Help with feral kitten

I would leave her be. Let her come to you. She will eventually even if it doesn't seem like it. A spare room vs the crate sounds like a good idea if it is possible. Put all of her/his stuff in his room. Eventually he/she will chill.


Do you have a spare room you could put her in? This is what we did with our ferals years ago.

Datagrrl said:

My problem is that after I handle her and put her back she will hiss at ne as I am trying to stand up or if I pick up something near her crate.

In those situations should I try To pick her up again?

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rachelinaz said:

I would leave her be. Let her come to you. She will eventually even if it doesn't seem like it. A spare room vs the crate sounds like a good idea if it is possible. Put all of her/his stuff in his room. Eventually he/she will chill.


Do you have a spare room you could put her in? This is what we did with our ferals years ago.

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I agree when it's an adult or older feral, but doing this now will mean she will not ever be okay with being held or touched or lounging with them. She will always keep her distance, and she is young so the crate will be helpful rather than not. It's basically forcing her to learn trust, rather than allowed to do as she pleases, which will not be hanging out with the family, but rather at a distance.

You make me smile Catwoman!.Burrito Look.tee hee,So, that's what you call it! That's so descriptive !::

Loopycann said:

You make me smile Catwoman!.Burrito Look.tee hee,So, that's what you call it! That's so descriptive !:

:

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Now you made me laugh! Thanks )

She's beautiful!!!! She looks like my Foley. It took a little time for him to adapt to his new home but he's the sweetest boy. He purrs all the time he even makes the whole bed vibrate! That's funny he is shy with everybody but me and my boyfriend BUT if I am petting him too much or I touch a spot he doesn't like he swats me and his nails are extremely sharp. I do cut them every once in a while but still they're sharp so whenever I see his reaction and I know he is about to attack I lay off good look with your beautiful kitten guve her a lot of love and kisses !!

Datagrrl said:

Major setback today.

Long story short, she got out into the living room. My husband really wanted me to leave her alone. I was really concerned about whether she would use the litter box. This morning she was in her crate eating and I closed the door. Now she feels trapped I think.

Do I just go back to what we have been doing? We are not to a point where she would come to any of us outside the crate. She will play, but if we try and touch her she thinks we want to put her away.

If I trusted her to use the litter box I might be okay with letting her out more. She will interact with us, and doesn't only hide. She just thinks we are trying to catch her. Not that she hates her crate, she is just pretty curious. I was hoping to keep her crate there for awhile with her litter food and water. Now I worry that she will see it as a trap and not her place.

Am I expecting too much? Is her outside behavior normal cat behavior? I worry a lot because I can tell she is still scared of a lot.

It was totally my fault she got out. But now I am not letting my daughter play at the door because she wants out so bad.

My biggest fear is that she will get outside the house.

I have ordered some Composure drops. I have the treats, which I fed her one yesterday. I think that was some of the amazing change I saw yesterday. I got one in her today and it seems to have taken the edge off her stress. She is playing normally. She is hissing more. But still fine with petting, picking up.

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I had three feral kittens running around my house one time. They really got into everything and anything. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of them. But what I am really trying to say is when it was feeding time all I had to do is call them and they were all there. I put there plate on the floor and they all ate. When I wanted to go to bed they all climbed up on my bed and that is where they slept. No one ever had a litter box problem. Just make sure the door stays open when she is out and about. Not sure if I remember but do you have any other cats? If so maybe they will get along and you can leave her out. I had two older cats at the time and my one decided to take the mother role and she took care of the kittens. It was so cute and funny to watch. So until they got older and started to climb out of there room that is where they stayed. Then when they got older they were out with my older cat and at night they were running around our game room until it was bed time. Could you leave her in your daughters bedroom at night? Maybe she would come out and sleep on the bed. Don't know if this is a good idea for you or not but it is something I would do. Just make sure there is litter there and she is aware of it. I myself just can't see keeping it locked up in a cage because it doesn't seem like it is that feral if you can pick it up. Well good luck.

I think she is ready to come out more. My (awesome) husband fixed the chair last night. I think I will let her out in the living area.

I guess I have to let the control freak stuff go. I worry about her getting outside a lot.

If she were to get outside you might lose her. She will wander off.

Not control freak at all, it's your option to allow her to be out, and she will eventually be fine, but not so much on being touched and held like she would be if caged until bonded is all.

It is funny when I read back on this and realize how far we have come.she is definitely more friendly and less scared than a few weeks ago.

Again, I am probably expecting too much. I don't really know what cats are like. I haven't really been around one in the last 20 years.

I think the key might be opening yhe crate and letting her find her way out. Both times she has been out have been accidents. I want her to know it is still her safe place.

I just spent the past hour reading this whole thread, and its amazing how Glenda has progressed. I never had any ferals, but when I got my kitten Kiki instead of keeping her in a cage, we (my family) kept her in the living room. My advice to let Glenda safely explore would be to let her freely explore the room her cage and litterbox are in, with the cage open and easy to access. When she is used to a larger space like this, add another room and another, etc. 

Also make sure to make as many good memories in this room as possible. Another technique I'll suggest (if you have enough confidence) is to lie down on the floor on your side (imagine a mermaid) with your belly exposed. In the wild, when fighting, animals try not to expose their bellies because it is a soft spot and if damaged can lead to death. By exposing your tummy to your cat or vice-versa you/the cat are showing that you trust eachother enough, that when you show your belly you wont kill eachother. You are also then at eye level with the cat, which makes it more comfortable. I do this all the time with my cat Berbol and he replies by lying down in the same fashion about a meter away from me. 

