Newbie with 12 week old feral kitten

Hi -- the photo in my avatar is my new feral rescue kitten, Devlin.  She was rescued about four or five weeks ago, and was being socialized with some friends of mine, which is how I met her.  I brought her home Saturday evening, July 21st, and took her to the vet Sunday morning to start the vaccinations, test her for FeLV and FIV, get her de-worming started, etc.  She passed with flying colors and I have her next appointment set up for mid-August.

However.  I should have read stuff on the internet about socializing feral kittens before, rather than after, taking her home. Luckily I've done a lot of it right by accident -- she's in a dark closet in my bedroom, about two feet from fresh water, food, and a litter pan -- but I didn't do everything as I could have, most particularly not leaving her alone for 24 hours before approaching her.

She is terrified.  She is silent, and quaking, and terrified.  She did mew a bit, at first, and she eats well, from my hand, and today, from the food in a dish on the floor, too. But she is basically sleeping or feigning sleep, and has been, since she got here.  This is the third day.  I haven't left her to it, either -- I've picked her up and petted and cuddled her, and also made her a small sort of pillow cave on my bed -- she seems equally content (or terrified into submission) to "sleep" there as in the closet, but I don't leave her there forever because I am not convinced she can jump down for the litter box, etc.  It's hard not to keep checking on her, but I guess this post is asking for advice about whether I SHOULD just leave her alone until she conquers her terror of this new space without her litter mates.  She's a lovely kitten, and I have no experience with ferals, so any advice would help.

Maeve66

Time is what these kitties need, your doing all the right things, Dont push her to make friends, it can take weeks for her to feel 100% secure. I've only just been able to get close to some ferals I've been taking care of for a year now and only a few weeks ago did I get to touch one and she's now doing a little dance at feeding time. They are afraid of everything so I think you have come along way baby, keep doing what your doing and just have patience for her to relax, she's going to love you so much in the end, she may only trust you in the end.  I know for my ferals their special treat once a week is a can a good tuna, that works for me.  Good Luck & God Bless you for caring

Christine

Mom to 1 domestic & 7 ferals

Hi,

From what I have read, and from my experience, she should be in a room with a window, not a dark close.  Feral kittens are most active at dawn and dusk, when their mamas allow them those 2 safest times from predators when in the wild.

Sherry

That's good to know.  The closet door isn't at all shut -- there's light from the bedroom windows.  In fact, there's a window INSIDE the closet, which I'd forgotten.  Thanks.

Welcome to TCS! Devlin is such a pretty girl :love: Here is an article with great tips and suggestions that you will find helpful for socializing Devlin. http://www.catnipchronicles.com/may2012/laurie.htm. This will be such a rewarding process for you and In no time at all, Devlin will learn to trust! Spend as much time as you can with her right now. You can leave a slept in tshirt in her bed or hiding cubby. The more she can associate your scent with good things the quicker she will come around too. Good luck, she is really cute!

I wanted to update:  Devlin is eating like a tiny piglet (and used the cat box as it was meant to be used, thanks to goodness) but she is still not exploring or anything except kind of sleeping the day away in one hiding place or another.  I couldn't find her last night, and when I did finally, she went to a nearly inaccessible space below my dresser (I couldn't figure out how to cat proof that, or the space under my bed, sigh.  So this morning when she began her dawn chorus around 5:30... I don't really know how NOT to respond to that by going and getting her. I mean, i don't want her to be under the dresser, anyway.  And she just sounds so plaintive.  So I got her (difficult in itself) and then showed her the food, which she doesn't seem to be aware of except when I literally take her to it -- is that weird?  She is used to being fed a couple of times a day, and often by hand, so maybe she doesn't get the "food left out" thing?  Then I put her in my bed, because I was ACHING for some sleep, and didn't want her back under the dresser, and the room seemed cold... I made her a kind of pillow cave.  I've done this a few times and she has scrunched up at the back of it, acceptingly, or too-scared-to-object... This morning, a few minutes after I got back in bed, she crawled over to sleep next to me, touching me, and was, for possibly the first time, purring and NOT quaking.  She seemed extremely happy to be petted and was head-butting me and scent-marking me and wriggling around so I'd rub different bits.  I feel like this is a generally positive balance sheet?

