Help!

Hi everyone.  I am new here, but I am hoping to get some support for a big job I have on my hands.  Back in May, I discovered three small kittens in my backyard under the deck. I saw their mom once, but never again once I started feeding the babies.  I fed them in my backyard all summer.  I couldn't bring them inside due to the two indoor cats I already had.  I was intending to tame them and then find homes for them.  In the process, one of my indoor cats had to be put to sleep due to cancer.  It broke my heart and now I can't give the babies away.  I want all of them.  :-)  There are two boys and one girl.  I had to trap the girl to get her spayed and vaccinated.  She got a clean bill of health from the vet. She stayed inside while recovering and then my husband put her back outside with her brothers.  Several weeks later,  I managed to get the two boys into carriers and to the vet for shots and neutering and they are currently in one of the bedrooms of my house, leaving her outside alone. I need to know how to move the little girl back indoors so she can be with her brothers. She acts more wild than them, but I think it is out of fear.  I am wondering if she will feel more secure being back with them. I tried putting her in a carrier to come inside with them and that set us back a week or two.  She ran off and is just now starting to trust me again.  Now we are back to where she will eat while I am sitting outside on the patio with her.  If I put the plate near my lap, she will still come and eat.  Tonight, she let me pet her while she was eating, but when she had enough, that was it.  She swatted me with her paw and nipped at me.  For the last several days, she sticks around even after she finishes the food.  She walks in circles around me meowing and meowing, but won't come much closer unless I have food. When I get up to go inside, she goes and lies down on the towel where I was sitting.  Does anyone have any suggestions for getting her to come inside?  Do you think that she will be more secure with her brothers?  Thanks for your suggestions!

Julie

Hi Julie,

I think it is so great that you took all of them into the vet and are keeping them healthy! I do not think she needs to be in by her brothers at all because she sounds like a pretty independent girl to me. I think you should just let them all go in and out as they please because they are used to it out there and should be just fine. Besides, if one day they have something happen out there, they will know what to do because they are on the wild side. I let my cats go in and out all the time and they love it. I have just the opposite though, I have indoor cats that like to go outside and I think that is more worrisome than your situation. Just let the girl get used to you, I am sure it is going to take PLENTY of time for that, and eventually she will be much more comfortable around you. If you have any other questions and/or concerns, please let me know and I will be happy to help the best I can. Sorry to hear about your baby passing from cancer. I just recently lost my small Bichon Frise dog when he got hit by a car, so I feel your pain. Let me know how the progress goes!

Cheers,

Pauline

It is still possible to socialize the female.  You could try and retrap her, but she might remember the trap and not go  near it.  You could also begin to feed her in a carrier which you tie a string to and sit off to the side and when she is inside, you pull the string to close the door.  You also might be able to lure her into the house with yummy food. 

If you have a choice inside is definitely best.  If she is left outside, she will need shelter from the elements.  She might socialize more quickly if she has her brothers to watch.  Try getting some Gerber stage 1 baby food chicken or turkey.  Cats love it.  You can put some on a spoon or directly on your fingers. 

Since you have the two boys inside, I would worry sick about the female out there all on her own.  Just make sure if you do bring her in that you have a safe place to keep her and the brothers away from your other cat until they have all settled and you can do proper introductions.  Once inside, I would keep them inside.  If you provide cat trees and a bird feeder or two outside, they will be very happy just to watch.  You then will not have to worry about their safety.

Thank you for rescuing these babies. 

I am so sorry you lost your kitty to cancer. It hurts so badly. You are wonderful for taking care of these little guys. 

As ShadowsRescue suggested, use a carrier. Feed her something she really likes in a carrier a couple of times a day. A good sized carrier is best so that when you are eventually standing by the door she won't feel that you are lurking right behind her. Plus, the larger the carrier, the more distance she has to cover when she tries to escape when close that door.  

Place the food all of the way inside the carrier, as far away from the door as you can get it.

She's a kitten, so it probably won't take longer than a week before you are able to close the door on her while she's eating. Start off by placing the food inside the carrier, then walk away, sit down, whatever, so she won't feel threatened. As young as she is you will probably be able to work your way closer each feeding until you are able to close the door on her.

Don't forget to talk soft and sweet to her during this whole process, and after the first 3 or 4 feedings try adding additional small movements and noises (slowly, slowly) so she'll get used to your noise. Seems to me the girls are always the hardest and most stubborn!

Good luck! Please keep us posted. I'm cheering for you.

ps. I forgot to add that if the carrier has holes on the sides put an old sheet or towel over it to cover the openings when you feed her. Makes her feel more secure and she can't see your movements.

