Hi TCS!
If you've been following my previous thread on this forum (Feral Mom and Kittens - Did I Screw Up?), you're in for a treat - we managed to catch all three kittens, took them to the shelter to get checked out and find out their genders, and now they're at home in a small room off from our basement where it's quiet, heated, and safe. They have food, litter box, toys and a little den with a towel that they can go in and sleep. There's even a radio going on talk radio all the time so they get used to the sound of people talking.
We have two fluffy black girls and a maine-coon looking boy! They are estimated to be around 7 weeks old. They're already weaned from their momma.
Momma Flash is still too skittish to come into the trap so the animal control guy is supposed to come by in the next day or two just to help us out because he knows how long we've been trying to catch her. As soon as we catch her we will take her to get fixed.
So, since this is my first time working with feral kitties, I need some more advice! Here's the current situation:
- The babies will come out (reluctantly) for food once you put it in front of them. They'll sit and eat and let you pet them.
- If you can catch them (hah!) you can pick them up and hold them. I've been doing this as much as I can. I work from home so I can spend more time with them.
- They're eating dry kibble and using the littler box, hooray!
Now come the questions:
- How much is a good amount of time to spend with them? When they get tired of being held, I'll put them down and they'll run away, hide behind something and peek out. Any suggestions to encourage them to come to me? (Next time I feed them, I'm gonna try putting the food on a plate in my lap).
- I've tried playing with them - a squeaky mouse on a string, but they're not quite sure what to make of it. They seem a bit scared! The last thing I want to do is traumatize them with a toy.
- Anything else I can do to make their transition to indoor life a bit easier?
- When is a good time (I know not anytime soon) to introduce them to other cats? We have two.
We'll be keeping one of the babies and my parents are taking another. The no-kill shelter has offered to take the little boy if we can't find a home for him. They socialize them and such. The work they do is awesome.
Thank you!!
Sherice
If you've been following my previous thread on this forum (Feral Mom and Kittens - Did I Screw Up?), you're in for a treat - we managed to catch all three kittens, took them to the shelter to get checked out and find out their genders, and now they're at home in a small room off from our basement where it's quiet, heated, and safe. They have food, litter box, toys and a little den with a towel that they can go in and sleep. There's even a radio going on talk radio all the time so they get used to the sound of people talking.
We have two fluffy black girls and a maine-coon looking boy! They are estimated to be around 7 weeks old. They're already weaned from their momma.
Momma Flash is still too skittish to come into the trap so the animal control guy is supposed to come by in the next day or two just to help us out because he knows how long we've been trying to catch her. As soon as we catch her we will take her to get fixed.
So, since this is my first time working with feral kitties, I need some more advice! Here's the current situation:
- The babies will come out (reluctantly) for food once you put it in front of them. They'll sit and eat and let you pet them.
- If you can catch them (hah!) you can pick them up and hold them. I've been doing this as much as I can. I work from home so I can spend more time with them.
- They're eating dry kibble and using the littler box, hooray!
Now come the questions:
- How much is a good amount of time to spend with them? When they get tired of being held, I'll put them down and they'll run away, hide behind something and peek out. Any suggestions to encourage them to come to me? (Next time I feed them, I'm gonna try putting the food on a plate in my lap).
- I've tried playing with them - a squeaky mouse on a string, but they're not quite sure what to make of it. They seem a bit scared! The last thing I want to do is traumatize them with a toy.
- Anything else I can do to make their transition to indoor life a bit easier?
- When is a good time (I know not anytime soon) to introduce them to other cats? We have two.
We'll be keeping one of the babies and my parents are taking another. The no-kill shelter has offered to take the little boy if we can't find a home for him. They socialize them and such. The work they do is awesome.
Thank you!!
Sherice
Last edited by a moderator:
