Feral Kitten Won't Tame - Help

[chokobera]

Hi.
Long story short, I took in two feral kittens (a boy and girl) when they were four weeks old.

The female kitten warmed up to people after a couple weeks. The male was not progressing, so I separated them at 6 weeks old. My friend is fostering the girl, who is now tamed and ready for adoption.

The kittens are now almost 9 weeks old, but the male is not becoming tame. I can gently touch his upper back while he's eating without retaliation. But once he finishes his last bite, he hisses and takes cover. I can also lure him onto my lap with a toy or food, but attempts to touch him are met with hisses and paw swipes. The good news is, his paw swipes are all paw and no claw. He's not *that* afraid of me, but I think he'd rather I left him alone.

My apartment policy doesn't allow cats and I'm moving back to America next year (or I'd keep him) but I don't think I'll ever find a home for such a wild kitten! I don't want to return him to his colony, it wasn't a safe place. I don't want to release him into my rural neighborhood, because there are already a lot of outdoor cats around here that are always fighting, and when winter comes there will be feet of snow...

Should I keep trying to tame him? Or should I just neuter and release him somewhere?

 

[Shane Kent]

Seems like he is progressing, you can pet him while he eats and play with him. Cats can be sensitive to loud noises, smells, etc. and get stressed out. I had two cats at work, the opposite of you the male progressed faster than the female. The female spent most of her time during the day in hiding, it is rather loud at my work. The male cat didn't seem to be bothered by the noisy environment. Now I have them living at my place the female sleeps on the couch and only goes into hiding if new people come to the house. My house is in a very quiet neighborhood, she is relaxed there. Smells, especially the smell of other cats, can stress some cats out. My cat Taz was stressed out when I first started coming home from work with the scent of the work cats on me. The other cat I have at home was not bothered by the scent of the work cats on me.

Possibly there is something stressing him out? Loud or a constant noise. Smells such as cleaners, perfumes, cologne...

I don't think you should put him back outside. See if you can have someone finish socializing him if you don't finish doing it. Can pet him a bit, play with him, not clawing you, etc. sounds like he isn't far off from being a good little indoor kitty.

 

[maggiedemi]

You're doing a great job if at only 9 weeks he's learned to not scratch you. I would continue working with him.

 

[surya]

I think he might need some more intensive training. Like wrapping him up in a towel and holding him while you watch TV or work on your computer. The more time you spend holding him the better.

 

[chokobera]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll give it another month. Won't wrapping him up in a towel freak him out? If his personality was different, I might give it a try... but yesterday in the laundry room he got a toy wrapped around him and panicked. Now he won't even go in the laundry room.

 

[surya]

He will be scared at first, but then he will get used to it. The towel keeps you safe from his claws.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Have you seen this video series Tough Love Video - UrbanCatLeague

It's a 3 part series of the rescue and socialization of feral kittens. There are some wonderful tips in it.

 

[chokobera]

Thank you shadowrescue, I've watched that series, it's great.

Surya, you say he'll be scared at first and then he'll get used to it. The thing is, if I manage to do it once, the next time I bring out the towel, he'll know what's going on and freak out, right? I don't want to give it a shot if it means he'll be more distrustful of me. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the towel method for kittens that are as skittish as this one... I think it might be a good method for some kittens, but it depends on the kitten's personality.

 

[surya]

The towel method is the one that rescue organizations do with feral kittens. It works, but there is more than one way to train a cat. Good luck.