Caring for feral kittens.

Hi everyone

JUst to let you know that our ex feral kittens(teenagers???) Muse and Shadow are very fine and wonderful.

We do however hope that you can assist with a couple of items.

1.The kittens are 1 year old now and are long hair.We have some concern about hairball problems and hope that

someone can recommend some product for this issue bearing in mind that these kittens are still sensitive and its

almost impossible to give them medication.

Pretty much anything has to be administered with Gerbers Baby food.

2.Shadow,the male,either had an accident(we hope)or sprayed in our living room--actually we thought that the males urine would not smell if he had been neutered.-----anyway,does anyone know of a product to kill male urine smell??

Other than this,the kittens are flourishing and delightful.

Thanks for your help

Tony and Kat(owned by ex-feral kittens,Muse and Shadow).

For hairballs, I have used about 1/2 t. of coconut oil daily.  One of my long haired indoor boys gets hairballs frequently.  The coconut oil has really helped.  My boy will just eat it plain, but you can mix it in with baby food too.  It's sold in many grocery or speciality stores now.

The urine from neutered males still smells like urine, just not as pungent as when they were not neutered.  I would first off get a black light and look all around so you know where the stains are.  There may be others you are unaware of.  The urine will show up in a dark room with the black light.  Then clean the spots with a good enzymatic cleaner.  Once the stain is clean, it may still smell.  I have a very sensitive nose for urine!  Last year when I brought a feral/stray into my home, he had a room of his own for about a year.  When he first came inside, he had no idea about a litter box.  He had a few accidents.  I was certain I had them all cleaned.  Just recently the room went back to being a guest room.  When I cleaned up the room, I could smell urine.  With the help of the black light, I found a few old accidents.  I cleaned them first and then used this product .  It completely got rid of the urine smell.  It did have a perfume/floral scent, but I opened a window for a few days and the scent left. 

Thanks so much for your reply

I am inclined to think that this was a one off situation.

As Shadow is an ex feral cat,we have been afraid to let him out,so he really is an indoor cat and we do sometimes have

outdoor cats coming to our sliding doors--this may have stressed him out.

We will do as you suggest and look with a black light,clean the spots remaining and see if it happens again

Thanks again

Tony and Kat

Don't panic at what the black light reveals.  I almost had a heart attack when I first used mine.

It will show all sorts of biological residue, not just urine, so be prepared to go into a cleaning frenzy! 

Good morning

Our 2 ex feral cats(Shadow and Muse--1 year old) are both long hair.

Relating to our concern with possible hairballs,we are trying to keep them brushed.

However,as they are ex feral cats,they are VERY reluctant to let us spend much time touching them,especially

their belly areas---unfortunately,they both have small areas of knots in their front leg "armpit" areas.

Would it be a consideration to take them to the vet and have them sedated and then give them a good grooming---???

Sounds weird doesn't it---smile ?

Tony and Kat

No, actually, it wouldn't.  Talk to the vet about it and about how often it may need to be done.

One of my ex-feral would barely let us touch her for almost eight years.  One day, I tried a brush instead of my hand to try to pet her.  She absolutely melted and now demands brushing quite often.  But she will only let us use a particular brush - it has very short, thin spokes.  Anything with thicker spokes and she's off in a huff.

Glad the kitties are adjusting otherwise.