Seeking advice for 5 ferals

[Corsica]

Hello!

First I would like to thank everyone in advance for any advice they can spare. I have already found this site and forum to be an excellent resource and I am so very grateful for the people here.

So, just like the title says I am seeking some advice for how to care for 5 feral cats/kittens that we recently took in. For some background.....a few months ago a neighborhood cat had a litter of kitties that she would bring onto our property as she made her daily rounds though the neighborhood. We could never get close to the mother or her kitties as they would run as soon as they noticed us noticing them. Early on we (My girlfriend and myself) didn't think much of it and assumed the cat and kittens belonged to one of our neighbors. Well, about a month ago the mother disappeared but the kittens still showed up. The kittens would eventually make a home in a woodpile at the back of my property as well as near a neighbors shed . Once we realized these kitties were on their own and didn't belong to anyone we decided it would be wise to trap them and figure out what to do. Prior to trapping them we had fed them for about 2 weeks with the hopes of them getting comfortable with us. This worked pretty well as one of the kitties would run up to me and get within about a foot before realizing she was so close, then shed back up another foot or so. When the trapping started we thought we were dealing with 3 cats. 3 quickly turned to 5. We now have those cats living in dog cages in our basement while we try and figure out the next steps (all new cages purchased just for this). We have them separated by what we believe are 3 girls and 2 boys (4 cages total, this began 5 days ago). We think the kitties are around 4-5 months old give or take but it's hard to tell since the sizes vary so much. The cats also vary in terms of their comfort with us. A couple of them will let us get pretty close to them while they eat but 2 of them are a bit more shy (one of them won't eat when we are around). We are trying to figure out what the best course of action is. We plan to get them to a vet as soon as we can for all the testing/shots and spaying/neutering but we aren't sure if this should be a TNR or if we should try and socialize them with the hopes of finding them good homes. TNR would certainly be cheaper and less time consuming but we don't really care about that aspect. Our concern is what is best for these cats. I'm not sure that our neighborhood would tolerate a small feral colony and the thought of these kitties being poisoned or taken in by animal control is sickening. My question, is it reasonable to think we can socialize/rehab kitties that are 4-6 months old to the point where they become adoptable? Good chance we would keep one of the kitties but taking any more would be difficult as we currently have 2 high needs cats of our own (spoiled to death of course). I understand these things can take time but how long is it healthy to have cats in cages? If I could clear out a small room would that even be a good idea with 5 cats or would I be creating a kitty fight club? What started as a simple idea of helping out a few kitties has suddenly become much more. We are happy to take the time needed but we want to do things the right way and we want to have realistic expectations. Any suggestions for where to start are greatly appreciated. We are waiting to hear from our local humane society to see what assistance they can offer so in the meantime we have been trying to spend time sitting near the cages while they eat. We also talk to them throughout the day and we have 2 of them playing with us (using toys). There are a lot more small details as you may imagine but I tried to summarize as best as I can. Please ask any questions that you may have and thank you again in advance!

 

[di and bob]

I have done this many times. You have already gone through one of the toughest parts, trapping them! That young, they should definitely be able to be tamed down, it just takes time and persistence. The next step is to give them the best chance in life, getting them neutered, spayed, and vaccinated. Then decide on letting them return to living outdoors or tamed down and adopted out. Finding homes for cats is darn near impossible as you will find out, but much easier if they are spayed. Letting them return to the outdoors is an option but does bring it's risks, I've had two hit by cars a few months ago. But adopting them out doesn't mean they wouldn't be kept/let outside either, so the risk is the same. Giving them to farmers is the same, predators take many of their cats, that is why they are always looking for some. I've had ferals live outside, even by a busy street, for over ten years. I provided them with heated beds in the winter and daily food and water. No matter what though, know you will be blessed for taking them in, and appreciated by all here on the Cat Site. A chance at a good life is better than none at all! There can be a lot of heartache and worry involved, but the rewards are much greater!

 

[CatladyJan]

Yes, it's very possible and probable. I'm sure there will be many of our feral friends offering you amazing advice on the socialization. We are here for you if you have questions.
To try to answer your other questions about a cage or a small room. It's fine to keep them in a cage in the beginning so they get used to you and adapt. My personal experience is depends on each kittens personality. You may have one that is really social and will actually help you socialize the others. You may have one that is very very shy and may not completely come around.
They need to feel safe with you and it's important to be there when they eat and eventually allow you to pet them when they eat. I would then move them to a small room.

 

[Alldara]

It is very worth reaching out to local rescues and seeing if they will help on the finding adopters end. Basically, they put the photos up on their site and intake applications. It can be very hard to adopt out cats on your own.

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for helping these motherless kittens. I have done this numerous times. In brief, getting them fixed is very important as a first step, however you can manage it, TNR or vet. What I mean by this is that you certainly could have them fixed at a TNR location and still bring them back to your house for continued socialization. If they are 4 to 5 months old, there is some chance of pregnancy if they are mixed together right now.

Allowing them to have a room of their own is usually my next step. I have done this with siblings whose reactions to each other I already knew, but in your case you might try to assess if they all seem to get along. Again, having them fixed will help a great deal with this. If there is a social bridge kitty or two, you can use those kitties to allow the others to see that you are a kind person they can trust.

Try sites like www.nextdoor.com to see if you can find homes for them, especially if you are concerned about neighbors bothering a small group of cats who might appear to be a colony. Don't give them away, unless it is to people you know very well. Ask for some compensation for the neutering and vet care and maintenance care. This will discourage people who want them for questionable purposes.

 

[theyremine]

These kittens are so lucky to have found you!
The fact that two of them are playing with you is a great sign( after only 5 days!) Since your kittens are a bit older, it will take more time than in the video For Wild to Mild. They will progress at different rates with your two playing kittens out front and the one who won't eat in front of you lagging behind right now. But that may change as they will learn from each other.
You have come to the right place. I have worked with many feral kittens successfully based on the advice and knowledge I gained from this site. Best tip: meat only baby food on a white plastic spoon. No kitten can resist it.

I don't know where you are located, but may I suggest you try to find a small volunteer no-kill rescue? They are sometimes able to help with the socialization and certainly with vetting and adoptions.

 

[Corsica]

Thank you all so much for the great words. It does seem like each day there is some small break through with at least one of the kitties. We are able to get all of them to eat food off of an extendable back scratcher and a couple of them will eat directly off our hands! They begin to chirp at each other as we spend more time with them and they have begun to really let their guard down. Well, all but one. One of the kitties is still very timid but he is not hissing or anything, he just stays towards the back and keeps his distance. He will slow blink us and even start to doze off after a bit so it's not all bad news! Since both my gf and myself work from home we get to pop in and out all day to feed them and spend some time with them, they are already used to feeding times and such. I will certainly report back with updates and I'm sure I'll be asking more questions. Thank you all for everything and I am certainly open to any other thoughts/advice!

 

[theyremine]

All wonderful news. You have accomplished a lot in a short time frame. Keep up the good work!