any advantages to hand raised kittens?

A friend of mine had a feral cat in his barn give birth to 4 kittens. THey got 2 of the kittens & attempted to trap her so they could spay her etc.. ANyways she evaded all attempts to trap her and she ran off and took her 2 kittens with her vanished somewhere.

SO now they are hand raising 2 of the feral mothers kittens. THey have done it many times and the kittens seem to be healthy and doing well. THey say as soon as the kittens are old enough they will be looking for homes.

I just had a question is there any benifits to having a total hand raised kitten? These kittens were only 1 day old when they were brought under human care.

Are there any health risks on not having their real mother raise them with REAL MILK? WOuld they make better pets ?

ALso since they are not raised with the mother does that mean they will never learn how to hunt mice ?

Being hand raised, they will make better pets than mousers. But instinct is instinct - that is how so many strays that get abandonded revert to feral ways. However, cats are opportunistic feeders, so if there is other food or garbage available, they'll likely eat that over hunting anyway. Part of it is simply the genetics of the cat, whether born in a cattery, by a feral, or in a barn.

But their mother teaches them many things - mostly about survival. How to hunt, what to eat (what is food), how to bury their business when they go to the bathroom, how to be quiet, etc.

Kittens that are hand raised from day 1 are at a disadvantage. They are not getting the immunity-boosting stuff they need from mother's milk. They don't know they should bury their business. They may be very talkative when they would otherwise be quiet. But they usually make wonderful pets - and if hand raised, it would be best not to have them become barn mousers, though I'm sure they would survive. Whether or not they'd be good mousers would be more up to their genes than anything at that point.

When rescuing kittens, it's usually best to put food out for the family for a few days, then put the food in a trap that's not set - then set the trap. Depending upon the "safety" of the situation, it's best to let the kittens stay with mom for 8 - 10 weeks before trapping them and then fostering them for a few days or weeks prior to adopting out. Ideal is 12 weeks - that's when mom would be "done" with them anyway. Any reputable cattery won't adopt out kittens until they're 12 weeks old. But when it comes to rescuing, it's much easier to socialize them when they're younger, and it's much easier to adopt them out when they're younger.

Cats are incredibly adaptable. As pets they are far more settled when things are stable, and change can create stress. But in the end genetics and instinct are pretty powerful.

Your friends just learned one of the first lessons in rescuing. Don't let on to mom you know where the nest is. If she feels her nest is at all threatened, she'll move to a new one.

Just curious what are the long term effects of the kittens never been raised by a cat mother? Will they develop behaviour problems? OR will they just not grow as well with good strong bone and muscle since they are not getting real cat milk?

Originally Posted by chausiefan

Just curious what are the long term effects of the kittens never been raised by a cat mother? Will they develop behaviour problems? OR will they just not grow as well with good strong bone and muscle since they are not getting real cat milk?

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My personal experience is that kittens that have never known mom or have been taken away from mom too soon are more prone to behavior issues (such as inappropriate suckling) than those who have been with mom until they are fully weaned. A human just cannot replace a mom cat.

Katie

would it effect their size or bone structure also?

No, it shouldn't effect size or bone structure...not to my knowledge, anyway.

Being hand-raised is certainly better in some ways than being born feral, with a far less likelihood of being socialized to people. But NOTHING replaces being raised by a queen...they instinctually can take care of aspects of rearing kittens that we as humans can only imitate.