all though I think time will do the trick. I've fostered many, many cats and very few remain the way they were during the first months or so with me.

Good luck!

I just wanted to add, in the picture you posted I think the kitten looks older than 2 months. More like 3 months. It's hard to tell though but I think he looks older.

I agree, he is more like 3 months.

Personally, I think there is a possiblity that he went into the shelter as a feral kitten and was tamed. When kittens are feral then tamed beginning 8 or 9 weeks, most of the time they will not really ever want to be held, etc too much. The sheer importance of getting out to be around the others speaks volumes to me.

Ferals are not anti-social with other cats at all, just people.

This "alpha-cat" confidence also suggests he was once feral.

Feral or not, in time he will get better with you. Your opportunity to bond with him is at night when he is in bed with you and not with other cats. You and him only.

Watch how quickly he responds better to your affection once he settles in better and bonds with you.

He may always be less a cuddleboy with you around the other cats.

Probably a good portion of his stand-off behavior is due to being overwhelmed in his big new world.

Oh, him eating aggressively/like a fiend is usually from having to fight for mommas milk, she either had a large litter and not too much milk or was smaller than the others.

I would bet he was born to a feral mom...Just my opinion from my experience in feral rescue.

I agree that you just need to be patient. Also with my little feral boy that I kept my fingers in when I went to pet him..fingers can look like claws.

The cuddly behavior at the shelter is an important clue.  If he was in the shelter more than a couple of weeks, you were probably seeing his "normal" self.

There are good reasons we advise adopters to keep their newly adopted cat in a small room at first.  Cats actually like such small spaces, and will quickly become familiar with it and feel secure.  For your cat to feel that secure in your whole big house (even if it seems like a small dwelling to you) will always take some time.

Your little black beauty doesn't have the feral look about him, to me.  And believe me, I see them all the time at the shelter.