Feral kitten found in drainpipe

Awwwe. Great set up!

You do have a great set up.  You need to find a very enticing treat for him.  Cats love plain cooked chicken, tuna, mackeral, salmon and the baby food I mentioned before.  Each time you come into the room, offer a special treat.  You can place it on the floor.  At first he won't come get it, but eventually he will associate you with something yummy.  Stay for a bit and read or talk to him.  When you leave, offer another yummy treat.  You can use cat treats if you'd like, just be sure to find one that he loves and is irresistable.  in time he will want to come to you or come close and look for the special treat.  Just be sure to offer it when you first come in and again when you leave.  Try this many times each day. 

He is so beautiful and the set up is amazing! I love the litter box be patient. Even when he gets used to you he will still have his tantrums. It's so wonderful though when they wake you up by lying on top of you. You're gonna fall in love with the fuzzy ball really soon and then appreciate all the work it has taken you to tame him.

Wow, this little cat fell into heaven! Your set-up is amazing. He will come around. Patience is the key.

Dried duck is something my cats go crazy about.

I did first just bring my boys food, then weeks later I started having naps on sofa in their room, it took really long time that they even emerged from their hideout during my naps.

It took some month or so to have them come near me when I was having a nap, or pretending having a nap.

To be able to be in same room and not having a nap, so that they were on sight, that took long long time, I think it was several months.

I think that it was about 6 months until touching was possible, but my memory is not so great, it was however very long time.

Of course I had chance to touch them before I captured them, when they were bit less than 1 year old, but still they become very shy after capturing and it was months of daily work to get to point where they were before.

I think that it took 1.5 years until other one was fine with being put onto lap, other one is still today jumping away immediately. Some 4 years teaching and they come to ask pettings but only if they are in mood, if not then they hide, so it is quite long process and end result can be quite different from those that are born in human homes.

Best thing is not to except anything, just accepting how cat is and someday he will surprise you, maybe

I've gone online and bought the following:

2 chicken and 2 turkey gerbers (no 2) . A da bird. A pet carrier. A feliway. 

It's all import, so kitty better like it! I am now a poor church mouse. 

I used to sit on the ground and toss small chicken pieces to my feral.  I would make sure the first piece was really close to him then each piece would move a bit closer to me.  I made sure to keep my gaze down ( ferals do not like to be looked in the eye) and avoid direct eye contact.  I often would get him to come within a foot of me.  I made sure my movements were slow and I never tried to grab him or pet him.  Try this many times each day.  You can try regular cat treats, but you want it to be something really irresistable.  Keep using the Rescue Remedy too. 

Does he play with any toys?  Mice, wadded up paper to chase, catnip? 

You have received some great advice so far and it sounds like you are slowly beginning to make a bond with him. My only advice is to continue doing what you are doing by spending time with him every day. It may take quite a bit of time before you are able to hold and pet him, but I'm sure he will come around. 

I just wish i could at least be on the same level as him! You are all right, he does like kitty crack (gerbers) but only when i leave. I have sat there for nearly 1.5 hours with a small bowl of it and he won't come out. I leave the room for 10 mins, and BOOM it is all gone. lol. 

Sigh. He doesn't like cat nip. Or toys, including da bird, laser pointers, pretend mice.

I can't coax him down, I can't do anything except feed and leave, I'm feeling pretty despondent.

Well, he is really young so catnip won't have an affect on him now anyway.  Not until about 6 months old or so.  Kudos to you.  Just be patient and don't push him because he'll further invert into his own shell.  Be calm and he'll eventually come to you.  Keep talking sweetly and trying to entice him.  He is just scared.  Pretty soon he'll realize you are nice and want to be his friend.  It may take awhile but as long as you don't push him and the fact that he is a young kitty is in your favor.  Don't expect too much.  Baby steps is what it's all about.  Let him set the pace.  Get at his level and let him come to you, hold out your hand and let him rub against it.  Don't pet him without him giving you "permission."  Good luck and you'll have a best friend soon enough and this will all be like it never happened. 

kabama said:

Sigh. He doesn't like cat nip. Or toys, including da bird, laser pointers, pretend mice.

I can't coax him down, I can't do anything except feed and leave, I'm feeling pretty despondent.

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It is very frustrating for first month or two, there is not much happening, until he accepts you being a safe thing around him and it can take even several months.

One thing can be that he does not understand what toys are for, so it might be needed that you are playing with toys like a cat, he probably will not come to play with you, but he might come to sniff toys after you have left, maybe even attempting to do same things you did as cats do learn by watching, that way he might learn how to play with toys and also might find that enjoyable, also he might associate your smell in toys to be enjoyable and if he does that when you come in and your scent is around he remembers this is good enjoyable thing, which might greatly help him to get over his fears.

It is really boring for first weeks or even months when there is not much of anything improvement happening, just a routine and it is almost like if you would have no cat at all, only those duties of cat owner.

However if you are not attempting to force him progress faster by handling, petting, taking him down and such bad things, I'm sure there will be improvement in two months, maybe even much sooner, but at least in 6 months he will be down while you are in room.

