Fostering hoarder kittens!

beckiboo

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I'm getting two 10 week old kittens tomorrow! Woo-hoo! They came from a hoarder house, and are part of a larger litter. They have been in a cage at the vets office for over a week, and can be picked up and held, but need to learn to be nice pets. I hope we can tame them up nicely!

I will use lots of pointers from here at TCS to help me accomplish this!
 
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beckiboo

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I ususally keep the kittens in a separate room. Since these guys are a little older, they might end up out in general population, but will start in the "kitten room" and in a cage. At this age I think I need to provide intensive attention for the kittens, and don't want to risk losing them in the house! And if I need to separate them, it will be easier if I don't lose them!

If they tame up quickly and don't act feral, I will probably introduce them to the others, since Garfield is usually very loving with any cats we bring in, and the babies might need that!
 
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beckiboo

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Well, I have two little jet black kitties curled in the corner of their cage. DH said when he took them out of the carrier they were very quiet, but their little hearts were beating very fast!

Due to TCS, I am too smart now to mess with them tonight, although my hands are itching to get in there and try to pet them! They have all the food they will need, and a pair of dirty socks! LOL! And I laid down on the floor for a while after putting their food in, but since I can't LOOK AT THEM (again, thanks TCS), I left before too long. (I think that was my main mistake in my last semi-feral, just looking at her too much. Now I promise to only look beside the babies, and blink slowly if I am caught looking at them!)

Boys-girls-one of each? No idea, yet. But hopefully they will tame up nicely for us so they can become adoptable.
 
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beckiboo

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Sitting here holding one shiny black bundle of cuteness! I haven't named them yet, dh thought Pitch and Black would be good. I don't! He REALLY likes the name Pitch. I do not!!!

This one has a little white spot on its chest. They are both quite shy. They only seemed to perk up as being held when they saw a place that looked good to hide! The first one I held had its ears back part of the time I held it. This one is a little calmer-both do settle as I pet them.

I am off for the next 4 days, and my goal is to gently help them understand that people are good. My concern is that they will escape, and be impossible to find!

9 y/o dd sat on the floor by the cage and read them a story. DH held one and pet it for a while. I just hope they are still young enough to learn to be pets. Since they were apparently born in a hoarder's house, they don't even have the option of being outside cats if they don't tame, do they? Poor little sprites-and there are others from the litter who are less tame than these two!

The only sound I have heard them make is a hiss-first responding to Festus hissing at one of them (naughty Fest!), and then after I put the baby back in the cage it hissed at my hand! I would feel better if they made a little sound, and didn't just sit in a corner of the cage! DD did say she saw them use the litterbox today, although they would stop digging and become still if they saw her watching them. She knows not to stare.

I sure hope I can tame these precious black babies.
 
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beckiboo

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I let their food bowl go empty overnight, they just had about 1/4 cup of kibble last night. This morning the bowl was empty, and I closed the bedroom door, opened the cage, and put some canned food on a plate outside the cage. (I really don't want them preferring the cage to the home!) The kitty with a white spot on its neck came right out to eat as I called "Here, kitty, kitty". I was sitting right there, and the kids were on the other side of the room playing video games.

The pure black kitty reached out to eat, keeping her (his?) back feet in the cage. It also ate off a spoon for me. Then I pulled out a straw, and the white spot kitty actually played shyly. Even played with 6 y/o ds for a bit. He was itching to pet her, but whenever he reached his other hand towards her, she shyed away a bit. I told him he can pet her later.

They both ended up outside the cage. There is a place between the cage and the wall, where they can crawl back and be hidden inside a piece of foam (actually a playpen pad!). White spot kitty went in and came back out to play with the straw. All black kitty went in and stayed until I pulled her(?) out and put them back in the cage.

I have extremely high hopes for the white spot kitty. She is almost on pace with a tame kitten, playing with the kids, etc.

I gotta find out if they are girls-I think so. And we need some names. It is too weird to call them white spot and black kitty! (I already had a great cat named Spot, so that won't work). Star and Night Sky? Vincent and Van Gogh? Midnight and Dawn? R2 and D2? Oh, the possibilities! If the second kitty doesn't tame up, we will probably keep it. So I need a name I can live with. (Says the woman with a Festus and a Garfield, no Odie!)
 
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beckiboo

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Ooh, that's very cute! DS thinks Whitey and Blackie would be good. I can just see taking the one with the white spot to an adoption show and trying to explain why a jet black cat is named Whitey! LOL!

They just spent about an hour exploring the bedroom. White spot is comfortable doing a little exploring, running back into the cage if frightened. All black came out of the cage, but hid under a large toy. I am very pleased with their progress!
 

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AW, this is great! You have done an awesome job with the children: I am very impressed with their insight on connecting with the kittens, esp. reading the story outside the cage
I am so happy that these little furballs have your home for a sanctuary! You're doing an awesome job!
 

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The separate room is definitely smart until they get used to your approaching them.

Kittens are different from adult cats when it comes to socializing. With kittens after the first 24 hours or so you should force yourself on them. The biggest mistake I made with my first two was being afraid to scare them. I waited for them to come to me - big mistake. They were only 8 weeks old when I got them and almost 5 years later I still can't touch them except on the rare occasions when they let me. Actually one of them has never let me touch him. They live indoors fine but if I'd forced myself more on them when they were little they'd probably be a whole lot better.
 
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beckiboo

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I found this great link at the top, on the sticky's.
http://www.cat77.org.uk/articles/feral3.htm
Based on this, I have gone from forced holding and petting-which they did accept, but did not seem to enjoy-to hand feeding. My hope is that rather than turn out to be kitties who allow petting, they will be kitties who see humans and hands as the source of good things. This makes intuitive sense to me. A momma cat is warm, loving, and brings food to the babies. Now humans will replace at least the food.

