Scared kitties

gemini

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Our three 5 month old kittens are going back to the vet tomorrow for their booster shots. The little boy is as friendly as can be. His sisters, on the other hand, are always hiding. We just spent the past hour trying to catch the girls and put them in the cage so it will be easier to get them in the cat carrier tomorrow. We've been thinking that maybe they should go back in the cage when they get back from the vet and try to get them tame before giving them back the freedom of the rest of the house. We would be able to pet them and socialize with them without them running away. It seems kind of mean to confine them but we don't want them to always be wild, especially because we would like to find them homes. We have been trying to socialize them for 3 months now both when they were outside and after they came in. We can get them to play but can't get near them to pet them. Does this sound like a good idea? We're not sure what else to do with them.
 

sandie

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That's actually a good idea. In order to make them understand that people are good, they have to have good experiences with them. When I was working with feral kittens, I used to keep them in a cage and when I would open the cage, I would sit at the opening. I would talk to them and try to pet them. They gradually would come closer. When I did let them out, it was just in that room and I would feed them baby food and hold them for about 5 minutes at a time and then give them about 10 minutes to run and play before I picked them up again. SOme were harder than others, but all the hard work payed off.
 
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