Brought in 4 feral kittens looking for advice

wijody

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I've had these kitties for about 7 weeks now.  They were about 6 weeks when I found them in my shed.  Mama was with them but chased me away hissing so I made the choice to trap mom and take the kittens so I could socialize them and get them in indoor homes.  Whether that was a good choice (?), I don't know.  A couple had goopy eyes and didn't look the most healthy and there are also woodchucks in our shed which had been chased away by mom, I guess.  ANYWAY ...

Mom got fixed and released.   She came back and has been hanging around watching her babies through our sunroom windows (where the kittens live currently).  Kittens are now all fixed and have made pretty good progress (went from hissing/spitting to being able to be picked up and will let you pet them and purr if they're lying somewhere else (won't stay on lap for pets unless you're also feeding them). 

I never really wanted cats just due to some bad experience with cat urine smells in houses (our house required all new flooring, unexpectedly, when we moved in and the perimeter of most of the rooms were black with cat urine stains) and also my mom's house is ruined by cat urine (she's bad with her litter boxes).  But so far these guys have been using the boxes wonderfully and I clean them daily.

BUT going from 0-4 cats ... I just don't know.  I tried putting a sign up at the local pet food place and got one email from someone that made me really nervous.  I don't want to be a 'snob' but giving a kitten to some young, unstable person makes me feel like they'd be better off just being released back into our yard to live in our shed with their mom.

Also they are fine with us but if a new face comes in, they kind of revert to feral - so it will be hard to find homes for them because basically the only thing I could do is take a video of the kitten with US and then show them, "This is how they'll be with you in a few days after they get used to you" because I'm sure they will hiss at any new person.

I'm just so torn on what to do.  I don't really know what I'm even asking here ... just looking for similar stories and how they turned out? 

P.S., all kittens have been fixed now.  They are currently about 3.5 months old.

Thanks!
 

ondine

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Kudos to you for taking on this challenge!  I am really impressed with all you have already done.

Like you realized, if you keep ahead of the boxes, the problems will not mount.  I have larger boxes (totes, actually) and surround them with peepads/shower curtains and plexiglass sheets.  It helps prevent accidents hitting the floor and makes it really easy to clean.

The more time you spend with the kittens, the better.  Play with them (wand toys at first, then maybe feathers, etc.)  Make sure they have plenty of balls and mice.  Ping pong balls are excellent and cheap!

They may never run to see who's at the door and may never be lap cats but they have the potential of being good pets.  Cats are like people -some are more social than others.

We have six cats in a 1400 square foot house, plus two cats in an enclosure in our yard.  Of the eight, only three will let us pick them up.  One (Chester, the cat in my avatar) will once in awhile allow a head scratch which will only last about ten seconds.  My granddaughter spent three summers with us and Chester finally came out the third year!  The other day, she visited and he allowed her to pet him.  I was stunned!

If you decide four is just too many, ask your vet if you can put up a flyer.  Keep the flyer up at the food store - always better to advertise.  You were 1000% correct to follow your instincts about that potential adopter.  Ask you friends and coworkers to spread the word.  If you use Facebook, post something there.  You just never know where an adopter will come from, so keep trying.

Again, thank you so much for stepping up to the plate with this.  So many people would have turned the other way (which is probably how Mommy ended up in your yard in the first place).  Your efforts are making a big difference!
 

raeharris

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Have you looked into adoption days at places like petco? If you have cat rescue groups locally they can also assist.
 
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wijody

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I'm not sure how they'd do, at least not yet, at a public adoption place because they get scared easily.   I could put up more ads, though.  It's hard to know which ones to get rid of, assuming I'm keeping some - I like them all, lol.  But really, I'm willing to let any of them go to the 'perfect' people (like responsible adults over 30, say, with exceptions).  The thing that hangs over my head is the mom and how I could instantly make them all pretty happy if I just opened my door and let the kittens out to be with her.  But even though we live in the country and pretty far from the highway with a huge field/wetlands area all around us, they'd be at risk of getting killed on the highway.  But even if I keep them inside, once they have full run of the house, I would guess they'd try to sneak out sometimes, so then they'll still face that risk.

I still don't know how they're going to be with my dog, either.   I have a feeling I know which 2 are going to be most likely to be fine with him (the bolder ones) and the two 'scaredy cats' are going to maybe always be afraid of him ... I don't know.  I need to get a baby gate so they can, on their terms, start working their way out of our sunroom and the gate will keep the dog from being able to chase them past it, so they have a 'safe zone' from the dog. 

