We are FINALLY making some progress with our stray kitten!

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
Almost a month ago now, we were able to catch a feral 6-8ish week old kitten that was living in our yard. We have her in a large kennel in a back room to herself, and our goal is to socialize her enough to be able to find a home.


We had a large set back though. Either my hubby or I (let's face it probably him) didn't latched the kennel door right and the kitten got out. She was still confined to the one room, but it's a back storage room with lots of junk and way too many places to hide.

I tried to entice her out with food. Id place it at the front of her hiding spot and wait over an hour for her to come. But she never did. The food would be gone later but she would never eat while someone was in the room.

It took a lot of work but we managed to clean the storage room of most things and recapture the kitten in the kennel.

We've been taking turns every day for a week feeding her and just sitting on the floor next to her so she gets used to seeing, smelling, hearing us.

Today, a week after recapture and over a month since we first caught her, she FINALLY relaxed enough in my presence to eat in front of me! I am so proud of her, and I'm so relieved at this small sign of progress. I was beginning to become worried that we'd not be able to help her with our limited experience and would have to bring her to the humane society. But now, I know our hard work and patience is starting to pay off!

She has a little box bed that she likes to sit in, and would not get completely out of it to eat. So I think our next goal should be to get her to come all the way out of the box for food.

This is the first time we've ever attempted anything with a stray or feral cat. So if anyone with more experience would like to give me advice on how to precede from here, it would be much appreciated!

Wish us luck everybody!
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
Hello rissaroo1234,
Glad to hear of the progress. She is still very young and it should be no problem housebreaking her. As long as it's always you and your husband feeding her and playing with her, she'll get accustomed to the two of you and her confidence level will grow and both of you won't look like a threat to her.
Get some cat wand and toys and get her use to the things around her. Speak gently to her all the time and let her associate you and your husband with food.
Next is to make sure the room has got no escape route and also not so cluttered. Slowly try feeding her out of the cage. Move her food bowl further out each time to make her get out of her box bed to eat. Till you have the whole dish out of the cage, then let her wander and explore the room. Most important is to get her out of the cage, otherwise ahe'll think that that's her refuge place and will never venture out of the cage. Introduce all these slowly and try coming to her without food and see if she come towards you. Can entice her with a delicious snack. And once she feels comfortable coming out, move her bed out and move it away from the cage further and further away each day.
It takes time and patience and love to coax her out and if she made any progress, give her lots of praises ;)
 

kittychick

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 2, 2013
Messages
1,611
Purraise
1,960
Location
Ohio
Yeah for you guys for taking this baby on (what's her name?)!!!! She's young enough she should come around eventually ---as you're learning, it's a bit of a process. But because it's a process, the end result is even more rewarding! Most of us who've socialized young Gerald have had a setback or two like you did- she'll come back around eventually. You're doing so much right --as much time as possible spent sitting in the room with her---reading (softly aloud is wonderful!), answering emails, working on your laptop, etc. if possible - leave a tv or radio on softly in her room. It serves a few purposes - gets her used to strange --and human!!!---noises. And it masks other scarey noises in the house. Radio I put on NPR talk, TV I put on something non-screamy like HGTV.

One other way to engage her --they usually LOVE chicken Gerber baby food (stage 2---very stinky but cats love it - NO onions). I initially lie on my stomach and use a long-handled spoon, extended a bit of the baby food on it it to them while talking in a high, soft voice. Often they can't resist the smell & taste of it - and it overrides their fear of you! I eventually reduce length of the spoon.

Keep us posted!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
She doesn't have a name yet. We're waiting until she gets more comfortable with us and shows her personality more, so we can base a name off that.

We aren't even sure if she is really a she. We haven't been able to handle her yet so we can't tell gender. I just kinda choose "she" because it sounds better then "it". Haven't seen any obvious "boy parts" so we're going with that for now. Once we can handle her and bring her to a vet we can find out more for sure.

I like the tv/radio idea. I'll ask around and see if we can find an old radio to borrow. When I go in there I usually bring my 3ds to play, but I've been turning the sound off, not wanting to scare her. But maybe I'll start turning it on low. I'm playing Pokémon, so there's no speech but there are sound effects and music.

I've thought about getting a long spoon, but I haven't been able to find one to buy. Where did you get yours?