Maybe take day or two 'off', just clean litterbox, add food and water, don't spend any time with him, for few days, he might learn that he misses your visits and be very excited to see you again for longer time. That might sometimes help for cat to learn that it is actually his space that room, he can then perhaps find more trust to you as he is no longer so afraid of his surroundings.

Anyway for first month, there is not much to except, unless cat is first generation feral, but what I understand from situation, he can be fairly far from tame and such takes more time to overcome his 'feralness'.

One of mine took well 6 months to be in same room with me, many many months went so that I could touch her even tiny bit and only when she was in her cat bed near the ceiling, then I thought to offer her outdoor access and she decided to run away to nearby farm where she still is, I'm going to pick her before winter and start over again I think, unless she still remembers how to be tame, winter here is too harsh for cats. However she was several years old without any human contact, so it was far more challenging situation, I doubt it will take 6 months with your boy as he is young, it will take shorter time, but I would be surprised if there would be any clear signs of improvement for first month.

To get him to petting stage, it might take year or more, sometimes happens sooner, but it will be long process, that will not happen in weeks, so know that you are on right track, you can now only wait.

I have another cat in the house and they are separated. Ideally i would like to get them acquainted with each other, and also of course I need to get this little fella to the vet!

SO on top of trying to get this one to be comfortable with me, i also need to capture him, take to a vet, plus introduce to my existing cat and hope that all goes well....

I made some good ground, he appears more relaxed with me around (though from a distance) but does not lie my fiancee very much, or my friend who will feed him when i am in the UK.

I am wondering, how on earth am i going to get this to work? It has made me appreciate how easy going my other at is though, he is a piece of cake!!!

Also fiancee is panicking, saying how much bigger hes got and how aggressive he is. This kind of chat doesn't help at all! What does he want me to do? Kick it out?

kabama said:

I have another cat in the house and they are separated. Ideally i would like to get them acquainted with each other, and also of course I need to get this little fella to the vet!

SO on top of trying to get this one to be comfortable with me, i also need to capture him, take to a vet, plus introduce to my existing cat and hope that all goes well....

I made some good ground, he appears more relaxed with me around (though from a distance) but does not lie my fiancee very much, or my friend who will feed him when i am in the UK.

I am wondering, how on earth am i going to get this to work? It has made me appreciate how easy going my other at is though, he is a piece of cake!!!

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Ideally vet visit first and after that you can start with socializing, vet visit is another shock and it is better to have scary things done first and then he can start slow transition to new life.

Also neutering/spaying makes hormones to calm down and socializing becomes much easier.

I had to use trap indoors to get mine to vet and I told vet that they are not tame ones, so they put sleeping medicine while they were in their traps, but I'm not sure what is attitude of vets in there towards a 'wild' cat.

I wouldn't worry about the cat being friendly to the feeder.  He or she just needs to make sure the kitten is fed and safe.  They don't need to make friends and I would venture to say that if the feeder tries that, it will only stress the kitten out.  You being gone will be enough of a change for this kitty.

Also, make sure you boyfriend isn't trying to force the kitten to interact.  This may be the cause of its aggressiveness - he is frightened, and may be lashing out in defense.

You can do this - it will just take time.  Even if the kitten grows into a cat who is not interested in interacting with humans, it will still have a better life than the one it would have had on the streets.  So you can do this!

If the cat is being aggressive with your boyfriend, I would not allow him to interact with the cat right now.  Wait until he is more social with you before introducing him to others. 

You do need to get him to the vet.  He needs a clean bill of health, vaccinations and some tests as well as neutering before interacting with your cat.  It would be easier to do it all at once so you don't have to make multiple vet visits. 

You can either try to trap him inside or you can start to feed him inside a cat carrier.  Begin by placing the food right outside the door, then every day or so move it back until it is completely in the back.  On the day of the vet visit, feed him as usual.  You can attach a string to the door and pull it shut from a bit aways or if he is ok with eating with you in the room, you can just block is exit once he is inside.  I did this last summer with a feral I brought inside the house.  It took at least 2 weeks for him to get used to the carrier.  On the morning of the visit he went right inside when I put a very small amount of food in the carrier.  I was able to sit next to him and once he was inside, I put a piece of cardboard to block his exit and shut the door.  I then covered the carrier with a sheet to help keep him calm. 

Yes to be honest i think the others are trying to interact, whereas i just sit there and chat. 

Ok I will try that, I would like him at the vet asap. 

Hi there! I've been lurking on this thread and wanted to check in today!'

Have you received the Feliway yet? Also, did you get the plug in diffuser, or the spray, or both? 

If you got the plug in, plug it right in to the room where the new kitten is staying! How many did you get? I know they're terribly pricey...if you got a second one, it wouldn't hurt to put it where your other cat(s) hang out as well. That will make the transition a lot easier. Maybe it wouldn't hurt, if you have the spray as well, to spray around/in the carrier as well. A lot of people purchase Feliway for the sole purpose of using it for vet visits and have a lot of success with it!

I'm thinking you'll see at LEAST a little bit of improvement once that stuff comes in. It's worked magic for people.

Best of luck, and sending good vibes to China! 

For me Feliway did absolutely nothing, but scent that you put to your hands did help a bit.

They did like to play with empty Feliway bottle though.