Cat Family

[chochy]

Thanks for the reply's.

They have been fixed, and had their shots (mom and dad also).

I have thought about separating them and maybe buying a big cat kennel and keeping them there so they can be around me doing everyday things. I just don't want to spend the money on the kennel if it won't be worth it. 

Right now they have their own room upstairs and all are together. I spend as much time with them as i can but probably not enough. Would it help if I do get a kennel? And maybe place it downstairs in the kitchen/living room area? I could put the male in there first since he seems to have the most potential. Or would it just be worse to introduce them to a new environment and new noises? 

 

[ondine]

If you can get a kennel and it means they spend more time with you, then that's a good idea.  You might be able to switch out each kitten - each one spends a different day in the kennel.  The others can stay in the room.

But it might be easier to switch some of your activities to their room.  I moved my sewing machine into my foster room.  It took them awhile to get used to it but just being in the room got them used to me.  You could move your computer in there or just sit and read out loud to them.

 

[shadowsrescue]

You also could leave a radio on or even a tv so they are constantly bombarded with voices.  Spending as much time as possible with them is absolute key.  A kennel is a good idea.  They need to be exposed to humans and sounds of your home as much as possible. 

Is there anyone else living in the house that could help you? 

 

[chochy]

I do all of my school work in there now. They seem to be okay with the computer and mouse and stuff. I could talk to my partner about moving either his office into that room, or we can clean up his office a bit and move the kittens there. He works from home so he would be spending a ton of time with them if he is willing to do it. 

Another thing that seems to help them is Dad. Dad (Trix) loves to come into the office and be picked up and being pet. He basically is an inside cat now, only going out at night because we force him out. We let him stay with the kittens if we are there and he likes to play with them under the door. Turtoise and Tuxedo really open up around dad and don't mind us petting them if he is in there, but Calico is extremely scared of him. Anyways, i worry a little because Trix can be kind of rough on them while playing or hitting them a bit hard. The longer he stays in the room with them the tougher he gets and i'm worried he will hurt them. He does seems to help a lot though, specially because we pet him and pick him up to show the kittens we are nice and because Tuxedo likes to do everything that Dad does. Should I be worried about Trix? If we move the office in their room, or move them into the office, they will be spending a lot of time together. 

 

[Shane Kent]

It is good you got them spayed and neutered. A lot of what I read and even my vet told me it takes the wind out of their sails and makes it much easier to tame them.

I would offer you more help but my situation was different, I did not need to separate them. My cats' "safe room" has a closet. I left the closet door open enough for them to get in so they had a smaller dark space to fall back on if they felt intimidated. Had blankets, boxes and toys in the closet. At first both would run off into the closet when I would enter the room, then only Kitty and then neither ran to the closet. I kept them in the room with the closet for over a month and then let them wander the top floor at night. Now they wander the top floor day and night. Eventually I will open the lower floor up to them at night, then later the day and night. There are three people that work upstairs so they get to hear voices all day and there isn't too much traffic (people) to scare them. I frequently visit them throughout the day and talk to them a lot. My office is downstairs but so is the door to the outside and I don't want them getting out.

 

[chochy]

Hey everyone!

It's been a while since I've updated so here it goes:

Things have changed drastically, moving my partners office into their room and giving them more time with dad has been amazing to them. They all now like to be picked up (except for Calico who's getting better at it), and pet and they all will come to us to get some love. They no longer run away when we walk into their room or even move if we walk near them. They are now allowed anywhere in the house except the bathroom, and wonder the upstairs apartment all day. Here are some photos of them. Thanks all for the support and advice and tips and help, especially when I most needed it. We've named them all after Harry Potter characters. Each one is named after a character that shares traits with them.

Mr Neville and Luna

IMG_1119.JPG

• chochy
• Aug 27, 2016

Trix (dad), Leanne and Neville cuddling while Luna drinks some water.

IMG_1122.JPG

• chochy
• Aug 27, 2016

Nev sitting in my lap!

IMG_1123.JPG

• chochy
• Aug 27, 2016

Luna taking a nap on my lap.

IMG_1127.JPG

• chochy
• Aug 27, 2016

 

[Willowy]

Hate to break it to ya---Trix is not the daddy . Since the girls are calico/tortie and the mama is tabby, that means the dad had to be orange (girls get one color gene from each parent, boys get their color from mom only). But he can adopt them!

You've done great work with them. They're doing terrific. Are you going to keep all of them? Or is someone still on board to adopt the calico?

 

[chochy]

I had figured that Trix wasn't dad when I saw Mom interact with both Trix and the Orange Tabby that comes around sometimes. I had seen Trix and O Tabby fight a few times before I brought him inside. Mom doesn't really like Trix but she's good buddies with Tabby so I had concluded that they were the parents. It's sort of like a love triangle now because Trix is the nicest cat in the world and he was always rejected by mom because she wanted the Tabby. Trix may not be the biological father but he is a great role model for the kittens. They really look up to him, especially the male, and he has so much patience with them. He is constantly playing with them, let's them drink/eat before he does and licks and cuddles with them all the time. It's like he was never a feral cat and as if the kittens are his. He seems to be tired of being outdoors and lonely so he enjoys their company and they love to have him around. He will definitely be our cat now and we plan on introducing him to our dogs soon so he can stop sleeping outside when winter comes. I'm not sure what we will do with them. My SO has fallen in love with the Tortie and talks about if we have to keep one of them, she'd be the one, but at this rate we will probably just keep all. If not I will ensure they all go to loving homes or just keep them as outdoor pets and feed them regularly.