New here and proud momma of Two 5 week old feral kittens

mobabe1124

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I have had cats my whole life. The last time I had a kitten was over 12 years ago. I never had two kittens at once. Just want to make sure I am doing all the right things for the boys.- the boys are Jersey (tuxedo ) and Gucci(white with black). Jersey seems to be the runt and Gucci the protector. I have had them since Sunday. (They never had human contact til they were trapped Saturday night by a friend.)They are in their own isolated room(the kitten room). Have litter box, water, food dish and kitten kibble dish, toys and even chicken baby food for snacks. Their bedding is made up of our shirts to get used to our scent.Trying to socialize them and not sure I am doing a good job. I spend time with them in the morning before work, feed them, change litter and refill water. They eat in front of me but are still cautious.Play a bit and offer baby food snacks before work. I leave my ipod on Pandora for them to get used to people voices. I spend much more time after work wtih them. Lay in the room with them. Still very skitterish. If I move too quickly they revert back to looking for hiding spots.Got them to play last night!! (tried petting them- not so much! haha)So here are my questions- when do they actually respond to being petted? I haven't heard them purr yet and I don't expect too as I have to take them for the first vet visit tomorrow. HahaSeriously, I hold them, speak softly and see some progress but my boyfriend is helping too when he gets home from work. He has a four year old that doesn't know how to speak in a soft voice but then again what 4 year does!! lolWill that be worse or better for the kittens to exposed to all of us?
 

vball91

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Thanks for rescuing theses little guys. I would take the intro very, very slowly, and I would not expose them to the 4 year old until they are used to you. Children can be very loud and make sudden movements which can badly scare cats.

I think you're doing all the right things, but I wouldn't try to force petting yet. Let them approach you as they get comfortable. Honestly, the key here is patience. They will learn to trust you, but it will take time.

Oh, and for diet, it would be better if you can feed them as much wet food as possible. Leaving out dry is ok since they're growing kittens and need to eat frequent small meals, and baby food is a great treat. However, the bulk of their nutrition and moisture should come from good quality wet cat food - high animal protein, little to no carbs, no grains.
 

ondine

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They've come a long way in a short time. I've had feral kittens for two weeks before they stopped hiding, so your two are doing well. You can expect them to come around very slowly, a day at a time. Keep them in their own space, though and limit the time the 4-year-old spends in there. The kittens need to feel completely safe and comfortable before meeting him (or her).
 
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mobabe1124

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Thank you for the replys. The four year old stays in the room about 5 minutes cause the kittens hide and then they are "boring" :)He is only with us maybe twice a week. I am feeding them wet food twice a day with the dry food by itself for inbetween hunger bursts.I have read many of your forums on this site(it's great ) and I know socializing with us non furbies is at the kittens pace not mine. They LOVE the chicken baby food and feather toys!! There is a debate with the boyfriend- I say keep the kittens in their safe room for a few weeks til they are completely comfortable and then let them explore the rest of the house. My boyfriend says we should start next week letting the boys check out the upstairs. I told him no way. This has to be gradual.
 

vball91

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I would agree with you about when to give them more space to explore. When they seem comfortable with their room and you is a good time to allow them the opportunity to explore more while leaving them the option to return to their "safe" room.

I do think you are doing all the right things, and your instincts seem spot on. These kitties are lucky to have found you.
 

furmonster mom

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You seem to have the right idea all around.  I agree with pretty much everything the other folk have said here.

Yes.  Keep them in the kitten room until they are well adjusted to you.

One of the things we did with our kittens was just sit in the room for a good hour (bring a book/kindle) at a time.  Eventually, they started treating us like another piece of furniture.  I have a picture somewhere of hubby curled up on his knees while 4 kittens played "king of the mountain" on him.  He would end up with a bunch of kitten scratches on his back, but he'd be back to it the next day (tough guy, eh?). 

Time and patience are the keys.
 

StefanZ

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You do very nicely, and you got excellent support and advices.

I myself want to recommend, dont leave the ipod with random people talking. Not yet. Better for now you leave on with soft, nice, relaxing music. Classical harp music is best, but almost any relaxing calm music will do.

Good luck!
 
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