2 new feral kittens at home. Need advice.

I have brought home stray kittens in the past, but never more than one and never ones that were wild like these two.
We had a feral cat living at my work, who of course had kittens this year. I trapped the kittens a little over a week ago, and have since been feeding them and working with them to try and tame them down. I read a few of the threads and am becoming more accepting of the fact that they may always hide, but while one seems to be becoming more accepting of me, the other still hisses and growls regularly unless I am giving him food at the moment. At first he was doing well, and now he seems to be regressing a bit.
Someone suggested that I should separate them, forcing them to bond with me, rather than eachother. I was wondering if anyone has any advise. They are both very young, about 6 weeks, so I am hoping they have a good chance of becoming well adjusted.

Originally Posted by dana717

I have brought home stray kittens in the past, but never more than one and never ones that were wild like these two.
We had a feral cat living at my work, who of course had kittens this year. I trapped the kittens a little over a week ago, and have since been feeding them and working with them to try and tame them down. I read a few of the threads and am becoming more accepting of the fact that they may always hide, but while one seems to be becoming more accepting of me, the other still hisses and growls regularly unless I am giving him food at the moment. At first he was doing well, and now he seems to be regressing a bit.
Someone suggested that I should separate them, forcing them to bond with me, rather than eachother. I was wondering if anyone has any advise. They are both very young, about 6 weeks, so I am hoping they have a good chance of becoming well adjusted.

Click to expand...

I would open the PDF on socializing kittens:

http://www.alleycat.org/resources_care.html#10

Katie

Actually I checked out the thread with that site and link right after I posted mine, and there are several very helpful links on it.
Thank you.

Hi Dana! Thank you for taking in the little ones. Poor things must be scared to death!

I understand what you're going through. We rescued our Ophelia at around 6 weeks old. If it makes you feel any better, it took me a full month for her to decide it was OK for me to *touch* her. She's now going on 7 years old, and insists on being cuddled. It just takes a whole lot of patience and building of trust with these little ones. The only way to build trust is not to push yourself on them - you're trying to un-teach them what momma-cat taught them very well, that humans are to be avoided and feared.

As young as they are, I wouldn't suggest separating them. They need each other for comfort. They are little and scared and in a totally alien world to them. In their eyes you are this big scary thing who brings them food (that's nice ), but then tries to grab at them (that's bad - maybe the big thing is going to eat me?!?!). And they miss their kitty family too, so I wouldn't separate them further.

Six weeks is still young enough that they may become great pets. Use the food to bring them to you. Feed them from your hand, so they learn that your hand is a good thing. Get out some feather dancers and other chasing toys. They will get so busy chasing that they will forget to be afraid of you.

I pet my feral kittens as they eat. I don't force myself on them, but I do try to teach them that petting feels good. If you want to separate them, do it just for a few hours. Bring one into the bathroom with you to play with a crinkle ball. That way you can play with them, but for day in and day out, they have the comfort of a sibling.

Also, once they are vet checked and have been vaccinated, introducing them to a loving tame cat as a role model is very helpful.

I have tamed some feralish kittens before, but never started with totally wild ones. But one became such a lovebug that she was adopted out at a pet show at Petsmart. I let her new Dad know of her wild background, so he would understand if she sometimes acted afraid, but honestly she was a total lapcat and lovebug by the time she left. I still have her sister Jasmine. If you search for Red and Blue you will learn about their story. Once we decided to keep "Red" we renamed her Jasmine. Blue was adopted wearing her Blue collar, and her new Dad kept her name. It really did fit her, although she is black, not blue! LOL!

Hi there. I could have posted exactly what you wrote in the first one or two sentences.

I have two new ferals who are about as wild as I can imagine kittens being. I was surprised because the other two from the same litter and caught in the same area were easy. I thought these two kittens would also fall in love with me by day two, not so. These two were caught two weeks later than the other two I have with me.

These two new ones have a completely different look in their eyes. The looks range from angry to terrified to pleading. Their sheer terror is obvious.

I think I got them on Monday and tonight is Thursday night.

I can pick them up now and pet them; they allow it; they don't relish in it whatsoever. I just fed one of them a tiny bit of wet food from my fingers tonight. He ate the food, but it's not like he completely melted and began purring. He slunk away afterwards.

Before I got to feed the other one I got bit by one of the other kittens so maybe that's that for the food for tonight. I might try again in a bit...

I have other kittens in the room with them. I wish you could have this I think it makes it a little easier, though I've never done this any other way. They both seem to be watching the other three kittens crawl all over me, head to head, kissy kissy. It's fascinating for them but they can only watch this for so long before going off to hide.