We put the couch back in the sunroom when I THOUGHT they could handle it, but I was wrong ... they now hide under it a LOT and they're missing socialization due to to that - I'm going to move it back out tonight. 
 

roguethecat

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they look so cute!


Anyway, it's quite normal for most cats to act feral when a strange person comes in, especially when they were born feral.

It took Oberon (aka Ronny) almost two weeks of my parents visiting to come out of hiding when they were around, and he still won't let anyone but me pet him. Grisou took even longer and still likes to act the scaredy cat whenever I'm not around.


Also... congratulations on  becoming a cat person 
... have you thought of putting in a cat door?

Even if you don't, once you let them outside they for sure are going to want back in after a while (varies from cat to cat, Oberon usually wants back in after 5 minutes).

 
 
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wijody

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I guess these guys are doing pretty good because they let both my kids pick them up - they don't like to lap sit, though.  If you catch them at the right time, sometimes they'll let you pet them for quite awhile and purr - gotta love the purring :)  Have they done studies because it sure seems like hearing purring is good for people! 
 

raeharris

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They look fantastic.
We have a non-feral cat we adopted years ago, at 8mos old. Shes friendly and loving, we pick her up and squish her, she lays next to us, sleeps with us sometimes, she just doesn't want to be a lap cat. We love her anyway and wouldn't trade her for the world. So even if they don't want to be a lap cat, doesn't mean you can't find it a loving family. Just my 2 cents of encouragement.
 
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wijody

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Thanks :)

They are really coming around with us but, wow, my mom stopped by today and went into their room and they, especially the bold one who was the lead hisser when I first got them (one on far left) just glared at her and hissed even at us when she was in there.  She eventually chilled out a bit when I fed her some yummy turkey baby food, but I wonder how long these guys are going to hiss at new faces who come to our house.  Do you think they always will or do you think after, say, a year they will be better?  We don't have a lot of visitors and live in the country, so they won't get a whole lot of practice.  :eek:/
 

ondine

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If your mom moved quickly or gushed over them, they may have been startled enough to hiss. Give them time. With patience and kindness, they will come around.

And yes, there have been many studies that show real physical benefits in people when they hear a cat's purr.

Beautiful kitties and great picture!
 
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caesar

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Adorable Tabbies. As time goes on they will become tamer and more comfortable with visitors. They probably will never be lap Kitties though. So nice of you to have rescued them from the feral life.
 

maureen brad

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last summer my friend became aware of a mama cat and her kittens n the woods by her house. twice the mother carried one of the kittens to the street and left it. Twice my friend carried it back. The next time she noticed the kitten had very goopy eyes. She brought him to the vet and treated his eye infections,he was about 5 weeks old. she kept the little guy and often wondered if he would ever be a lap cat. It took awhile but he is just now climbing into her lap. In my life with kitties most of them were to busy playing to be real lap cats. Once they were around 2 that changed. One of my cats is 20 months old. He is just settling down to spend a few minutes in my lap. My other kitty is 7. I adopted hi when he was 6. He had been found in a feral cat colony. He still doesn't like to be carried but finally is a lap cat . Your kittens will be fine family companions given time. God bless you for taking them in.
 

caesar

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I feel so fortunate that my stray kitten is so cuddly and definitely A lap cat already. But over my lifetime of owning cats, I have only had 3 others that I would consider lap cats. I did rescue a litter of feral kittens many years ago and was able to tame them enough to be held for short periods and pet for short periods, but they always stayed somewhat skittish.
 
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wasabipea

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Again, no experience with taming ferals, but I'd guess that you took them in early enough and since they have the security of being a litter and knowing each other - their come-around time will be a lot quicker. As many have said, they may neve be lap-cats, but they really look quite cozy and appear to have love in their eyes already.

Time and patience. And... no sudden movements!

Good for you for taking them in :)  something tells me they will be very happy in their new home.
 

caesar

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I must add, I think four kitties will be a joy, if you decide to keep them all, if not I'd keep at least two. I had three. I felt like they got their strength to cope from their siblings making their adjustment so much easier. My three were happy and content with family members, only skittish with visitors. But I have had kittens raised in homes that were the same way. Good luck with your babies, I think they are adorable, Gotta love those tabbies!
 
