Need feral kitten socializatin advice

kalynnda13 · Feb 22, 2016

We've had Coconut (yes, we named her) for a bit over 2 weeks. She is about 10-12 weeks old now. She is in a large dog cage, with places to hide and room to lounge and play. We've made progress in that time: she loves to play with wand toys and chase the red dot, and she will eat tuna off my fingers if my hand is still. She has started to purr when she plays. Where we haven't made progress is in her accepting touch.

We have been using the play sessions to touch her with the toy. She tolerates it for a second and then moves away. We can stroke her with a gloved hand...but only because she is very scared and huddled in a corner.

We are at something of a crossroads. Do we A) keep on with slowly gaining her trust, working up to (hopefully) touching her while she eats? or B) add more forced interactions to desensitize her to being touched?

A) has been working...but slowly.

With B), I'm afraid of losing her trust and making her more afraid. On the other hand, if she gets used to being touched...maybe things will go faster.

Any advice is welcome.

molly92 · Feb 22, 2016

You do not want to force things too much. The kitten will trust you more in the long run if she can count on you to listen to her when she's uncomfortable with something. Don't escalate until she is comfortable with the current step. For example, wait until she doesn't run away from the wand petting before trying to pet her with a hand. Keep these interactions very brief so her stress isn't prolonged, and always reward with her favorite treat.

Every cat has its own pace, and trying to speed her socialization up faster than she's comfortable with will be less successful than the slow and steady approach, no matter how tempting it is to go faster.

This is a good guide for socializing scared cats, step by step: bestfriends.org/resources/socializing-very-shy-or-fearful-catsbestfriends.org/resources/socializing-very-shy-or-fearful-cats

I like using baby food on the end of a wand or finger because they have to lick it off and can't grab it and retreat. Some other things you can do to make her more comfortable is approach her from the side, crouch down to her level so you're not looming over her, hang out near her while you're doing something else so she doesn't feel like she's under intense scrutiny every time you come in the room, and if you catch her eyes slow blink a few times and then look away.

shadowsrescue · Feb 23, 2016

Have you watched this video for tips

http://www.urbancatleague.org/TamingVideo

theyremine · Feb 23, 2016

I have found it helps to lift the cage off the floor. I actually keep my cage on a kitchen cabinet bought just for that purpose. It allows you to stand or sit at eye level with the kitten. That way you are not looming over the kitten and are less of a perceived threat.

kalynnda13 · Feb 24, 2016

Thanks for the input. Just some info: Coconut's cage is off the floor on a table. Makes it easier on the humans, as well as keeping us closer to her height. Regarding baby food...Coco seems to be the one cat that doesn't like it. I've tried two different brands of chicken, as well as ham and beef. The rest of the cats are happy...but she ignored it. Fortunately, small amounts of tuna are working. She will lick my fingers, as long as they don't move and smell like tuna.

I've read everything I could find on the internet, but there are several different philosophies of taming. For example, purrito-ing a cat very soon after capture and carrying it around with you. That would be good with younger kittens...but not with an older kitten like Coconut. Same with feeding philosophies. We're following the "some dry food always but wet food is special and the human gets to be there" approach.

The compromise we've come up with is that she gets one petting session a day from either myself or my spouse. She ends up huddling in the corner of the cage where we pet her for a few minutes. When she growls or moves away, we stop. She is also getting 4-6 play sessions a day, with treats afterward. We're keeping an eye on her behavior to make sure we aren't pushing her too much. So far, she's tolerating the petting and "forgiving" us within an hour. We're going to try to distract her with tuna on one hand and the other petting her...put something she likes together with something she doesn't.

We're also trying to get at least one of our cats to interact with her. She's started trilling and trying to get the attention of the cats. Several are willing to go into the cage, but mostly ignore her and just eat the kitten food :-) One cat has hissed/lightly swatted lightly at Coco, but also seems like she may be willing to play in the future. Coco having a cat friend will be good for her, and show her that other kitties like to be petted.

So, progress is being made. We'll take it at her pace, but also try to challenge her boundaries enough to get her used to things she once thought scary.

kittycort · Feb 24, 2016

The first thing to do...stop caging her. Would you trust another being who put you in a large cage? Would it make you think you are living in a safe, trustworthy place? Of course not. You would feel anxious, scared, confused and want OUT for good.

Also, a kitten needs to roam, cause trouble, and play a lot. Small play sessions when not caged wont cut it. If you feel she is in serious danger of hurting herself if you are out of the house, then kitten-proof the house. Keep her in one bedroom while gone, if truly needed, but by now, she should be roaming the house free.

