We found a feral kitty, now what?

hey jude

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I just joined this forum, and am grateful for any ideas anyone has.

My husband and I discovered a cute little kitten (maybe about 4 mths. old?) coming to our back deck, after suffering thru our brutal winter here in Michigan. We started to feed her, then decided it was just too cold to continue to see her outside. Long story short, we did trap her, kept her for about 6 days, then made the executive decision to have her spayed, along with vaccinations, deworming, etc.  She tested negative for FIV and FeLuk, so all is good there.  We have her resting comfortably in an upside- down playpen with litter, food, water, and lots of soft towels to sleep on, also soft relaxing music for cats playing 24/7.  We also put in some soft clothing of ours in with her so she could get used to our scent.  She is eating and drinking, also very politely using the kitty litter and covering. But will not eat when we are with her.  We go into her room (she is quarantined because we have 3 other healthy indoor cats) and sit with her periodically throughout the day.  She eats and drinks, but only when we are not there.  When we sit with her, we talk softly, sometimes I just do laptop stuff, yesterday I read to her an article on how to work with ferals.  She did listen. She does let us pet her when we try, but she doesn't initiate anything, and stays out of reach, so we have stopped trying to pet her if that makes her uncomfortable.  I have a trail cam on her and it shows she is active a bit more when we are not in the room, reaching up to see if there is an escape route at the top of the playpen, so I know she is not in as much pain as what we thought.  Granted, she did just have a hysterectomy, so we are cutting her a lot of slack. 

Our question is, are we on the right track?  I have heard some ferals become the best of pets.  But this little girl is so very shy, I hope we can turn her around.  I have an adoption to a friend who will give her a very loving home lined up for her if we can just get her to be a little more trusting of people.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I have never had a cat yet that didn't love me unconditionally.  Don't want to start now!  Thanks.
 

vball91

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You are definitely on the right track! Thank you so much for rescuing this little girl. She is so lucky to have found you. I think the important thing to keep in mind is that socialization will take time and needs to be done at her pace. Patience is key. Also, if she is naturally a shy kitty, she may never be a lap cat and may only want affection on her terms. I think it's great that you have a home lined up for her, but I would make sure that your friend understands that given her background, she may never be a super cuddly cat. Or she may be. It's just impossible to predict at this stage. Having no pre-set expectations will be better for everyone.

I would also try feeding her by hand, yummy irresistible treats like meat only baby food or freeze-dried meats and organs. When she is recovered from her spay, you can try play sessions with a wand toy. She definitely sounds like she can be socialized. In fact she sounds like she has already had some human contact if she allowing hand petting already. She does not sound like true feral to me.
 
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hey jude

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Thank you so much for the encouraging words!  Its hard when this is our first feral, and being Italian, patience is not so much my thing!  But she is just so darn cute, I feel she will make a wonderful pet given half a chance.  When you consider she probably maybe has never known the kindness of humans, and for the most part, had to forage for food for survival, not to mention the sub-zero temps this winter.  I'm just so thankful we were able to get this far with her.  I will let her recover a few more days from her spay surgery, then maybe try to make more progress with socialization. At this point, I can't get near her enough to even check the surgical site to make sure all is well.  But I have not seen her licking at all, in fact I haven't seen her grooming at all either.

  I tried chicken & gravy baby food on a spoon yesterday, but she showed no interest at all.  I figured it was the anesthesia maybe taking her appetite away, so just put a little tuna in a bowl and left her alone to rest.  I came back about an hour later, and tuna was gone, along with some dry food.  She clearly has an appetite, but not ready to eat with me around. 

Do you think taking her food away, then bringing it only when I am there is appropriate at this point?  I have heard that food being the big motivator, might bring her around.  I tried to do this yesterday, but felt bad when she just would not eat.  I couldn't keep depriving her.  I guess its called Tough Love?
 

vball91

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Hmm, if she is only 4 months old, then smaller, more frequent meals are still best for her, so I don't know if I would withhold food for long. At this point it's still early days, so I would continue to offer the yummy treats by hand. She will start to associate you with good things: food, play, and eventually petting hopefully. Since you said you haven't seen her grooming herself, I wonder if you might try short grooming sessions soon. Some cats love to be brushed and find a brush less frightening than a hand.
 