Another problem we have is that she is extremely messy! She scatters her litter and sometimes her food everywhere. But we have trouble reaching in there to clean it up without scaring her. I bought Adam (my hubby) some thick work gloves to wear when scooping the box. So far she hasn't swiped at us, but she sometimes hisses a little and the poor thing will meow and cry a lot :(

We'll here her crying sometimes from the other room. I think she's lonely, poor thing. When we first saw her in the yard, she had a litter mate, they were playing together. We've been trying to trap him as well, but so far no luck. We haven't seen any sign of him since we caught the first kitten. I worry something happened to him :(

We did catch a gigantic raccoon once though. The thing was so fat he could barely squeeze into the trap. And we were lucky enough to catch the feral mother. She was SUPER aggressive, wanting to protect her babies and all. We brought her into the humane society who spayed her for free as part of their TNR program. They said she was about 7 years old, which is pretty old for a feral, and she's had at least a dozen or more litters. So it's good we got her! We let her go in the yard, she scampered off and we've seen no sign of her since.
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
Yes, a tv or radio idea is good. Play some low tone sound. Maybe when she's in the room alone, leave the cage open so that she can get out of the cage and check out the room. Otherwise she'll think that the cage is her only place to be.
Maybe can try to move her litter box out of the cage, but near the cage so that it's easier for you to clear the litter box rather than clearing it with her in the cage. That will intimidate her more. She must have the idea that she is allowed out of the cage and her territory is the room and not the cage. This way she'll learn that peeing and pooping is out of the cage but for sleeping, she still can use the cage to sleep in her box bed.
It's a slow transition but worth a try. I don't think it's a good idea that she be cooped up in the cage. Hope things go smoothly for you guys and that she get socialized fast.
Do keep us posted of her progress.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
Yeah for you guys for taking this baby on (what's her name?)!!!! She's young enough she should come around eventually ---as you're learning, it's a bit of a process. But because it's a process, the end result is even more rewarding! Most of us who've socialized young Gerald have had a setback or two like you did- she'll come back around eventually. You're doing so much right --as much time as possible spent sitting in the room with her---reading (softly aloud is wonderful!), answering emails, working on your laptop, etc. if possible - leave a tv or radio on softly in her room. It serves a few purposes - gets her used to strange --and human!!!---noises. And it masks other scarey noises in the house. Radio I put on NPR talk, TV I put on something non-screamy like HGTV.

One other way to engage her --they usually LOVE chicken Gerber baby food (stage 2---very stinky but cats love it - NO onions). I initially lie on my stomach and use a long-handled spoon, extended a bit of the baby food on it it to them while talking in a high, soft voice. Often they can't resist the smell & taste of it - and it overrides their fear of you! I eventually reduce length of the spoon.

Keep us posted!

Totally agree.
I did some research about how to socialize feral kittens and i read that you should start with a large dog crate. I don't like having her in there either but it's only temporary. When she got out we couldn't interact with her at all so we didn't get anywhere. When she gets calmer around us we'll let her out of corse! Eventually we'll give her full roam of the room and then the house. I'm hoping we'll be able to give her the room soon
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
I did some research about how to socialize feral kittens and i read that you should start with a large dog crate. I don't like having her in there either but it's only temporary. When she got out we couldn't interact with her at all so we didn't get anywhere. When she gets calmer around us we'll let her out of corse! Eventually we'll give her full roam of the room and then the house. I'm hoping we'll be able to give her the room soon
Just asking, is the cage door closed all the time and opened when you are in the room or or is it opened all the time. Hope it's opened all the time whether or not you are in the room. It's best that you spend more time with her and get her to come out of the cage else if you need to bring her to the vet or clean the cage, it's going to be stressful for her.
Keep up the good job!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
UPDATE TIME! get ready for a loooong post ;) 

The reason for the crate was because we live in a small, one bedroom apartment and didn't have an available safe kitty room. We have a small back storage room, and that is where the crate is (or was, I'll get to that in a moment). We had cleared out most of what we could, but there were still some large items in there that belong to my landlady that we cannot move, including some large framed paintings leaning agents the wall. When she had escaped the crate, that is where she would hide, and wouldn't come out if one of us in the room no matter how good the food or how patient we were. We couldn't reach her at all either, which was a safety issue. That is why we very carefully corralled her back into the crate. 

