need advice about a kitten

I've had a kitten that I assume is either abandoned or orphaned hanging around my house since Saturday night. It was hiding in the wheel well of my car when I first discovered it. The poor little thing was crying. I tried to coax the kitten out from my car with food and sweet talk, but it didn't work. I finally got a hose to get him out of there. ( I'm sorry, I know it seems cruel, but when I was 16 I was at my grandma's house one winter, went to start my car, heard a clunking noise, got out to check the engine and there was a cat writhing on the ground and dying. It had climbed onto my engine block to get warm. So I squirted him with water 1. to get him away from my car 2. hopefully a good squirt with water will keep him away from other cars too). So anyway, last night I heard the little kitten again. This time he was under my husbands car, but dashed away before I could get close. I meowed at him and he meowed back, but wouldn't come back out. I left some kibble out and it was gone this morning, but I'm not sure if he ate it or if some other cat did. Any ideas on how to catch the little guy? He's just a tiny little thing probably not more than 8 weeks old. It breaks my heart to hear him crying like that. I'm sure he's calling his mom. I called the animal control people today, but it will be 2-3 weeks before they can get a trap out. I do have a kennel. Any ideas? Also I have two cats. One is female and adult (she is not fond of other cats and always chases them away) the other is a male and he is a lot more sociable. I've never seen either of them with a strange kitten. Thanks. p.s. I'd like to catch him and find him a good home. I can't keep him.

Originally Posted by katheim

I've had a kitten that I assume is either abandoned or orphaned hanging around my house since Saturday night. It was hiding in the wheel well of my car when I first discovered it. The poor little thing was crying. I tried to coax the kitten out from my car with food and sweet talk, but it didn't work. I finally got a hose to get him out of there. ( I'm sorry, I know it seems cruel, but when I was 16 I was at my grandma's house one winter, went to start my car, heard a clunking noise, got out to check the engine and there was a cat writhing on the ground and dying. It had climbed onto my engine block to get warm. So I squirted him with water 1. to get him away from my car 2. hopefully a good squirt with water will keep him away from other cars too). So anyway, last night I heard the little kitten again. This time he was under my husbands car, but dashed away before I could get close. I meowed at him and he meowed back, but wouldn't come back out. I left some kibble out and it was gone this morning, but I'm not sure if he ate it or if some other cat did. Any ideas on how to catch the little guy? He's just a tiny little thing probably not more than 8 weeks old. It breaks my heart to hear him crying like that. I'm sure he's calling his mom. I called the animal control people today, but it will be 2-3 weeks before they can get a trap out. I do have a kennel. Any ideas? Also I have two cats. One is female and adult (she is not fond of other cats and always chases them away) the other is a male and he is a lot more sociable. I've never seen either of them with a strange kitten. Thanks. p.s. I'd like to catch him and find him a good home. I can't keep him.

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Would your local vet office have a trap that you can borrow?? Animal Control would probably catch the little one and if he isn't social..they would probably euthanize him.

Since you did not provide a location...below is a link to groups that specialize in what is called TNR (trap, neuter, return):

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html

Also....if you do manage to trap the kitten...you will need to work on socializing him/her:

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

You also may want to join this group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feral_cats/

Good Luck

Katie

first, Welcome to TCS!! The poor baby - it doesn't sound too good for the mom, does it As for not keeping him, your cats may accept him since he is so young. No, they won't welcome him with open arms, so to speak, but don't be surprised when they adopt him. Expect to find dead moths & other kill brought to the little one. I have seen the most anti-social cats take on over a baby cat It does dispel the myth of the aloof cat

Katie's idea of calling local vets to see if there's a trap you can borrow is an excellent idea. Around here, anyway, most of them do. Usually the more rural the area, the more likely they'll have traps.

Also, you can type in your zipcode at this link and call around to the organizations it pulls up. You may find a local organization that can help you trap, or a no-kill shelter you can take him to if you can find a trap to borrow:

http://www.pets911.com/organizations/organizations.php

You can also contact the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets network. There is an e-mail address at the bottom-right hand corner of this link:

http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehom...ts/thenetwork/

In the meantime, if you have a cat carrier, you can put it somewhere safe but near where he's been hanging out. Start putting food in there for him. This way he gets used to eating inside of something.

He runs from you now because he's scared of you (from shooting water at him) - though as a feral kitten, he'd likely run anyway. It's just now you've got a couple of points against you (not that I blame you - MUCH better safe than sorry - though in the future, maybe try a loud noise instead of water).

Also, if you do find a trap, here are tips on trapping kittens:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=11403

New tip: instead of using newspaper to cover the wires of the have-a-hart trap, pour kitty litter over the bottom (if it's not going to rain!!!!!!!!!!!) until it just covers the wires. That'll feel more like sand under his feet, and when you lift the cage, it just pours through and stays behind.

Also, if you do manage to trap kitty, and you are going to transport him somewhere, he is going to be TERRIFIED and will probably pee or poo - or both- in the trap in the car. Best to put a big plastic sheet down over the seat and then an old blanket over that. It's a lot easier to clean the old blanket than it is to clean the car seat. Take a light blanket, and drap the trap with it. This will help calm kitty down.

And if you decide to foster him - or keep him - he does need to see the vet before he interacts with your cats at home. He's probably got at least worms if not fleas and/or infection, and will need to be treated for those things before he can spread them to your other kitties.

It is usually pretty easy to introduce a kitten into a new household, and socializing an 8 or 10 week old kitten is also not that difficult and doesn't usually take too long. If you would like advice on fostering or socializing, and then introductions, feel free to ask. We've got lots of info handy for that too.

Thank you for caring about this little one, and I hope you're able to help him!