When I first brought Marvin, my stray I rescued into the house it was quite the ordeal.  I had already trapped him and had him neutered a few months earlier so he would have nothing to do with the trap.  I tried a dog cage and a large dog carrier.  It was so darn hard.  I was unable at the time to pick him up.  I could pet him, just not pick him up.  I was finally after 90 minutes, able to lure him into the the dog carrier and then push him in the rest of the way.  He scratched me with his back claws, but it was so stressful for both Marvin and myself.  Once I had him settled in his safe room, I knew I had to get him to the vet for the rest of his vaccines before he could be around my indoor cat.  I allowed him to be in his safe room for 2 weeks before the appointment.  During this time, I had a medium sized soft sized carrier.  I began feeding him in it daily with the front door rolled up.  On the day of the appointment I put a small amount of food into the carrier and had a piece of cardboard to block his exit so I could zip up the front.  It worked perfectly. 

Good luck!  I bet it will be pretty easy if you take it slow.

Thanks everyone for your support and ideas. I feel like we are making a little bit of progress because the last couple of nights when I went out to feed her, she has let me pet her. One thing I notice though, she is a biter! She has decided that she can walk by me and bite me . I can't tell whether she is doing it out of fear, anger or just because I fed her some turkey with my hand. We live in Houston, so it will be quite a while before any really cold weather sets in if we have any at all. I have a little house I bought when I wasn't sure I could bring these guys inside. It has a front and back door. She has walked through but she didn't stay in there. I also cut a hole in a big plastic tub. I put food in there when I can't be there at feeding time. She can go in there if it is wet or cool. Both of these are on a large covered patio. This morning, it is raining. I saw her checking out both places to stay dry and warm, but she wound up under the deck again! There are small spaces between the boards and I know rain drips through. Why would she pick a wet place over two dry ones? Anyway, I do feel like I am regaining her trust finally and I don't want to ruin it again, so I am taking it slow.

Meanwhile her brothers are in their safe room and have been there for almost two weeks. Some of that time was recovering from neuter surgery. Now I am ready to show them a couple of new rooms, but they don't seem interested at all. Is it cruel to keep them in a bedroom with the door closed for this long? They really have it pretty good in there. AC, a nice window, a bed, food, water and two litter boxes. I spend as much time in the room with them as I can, but I just feel like a jail warden when I leave!

Thanks for letting me vent here, my husband thinks I am crazy with all the worrying I do!

Here is something funny about one of the indoor kitties. I had my IPad in the room and decided to look at YouTube for bird:lol3: videos. There is a video for cats section so I found one of a fish tank. I showed it to one of the boys and he loved it! Now when I go in the room with my IPad, he bugs me until I put a video on! So funny!

My outdoor feral still prefers going under the deck when it rains hard or storms.  I have a great shelter for him, but many times he must feel safest under the deck.  When the rain stops, he comes back out and he is still a bit wet.  Not soaked, but not completely dry either. 

Marvin my rescued stray stayed in his safe room for over 2 months before I let him out.  Even now after he has been inside for over 4 months, he still is in his safe room 15-18 hours a day.  He is in there all night and whenever I am not home.  I would love to have him out more, but there are still issues between Marvin and my resident cat.  I sometimes feel just awful that he has to spend so much time in there.  Yet, he has all the comforts and seems fairly content. 

I hope that you will be able to bring the female inside soon.

YAY! I got my little girl inside!  I put a little bit of turkey in a top loading carrier,stuffed her in it and took her to the upstairs bedroom.  When we got there, I let her out and she ran under the bed with her brothers.  They haven't seen each other in 3 weeks.  There was a tiny hiss and a paw bonk on the head from one of her brothers,but otherwise,she seemed to settle in immediately.  I hope all three of them will be okay in the one bedroom.  I stayed in there for about 45 minutes to make sure they were all going to be ok.  I will go check on them again before my bedtime.  I am so relieved!  Now she won't be cold, or in danger or eaten up by fleas.  :-)  Thanks everyone for your help, especially the tip about the chicken baby food.  :-)

Now I have a question for you all. How many inside cats do you have? My number is officially up to four and I am wondering if that is too many?

JCalla said:

 
YAY! I got my little girl inside!  I put a little bit of turkey in a top loading carrier,stuffed her in it and took her to the upstairs bedroom.  When we got there, I let her out and she ran under the bed with her brothers.  They haven't seen each other in 3 weeks.  There was a tiny hiss and a paw bonk on the head from one of her brothers,but otherwise,she seemed to settle in immediately.  I hope all three of them will be okay in the one bedroom.  I stayed in there for about 45 minutes to make sure they were all going to be ok.  I will go check on them again before my bedtime.  I am so relieved!  Now she won't be cold, or in danger or eaten up by fleas.  :-)  Thanks everyone for your help, especially the tip about the chicken baby food.  :-)

Now I have a question for you all. How many inside cats do you have? My number is officially up to four and I am wondering if that is too many?

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OHhhh, I am so happy you got her inside.  She will be with her brothers and safe from the cold.  What a relief!

I wouldn't worry about having 4 cats inside.  Especially since 3 of them know each other!  Just do very slow introductions with your resident kitty.  I have 2 inside the house and 2 out on my deck that I dearly hope to bring inside one day.  I also have a large dog.  My neighbor across the street behind me is the neighborhood top kitty rescuer.  She has 10 inside.  She said that once she hit over 5, one more never mattered.  She is at her limit and I think everyone has a limit.  I am at mine too.  I know I cannot personally take on any more cats.  If they find their way to me, I will have to find homes or shelters for them.  You will know when enough is enough.

I know someone with 19 cats inside. He lives in a six bedroom, four bath house - just him and the cats. It really is more like a sanctuary, actually.

We have six inside. Our outside boy is outside because he's a little rough around the edges and six inside was our limit.

Like ShadowRescue said, your will know when you hit your limit.

That is wonderful news! I know you are so relieved to get her in. And, you're awesome for caring so much and working so hard to get her!

Yesterday, she hid under the bed all day but she did eat (cleaned her plate!).  I was playing with the other two with a feather toy and every so often, I would see her little paw take a swipe from under the bed.  The boy kitties walked off and I heard this really loud purring from under the bed.  When I looked, it had to be coming from her.  :-)  Today when I went in the bedroom, she was squeezed in the tightest little spot between two pieces of furniture asleep, but I would guess it was the best sleep she has ever gotten with no worries.  She came out from her spot and started grooming until I caught her eye, then she went under the bed.  It's a start though!

Awhhh! How sweet. You're right, that's a great start! There's nothing like the sound of contented purring, is there?

Just want to update here.  My three kitties are still in their "safe" room and seem to be pretty content there.  I do hear them running around in there a lot. My husband calls them the thundering herd. LOL!  When I brought them inside, I treated them all with Advantage for fleas and I gave them each a Capstar pill. It has been 3 or 4 weeks since then and I am seeing them scratch a little bit.  When I come out of the room, I feel like I am itchy, but I haven't actually seen a flea at all.  I need to get in there and vacuum and spray for fleas I think.  My plan is to give them each a Capstar and put them in another room.  Then I will treat them again with Advantage while I clean and vacuum the safe room.  I bought some flea spray called The Enforcer.  I will spray that everywhere while the kitties are in the other room.  It doesn't say how long to wait before letting them in after treating the room, just to let it dry.  Someone told me to sprinkle borax on the carpet and vacuum it up as well.  Anyone else have any tips about how to go about doing this?  I don't want to spread fleas throughout my house.  Thanks!!!

Julie

I'll bet those kitties are having a great time in there. What's not to be happy about? They're safe, well fed and have each other to play with, it doesn't get any better than that! Has there been any progress accepting you? I'm not sure about Advantage but I've used Advantage II quite often and it works quickly and well. It kills all flea life stages and lasts 30+ days. Just a word of warning about the flea sprays like Enforcer; they typically contain pyrethrins and/or synthetic pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are toxic to cats. Synthetic pyrethrins can also cause illness if the cat is sensitive or over exposed. The topical flea treatment and your vacuum cleaner will work wonders getting rid of the fleas.

The little guys are all pretty friendly now, even the little girl!  She has decided she kinda likes being petted and getting her ears and chin scratched, although it is mostly only okay while she is eating or just before. One of the little boys is just Mr.Friendly, tail in the air, head bumps, and a purr that sounds like a motor. He likes to knock treats out of my hand and will climb all over me to get food.  The other boy is a little more timid, but I can pick him up and pet him for 5 minutes or so before he squirms to get down.  They are all sweet as can bein their own ways.  I didn't dream that I would keep them all, but at this point, I don't think I could let go unless I m positive about the potential pet parent and that they won't be allowed outside.  Thanks for the info about Enforcer spray.  If I do use it, I will keep the cats in a different room for the day.  I can't decide which would stress them out more, a vacuum cleaner in the room or a move to a different room.  The next hurdle after fleas will be introducing all three to my seven year old diva girl cat.  That should be interesting.  :-)

That's how it happens... first you're just going to take care of them temporarily, then you can't imagine them not being there! They're sneaky that way. I am so glad that they are friendly to you now. You know how nosy kittens are, the move to a new room will be quite a treat. The vacuum cleaner, not so much!

A quick note as it's late and I have to shape young minds very early in the am (I'm a n adjunct design professor)...although everyone who's seen anything I've written knows I write nothing short...so fear not...more to come tomorrow

We took in 3 feral kittens (I'll find the link and point you to it tomorrow) ---and it was a process I was unprepared for. I've done tons of foster kitties - but none true ferals -and it is a process! I'll go through some things that helped me tomorrow = but just know that slow and steady will eventually win the race!!!! They're eating - so trust me - no one's too miserable

More tomorrow....

Keep happy thought and keep plugging away!