A feral kitten will easily transition to domestication but must be treated as a pet. I know youre trying but ditch thecage andkeep her ina bedroom. Let her learn to come to you for play, treats. Dont make her come to you for food as food should never be withheld.....let her see shes safe. Trust her if you want to be trusted, allow her to be a kitten and to learn her environment. Keeping her caged will be very damaging.

mani · Feb 24, 2016

KittyCort said:
The first thing to do...stop caging her. Would you trust another being who put you in a large cage? Would it make you think you are living in a safe, trustworthy place? Of course not. You would feel anxious, scared, confused and want OUT for good.

Also, a kitten needs to roam, cause trouble, and play a lot. Small play sessions when not caged wont cut it. If you feel she is in serious danger of hurting herself if you are out of the house, then kitten-proof the house. Keep her in one bedroom while gone, if truly needed, but by now, she should be roaming the house free.

A feral kitten will easily transition to domestication but must be treated as a pet. I know youre trying but ditch thecage andkeep her ina bedroom. Let her learn to come to you for play, treats. Dont make her come to you for food as food should never be withheld.....let her see shes safe. Trust her if you want to be trusted, allow her to be a kitten and to learn her environment. Keeping her caged will be very damaging.

I'm no expert at all on working with feral kittens, but I thought the cage was the way to go.. a small space is more secure.

kalynnda13 · Feb 24, 2016

I am far from an expert...thus why I've been asking for advice. What isn't clear from your comment is if you have successfully tamed a feral kitten by this method. I know that if we had not caged Coconut, we would have a feral kitten roaming our house and doing her best to completely stay away from the humans. Yes, she might be enjoying things more...but she would not be tame.

Ideally, she would be in a small room. I don't have a small room I can put her in. The cage is the best option I have. It is not a tiny cage like cats are often in at shelters. It is about 32x48 inches of floor space. We play with her at least 4 times a day, and often more. Cages are an acceptable option per the vast majority of advise I have read, from reputable rescues and animal welfare organizations.

So while I respect your opinion, I will continue with what I have been doing. Coconut is making progress, almost daily. Soon she will be out and running about...but as a kitten who will approach humans and seek out interactions.

molly92 · Feb 24, 2016

KittyCort said:
The first thing to do...stop caging her. Would you trust another being who put you in a large cage? Would it make you think you are living in a safe, trustworthy place? Of course not. You would feel anxious, scared, confused and want OUT for good.

Also, a kitten needs to roam, cause trouble, and play a lot. Small play sessions when not caged wont cut it. If you feel she is in serious danger of hurting herself if you are out of the house, then kitten-proof the house. Keep her in one bedroom while gone, if truly needed, but by now, she should be roaming the house free.

A feral kitten will easily transition to domestication but must be treated as a pet. I know youre trying but ditch thecage andkeep her ina bedroom. Let her learn to come to you for play, treats. Dont make her come to you for food as food should never be withheld.....let her see shes safe. Trust her if you want to be trusted, allow her to be a kitten and to learn her environment. Keeping her caged will be very damaging.

This method may work for more outgoing kittens, but from the OP's description it sounds like this kitten is still very scared and a whole room, much less a whole house, could be overwhelming. A big dog cage with lots of toys, beds, food, water, and litter is a perfectly reasonable environment for a 2-3 month old kitten for the interim. She should feel like it's a safe space where she is protected and nothing bad happens. If she's starting to express more curiosity and trying to get out while she's in the cage, or is resistant to returning to the cage after a play session, then maybe she is ready to have more time in the room by herself, while still having the open cage as an option. A kitten that scared should not be allowed access to the whole house. She will run for cover the second she is slightly spooked, and it's impractical to kitten proof the whole house to the degree necessary to keep a creative, scared cat out of potentially harmful and hard to access locations.

They are not withholding food. The kitten is free fed dry, and wet food is given when people are present. It's very reasonable to keep a cat to scheduled mealtimes. They are only "making" her come to them to get yummy bits of tuna.

molly92 · Feb 24, 2016

kalynnda13 said:
Thanks for the input. Just some info: Coconut's cage is off the floor on a table. Makes it easier on the humans, as well as keeping us closer to her height. Regarding baby food...Coco seems to be the one cat that doesn't like it. I've tried two different brands of chicken, as well as ham and beef. The rest of the cats are happy...but she ignored it. Fortunately, small amounts of tuna are working. She will lick my fingers, as long as they don't move and smell like tuna.