Don't be too discouraged if she backslides a little bit. I've got a new kitten who wasn't ferrell, but was terrified coming to a new home. He would seem to settle down and let me pet him, and then the next time I'd enter his safe room, he'd forget who I was.

Sounds like ur doing a great job tho.

Agh.  Devlin was coming along so well, but yesterday afternoon she discovered the most inaccessible place yet (I think it is the most inaccessible, period) and I have not seen her since; she didn't start her usual dawn chorus of mews.  She is up inside the box spring, which (obviously) isn't closed, like most I've seen.  I don't think I even knew this box spring was open.  I can hear her moving around, but I absolutely cannot reach her. At some point yesterday she ate, drank, and used the cat pan, but this morning she didn't wake me with plaintive cries.  My niece, who is tiny and can get under the bed, is coming over today, and this kitten has not offered any scratching or biting at all, at any point, so I am hoping it will be okay to send her after Devlin... and I am also wondering if I should remove the food, to encourage her to come out when she is hungry and I am in the room, rather than when I am not...  Ideas?  Also, any notion on how to prevent the box spring from becoming her go to hiding place? 

OK, here is my recommendation. 

When you get her out, put her in a bathroom or another small room with her food, litter box,  and water.  Make sure there's no place she can get out or hide entirely out of your reach.  Go in and feed her.  Talk to her.  Offer her your hand to smell or rub on or whatever.  Don't stare at her; that is aggessive, to cats.  Give her food that she really likes; you have plenty of time to fine-tune her diet. 

It's important that she have regular contact with you, so that she knows she has you to depend on.
 

maeve66 said:

Agh.  Devlin was coming along so well, but yesterday afternoon she discovered the most inaccessible place yet (I think it is the most inaccessible, period) and I have not seen her since; she didn't start her usual dawn chorus of mews.  She is up inside the box spring, which (obviously) isn't closed, like most I've seen.  I don't think I even knew this box spring was open.  I can hear her moving around, but I absolutely cannot reach her. At some point yesterday she ate, drank, and used the cat pan, but this morning she didn't wake me with plaintive cries.  My niece, who is tiny and can get under the bed, is coming over today, and this kitten has not offered any scratching or biting at all, at any point, so I am hoping it will be okay to send her after Devlin... and I am also wondering if I should remove the food, to encourage her to come out when she is hungry and I am in the room, rather than when I am not...  Ideas?  Also, any notion on how to prevent the box spring from becoming her go to hiding place? 

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The box spring is definitely a favorite cat-hiding place.

I think you should leave her be and put the food & literbox as near her as possible.

She'll come out when she's ready.

OH I wish I suggested this to you earlier :doh3: as I usually tell people to do this before you put the kitty in their safe room. Put the mattress directly on the floor and take away the frame so the cat/kitten cannot hide under the bed or in the box spring. It makes the socialization process much longer if they are able to completely hide out of your reach and sight when you go into the room. IF you can, when she comes out, take away the option of hiding under the bed. Or you will just have to wait for her to become much more comfortable and she will come out on her own. My experience, though, is that these kitties will run up in the box spring every time they hear you coming, again, making progress slow. You don't want Devlin to have a hiding place that you cannot reach her easily.

I absolutely see your point, but I am not sure ... okay, I am pretty sure that I cannot do anything about it. I live in a small apartment: there is nowhere else for the frame and box spring to go.  So I guess I am going to be stuck with slower socialization, sigh.  One thing is, last night (I managed to actually cajole her out from the box spring, lying under my bed and petting her through the slats -- she actually came to me, which was pretty amazing) Devlin seems to have made the jump (pun not quite intended*) from terrified and motionless to curiosity and exploration.  She was up a lot of the night touring my bedroom, in sight as long as I didn't leave my bed.  But now she IS skittish, and bolts at my approach, where before she was kind of frozen in apprehension.  She purrs at me all the time, and meows for me and wants to be petted -- but can't quite bring herself to approach me unless I am on the floor with her, which is difficult for me.