The way they sneak around the bedroom when loose is just not what I hope for them in the long term. I don't mind a shy cat, but as you said, Semiferal, to have a cat who you can never touch. And I realize that it is not very safe to have a cat in your home that you rarely see, and could not catch to take to the vet if ill.

Thanks for all your prayers and vibes for these precious babies. They truly are too beautiful!
 
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beckiboo

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Well, I feel a little like a mean meowmie! I separated the kittens. Today, when I went into the kitten room, the tamer kit approached the front of the cage, as if expecting good from me (lunch!). But by the time I sat down with the can of food, opened the cage, and scooped some food onto my hand, she had cuddled with her sister. Then she wouldn't come out. I think the "scared" vibes from her sister were too much to overcome. And the scared one isn't taming much.

I tried holding scared kitty, but she wouldn't eat out of my hand. When I picked up tamer kitty, she ate off my hand as I held her on my lap. Then after she jumped off my lap, she continued to eat from my hand.

Scared kitty is now back in my bedroom watching sports with dh. DH is convinced we can tame any kitty. He is used to outside cats, from growing up on a farm. I will keep hand feeding both kits, and hope they get more and more comfortable with us.
 

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I think your doing okay Becky since it only has been 4 days or so. Black kitty may just take a little longer to adjust. Glad your DH is convinced you can tame any kitten - I think its good to sometimes have that attitude. Especially since these ones are so young.

Good work!! and how wonderful that your DD & DS know the rules of how to work with new kitties (ie: no eye looking at such). That really is great.

thinking of you all
 
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beckiboo

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Well, from what I have read about ferals, you have to get them tamed by 12 weeks. Since these two are already 10 weeks old, I am not willing to give them time to adjust. To me it is like caring for an abused child, you can't let them keep thinking you will hurt them. They must learn that you are the "good guy"!

I'm just trying to do this pretty intensively, without pushing them beyond what they can learn.

Scared kitty pooped in the crate she was in. I don't know where I read that a pie tin makes a good kitty litter pan, but she dumped out all the litter trying to bury a poopy! While dh held her, I changed to a bigger litterbox. And while he held her, she did eat a little from my hand. She would eat if his hand was still, but quit when he pet her. Poor little sprite, I'm sure she will eat more at the next meal! That is the beauty of kittens-that hunger urge, and the urge to play can over come fear if we let it!

Now, rather than sitting in a separate room, she is in the carrier facing dh. And dd is going in to feed the tamer kitten. (She fed them yesterday, too. She is my little catlady in training!)
 
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beckiboo

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Well, here we are on day 5. This morning, tamer kitty was meowing at her cage, and stretching as if to reach us. Later, ds was playing with the tamer kitty, and then when he was petting her she purred. Then as dd held her, she purred some more!

Scared kitty is still pretty shy, but I have spent time carrying her around buttoned inside my shirt. I am afraid to keep them totally apart, because I know young babies, human or not, can die from lack of attention. And the carrier is too small for exercise. So this morning, after breakfast, the kittens were together while we were gone from the house.

Then they were separated, and the purring happened. Now they are together again, loose in the kitty room. Instead of slinking around the kitty room, tame kitty is exploring, climbing up on things, etc. And even shy kitty is walking around, grabbing at toys. They don't cower in terror when I stand up or move.

Of course, dd's face just dropped when she was holding the purring kitten, and I reminded her that she will make a good kitty for someone else. It would be so easy to keep them! Hopefully the other kitty will begin to make great strides with her sister as a role model when they have playtime together!

I do not think it is only our treatment of the kitties, I am certain that the prayers and good thoughts from TCS are working for these babies, too. Thanks!
 
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beckiboo

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Well, day 6. I was at work all day, so couldn't spend much time with my babies. When we got home, 16 y/o ds hand fed them, then read to them for about 30 minutes. (So handy for the kids to have reading homework.) I hope the babies enjoyed Huck Finn! LOL!

While the girls did well at eating out of our hands tonight, and had a rollicking good time racing around the room together, there was basically no petting happening today. It is kind of hard when time is short, because I do not want them to think hands are for grabbing. So we played with the feather toy, and brought the big kitties in to visit. But mostly we just let the babies play with one of us nearby.

They look so sweet and adorable, if you don't try to pick them up! The wild child still hissed at me when I picked her up. The tame one was like a crazy girl, up on the TV, up on the cat cage, crawling up the outside of the cage...she was just everywhere.

I'm off work tomorrow, but have some running to do. However, it will be hand feeding all day, and I think that helps a lot!

Well, I'm off to bed. Too bad, because Garfield just climbed up on my lap, and fell asleep with his head on my arms. I love this boy so much! He really is the sweetest love-bug ever!
 
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beckiboo

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OK, here we are on day 10, and the tamer kitty (Blue) was having a WILD time tonight. She goes crazy for that feather duster toy! And for the first time, her scared sister (Red) played with the feather duster a little.
Maybe because I had Sugartoes and Festus in there. Although how they can calm the kittens down when they growl at them and try to whack them, I just don't know.

But the babies do see the big girls who are not afraid of Meowmie, and Sugar gets a little crazy over that feather toy herself, sometimes!

I love Hissy's hint to "shoo" them back into the cage with a blanket. I was having trouble getting them to go back in, because they have so much fun running around the room!

It was a fun night with the girls, while old Garfield layed in bed with dd and nursed on her giant horse's fur. He is such a big baby himself!
 
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