- Joined
- Sep 29, 2015
- Messages
- 42
- Purraise
- 5
Of the two feral kittens I've been feeding/sheltering, I've made a lot more progress with the smaller of the littermates. She would run inside for food and playtime the instant I opened the patio door, and would purr like a motorboat when I started petting her. (The other one will come in, but only if my two resident cats aren't in view.) Anyway, the temperature has been dropping into the teens (Fahrenheit) lately, so I've been trying to get them inside permanently. The outgoing one wasn't a problem since she already likes it in here anyway, *but*, even she gets incredibly claustrophobic after a while, yowling to be let out. It was in the single digits overnight last night, so I ignored her increasingly loud meowing and kept her inside. She didn't react well. She's been in hiding all day. I've left food and water by my bed, the likely hiding spot, and she knows where all three litter boxes are.
My question is, should I let her mellow out in her own time, or upend the bed to get her out, risking traumatizing her even more? To make matters worse, her poop was pretty runny the last time I saw it, so I'd been giving her baby food, lots of water, and had given her a dose of (over-the-counter) deworming medicine. I had hoped to get her a little less wild before taking her to the vet, but I want to get her treated for that ASAP. I've never had much luck with calming diffusers, so I'm reluctant to shell out for yet another. Those things aren't cheap.
She's tiny, but I know she's nearly five months old. Is this too late to transition her to indoor living? She *was* warming up really well, even napping on my leg at one point, but this is a pretty big setback. I guess it's like locking someone inside Disneyland - she loved to come in and play here, but is iffy on the thought of being stuck here for good.
(Also, the mom and the sibling both love to curl up inside the shelter on the microwaveable heating pad I bought, and the heated water bowl keeps it above freezing, so at least they have the essentials out there. I make sure to reheat the pad at sunset and then again before I go to bed.)
Any advice would be appreciated. I'm just trying to help, but the little ball of fluff doesn't see it that way.
My question is, should I let her mellow out in her own time, or upend the bed to get her out, risking traumatizing her even more? To make matters worse, her poop was pretty runny the last time I saw it, so I'd been giving her baby food, lots of water, and had given her a dose of (over-the-counter) deworming medicine. I had hoped to get her a little less wild before taking her to the vet, but I want to get her treated for that ASAP. I've never had much luck with calming diffusers, so I'm reluctant to shell out for yet another. Those things aren't cheap.
She's tiny, but I know she's nearly five months old. Is this too late to transition her to indoor living? She *was* warming up really well, even napping on my leg at one point, but this is a pretty big setback. I guess it's like locking someone inside Disneyland - she loved to come in and play here, but is iffy on the thought of being stuck here for good.
(Also, the mom and the sibling both love to curl up inside the shelter on the microwaveable heating pad I bought, and the heated water bowl keeps it above freezing, so at least they have the essentials out there. I make sure to reheat the pad at sunset and then again before I go to bed.)
Any advice would be appreciated. I'm just trying to help, but the little ball of fluff doesn't see it that way.