So, question of the day:  I have another cat, Maya, who is about thirteen years old, and shy herself -- good with adults and men, especially, but invisible with people under four feet tall (by which I mean children).  Devlin has been in my bedroom, separated from the rest of the house, for a full week now, which is what the vet recommended, to be sure there was no respiratory tract infection or anything.  Maya saw her once, and hissed and was upset, but THROUGH the door has seemed more curious.  When and how should I introduce them?  Ideas?  Should I be holding Maya?  Can I let them sort it out on their own?

*speaking of jump... Devlin doesn't seem quite able to jump UP to my bed, which is pretty high, though I did make a halfway stop out of some suitcases.  But she hasn't jumped up at all that I've seen -- is this developmental?  The vet thinks (I just looked at my paperwork from the appointment, so I should maybe change the title of my original post) that she's ten weeks old, not twelve, basically from the size of her teeth, if I recall correctly.

I understand your difficulty with getting down on the floor. I've had spinal fusion surgery at 2 levels of my back and it's no picnic for me either. That being said, you need to figure out a way to safely get up and down from the floor w/o hurting yourself. You will look smaller and much less of a threat to a tiny kitten. Trust me.

Also, do you have an issue with putting her in the bathroom? It will be much easier for you.

Maybe someone who knows without searching where the cat introduction thread is can post it.

It involves feeding cats on either side of the door and bringing things with each cats scent (like a towel rubbed all over the cat ) to the either cat to get used to.

I thought I might update, just to provide the entirely happy ending to this story.  It's a few weeks later, and Devlin seems to have utterly forgotten she was ever a feral rescue kitten.  She is more of a small tiny cat now, anyway, but in general:  a) blocked access to the box spring and that worked magic WITHIN THE DAY; b) she decided my bed was her safe space and it's still her go to spot, and she sleeps with me, which I like; c) she has conquered the entire apartment by now and is a curious kitten with regular kittenly behavior; d) she gets along (though is not BFFs) with my older cat; e) she actually stays around for visitors, which my older cat does not, though Devlin is a bit shy at first.  She adores me and follows me from room to room.  She has no bad habits so far -- I've been looking at the CatShaming Tumblr (I think it's a Tumblr) and really, neither of my cats are brats at that level, which is a relief.  Love them though I would anyway.

In any case, conclusion:  Devlin seems to have completely adapted to being an indoor cat and companion to a human.  Can I put a photo in this post?


and

She's a cutie. I'm glad everything worked out. My non ferrel cats won't even stay around for company, they turn tail and RUN!

maeve66 said:

I thought I might update, just to provide the entirely happy ending to this story.  It's a few weeks later, and Devlin seems to have utterly forgotten she was ever a feral rescue kitten.  She is more of a small tiny cat now, anyway, but in general:  a) blocked access to the box spring and that worked magic WITHIN THE DAY; b) she decided my bed was her safe space and it's still her go to spot, and she sleeps with me, which I like; c) she has conquered the entire apartment by now and is a curious kitten with regular kittenly behavior; d) she gets along (though is not BFFs) with my older cat; e) she actually stays around for visitors, which my older cat does not, though Devlin is a bit shy at first.  She adores me and follows me from room to room.  She has no bad habits so far -- I've been looking at the CatShaming Tumblr (I think it's a Tumblr) and really, neither of my cats are brats at that level, which is a relief.  Love them though I would anyway.

In any case, conclusion:  Devlin seems to have completely adapted to being an indoor cat and companion to a human.  Can I put a photo in this post?

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• maeve66
• Sep 3, 2012

and

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• maeve66
• Sep 3, 2012

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YES - of course you can post photos here - we do it all the time. AWWWWWWW I am just beaming with smiles of this update. :happy3: Isn't it just amazing how quickly they do come around - at least some of them :lol3: You are well on your way here with NO CatShaming Tumblr's Keep up with your updates. I am so happy for you and your cat family. :rub: