Pictures of my feral rescue kittens

Pollux and Leonidas


Castor


Kitten pile


Oedipus (left) Castor (right)


Oedipus

The above are my lovely semi-feral boys. Rescued 2 weeks ago, they are now free to roam the front porch. One of them greets us at the door - we call him Castor. His nearly-twin is Pollux. The grey tabby is Oedipus, and the solid orange is Leonidas.

I'm going to be advertising them for adoption next week. Any suggestions?

How old are they? They are so cute.

We think they're around 4 months old. Perhaps a little more than that, given the timing of everything that has happened with them.

Last night, I had all four of them whizzing around the porch chasing a laser. If I'm on the porch, only 2 will play; if I shine the pointer through the window, all four will chase until they run out of steam. Tres cute!

They are adorable.

When advertising for potential fur-parents, create a hook that will get the reader to read more than two lines; the abandoned/rescued from the streets is a good one.  Don't say feral or mention 'cat colony', it can mean something bad to some people.  Mention their personalities; some fur-owners may prefer a quiet cat, others a more playful cat.

Based on past experience, in your ad I would indicate 'references requested' and 'small adoption fee'.  These requirements wean out the weirdos/scammers; and if you can't afford an adoption fee, can you afford vet bills?  (You can say in the ad the fee will be donated to an animal rescue group.)

If you so some search on these and other threads, you'll find some questions you can/should ask of the potential adopter.  I'm always want to know how many children/pets/adults are in the household.  (We placed a cat in a home with three generations living under one roof, ages ranging from 3 to 75.  Worked for this cat, but wouldn't for a cat with a different personality.)  I also want to know the size of the house, and how many floors, especially if it is a multi-animal house.  No question has a right/wrong answer (except declawing), but in total, make your decision who is the bet candidate.

Don't assume anything:  a friend of mine (who rescued Ritz) was fostering for months an adorable mother and her kittens.  She didn't even think of asking: "how do you feel about declawing cats" and was horrified when--after adopting the cat out--she learned through the grapevine that the adopter was going to declaw the kitten because it scratched his couch.  Luckily due to many phone calls, emails and links about declawing, the adopter changed his mind.

My husband is constructing posters for the neighborhood, as my dearest wish is to find a home among my neighbors for at least one of these little guys. We've constructed a Craig's List ad emphasizing their bonuses - they are neutered and have shots. I didn't include the word "feral" in the ad. I have a form from the local humane society covering basic questions for prospective adopters, and I'll use much of that when interviewing.

My intention is to ask anyone who responds to come and spend 15-20 minutes with the kittens, preferably in the evening after it cools down. The kits are more active then and can be persuaded to be nice. I don't want this person to decide which kitten to take on the first visit - Castor is a very engaging and outgoing kitten who would be everyone's first pick, but the others get overlooked. They all have wonderful qualities, and very different personalities, so I want this person to take some time. The second visit should include anyone else in the family or household who would live with the kittens. At that point, they should have references ready to go, and I would let them decide which kitten to take. But they could only take one of my boys if they have a cat carrier in good order and can answer my questions in a manner I find acceptable.

At the request of the local contact from the humane society, I am asking for a small donation to that organization. They funded much of the cost of the neutering, and I would like to use any fees I receive to pay that back, in part. They have been good to me.

I would like to find homes for all boys by the end of the month, but I know that's going to be hard. Wish me luck, folks, and if you have other suggestions, let me know.

(P.S. - I'm with you on the declawing. None of my indoor kitties have lost their claws, though they have all been spayed or neutered. I hope anyone who adopts these boys will share my position on claws.)

If you can arrange it, do a home visit, too.  People with good intentions will have no problems with that.

Good luck!

I'll see what I can do.

I may have a friend interested in the grey tabby boy. She says she wants a girl kitty, but little Oedipus is so sweet, so loving, so cute, that I might be able to convince her to take him on.

Went out this morning without any food at all, and managed to get all four kitties to get their purr on. Leo, the most stand-offish cat of the bunch, sat and watched me turn his brothers into squirming bundles of mush, then let me approach him. Usually, he'll run away. This time, he stood his ground and, despite an opening hiss, he accepted affection and purred for me. All four kittens, purring at once and maneuvering for more affection. It was wonderful - I wished I had more hands.

Every day, the kittens seem to be making breakthroughs. Last night, a group of our friends came over and brought a teen aged daughter. Kaitlyn spent at least 3 hours on the porch with the kittens, loving them and playing with them. Some of those last barriers to full acceptance of humans fell as a result.

This morning, whereas only the bravest of the kittens would meet me at the door when I brought out breakfast, FOUR did so. Leonidas, who has been the most sky kitten, not only allows but struts to get his share of physical affection. Oedipus and Pollux squirm and roll onto their backs to get tummy rubs, and Castor climbs my bathrobe if I don't add him into the love fest.

I've had them nearly 3 weeks, and they've made such amazing progress. From shivering babies who wouldn't leave their litter boxes to these brave and confident little love creatures. They're gaining weight and growing, too.

I just want the right people to come and adopt them. Too bad Kaitlyn's family has 3 cats, one dog, and is moving to another state in a week.

Wonderful news!  Your hard work and patience is paying off.  Now, as you said, they need their forever homes.  If you know anyone with Petfinder access, they may be able to do a courtesy post for you.  Also, if you don't have one, set up a Facebook account.

Some people will not use Craig's List but a friend of mine has had a lot of success this year with it.  She is super cautious and does a home visit, insists on vet references and charges a small fee (which she immediately donates to our local S/N program).  So far, she's only met one person she felt hinky about and that person did not get a kitten.

Hang in there, keep spreading the word and someone will step forward for them.  In the meantime, thanks to your angelic work, they are safe and happy!

I've looked at Petfinder, and no - I don't know anyone with access. My contact at the local humane society has said that she would be willing to help get pictures up on their website of cats in fosterage around the community, and could include those kittens. I'll contact her again and see if she'll hook me up with the woman who does that work.

If anyone here has access to Petfinder and posting privileges, PLEASE contact me. These boys are still small, but they shouldn't be confined to a front porch forever. They have all decided that they LOVE to be loved, and I just don't have enough hands to satisfy them all. They step on one another to get access to those hands that will bring them such pleasure and contentment, and the sound of 4 happy purring kittens can be deafening. I adore them all, and if I didn't have 5 indoor cats of my own, I would happy adopt these boys. Caring for 12 cats forever - 5 indoor, 3 feral, and 4 kittens on the porch - is too much, and as one of my indoor kitties is diabetic (in remission since 2009), I don't want her stressed. Kittens would stress her.

I have an ad up on Craig's list, mentioning that they are foundlings, neutered, with first shots. I included pictures, and am asking $15 apiece as donations to the local humane society. I've included a brief description of the character of each kitten. So far, not one contact, and my local friends are all insisting they cannot or will not take a kitten, no matter how beautiful they are. *sigh*

Such sweet little guys. :rub:

Leonidas (left), Oedipus (right)



Leo and Oedi again, with less movement.


Pollux looking for even MORE food.


Castor with some of his many toys.

Newer pictures of my sweet baby boys.

The best picture yet. See how comfortable and confident these boys have become. I can walk up to them with the tablet, take their pictures, and they don't scatter. No more candid pictures from inside the house through a window. These boys are ready to go home.

They're adorable!

How do you get into helping cats like this? I would love to get into it if it weren't for my $$ situation. Perhaps fostering would be my cup of tea. Does anyone know of any Ontario Canada rescue groups?

DreamRider - the kittens came to me.  I have other threads on this site so you can follow the story, but the short version is that a feral cat - we call him Simon - found us last winter.  We started feeding him, when suddenly two other cats showed up.  Brother and sister Brighton and Esther went through TNR (trap-neuter-release) in early April with Simon, but Esther showed us the kittens in late April.  These are NOT Esther's kits - she was never pregnant and not lactating at the time she was spayed.  We think Esther's mother has died, as she's never been seen by us.  We finally were able to trap the kittens in late June, and had them neutered in early July.  Since then, the kittens have been fostered on our porch.

Our brave little Castor, the most courageous kitty in the world, has realized that good things come through the door to the house.  Thus, he wants to go through the door himself, to find that unlimited bounty of tuna and cat food, human affection, and maybe those other cats he's seen through the window.  So far, it hasn't happened, but it's a matter of time.

Clever Castor.

My Diago is smart like that too, but say his name in a *what do you think your doing* tone and he stops in his tracks. Usually then he makes an anoyed meow and walks away tail high lol.