stray kitten around apartments

Last night we saw a kitten outside our bedroom window, it couldnt have been more than a month or 2 old I'm guessing, and probably a stray because how skiddish it was. We tried to walk up to it to catch it but was unable to get it. We were able to scoot closer and closer but someone would eventually drive by or walk by and scare it off. My question is should we try and catch it again tonight if we see it? I can't tell if its with a litter or its mom or is on its own. But it did eat a whole 3oz can of wet food on it own so it was starving. Also how could we catch it? We dont have anything to trap or lure it in. Only thing i can think of we could do with something we have is get our dog cage we have, put it outside our window with some food at the back of the cage, tie a string to the door, and pull it shut when it goes in. My main concern is I dont want to make a traumatic experience for it, and i would feel bad seperating it from it mother. Here is a pic to give you an idea of how small it was, sorry i couldnt get a better shot of it or its face.

It would be great if you could catch this kitten. Even if the mother is around it doesn't stand much chance outdoors. Little kittens are really vulnerable.

Your plan with the dog carrier sounds good. If that doesn't work you might be able to borrow a humane trap from your vet or local TNR group. Call around and see if anyone can lend you one. I've trapped dozens of feral kittens. They're always scared at first, but young kittens are easy to socialise and they soon get over their fear.

Better to have a few minutes of being scared in a trap to what might happen to them outdoors alone.

Are you able to offer this kitten a home yourself? Are you planning to rehome?

Keep us updated. Good luck with the trapping.

He showed up again last night, literally a few minutes after I put the food out. So he must be casing the place. We tried the dog crate idea, but when we pulled the string he saw it move and ran out. The door hit him on the way out, which is what I was afraid of, so now I dont know if he is going to fall for it again.

We didnt put the food all the way in the back tho, so were gonna try again tonight and hopefully the door didnt hurt or scare him too much. I think we were just so afraid of scaring him we didnt pull the string all that hard.

But we did try it again after the first attempt, he just didnt go for it so we took the crate away and left the food. He went thru 2 full 3oz cans of food tho so it does seem likes hes a stray if he was able to eat that much.

Unfortunately we wouldn't be able to keep him, we already have 3. But we know a no kill shelter that Im sure will take him in. We have gotten 2 of our cats there and they are always getting strays.

Oh, sweet little thing, he really is tiny!

A humane trap is probably the best way to catch him. Does the shelter have one you can borrow? The ones I use have a plate right at the back that shuts the door as soon as the cat steps on it. You can adjust them to be tripped by a kittens weight. They're much longer than a carrier so there is no way he'll be able to turn around and run out or get hit by the door as it shuts. I think you can buy them at Tractor Supply too? Sorry, I'm not in the US so I don't know how much they cost.

Don't give up. It took me weeks to catch some of the cats I TNR'd. You'll get there in the end.

Ok we got him! Took him about an hour to get the courage to come in, and he ran out a few times. But we eventually got him to stay in there. He totally freaked out inside of it when we got it shut and took him a few minutes to calm down. Hes in our bathroom right now and he hasnt moved from his spot, or taken a bite of food. He seems really scared. We gave him food, water, a litter box, a blanket and a bed in a box on its side for a little hide out. Is there anything else I can do or anything someone would recommend?

he is beautiful, I think you should just let him be on his own for a while to calm down. Great work!! and thank you 

Yeah we are trying not to go in there too much. Surprisingly enough the other cats don't even know it's in there lol. Since we are trying to find a shelter for it, should we keep it a couple days to help it calm down? Or should we try and get it to the place it will be at for a little while so it doesn't get use to it here?

tewing84 said:

Yeah we are trying not to go in there too much. Surprisingly enough the other cats don't even know it's in there lol. Since we are trying to find a shelter for it, should we keep it a couple days to help it calm down? Or should we try and get it to the place it will be at for a little while so it doesn't get use to it here?

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Yay, you caught him!  Personally, I would take him to the shelter asap.  They can get him vetted and settled in.  My thinking is that there really isn't a point in him getting used to your bathroom if he won't be staying there.  Thank you for helping this sweet baby!

Good job.



Wow, that was quick, I'm glad he doesn't have to risk another night out in the cold. It usually takes 24 hours of hiding before they feel brave enough to eat. The set up you've got sounds perfect. If he was going to be staying with you for longer I would suggest a Feliway diffuser, but if he is going to the shelter soon there's no point splashing out on one.

Does your shelter have room for another kitten at the moment? If they can take him now it's probably better to take him straight there. He'll be vetted and treated for whatever needs treating. Keep us updated on how finding a shelter goes.

So happy you got him indoors.

Well right now I'm waiting to hear back from the shelter we got 2 of our cats from, Operation Kindness. I called and they said you have to send in an email with a picture and a description of the animal so they can determine if they have room or if its a fit. I would much rather it go there as I feel more comfortable with them and know they would take care of him, and they are a no kill shelter. Plus we could go check in on him from time to time and make sure he is doing well

So I got up this morning and he still hasn't touched his food, nor has he gone to the bathroom. Poor little thing must still be traumatized from last night. I kind of feel bad now for taking him up the way we did I just hope he comes around soon, I'd really like him to get ready for a safe and loving home.

Should we start to worry if he doesnt eat for another day? Also while were waiting to hear back from the shelter should we take him to a vet to get checked for a chip or diseases? I highly doubt he is someones cat, especially with how scared and freaked out he was. Im guessing he was either born into the wild, let go by someone, or got away from a previous owner.

Also from the looks of it, how old does he look?

