Socializing outside Feral kittens

doenotodo · Jan 14, 2015

I have 3 feral kittens all born first week of August, 2014 in my backyard. I've been feeding them since they were about 2-1/2 to 3 months old and the mama cat with intent on hoping they'll get used to me so I can catch them. Since then the mama cat has taken off, the three kittens have remained and are now living in my backyard and I still can't get them to warm up to me. I have tried sitting on the ground and talking gently with them. I've tried putting food in my hand to coax them to come to me but the little stinkers will slap their paw on the food knocking the food out of my hand and I tell them no cheating. Also I've tried leaving the patio door open. They'll come in the house, but as soon as I slowly walk towards them, they dart back outside. A friend told me to sit near the patio door just inside the house, leaving the door open with some strong-smelling tuna to entice them to come in. She said to let them get use to me sitting there for several days. Then one day close the door and have a large fishing net handy and catch them in the net. It sounds too dangerous to me. I don't want to get clawed. I really don't know how to catch these kittens. Any suggestions? The kittens are now 5 months. Surely by now they would have gotten used to me.

StefanZ · Jan 14, 2015

Doenotodo said:
I have 3 feral kittens all born first week of August, 2014 in my backyard. I've been feeding them since they were about 2-1/2 to 3 months old and the mama cat with intent on hoping they'll get used to me so I can catch them. Since then the mama cat has taken off, the three kittens have remained and are now living in my backyard and I still can't get them to warm up to me. I have tried sitting on the ground and talking gently with them. I've tried putting food in my hand to coax them to come to me but the little stinkers will slap their paw on the food knocking the food out of my hand and I tell them no cheating. Also I've tried leaving the patio door open. They'll come in the house, but as soon as I slowly walk towards them, they dart back outside. A friend told me to sit near the patio door just inside the house, leaving the door open with some strong-smelling tuna to entice them to come in. She said to let them get use to me sitting there for several days. Then one day close the door and have a large fishing net handy and catch them in the net. It sounds too dangerous to me. I don't want to get clawed. I really don't know how to catch these kittens. Any suggestions? The kittens are now 5 months. Surely by now they would have gotten used to me.

Another version is if you use a trap to trap them. Well inside they will be easier to foster.

Welcome and Good luck!

shadowsrescue · Jan 14, 2015

Socializing feral kittens is challenging and time consuming. The kittens need to be handled from a young age. The best way to socialize them is to bring them into your home and work with them many times each day. It is also of the utmost importance that they all be spayed and neutered. If not you will end up with more cats than you will know what to do with. If you plan to keep them outside and feed and provide shelter for them, you need to do TNR. Many areas have low cost spay/neuter clinics that are accustomed to working with feral cats. The cats will be spayed;/neutered, eat tipped and vaccinated. It does require using a humane trap.

We will gladly provide you with more information. Most of us here have traps lots of ferals.

Thank you for caring for these little ones.

shadowsrescue · Jan 15, 2015

Here is a video series on the rescue and socialization of feral kittens. You might find some useful tips. I used many of the tips ( Gerber baby food and the long pointer to pet) when I worked with a 7 month old feral. It takes lots of patience as well as steps forward and steps back.

http://www.urbancatleague.org/TamingVideo

If you do trap them to get spayed/neutered it would then be a good time to consider bringing them inside as you are very unlikely to trap them again. Cat proofing of a room is a must. If you use a bedroom, remove the mattress or place it up against a wall. The kittens will certainly run under the bed to hide and you will not be able to get them out. Also block other hiding spaces behind bookcases, dressers or other furniture. If there are blinds or curtains remove them or place the blinds fully open with the cords well hidden. Do provide a cat tree or perch by a window for them to enjoy looking out. Yet do not open or the window. Provide hiding spaces such as old boxes with cozy blankets or hiding boxes on a cat tree. Provide 2 litter boxes. Dr. Elsey's Litter Attract works well to get them used to the litter box.

ondine · Jan 16, 2015

Before I knew what I was doing, I used a dog crate on my patio to feed the two six-month-old kittens I wanted to fix. It took a couple of weeks but hey got used to me standing by the crate while thye ate. On the day I had their appointment with the vet, I waited until they were inside and closed the door. They were terrified and upset but we got the job done. I loaded the crate into the back of my SUV and took them to the vet.

The bonus was, when they came home, I was able to use the crate as a "home base" until they could be acclimated to the house. They are eight years old now, still a little shy but enjoying life inside.

Socializing outside Feral kittens

doenotodo

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StefanZ

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shadowsrescue

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shadowsrescue

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ondine

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