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I just wanted to thank you for saving that little girl. Some cats are never super lovey and shy, no matter what their background. She sounds like she is coming along nicely, being able to touch her is a huge step towards gaining her trust. Stroke her as often as she will let you, she'll grow to like it. I've had a feral for 6 years now, and he has NEVER ate in front of me. I have to sneak a peek later at him, so maybe she is like that. Good luck, and God bless!
 
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hey jude

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When we first got her, we brought her in and released her into a spare bedroom that we use as an exercise room where she first panicked and climbed the walls, then after we left her alone for a while, found a hiding spot under our tread mill and refused to come out if we were anywhere in the room.  After a few days of this, we decided to get her the medical attention she no doubt needed, and trapped her again from that room, taking her in to be spayed, tested, and vaccinated.  Now since that is all done, we put her into the upside-down playpen to see if she would feel calmer.  She is now very calm, seems content and loves to sleep, but still wary of us if we go in there just to sit quietly.  She eventually gives up watching us and falls asleep, and will only eat when we are not there.

My question is, if we again release her to the entire bedroom, won't she just do the same panicky thing?  We have since closed off under the treadmill so she cannot go back in there, and set up a nice box with a cat bed inside mostly facing the wall but with little "windows" cut in it so she can still see us from inside. The box is taped down so it won't move or topple over. I fear that if we let her have the run of the whole bedroom again, that may set her back to square one like the first day in there, but in the same respect, we cannot easily engage with her while she is inside the pen (no doors,, just lifting the edge and sticking our hands under.  We cannot pet or brush her as she is mainly laying in the back of the playpen.  It is screened all around (its a pack n play) so she can easily see us when we are sitting with her.

Does anyone have a suggestion for transitioning her from small enclosure to larger room without freaking her out - do we just let her out, then leave immediately so she can figure it out on her own without us interfering?

Thanks so much for any ideas.
 

vball91

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Hmm, generally, the recommendation is to leave the door open and let the cat come out and explore on her own schedule, but obviously that won't work with the play pen. Do you have anything like dog crate with doors that you can use instead?
 
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hey jude

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No.  She just seems really content in the playpen, I would hate to let her out only to panic again.  I wish I had doors to open, but not an option with this setup.  She only weighs 4 lbs. so is still pretty small and seems to like being in the enclosure.  I sit with her often, and just today, for the first time, she ate in front of me. Progress??  Granted, it was tuna, so big incentive. lol. Also, she is in recovery from spaying 2 days ago, and I don't want to risk her hurting herself running around a room.
 

vball91

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Eating in front of you is definitely progress! I think since this setup works right now,give her time to get comfortable and then start making small changes and see how she deals with them.
 
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hey jude

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Thanks a bunch!  She seems to sleep a lot.  Don't know if that's normal, since every kitten I ever had just wants to play, or if its the anesthesia from surgery still, or she's just chilling out for the first time in her short little life with warmth, food, water, and someone that cares about her.
 

vball91

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I think it's probably a combination, but from what I have heard, most ferals brought inside do seem to sleep A LOT at first. I think they do know that they are finally safe and can sleep soundly! You are doing such a great thing for this little girl. What are you going to name her?
 
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hey jude

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Since we already have 3 cats, I have a potential home for her - a very good friend of mine would love to take her but she's hoping I can socialize her a bit before she takes her.  I asked her today what would she name her IF she adopts, and she and her husband want her to be called Suzy, so that's what I am calling her when we "talk".  Well, I do all the talking, but at least she has a name now instead of just "kitty" or "baby girl". She does listen to me when I talk to her.  She seems to watch my every move - I guess that's the non-trusting part coming out.
 

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Hi there

When we first got our kittens,they buried themselves in hidy holes in their room and we would hardly see them.We would just change their food and water  and their 2 litter boxes.--the only way we would 

see them was to crawl under the bed with a flashlight.

At first we tempted them out a bit with wand toys and much later with a bit of Gerbers #2 bay food(chicken with chicken gravy) ,first on a teaspoon and later on a finger.

This baby food was a wonder and really started the socializing process---even today ,we give them any medication with this food.