I've read everything I could find on the internet, but there are several different philosophies of taming. For example, purrito-ing a cat very soon after capture and carrying it around with you. That would be good with younger kittens...but not with an older kitten like Coconut. Same with feeding philosophies. We're following the "some dry food always but wet food is special and the human gets to be there" approach.

The compromise we've come up with is that she gets one petting session a day from either myself or my spouse. She ends up huddling in the corner of the cage where we pet her for a few minutes. When she growls or moves away, we stop. She is also getting 4-6 play sessions a day, with treats afterward. We're keeping an eye on her behavior to make sure we aren't pushing her too much. So far, she's tolerating the petting and "forgiving" us within an hour. We're going to try to distract her with tuna on one hand and the other petting her...put something she likes together with something she doesn't.

We're also trying to get at least one of our cats to interact with her. She's started trilling and trying to get the attention of the cats. Several are willing to go into the cage, but mostly ignore her and just eat the kitten food :-) One cat has hissed/lightly swatted lightly at Coco, but also seems like she may be willing to play in the future. Coco having a cat friend will be good for her, and show her that other kitties like to be petted.

So, progress is being made. We'll take it at her pace, but also try to challenge her boundaries enough to get her used to things she once thought scary.

It sounds like your instincts are pretty good! I agree this kitten is too old for the burrito method. I also like the free feeding dry/human brings wet food method because it's important for her to be able to eat as many calories as she can.

One thought I did have-has she been to the vet? Outdoor kittens are very prone to parasites, and if she is sick, that could affect her personality a lot. It may seem like it's not a good idea to put her through the "traumatic" experience of a vet visit, but if she does have something and she starts getting treated for it, she's going to start feeling better and associate her good health with your care. It can really make a world of difference, and you will have to rebuild some trust but cats can learn to forgive a lot.

Kittens do LOVE other cats! This might be something to take advantage of. Adult cats do get very annoyed with kittens, but that does not stop kittens from absolutely adoring them, and if they get a bit of kitten food as a reward for their tolerance then everyone will be pretty happy. If you can figure out ways to use them as a reward for interacting with you, it might move things along faster than just motivating with treats. Also petting and cuddling with your adult cats in front of her will set a good example. Seeing how comfortable other cats are with people with only help.

molly92 · Feb 24, 2016

The reason a cat should feel safe in a cage is because cats feel safer in enclosed spaces. A scared cat will always seek out an enclosed hiding spot. The fearfulness is because she is feral and not used to people. Methods vary for feral kitten socialization, but they all recommend some form of small space confinement for the initial stages for the best results. These methods are designed based on what makes cats feel most comfortable. Extrapolating human feelings and concluding because we don't like small spaces that cats wouldn't either is inaccurate. Unlike us, cats are a small species and therefore have instinctive feelings designed to protect them from predators.

shadowsrescue · Feb 24, 2016

K kittycort I am wondering if you have experience with feral kittens. The process of keeping a feral kitten in a cage is a tried and true technique. Feral kittens are completely different than working with a socialized kitten. They need a small space to feel safe and secure. When too much space is given the kitten will easily become overwhelmed and socialization will be delayed.

If you have experience with feral kittens and the socialization process we would all love to hear your experiences.

mingsmongols · Feb 24, 2016

Your doing all the right things, so just keep doing them. It's a slow process and Its going to take time for her to really trust you. Even with you socialization efforts she might never be a touchy feely cat. You could get another kitten to put with her.

catwoman707 · Feb 24, 2016

Caging the kitten is most definitely appropriate.

What you will get otherwise is a kitten that you rarely see, he will simply hide and feel very frightened and overwhelmed.

Have the back 2/3 of the cage covered with a sheet, this is very good at giving them security.

For touching, teach him with food he can't resist, sardines, temptations treats (kitty crack), tuna, whatever he just loves.

Offer it, in exchange for a pet. If he backs up, which he will at first, pull the food.

After several tries he won't be able to resist, and will allow it.

He will feel that pets are a good thing, positive feelings.

Work this as often as possible, increasing the petting gradually and all over, including under his body as if to lift him up.

Working through their appetite and desire for goodies, you will make good progress.

If he were younger I'd be encouraging you to with hold food all together and work him that way. It's tough love to start but highly effective.

Need feral kitten socializatin advice

kalynnda13

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molly92

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shadowsrescue

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theyremine

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kalynnda13

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kittycort

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mani

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kalynnda13

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molly92

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