Separating feral cats

lemna

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Hi all,

I've gotten a lot of tips and encouragement just from lurking around here, but I guess I'll jump in with my own question because my situation is a little unusual. I've been fostering kittens for about 3 years.  I've gotten some shy kittens, but the current batch is proving to be a real challenge.  

My rescue coordinator emailed me asking if I could take 8 4-week old kittens.  I thought, wow that's a lot of kittens, but I said yes, because kittens. ;)  Someone from outside our rescue was trapping them.  

To our surprise, we got 4 terrified kittens of different ages.  There is one orange mama cat who's probably around a year old (so not really a kitten?), a slightly smaller female tortie who may be 8 months old, an orange male kitten of maybe 3 months, and an orange baby boy who's about 2 months.  The largest cat is the most feral, with the small kitten being the least.  It seems that the orange female is the mother of the 2 and 3 month old kittens, but I don't know for sure how all these cats are related to each other.  They do get comfort from each other so I'm reluctant to separate them.  

I'll have had them for a week tomorrow.  When they first came, they wouldn't even eat with me in the room.  Now they will come within a foot of me to eat but I can't move or they run away.  I only feed them when I'm in there.  

I'm wondering if there is any way I can work effectively with these cats together given the different ages.  My coworker, who has also fostered shy kittens, says that the big mama is teaching the kittens to be feral and needs to be separated.  The problem is, catching her is nearly impossible.  I put food in a cat carrier and she went in to eat it, but was able to escape when I tried to shut the door.  I've tried catching her with a towel, which doesn't work and stresses everyone out, especially me.

Then I need to decide where to keep them and how to group them.  In addition to the foster room, I have two bathrooms and a large 3-level cat crate.  Should I put big mama in my bathroom and try to work with the others?  Or separate out the two oldest?  Who would be the best candidate for the crate, which I can wheel out to the living room? Or take the kittens out and separate them, leaving the two larger cats together?  The tortie especially seems to love her family members.  She cried pitifully when I separated her from her buddies, for about 24 hours to try to work with her in the large crate.

The more rooms I use, the more work it is for my husband and I to maintain litter boxes and work with cats in different rooms.  That's why he is opposed to separating them.  However, I feel like I'm losing precious time with the kittens. 
 

ondine

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The older ones will keep giving the babies tips on how to avoid humans.  They've learned well.  But that does not mean they can't relearn that humans aren't harmful.

This is going to take a lot of time and patience.  I would first ask myself what the plans for them all are.  Do you want to find inside homes for them or is TNR a possibility?

If an inside home is the plan for all of them, then separating them may speed the socializing process up.  I would catch the two younger ones and move them to another room.  Leave the two older ones where they are.  This will give you an opportunity to work with them at different speeds.  The older two will need some more time to get used to being with humans, although it sounds like they may have already recognized that being inside isn't so bad.  Them eating when you are in the room is a great sign!

Work with them every day,.  You are right, though.  This is going to be pretty much a full time job for the next few weeks.

Thank you for taking on this challenge.  Keep us posted!
 
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lemna

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Here are some photos of the kitties in question.  

"Big Mama", which is kind of a misnomer because she's not very big.  But relative to the other ones, she is the matriarch.


Here is the tortie.  She's not usually this scared, but I had to get close to her and nudge her out of her hiding place to get this picture.  However, she is the most fearful. She also seems to be the sweetest.  She'll meow at us if she's really frightened or when I separate the cats.  She really leans on the other cats, especially "big mama".


Little boy.  He lets me pick him up but doesn't enjoy it very much.  Sometimes the tortie protects him, but I've only seen him nursing from big mama.


Slightly larger kitten.  I think he's too big to be the other kitten's littermate, but maybe from the litter before the little boy.  He screamed and freaked out the first time I picked him up, but I can sort of sneak up on him to scruff him and swaddle him with a towel.  He's the first one to venture out for food.

 
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lemna

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The older ones will keep giving the babies tips on how to avoid humans.  They've learned well.  But that does not mean they can't relearn that humans aren't harmful.

This is going to take a lot of time and patience.  I would first ask myself what the plans for them all are.  Do you want to find inside homes for them or is TNR a possibility?

If an inside home is the plan for all of them, then separating them may speed the socializing process up.  I would catch the two younger ones and move them to another room.  Leave the two older ones where they are.  This will give you an opportunity to work with them at different speeds.  The older two will need some more time to get used to being with humans, although it sounds like they may have already recognized that being inside isn't so bad.  Them eating when you are in the room is a great sign!

Work with them every day,.  You are right, though.  This is going to be pretty much a full time job for the next few weeks.

Thank you for taking on this challenge.  Keep us posted!
The purpose me fostering them was to find inside homes for them  When our rescue or ones we work with find feral adults or larger kittens, we TNR.  Sorry to say, this was a bit of a misunderstanding.  If we had trapped these cats, we would've TNR'd the larger ones.  But they were trapped in another state so now they're far away from their original colony and it's getting cold out.  I'd really rather not put them back outside.

Should I even mention that they haven't seen a vet yet?  I'm trying to work with my rescue and the lady who brought them.  My rescue coordinator is angry at the lady for bringing us these difficult cats and wants the bringer to pay for the vet care.  I don't care who pays as long as it happens ASAP.  I'm tempted to bring them to my own cat-only vet*, but it's a very high quality vet and will be expensive. I suggested I could do this, and they could reimburse me what they would pay at their usual vets.  

Oh, and getting them into carriers....that'll be fun!  I might have to get a feral cat trap.

*I should add I really don't like the vet my rescue uses, not for the quality of vet care, but for the shabby and rude treatment I get there.  They don't seem to like taking "charity cases" from my rescue.
 

ondine

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Yes, some would say the two older ones may be a tad too old for real socializing.  But I wouldn't give up just yet.  They may never become lap cats but they can get used to being inside-only cats.  Keep working with them.  I would separate them, though.  It will be easier to really socialize the two younger ones.

You'll basically just be getting the two older ones used to being inside - not lapcats, maybe, but safe in an inside home.  They could possibly be TNR'd, IF you can find a colony where they can be confined for a few weeks before being set loose.  Otherwise, I'd work on getting them at least semi-friendly.  They may surprise you.  Once they get used to their new environs and realize humans aren't so bad after all, they may very well warm up.

We have a cat I still have to trap for vet visits.  Luckily, he is very food motivated and still goes into the trap, even after eight years!  Otherwise, I have no idea how I'd get him there!

His sister has to have her own room - she's a tortoiseshell.  After eight years inside, she recently discovered she enjoys being brushed and will come to her door and scream until my husband or I goes in and brushes her!  She's a character.  Will tolerate people but hates all other cats except her brother.  He spends ten minutes in her room and is scratching at the door, ready to bolt when we open it!
 

jimvierling

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Separating them may help to socialize the younger ones faster. I would use the younger ones to keep showing the older ones that you are not going to hurt them. Even if you separate them, carry a younger one with you and let the older ones see that it is happy and maybe purring when you get that far. Maybe show the younger one getting a treat for being so good or that you play with it and it is happy. (Sorry for the IT usage, not trying to be rude). If they are really dependent on one another and a close knit little group, taking some of them away may only add to their mistrust of you.

I am kind of surprised that the tortoise shell isn't the one taking charge. Every one of them that I have ever seen seems to like being the boss. I have one named Turtle.

I hope everything works out and they all find happy homes.
 
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