Finally, tell your cat you love her and are friendly by giving her the 'slow blink' or 'eye kiss'. Heres how: 1. Make eye contact with your cat but dont delay (making direct eye contact for long is a sign of aggresiveness towards the cat) 2. Slowly close/open your eyes (lasts about 5 seconds each) a couple times. Usually a cat will respond by slowly closing its eyes. Then you are both showing that you are friendly and mean no harm.

And I'd say those techniques will work, because they are two of the many body movements of the cat language. (Humans only know a few) Best of luck and keep us updated

-BerbDCat ;D

We would spend a lot of time with them. All three were very Adult friendly within 4 to 6 weeks and small kid friendly with in another 4 to 6 weeks.
My son was around 10 or 11. He would read a book on the floor.
My nephews were 6 and under when we introduced them into the room. After that, we let them roam the house.

catwoman707 said:

I agree when it's an adult or older feral, but doing this now will mean she will not ever be okay with being held or touched or lounging with them. She will always keep her distance, and she is young so the crate will be helpful rather than not. It's basically forcing her to learn trust, rather than allowed to do as she pleases, which will not be hanging out with the family, but rather at a distance.

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Excellent advice above!!

The only diff is why the cage is/was important is that Glenda is a feral kitten, and if turned loose in a room would most definitely hide.

However she has come a long way now, and much better, more interested in exploring. But delaying her free roaming will help her get more used to being held and touched. Important for her life.

Hmmm wish I had known that 14 years ago. None the less... this group is great. The advise is amazing and conversations civil. So glad I stumbled on it.

Also.... so glad to read such great updates!

catwoman707 said:

Excellent advice above!!

The only diff is why the cage is/was important is that Glenda is a feral kitten, and if turned loose in a room would most definitely hide.
However she has come a long way now, and much better, more interested in exploring. But delaying her free roaming will help her get more used to being held and touched. Important for her life.

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You have a very good point. I was writing that from my point of view, i.e., ive never had any feral cats

All of the advice I have been given is great. I also love all of the stories. So many people did this before there was the internet, so you were going on instinct, and research, when you could. I definitely don't think anyone is saying anyone else is wrong. Cat woman and some of the others have been me for awhile and knows that not only was Glinda a feral kitten, but I also think they picked up on my anxiety, which is honestly probably a bigger issue than Glinda's background.

Today Glinda came TO ME to get some petting. No food or anything. Then when I moved my hand a little closer to me she slid right under it. She was still in the crate, but that was huge. She also doesn't run anymore if someone else walks up while one person is feeding or petting her.

This was moments after I accidentally hurt her. I was picking her up and she was much heavier than I expected and I dropped her a bit. Maybe only an inch. She ran to her corner gave me a look, yelled at me sulked for awhile then came back. I guess it was her way of telling me not to pull that again.

So we let her out. This was immediately after she got out. She laid in front of my DD and let her pet her.http://s179.photobucket.com/user/randiB1/media/20140512_192207.jpg.html

My husband insisted on vacuuming after this because she needs to get used to it. I guess he is right, but I think we could have went a day without vacuuming.

She is hiding now. I am leaving her alone. He thinks that box is more than enough for her to get in and out. She ran in and out a few times at first then hid.

Datagrrl said:

So we let her out. This was immediately after she got out. She laid in front of my DD and let her pet her.http://s179.photobucket.com/user/randiB1/media/20140512_192207.jpg.html

My husband insisted on vacuuming after this because she needs to get used to it. I guess he is right, but I think we could have went a day without vacuuming.

She is hiding now. I am leaving her alone. He thinks that box is more than enough for her to get in and out. She ran in and out a few times at first then hid.

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Perhaps move her into another room while vacuuming. My oldest kitty is 12 years old. He has been with me sicne he was born. He is very confident EXCEPT when the monster turns on. Vacuums scare kittehs so bad.

I think youre doing a lot of things right.

Perhaps get feather toys for her to play with (Da Bird is the best feather toy Ive ever found)

Keep it up with lots of quality but extra smelly, trasty cat food to keep her happy.

Do you think it is normal,for her to have gone into her crate to use the litter box but not eaten?

She was starving this morning. I sat down with some baby food and she came right up to me.

There was cat litter on the chair she slept in and on the step to her box, so I think at some point she used the litter box.

Also I looked under the chair for her and she was on the chair and she jumped and spit at me. I was inches from her. How should I have handled that? I went and got the baby food. I think she was actually pretty stressed from being out. She had confidence though. She was climbing all over the chair, I think she wanted to play.

I put her back in her crate and she actually seems happy, even though I caught her.

Like I was saying, her cage is security to her now, her safe zone.

This is yet another reason it is too soon to allow her free roam of your home, or even a big room, out all the time.

She can even be let out for short periods but more caged and made to interact with you then out on her own.

She will keep reverting back to more feral ways if you let her roam freely.

Thanks again. I can definitely see what you mean catwoman. I was a little worried about how she would be when I got home, but she is actually pretty happy.

She did hiss when I approached her in her chair, but she let me pet her. She is being a total goof ball and not really hiding today.

I am letting her out in the biggest room. She doesn't really have any desire to explore the dining area. I have put a wall up to the kitchen and closed the bathroom door.

Thanks again everyone.

She was not letting me get one of her face tonight.