Even in hiding, they know what's going on in the room.

My tact has been to pick them up by the scruff, then hold them under their butts and carry them over to food and the litter box. They don't NEED this but I am trying to act like the momma cat, and I get a sense they appreciate my direction. After placing them down I back away slowly. I try not to make sudden movement or loud noises.

Sometimes I will bring them out of hiding and put them near the other cats. At night I pick them up like a momma cat and deliver them to the bed where I put all the other kittens for the night before I leave the room. I do this in the dark with a flashlight after playing with them in the dark for a bit. I have a couple of glow in the dark soft cushy balls for playtime each night. The two wild kittens are not playing but they are watching.

After placing them down somewhere, if they run away from the spot I do it again, place them near the food or litter box or bed. Just trying to communicate that my handling them has a purpose, for now. Later I will try to cuddle them more.

Today I was singing a childrens sing song sounding thing, very sweet and very soft. ( I have a song like this I make up for all my animals, each has their own song...I'm weird...). I think the wild kittens liked it too. They weren't purring, but I got a sense.

I have noticed the kittens soften to rubbing their ears. I don't know if it's something a momma cat would do or not but it seems okay to them. I try not to overstimulate them although just about any touch is overstimulation.

Also, I learned about eye contact. I always blink slowly about three times when looking directly at the kittens. Or I look just over their heads, between their ears. The one kitten looks at me more directly than the other.

Now, unless... the more scared kitten keeps trying to climp up the window, to escape. I've had to get him out from between the window panes once and it wasn't pretty. So now when I see him about to climb up I do look directly into his eyes. Interestingly, this caused him to stop and go off away from the window. At least I think it did, it might have been a coincidence. I just thought that a warning was in order. Sometimes I will make a light scolding noise but it is as non threatening a warning I can give. Always with reassurances after.

My post is called "I need help" although I posted it when I found the first two and they were easy to warm up to. These two are different. Good luck and keep us posted.

While I love Alley Cat Allies, I'm not in love with everything they say about socializing feral cats and kittens. I would not take their advice to separate the kittens.

There are some other things you can do. Instead of just putting out the food for them, you can take an old t-shirt or sweatshirt, sweat it up REALLY good, and place it under the food dishes. If you've got more to spare, put one where they sleep. This will also help them come to associate you (your smell) with good things.

As to the regressing - this is normal. It's two-steps forward, one-step back (or one step forward, two-steps back ) when socializing ferals.

The most important thing, really, is to let them be on their own schedule. For all intents and purposes, they are wild animals, and patience is the key. Remember - they don't know they like being loved. They don't know they like being petted. They don't know a brush feels good. They don't know toys are for playing with. They don't know they've got a purr motor that can be turned on and off with human interaction. And the only way they get there is learning to trust you. Each animal has different thresholds for that "trust barrier" - and none of them are on any kind of human time frame.

As to play - they don't know what play is either. However, they're kittens! There should always be some toys out for them to play with. We found the toys would often be completely relocated between when we went to sleep and when we got up. They figure it out.

But using wand toys to interact with them can help them learn play - both get used to you and to put you in a "not harmful" category. With us, we had every wand toy there is. But the best was one we made ourselves. We purchased those really long thick (kind of square) leather shoe laces (used to lace up boots or something), tied a knot in one end and taped the other to a dowl rod. We would wiggle it (the knot) slowly across the floor. Kitt(ies) would inevitably pounce! It is just too enticingly like a mouse-tail. Some loved the "under the rug" game the best. The minute that "mouse tail" went underneath the throw rug they were digging furiously, lol!

Just make certain you put all wand toys out of any kitty reach when you're done for the day. They do tend to eat them (the string, literally), and it can require surgery to fix. Thankfully we didn't have to learn that the really hard way - just the hard way. I did have to examine one cat's duty for about two days to make sure that string came out!

Music does seem to help. Tuning a radio to a classical station and leaving it on while you're out or at work can help them feel more comfortable.

And - just being in the room they're in - but not paying attention to them. Doing something else - reading, writing, sewing, whatever. Even reading out loud. Letting them see that you're just there - not focused on them. Just - not being threatening.

Also, if you ever reach out to them for any reason, always do it palm down. This, too, is less threatening.