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msaimee

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Although it may seem like a good idea now to put the kittens back outside with their mother, it won't be a good idea in a few months when it's winter, especially if they revert back to a feral state and will no longer come inside anyone's house. Mama cat will get over it. When I took in one of my feral kittens last summer, Harry, both mama and papa cat were circling around my house looking for him, and Harry sat in the windows and cried for them every morning for a few weeks. Then Harry adjusted to being my cat, mama left my block, and now when Harry and his papa look at each other through the window separating my porch from my sunroom, they understand they have different homes and paths in life.

Not every domestic cat is a friendly, outgoing cat towards strangers, either. My two domestic, geriatric cats still hide upstairs when I have people over, even people who have been coming over for years (they will eventually venture out for my friends after a few hours). So it's not just a feral or semi-feral issue--cats have different personalities, and some are more outgoing towards strangers than others.

I wouldn't recommend putting these kittens in a shelter or Petco, because they stand almost zero chance of getting adopted. People looking for a pet in a shelter want a kitten or puppy that is already socialized and cuddly. Most people don't have the patience to socialize a feral or semi-feral kitten. I think your best bet is to look among your friends, family, friends of family, neighbors, and co-workers for potential homes. Explain that it will take at least a few weeks for the kitten to adjust to the new surroundings. Offer to take the kitten back if things don't work out.
 
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wijody

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Thank you all :)  I totally agree that they would NOT make a good impression at Petco, lol! 

I'm really fine with keeping them all it's just a LOT to commit to for life, especially since I never even planned to have even one cat, now I have FOUR.  But I really do love them all and it'd be hard to figure out which one I'd want to get rid of!  I would love to find a friend to take 2, somewhere I could still see them, but I doubt that will happen, so I will probably keep them all. 

A funny thing about these kittens is they NEVER meow except sometimes when I feed them.  They're so cute when they meow and I wish they'd do it more!
 

palikakitty

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A feral cat in our neighborhood had a litter and my neighbors and I all took kittens. About a year later the mom cat lost her "home" (my neighbor's porch--my neighbor moved) and during a snowstorm I trapped her on my back porch. We kept her for 10 years--picked her up once a year to take her to the vet (and while she was at the vet she would be very lovey with me but once home I'd open the carrier and she'd race down the basement stairs to be alone). She got along with all of my other cats--except her kitten. They would hiss at each other. She died last year of "vaccine related sarcoma" and even though she was never a warm and fuzzy cat I miss her--squeaking for food, sometimes darting onto the porch to look outside, etc.. Anyway, mom cat will soon forget her litter so letting them back outside does not guarantee they will all stay together.
 

pisces7386

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Thank you all :)  I totally agree that they would NOT make a good impression at Petco, lol! 

I'm really fine with keeping them all it's just a LOT to commit to for life, especially since I never even planned to have even one cat, now I have FOUR.  But I really do love them all and it'd be hard to figure out which one I'd want to get rid of!  I would love to find a friend to take 2, somewhere I could still see them, but I doubt that will happen, so I will probably keep them all. 

A funny thing about these kittens is they NEVER meow except sometimes when I feed them.  They're so cute when they meow and I wish they'd do it more!
We had a similar situation last year- a friendly stray decided our back patio was the perfect place to have her litter of 4... so of course we took all 5 into our home to care for them until we could get them fixed at least. My husband and I have always wanted to have a dog eventually, but never really wanted cats. As they grew we thought long and hard about the commitment- and decided to keep two kittens and the mom. It is a big commitment, particularly when you consider that some cats can live for 20 years. Fast forward one year to today- I am so happy we decided to make that commitment! Sure, there have been some points where I have been frustrated by them (like on Sunday mornings when they let us know bright and early that it is breakfast time, or when they knock over a plant and break a pot that was a gift), but they are also so very loving and comical! One thing that worried us when we first decided to keep them was how crazy they could be when they were playing. Thankfully they have calmed down significantly in their first year. 

I want to give you some hope on finding them homes too. We had another stray show up this spring, we had her fixed (before she had kittens too) and set to work trying to find her a home. It took three months and several posters ( in places responsible people go, like the library), but we finally found someone we knew who was perfect for this little stray! I would recommend talking to your local shelter to ask them for help finding homes for the kittens. You don't have to surrender them, but they can give good recommendations for where to put flyers or how to check into a possible new owner. Also I want to add that I was only 27 when we adopted our cats-- so don't refuse someone just on age!

Good luck!
 
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