Our 2 Feral Kittens Some help with the TOM Pleae

gazgeewild

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Hi a week ago my partner wanted a new little kitten, after hours of searching for the perfect one i stummbled on this advert for a new home for 2 feral kittens, They had been found on a old railway line and was going to this ladys house for food and shelter. she had had them in her house and was trying to tame them. I belive she gave up and the advert said if she couldnt rehome them then she would have had them put to sleep. :(

I went and collected them paying £20, it took me nearly a hour to get the boy into my box and the girl then followed fastly.

My girlfreind thinks im a sucker for a sad story and that im proberbly wasting my time with them as she dosnt have the kitten she wanted.The first day i named them tiny as she was so small and temper as he really had a temper.

 We have a 2 year old cat whom has been with us since we rescued her also, after getting them home they wouldnt leave their box so i decided what they proberbly needed was the bathroom to make their own i put their box and food,wter and litter box in their and only went in for 10 mins at a time, both were very scared and hissed at me alot, i dint go near allowing them to feel im not a threat. During the day i never heard them it was like they didnt move,the minuite i turned the light off at night it was like a party in the bathroom, they trashed it nightly lol. eventury clawing their way under the bath witch i had sealed. I was scared they wouldnt come back out and get ill under their so i lured them out with wet food left at the top of the stairs. I shut the door and put thier box at the top of the stairs with they things. Tiny will call most of the day, even venture down a few steps and i dont really see he in the box shes mostly at top of stairs calling out, I stared stroking her under her ear on the 4th day for a few seconds at a time and now she purrs and comes and sits on my knee, i feel like im making great progress with tiny the girl and she is starting to really get her confidence with me and my girlfriend. Untill the boy temper comes out of the box then she acts just like him. He will run at any movment bite when i attemt to stroke him, hiss when im sat with his sister. he has smashed our kitchen up 4 times running scared. i understand some will take alot longer to tame than others and his trust for me isnt as high as hers as i wresled him in to a box and she went willingly. I rescued these cats as I could see the poor little things put to sleep, they deserved a chance and more than anything i want to give them just that. im realy just struggling with the boy and have run out of ideas to help him. my girlfreind says we should seperate them and this would help tinys progress but i cant do that they have been together all their lifes. Any advice would be wonderfull thanks Gareth
 

StefanZ

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Nice and wonderful story, Gareth.   Esp that with 20 $ was extra nice detail.   :)

Something for us to take some bites on!   :)

Im sure people will soon come and advice.  Myself I shall return me too.

You found the right place, so welcome to the TCS site and our Forums!

Good luck!    *vibes*

ps How old are they now?   As you dont say boy, you say tom as for an adult?
 
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-_aj_-

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Hi there welcome along to the site, Im sure someone with feral cat advice will be a long to help out soon, we have some excellent members that have dealt with taming ferals :) 

Thank you so much for taking them both in and giving them a home.

It does sound like you are making great progress with Tiny, it does sound like a case of monkey see monkey do once Temper comes out, do you know if they have both been fixed? might mellow temper out a bit? 
 
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gazgeewild

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he hasnt i dont think, couldnt get close enough to find out lol....  im scared of wresling him into his box and then having a vet get clawed by him. Also i might have made progress i cant see as yet and this might break the little trust he has in me. Thinking about it I can smell his sent so its safe to say hes still all their.

thanks and I hope some can advise :)
 

StefanZ

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he hasnt i dont think, couldnt get close enough to find out lol....  im scared of wresling him into his box and then having a vet get clawed by him. Also i might have made progress i cant see as yet and this might break the little trust he has in me. Thinking about it I can smell his sent so its safe to say hes still all their.

thanks and I hope some can advise :)
So you ARE in hurry, as his sis is surely a fully fertile young lady she too. Lets hope she will not become a queen! With the little tom advancing to Sire.    :)

It true, cats living together dont always "ignite" on each other, but you never know.

Begin with her, if you dont dare take both.

Take him in a trap, dont chase and wrestle...  The vet is used to handle cats, so they usually do manage just fine. The vet can also use a Feliway spray.  Or setting a blidnfold on him.

Cats, like tame birds of prey, calm down with head and eyes covered.

One comment, him running wildly and destroying half of your kitchen is no proof of his wildness. Young teenage cats do so. Wild merry cat galloppes, chasing perhaps 20 minutes through the flat.

Home raised cats usually have learned to be careful, other are not so careful.

How are they to your residents, both Tiny and Temper?

Looking on the residient as positive example is often a help.

Here you can also use Tiny as help for Temper.  If he sees you cuddle with Tiny so perhaps he dares too.

You gave him run to the whole your house?  It is easier to foster him if he has more limited places. One-two rooms.  And where he feels safe.

You can set on calming music. Classical harp music is best, but almost any soft, calming music is OK.

A Feliway diffuser may be very useful....

More will come later!
 
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gazgeewild

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Im not in a hurry at all, just havnt done this before and with tiny make great strides i feel like temper is getting lelf behind slightly. And as i havnt done this before im unsure of the best way to go with him as she seems to been doing good.

She would be easy to take to the vets, and im going to call them now and get her booked in. then i can ask what they think with temper.

They had just our bathroom for 7 days but they were using the bath instead of the litter tray and were getting under bath and messin up the plug lol. so ive moved them to the top of the stairs landing with their box as a hide away. they have their and the living room all other doors are kept shut. I do keep hearing about [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Feliway diffuser and will get one today and hope that helps the poor chap :)[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Thanks and reagrds[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Gareth [/color]
 

StefanZ

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Im not in a hurry at all, just havnt done this before

Sorry, It wasnt NOT meant to be ironic.  You DO have my admiring and great respect!  I may joke sometimes, but Im never ironic against any fosterer or rescuer. Never.

What I did mean was literally you should be in a hurry now. A almost surely fertile young tom, and an probably fertile girl, you can get 10 wonderful kittens while you hardly blink. Two young parents and perhaps even 8 helpless newborn kittens.

so neutering at least one of them is a real priority nr 1!  By practical reasons.

If the neutering will help you on Tempers tempers?  Possibly yes, a little. Being fertile male gives a stress. Makes it harder for him to settle down.  The difference will NOT be big, because as young he has rather low hormone niveus.

So that is NOT the main reason for neutering him soon, but OK, it does adds up.

Good luck!  *Vibes!*
 
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gazgeewild

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No probs. Thanks to all for your help and advise. Heres an update for everyone. I came down this morning to find my whole house smashed. glasses my microwave again and they had done their business everywhere lol.

They were both on top to the kitchen pantry cubord. temper came down and went back to his box tiny stayed their for a while so i tried to lift her down and did so with no problem. I then went to see if they were alright and temper tried to pounce me. this is not like him at all he is normaly to scared to comfornt me lol.. tiny is getting better by the day she is calling out everytime i leave her and will quiet happily be stroked for hours on end :)
 

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Hello!! My goodness, you certainly have your hands full with Tiny and Temper. Honestly,I would suggest them being confined to a much smaller area..... Much easier to work with them and socialize. I would also recommend immediately getting them both spayed and neutered. They will breed soon.... And it sounds like Temper might be spraying if you are smelling pungent urine.:nervous:. I would do that asap :nod: Also, might be a good idea to have at least two very large open (no hoods) litter boxes available. Try the Cat Attract litter. Confining them to a smaller area with the two litter boxes filled with the Cat Attract litter will help train them to the box. Glad you found us and keep the updates coming :wave2: :vibes::vibes:
 
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