And as Vik61 pointed out, "not" looking at them can really help boost the trust factor. Looking at their forehead or over their heads - even closing your eyes for a few while you're looking toward them (just make sure that when you open your eyes you're not looking directly into their eyes). As Vik described, the slow blink is a great one. Looking into their eyes is a sign of aggression - so it's probably no coincidence that Vik61's kitty doesn't try to climb towards the window when she's around.

Mostly, just thank you for rescuing these kitties!

Are you going to keep them? Or are you going to adopt them out? Have they seen a vet? They probably ought to - they most likely need some type of de-worming medication, and products that are not prescribed by a vet don't work and can create other problems.

Just so you have the info, it is safe to spay/neuter them once they're 7 weeks old.

If you need to see if there are low-cost spay/neuter services, the link in my signature line will take you to a number of links where you can search to see if you can find anything in your area.



Laurie

I would like to thank everyone who has replied to my thread. The kittens are doing great. They did go to the vet the day after I got them, and are waiting two weeks to get their shots until they are old enough. I have not separated them, I felt too guilty to be able to do it, and since I don't really have enough time to spend with both equally if they are not together and the whole multiple feeding and litter box thing, I figured it was easier just to keep them together, which is working great at this point.
I have stopped trying to pick them up and take them around with me, which seems to have helped the most. After a couple days the one that was regressing (Simon) is hissing less and has started coming out to play again. The other one (Sweety) is still getting more accepting of attention and both have begun to crawl around on me.
I don't have any other cats to whom I can introduce them as an example. I have however started to introduce them to the dog by letting her sit in the doorway of the room while they eat, and they seem to be getting less afraid of her also.
My vet said to spay / neuter them at about 5 months, but that does seem a bit later than I have done with any other cats I've had, so I am going to try for sooner rather than wait that long.
Vik61 - I don't envy you with 4 kittens to tame. Two has been a handful so far. BEST WISHES!!!

Ah, I am glad to read your followup. Actually I only have two truly feral ones. The two who came to me first are now my own kittens and are very loving little guys. But yes, the two hardcases are slowly coming along like yours are--great idea about your dog helping out.

You never know how other species of animals will respond to young of any type. I've seen cats nursing puppies even! Not that that will likely happen at your house but just a thought....

Keep us posted? I do like to see how things turn out!!!

Just to update on my little feral ones, they continued to progress a bit before this weekend, with one purring and the other hissing at me less, and they started coming when I went in the room and called them, but neither liked to be handled still, then on Friday, after their first shots, I decided to try to separate them for a little while. They have now been inside for three weeks and were a little more comfortable, and bigger, so it didn't seem as horrible as when I first brought them in. It has now been a few days of them being separated, and I think I will continue it for at least a few more days before reuniting them.
I brought the friendlier of the two, Sweety to my room and left Simon in the rooms they had been in. Sweety took a couple days to adjust to the new surroundings, but she is regularly purring, and is very playful, which releived me since she is the less brave of the two.
Simon on the other hand has completely transformed in the last few days and has become very affectionate. He is now crawling on my lap when I sit down to feed him so that he can get pet, he has started purring regularly, and has started exploring the livingroom and kitchen, even with the dog in the house.

A couple of years ago, I took in 4 totally feral kittens, so small they walked thru the bars on the cage I put them in. It never occurred to me to seperate them, as I knew how scared they were at first and how much comfort it gave them to huddle together, sleeping in a heap. (I kept them in a cage for their own protection, since I had adult cats and they were so small, they would be easy to get lost.
As they got older, I kept them 2 to a cage, mixing and matching them. I had a 4'x4' "playpen for them, with toys, a tall scratching post to climb, dry food & water. Each cage had a litter box, which I took out when I fed them canned food. Mostly they slept in the cage and played in the larger area. Every day I petted each kitten a few times a day, as did my son and a friend who visited a few times.
They all grew to be inquisitive & friendly. Their owners still report to me how lovable they are. Two went together to a new home to be spoiled, another joined a spoiled lady cat to provide company while their person was at work, (she was appalled at his kitten manners, but they love & groom each other all the time now) and the last little kitten joined my feline herd. I expected her to be depressed and lonely when her last sibling disappeared, but when she found she could roam free outside the sleeping cage or playpen, she took off like a shot and bounced around like a happy little ball. By that time, all my adult cats were very used to her smell, as they had been prowling about the kitten cages ever since the babies came in, so we did not have any introduction problems.

I will say that none of the kittens were instinctively seeking to be petted - they just wanted to play, and their play with each other was rougher than I would have liked. But gentle handling and petting made them very socialized creatures. I know I could not keep them all, but I miss the 3 that left!