Now that we've made a little bit of progress, we wanted to give her more space. But we didn't want her to be so well hidden that we would never see or interact with her. So, using lots of large flattened cardboard boxes as panels and a bunch of duct tape, we made barricades to block the portion of the room with the large hide-able items. It was a lot of work, and hard on my bad back and neck (car accident, long story) but I think we managed a pretty good barricade. I'll post a photo of it later. She cried a lot during this process; we were making noise and moving things and being scary so I don't blame her, but it had to be done. She did quiet down after a bit. 

I then gave her a safe and accessible hiding place using a box on it's side with a blanket in it. I then propped the door open and left. Within 15 minutes I could hear her from the next room exploring the new area, so I went back in. I found her in the new safe box, right where I needed her to be. I pulled everything out of her crate, folded it flat, and got it out of the way. Now she has more space, but we'll still be able to interact with her! It's still not a large space (I'd say approx. 5 x 8 feet not counting the blocked off area. It's not a large room but it's the best we can do,) But it's more then double, maybe triple what she had before, which is something. 

The towels she had are in the wash now, and once they're done I'll give her another little box bed. The floor is concrete, so I'll also lay one out on the floor so it will be nicer on her paws. She had some toys in the crate but I added a couple new ones as well. And since there's now room, I gave her a scratcher too. I had one integrated into the wall of the crate (I wrapped scicial rope around some of the bars, it took a looong time) but I have no idea if she actually used it or not. I also got some of that "Sentry calming cat spray" pheromone stuff to try. I sprayed some in the room and I'll spray a little more when I next go to sit in a while. I really hope that helps because it was kind of expensive! But it has good reviews so I figured it was worth the try. 

We will find a radio to borrow (we are in our 20's and therefore don't own one outside of our cars lol) and play NPR in there while we are at work. We'll keep working with her. Once she's confident with us and we can handle her at least a bit, we will schedule an appointment with MNsnap, which is a vet service charity program for pets of low income families in our state. We can get her fixed and get the basics (shots, deworming etc) for her for like $125. That's still a lot for us; I work full time min wage and he works min wage part time and goes to college part time so we don't make a lot; but helping this kitten is really important to us so we'll find a way to make it work. 

Once she has been fixed and okayed by the vet, we will start introducing her to our own cat, Sophie. Sophie is about 1 and 1/2 years old and was adopted from a shelter. She's been suuuuper interested in the room with the mews that she's not allowed in! We actually keep some boxes in front of the door so she won't stick her paws under the crack... Anyways, Sophie spent most of her life in a community cat room, so we're hoping that she'll warm up to having another kitten around pretty easily. 

But that's all for later! Right now, our next goal is to have her continue to eat in front of us, and see if we can start engaging her in play. Got to go one step at a time! 

Thank you for your support everyone. We're kind of flying blind here, and it's just so great to know that we're not doing this alone, and that there's other people who know and care. I will keep you updated on any new progress! 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
P.S. We had disarmed the trap and stopped trying to get the 2nd kitten when the first kitten got out of the crate by accident. We wanted to make sure she was settled in before bringing in the other. But now that she is doing better, I'm going to start setting it up again. I hope the other kitten is still around. We haven't seen him but that doesn't mean he's not there! So far it's been a very mild start to winter but it is starting to get pretty cold, so I really hope we can get the other kitten in soon. And I really hope we don't catch another raccoon! 

I had this idea of getting one of those instant hand warmers to tuck inside the trap, to entice the kitten in with both food and warmth from the cold weather. But would this be safe to do? I wouldn't want him to bite into the warmer and get sick. If thats a risk whats another way I could make the inside of the trap warm and more inviting, since food alone didn't really work last time? 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
One other way to engage her --they usually LOVE chicken Gerber baby food (stage 2---very stinky but cats love it - NO onions). 
What kind of chicken food do you recommend? There's chicken and rice, vegetable chicken, apples and chicken, chicken noodle... Or does it not really matter which? 

Also, where do you get a really long spoon from? The best I could come up with is a regular spoon with chopsticks taped to the handle to make it longer but that didn't work very well; it was really unstable... 
 

Primula

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
6,838
Purraise
533
Location
Connecticut, USA
Wow, kudos to you for all you are doing for this little creature. The majority of people wouldn't care tuppence for her.
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
You are doing a great job here and we are proud of you! :clap:
It's not easy , I know because I do the same for my boy. All the shifting, throwing away stuffs, clean up and blocking places we don't want him to go hide. Now my house is cat safe and my boy own the house now :lol3:
Don't think it's s good idea to put hand warmers in the crate as the substance might leak out or the kitten claw up the pack and lick it or some might get stuck to the fur and he got to clean his fur and lick the substance.
Way to go and keep it up!
We didn't know that you have another cat.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
We didn't know that you have another cat.
Yes her name is Sophie. I made a big long post a while back on the new member thread about her story of how she got to the shelter and how we met and adopted her. If you want to read it you can probably find it by looking up my user name.


She was a rescued feral kitten too, and is part of the reason we want to help this kitten so much. To pay it forward, so to speak. To give her the same chance that a kind stranger gave Sophie.

Right now Sophie and the kitten are 100% separated. Once the kitten makes more progress with us and is cleared by the vet of anything contagious (she appears perfectly healthy but better safe then sorry) then we'll start the slow introduction process.
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
Yes her name is Sophie. I made a big long post a while back on the new member thread about her story of how she got to the shelter and how we met and adopted her. If you want to read it you can probably find it by looking up my user name.
Oh, Sophie, I recognized her. I remember that I welcome you and Sophie in that thread.
 

kittychick

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 2, 2013
Messages
1,611
Purraise
1,960
Location
Ohio
We also start out with a very large dog crate - inside which we put a small cat carrier with the door removed as a "den" - and we usually also put a shoe box with soft fabric in in as another "nest." (we secure the shoebox though, as it's easy to tip it off. I've socialized quite a few kittens - and I find that if we DON"T start out the with crate, socializing is a million times slower, and sometimes doesn't "take" at all. This is al my opinion - and in this forum - many of us have different ways we do things. But we always start in the CLOSED dog crate - - in a closed room. She will actually feel more secure while she's still so nervous - with a smaller pace to be (as evidenced by - if everything were open, she'd hide in a tiny spot). We're lucky to have a very large guest bedroom (that takes up half of a large basement) - and it has cable, a nice bed, a window, etc. - - so when socializing I spend a lot of time in there, generally sleeping and working down there (my husband and I are graphic designers that work from home). So I have the ability to sit down there and work from my laptop- something a lot of people obviously can't do. 

Radio-wise, you can get SUPER cheap clock radios in particular- that's what we have down there (so it can double as a guest alarm clock too!).

The big thing when socializing (again -my opinion) - - is to leave as a few places as possible for her to "get away from you" ---- if she can hide all the time, it'll just take longer, again - if at all - to socialize. That's why we leave the crate door (and bedroom door, obviously - although you don't have the luxury of that) shut until definite socialization steps are made. Since we use a bedroom - - we ttake the mattress off the bed frame and move the bed frame out of the room (otherwise they shoot straight under the bed, virtually never to be seen again!). We also block off anything an everything that even REMOTELY looks like a kitten can fit into it (and you'd be surprised - they can fit into remarkably tiny spaces - we've done this for years and we're STILL sometimes surprised with what terrified ones will cram themselves into/behind'/etc. So we block off under dressers, behind piano (yes, there's one in the spare room - it's 80 years old, and whoever buys the house after us gets it for free since it'll never be moved!), 

What you're doing with the cardboard is very similar to what we also do before finally giving them the "run of the room." Once we feel that we're making a bit of progress (they''ll eat baby food off a longer spoon, we can at least touch them without utter abject terror on their part)   - my husband blocks off a small area around the crate with large sheets of plywood duct-taped together. We start off with an area that's probably about 7 foot by 7 foot, and expand gradually until eventually they get the whole room. It's kind of a "forced enjoyment with us" thing - - - and (knock on wood) it's worked every time. I'm not saying we end up with lap cats every time, but we've ended up with very adoptable kittens every single time. If I can find a pic of the plywood "area" - I'll post it. 

We also use (I know it's more money) - a small pet heating pad (NOT a human one - they get too hot!!!!!) -- that we leave on (esp since we use the basement) -- they LOVE snuggling on it, and it gives them another place to feel safe and secure.

It's all about them feeling safe and secure - as humans, we always need to remember that they were taught both by instinct and  particularly by their momma cat (if any time was spent with her at all) -- that hiding and being fearful is what keeps them alive. Their fear is what's kept them safe. So it takes time to "unlearn" that. And baby steps are what does that. They also need to learn that GOOD things (like Gerber baby food!) come directly from us - - and eventually it reinforces that we aren't out to get them :) It's a process. But so rewarding. I applaud you - and your cardboard! 

And below is the Gerber Stage 2 that we use when socializing - a lot of us call it "kitty crack." :) I haven't had nearly the same luck with Beechnut or any other brand (you'd think feral kittens wouldn't be so picky - but in our case - they same to sense that the extra 3 cents we're paying for the Gerber makes it worth it :)

 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
Update: CONTAINMENT BREECH!

Checked on the kitten this morning and she was gone... she got past the cardboard barrier. I think she jumped onto the shelf and went over it that way. So I dismantled the wall, shooed her from her hiding place (behind some paintings leaning on the far back wall) getting her to run back to the front of the room where then quickly rebuilt the wall, and this time I blocked off the shelf too. Hopefully she'll stay put this time! She handled being shooed back very well, it was a lot easier then I was expecting. The cried and meowed but didn't hiss so that's good.

This is her set up, with the improved barrier. It's not big or glamorous but it's the best we can manage...

At the time of photos she's hiding in the black bin with the red blanket, you can't really tell in the photo. The black tray is from the crate originally, I took it out to hopefully contain the litter (she's so messy!)

I'm going to give her a few hours to settle in, and then I'm going to try the baby food and spoon thing. I had tried baby food before but it was a different kind. I got some jar gerber chicken and it's much smellier!

I also made a new long spoon. I used a lot more bamboo sticks and duct tape this time. I have dubbed it the "super spoon 2000" it's a bit over 2 feet long.
I'm going to wait a few hours for her to settle down from the whole moving and barrier business, then I'm going to go back in and try to use it.

I also reset the trap outside using some of the new gerber food, and I'm going to try to get the 2nd kitten again, now that the first kitten is doing better. It's a nicer sunny day out today so maybe he will be more adventurous.

Now we just have to wait and see what happens next!
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
Just remember that she is a kitten. And she is inquisitive. She'll find and go into any place that she can sneak into and hide. As long as the place is not sealed up well, she'll bulldoze her way in d they have strength to pounce and collapse the cardboard and of course she'll jump and climb.
You are doing very well and just reinforce the cardboards and protect the expensive items. Remember, cardboards are one of their favorite things. And also make sure the tapes are well sealed though she still can scratch and bite it off. Just that I'm afraid of the glue on the tape that's no good for her.
Good thing is that she took you 'shoo' pretty well.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19

rissaroo1234

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
23
Purraise
8
Location
Minnesota
UPDATE: Three strikes and out...

So I spent HOURS making a new wall, this one blocking only the large items to stop her from going behind them. I was pretty proud of it!


Went to check on her this morning before work, and this is how I found it [emoji]128557[/emoji]


That kitten was super determined! She likes to hang out behind those framed paintings on the back wall. She keep bringing the toys I leaves for her back there lol.

Part of the problem is that the duck tape doesn't stick to the wall well.

Anyways... I've concluded that my cardboard idea is a failure and I'm going to have to figure out something else. The paintings and those doors can't leave the room; they have nowhere else to go. Maybe I can lay the frames flat on the ground so she can't go behind them? I don't know.

Other then the wall failures, the kitten seems to be doing well. She hides from us but she no longer cries when we enter the room. She eats well and uses her litter box fine. Had no luck with the baby food and long spoon yet, but I'll keep trying.
 
Last edited:

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
19,672
Purraise
36,869
Location
Lion City, Singa-purr
Wanted to tell you this but you've already found out. Your kitten has the ability to jump and claw herself up those cardbox barricades. They also like to chew on tapes. The more she's restricted, the more determine she is. This was what and how I found out through my boy.
When he came home, he crawled into holes and so I plug them up but he has a way to get in so I fortified the room again and yes, I was proud like you too. But it did not last. He still manage to get through it.
Finally, I tight packed all the items making sure that there's no way he could get in. But I made provision for him to get up and use it as a platform for him to hang out. And those places that I can't plug, I leave it clear and clean so that he can go in up not into the tight packed items.
Once they have a bit of safe hiding space, they'll kind loose interest in the whole lot of stuffs. I just make sure there's nothing he can chew, though he'll still chew on the cardboard boxes, it's their favorite, but that's about it. Now, my boy dosen't go into the hiding place anymore, but that was months ago when he was younger. Once they go through the phase, they totally loose interest. They just want to be been there done that kind of things.
My boy has access to the whole house as he is given permission of free roaming the house which was after extensive catificatiion. And he just frequent a few places as other parts of the house is not interesting to him anymore.
So you have to try again and block up all holes so she can't aqueeze in but have a little hiding place for her.
Hope you succeed this time.
 
Top