Hi, I took in an old kitten (around 4mos) a little before thanksgiving '12. At the time, and still am today, I'm unsure if she's a little feral or a stray, or none of the above. This kitten had started coming around my apartment about a week before thanksgiving, and unlike other ferals we've had around the complex, she was approachable to within 5 feet before running away. A neighbor and I were able to capture her 2 days before TG.
While she seemed a little terrified at first, the next day I took her to my vet to get checked out. The vet and a tech were both able hold her and she would even purr. The vet estimated her age, declared her disease free and healthy, and that she wasn't feral. I took her home with the intent to do some socialization with her before taking her to a shelter.
I live in a 1BR (about 800sq ft) with a calico (Sniffles, the Tiger) and golden retriever (Cheer Bear), both around 3.5yrs old and female. Sniffles likes to walk on the harness, ride in the car, go to the pet store, and hang out near neighbor's cats. She isn't as active as she used to be, but she's always tolerated foreign situations well. My golden is very active and we average close to 5 miles a day. Bear has a healthy respect for cats. I got both of them when they were around 3mos old.
Unfortunately, I don't have very many rooms separated with doors. So I had to initially put the new kitten into the bathroom to separate the pets. I was also going out of town for thanksgiving for 3 days; Bear got boarded, Sniffles stayed home, kitty stayed in bathroom; One of my neighbors checked by daily.
After my return, it was apparent the kitty already knew how to use a litterbox. I left her mostly in the bathroom for a few more days before I began to introduce her to the other pets. Bear was friendly, Sniffles would hiss. After a few days, I would often see the kitten laying curled up next to either of them. Up until almost xmas, I would try to keep the kitty in the same room with me; at night and when I was away, she would stay in the bathroom.
As xmas was coming closer, I began to get concerned that I hadn't been properly socializing the kitty. She had continued to purr since day 2. I had been spending about a hour each day handling her, holding, petting, talking, using da bird. She was very friendly to the other pets; sleeping with Bear and playing with Sniffles. I could approach her and be next to her whenever she was laying around on furniture or the cat tree; but anytime she was on the floor she would continue to run away from me if I got too close.
She would also approach me when I was working at my desk or just sitting on the couch... but sometimes she would walk past me or on me and if I moved she seemed to get very surprised and jump away. One of my neighbors had come by and she became very scared, hissed at him, and ran to hide. I had hoped she would've been sociable enough to take her to the shelter before xmas. My local shelter is a kill shelter and my past experiences there have not been pleasant, I wanted to be sure I had done all I could for the kitten before I took her there and I didn't feel the time was right.
I was going out of town for Christmas, and my pets were coming, except for the kitten so I started to give her total access to my unit. We were away for almost 10 days and kitten had free roam over the front half of the unit (living / kitchen). My neighbor checked by daily other then occasionally seeing her in the window, she would hide when he came in. I just got back on Thursday.
Since it looks like I am keeping her for now, I've got her schedule for a spay and vaccinations next week. I've tried to do more research into how to socialize her, so I've started to sit with her when I set the canned food out. I'm afraid she may have bonded to just me. I would still like re-home her if I can't find a suitable shelter.
While she seemed a little terrified at first, the next day I took her to my vet to get checked out. The vet and a tech were both able hold her and she would even purr. The vet estimated her age, declared her disease free and healthy, and that she wasn't feral. I took her home with the intent to do some socialization with her before taking her to a shelter.
I live in a 1BR (about 800sq ft) with a calico (Sniffles, the Tiger) and golden retriever (Cheer Bear), both around 3.5yrs old and female. Sniffles likes to walk on the harness, ride in the car, go to the pet store, and hang out near neighbor's cats. She isn't as active as she used to be, but she's always tolerated foreign situations well. My golden is very active and we average close to 5 miles a day. Bear has a healthy respect for cats. I got both of them when they were around 3mos old.
Unfortunately, I don't have very many rooms separated with doors. So I had to initially put the new kitten into the bathroom to separate the pets. I was also going out of town for thanksgiving for 3 days; Bear got boarded, Sniffles stayed home, kitty stayed in bathroom; One of my neighbors checked by daily.
After my return, it was apparent the kitty already knew how to use a litterbox. I left her mostly in the bathroom for a few more days before I began to introduce her to the other pets. Bear was friendly, Sniffles would hiss. After a few days, I would often see the kitten laying curled up next to either of them. Up until almost xmas, I would try to keep the kitty in the same room with me; at night and when I was away, she would stay in the bathroom.
As xmas was coming closer, I began to get concerned that I hadn't been properly socializing the kitty. She had continued to purr since day 2. I had been spending about a hour each day handling her, holding, petting, talking, using da bird. She was very friendly to the other pets; sleeping with Bear and playing with Sniffles. I could approach her and be next to her whenever she was laying around on furniture or the cat tree; but anytime she was on the floor she would continue to run away from me if I got too close.
She would also approach me when I was working at my desk or just sitting on the couch... but sometimes she would walk past me or on me and if I moved she seemed to get very surprised and jump away. One of my neighbors had come by and she became very scared, hissed at him, and ran to hide. I had hoped she would've been sociable enough to take her to the shelter before xmas. My local shelter is a kill shelter and my past experiences there have not been pleasant, I wanted to be sure I had done all I could for the kitten before I took her there and I didn't feel the time was right.
I was going out of town for Christmas, and my pets were coming, except for the kitten so I started to give her total access to my unit. We were away for almost 10 days and kitten had free roam over the front half of the unit (living / kitchen). My neighbor checked by daily other then occasionally seeing her in the window, she would hide when he came in. I just got back on Thursday.
Since it looks like I am keeping her for now, I've got her schedule for a spay and vaccinations next week. I've tried to do more research into how to socialize her, so I've started to sit with her when I set the canned food out. I'm afraid she may have bonded to just me. I would still like re-home her if I can't find a suitable shelter.