Sorry, one more question. The kitty just pee'd on his bed we have a box with some litter and a box with some shredded up newspaper close by. Should that be enough for now or do we need to try something else? I don't know what to do about that

If you can get him checked over by a vet that would be really helpful. If you can tell the shelter that he's been tested for FIV and FeLV they're more likely to take him in as it will be mush easier to rehome him. He looks about 4 months old to me, maybe a little older and just tiny from not having regular meals while he's outside.

He's got really bright, clear eyes. Lots of feral kittens I've picked up have eye infections, so this guy is healthier and luckier than most.

I think the reason he pee'd on his bed is that he's too scared to move. If you line his bed with a sheet of plastic and then put clean bedding on top if won't matter if he has a few accidents. I think he'll start using the litter box once he relaxes a bit more. A few feral kittens I took in used to sleep in their litter box. Being surrounded by their own scent made them feel more secure.

At least he pee'd though, that's one less thing you need to worry about.

I've heard that Gerber's Stage 2 baby food, the plain meat flavours with no onions, is irresistible to cats. Maybe you could try giving him a little bit of that? 

Well I got some good news, the shelter I want her to go to called back. They don't have room for her there but they do have a foster home for her. I have to take her Monday I think their vet is going to look her over then. I also took her to a vet earlier to check for a chip and she doesn't have one, and we also found out it's a girl. We just didn't wanna mess around down there after how scared she was.

She didn't touch any of the food from last night, but once I gave her some fresh wet food this morning she ate it after I left. She also let me hold her for a little bit, was purring and kneading and rubbing all over me. But when I put her down she went back in hiding, so she is still very scared. It's weird tho, with how sweet she was she would still show her teeth at me if I went back to pet her. It wasnt really a hiss, she would just show her teeth with no noise.

Everything seems to be going good with her, the only problem is going potty. She has wet her bed twice and still hasnt pooped, she also wet just a little in the carrier when we took her to the vet. She does have worms

Great news!

Her wetting the bed is just because she is nervous. Once she feels more secure she'll start using the litter box. At the moment she doesn't know where she is supposed to go, so chooses the place that smells strongest of her. She probably pee'd in the carrier out of nerves too. One of my 4 year old cats does that every time we take her to the vet, but doesn't have any other problem using the litter box.

Pretty much all cats that go outside have worms. Nothing to worry about and easy to treat. Did the vet give you any worming medicine? Or are you going to let the shelter vet take care of her?

A foster home is so much better than a shelter. She'll get the love and attention she needs and learn how to be part of a family. I don't mean to criticise shelters, but even the best of them are too busy to give a kitten the amount of attention she'll get in a foster home.

Cats hiss when they are nervous too, but if she purrs and lets you pet her I'm sure she's going to be really friendly once she gets her confidence.

You've done such a wonderful thing for her. She's going to have a proper home and a happy life thanks to you.

So more good news, she finally went to the bathroom in the litter box. Both number 1 and 2...yay! It looked like she was holding both in a while. But now she should feel more comfortable.

You know I never thought of the foster home that way. I was sitting her all bummed out that she didnt have a spot lined up at the big house, but now I agree. A foster home sounds much better now.

I think she is going to find herself a nice home, especially once she knows that she is safe. She has done a complete 180. She will come up to me and bump her little head on me or rub up on me, shes also starting to walk to me a little bit, and she was letting me play with her.

Only thing she does that I dont understand, is everytime I leave, when I come back and try to pet her she shows her teeth. She doesnt make a noise and she doesnt attack or do anything remotely physical, and her ears stay the same. Im just really confused by that. Its almost like she forgets who I am, and then after I pet her shes fine.

Norachan said:

Great news!

Her wetting the bed is just because she is nervous. Once she feels more secure she'll start using the litter box. At the moment she doesn't know where she is supposed to go, so chooses the place that smells strongest of her. She probably pee'd in the carrier out of nerves too. One of my 4 year old cats does that every time we take her to the vet, but doesn't have any other problem using the litter box.

Pretty much all cats that go outside have worms. Nothing to worry about and easy to treat. Did the vet give you any worming medicine? Or are you going to let the shelter vet take care of her?

A foster home is so much better than a shelter. She'll get the love and attention she needs and learn how to be part of a family. I don't mean to criticise shelters, but even the best of them are too busy to give a kitten the amount of attention she'll get in a foster home.

Cats hiss when they are nervous too, but if she purrs and lets you pet her I'm sure she's going to be really friendly once she gets her confidence.

You've done such a wonderful thing for her. She's going to have a proper home and a happy life thanks to you.

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Were going to wait and let the vet at the shelter take a look at her and see what she needs. We just took her a vet close by to make sure she didnt have a chip, and when they checked on the sex for us they noticed she had worms. But now that she has gone to the bathroom Im not so worried, I just want her to go to a good home.

I always feel so bad when I see a stray, especially one that is so young. I really want to keep her myself because of how sweet she is becoming. But we already have 3 and we werent suppose to have the 3rd lol. We also live in an apartment and aren't suppose to have more than two....shhh! Dont tell anyone lol. I am going to miss her tho when she is gone

I was ablevto find the kitty a forever home instead of a foster home

tewing84 said:

I was ablevto find the kitty a forever home instead of a foster home

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that is wonderful!! Is that her in her new home?

tewing84 said:

I was ablevto find the kitty a forever home instead of a foster home

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Yay that's awesome!  Thanks for helping this cutie find a furever home.  Just a heads up, the kitty will still need to be checked out by a vet since she didn't end up seeing the shelter vet.