Well,from our experience with our two feral kittens--we just allowed them to do what they were comfortable with---we have had them since Christmas and although they are far more relaxed with us,

we still have to almost close the door of their food room to allow them to relax and eat.

They did take a long time to settle after their spay/neuter.

They will now come to me(I feed them--lol) but will hardly let my wife touch them.Picking up is a no-no..---if they just walk by,we just let them do their thing.

They are definitely in control of what  they will allow or not allow.

Also a lot of small toys (especially with cat nip) helped them relax.

You are on the right track---a lot of patience and moving along at the kittens speed(sometimes difficult when you want to cuddle the cute thing)will result in a super pet

Best regards

Tony and Kat
 
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hey jude

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Thanks to everyone for your replies and words of encouragement.  Yes, you're right Tony.  I want nothing more than to take her on my lap and pet her.  However, today I pet her with a feather on a stick, on her head, under the chin and down her back.  She gave me the squinty eyed look of contentment, so I knew she was ok so far.  Then just now, I wanted to try brushing her to see if she could tolerate that.  I only had the brush for my other 3 cats, and since she may have fleas, didn't want to use that.  So I had a flea comb, and stuck my arm in under the play pen (not much room to work), but I got my whole arm in and started combing her gently at the base of her tail.  All was good, so I progressed from the mid-back and on down.  We did this for about 10 minutes, and she seemed to really like it - no doubt her very first grooming from a human.  I stopped before it ended up not feeling good for her.  She was very content when I stopped, and after I retreated, she moved in closer to the front of the pen.

She has her days and nights mixed up, like a newborn baby home from the hospital.  She is up most of the night roaming and jumping around in the playpen, then seems to be content to sleep most of the day away except when I come in.  I guess its due to needing to forage for food in the dead of the night, then sleeping under some sort of shelter during the daylight hours to avoid becoming prey to something bigger.  She just seems very calm during the day, but agitated/restless at night.  But we do seem to be making progress.  She ate tuna again today while I sat near her pen, so baby steps forward. 
 

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I think that's terrific progress in a short amount of time. I think Suzy is really starting to trust you. Way to go on being patient with her. I know it's not easy, but you are doing all the right things!
 
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hey jude

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Thanks to everyone for your replies and words of encouragement.  Yes, you're right Tony.  I want nothing more than to take her on my lap and pet her.  However, today I pet her with a feather on a stick, on her head, under the chin and down her back.  She gave me the squinty eyed look of contentment, so I knew she was ok so far.  Then just now, I wanted to try brushing her to see if she could tolerate that.  I only had the brush for my other 3 cats, and since she may have fleas, didn't want to use that.  So I had a flea comb, and stuck my arm in under the play pen (not much room to work), but I got my whole arm in and started combing her gently at the base of her tail.  All was good, so I progressed from the mid-back and on down.  We did this for about 10 minutes, and she seemed to really like it - no doubt her very first grooming from a human.  I stopped before it ended up not feeling good for her.  She was very content when I stopped, and after I retreated, she moved in closer to the front of the pen.

She has her days and nights mixed up, like a newborn baby home from the hospital.  She is up most of the night roaming and jumping around in the playpen, then seems to be content to sleep most of the day away except when I come in.  I guess its due to needing to forage for food in the dead of the night, then sleeping under some sort of shelter during the daylight hours to avoid becoming prey to something bigger.  She just seems very calm during the day, but agitated/restless at night.  But we do seem to be making progress.  She ate tuna again today while I sat near her pen, so baby steps forward. 
 

tdiving

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Hi

Such a cute cat---I dont know about mixing day and night,our two kittens run around like crazy at night and sleep most of the day---charging batteries for the next evening----I think its a cat thing!

Regards

Tony and Kat
 
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hey jude

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Thanks, Vball.  She does seem content in there.  Yeah, you're probably right Tony and Kat, its a cat thing.  Our other 3 boys tend to get us up pretty early, so there's no sleeping in here.   This afternoon, I got her to eat some tuna right from my hand, but only a little. Its a start.

My avatar pic is our youngest, Casey - almost a year old, and such a love bug.

Judy
 
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