Socializing Feral Kitten

[girlmom4]

Okay so after finding the litter of hidden kittens three weeks ago, I finally was able to trap the first of them. It is seven weeks old, has been eating wet and dry food for a couple of weeks now and is scared of me but used to my presence.
It is now in my laundry room. I’ve been watching videos and reading articles and I feel like I know some things and yet now that it is here, I’m scared I won’t be able to do this.

I have chicken baby food ready for spoon feeding, and I know to swaddle it snugly. How often should I feed? What if it won’t let me hold it for several days?

Wish me luck in catching the other kitten ASAP so mama can be spayed quickly.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I'm by no means an expert, but I have quasi-socialized a few of my mom's semiferals. She has a small colony of 5, 3 of which will allow me to touch them regularly. The other two (one of which needs spaying...grr) will come within maybe six feet but no more, and only if there is food being offered.

I made it clear that I am "good." I took them their food, I talked softly to them. When I put their food down, I immediately sat down and let them approach me on their own. In the very beginning when everyone was wary, I stayed for maybe a minute, all while talking softly, before slowly getting up and going inside so they could eat. No quick movements.

Now, one of the will let me approach her while she is on the porch and will love on me/allow me to pet her, though no holding. The other two will approach if they want to and love to be scratched on. However if I move too quickly, they all take off. It just takes time and patience. This kitten is quite young so I hope he will warm up to you quickly. Thanks for taking this family in!!!

 

[girlmom4]

Yes that’s what I’ve been doing over the past three weeks—lots of quiet presence, talking softly, petting mama in front of them, and making sure they know I’m the food bringer!

Now that I have this one inside, I think it’s time to swaddle it up and hand feed it so that it quickly associates being held and touched with good feelings.

Glad you’re making progress with your little bunch!

 

[abyeb]

Here’s a helpful article about socializing kittens: How to Socialize a Kitten

My advice would be to spend as much time with the kitten as you can, holding it and playing with it. You can also put on the radio while you are away, to help get the kitten used to hearing human voices. Also, invite some friends over to meet the kitten, so that the kitten becomes accustomed to humans other than yourself.

Regarding how often to feed, since your kitten is seven weeks old and eating solid food, you can just leave food out for it to munch on throughout the day. That will ensure that they will get enough food to grow at a good rate. See this article: Weaned Kittens — Kitten Lady

 

[girlmom4]

It definitely won’t let me hold it yet, or approach it really.
I’m wondering if I’m already off to a bad start having it in the laundry room where it can hide behind the washer and dryer vs in a carrier or crate so I can easily grab it by the scruff and get hands on.

I was going to try to make all meals hand-fed but I can’t withhold food until I can get hands on, so I went ahead and put in a small dish and I guess once I can start hand feeding I’ll use the wet food as a treat?

 

[Sarthur2]

There’s no need to hand feed if the kitten is already eating wet and dry food on its own. All kittens need plenty of wet food to grow on!

Putting the kitten in a carrier is a great idea. That will enable faster socializing as you will be able to handle the kitten frequently. He may want to begin sleeping with you as well, and you can begin to play with him with a string toy. The sooner you can trap the mom and sibling the better. Kittens this young are easily socialized.

 

[girlmom4]

Well the hand feeding would be to build trust (saw a video where the guy would swaddle the kittens in a blanket and then spoon feed them baby food to get them used to hands and items approaching their face).

So far it seems she is more and more willing to come out of hiding and get closer, but still runs if I advance quickly and hisses if I put a hand towards her quickly or try to touch.

If I slow blink at her she falls asleep, and she’s crying for mama but seems to be comforted by my talking back to her.

 

[Sarthur2]

It’s good to hear there is improvement. Have you tried swaddling her in a blanket and holding her close to your chest?

What happened to mom and the other kitten?

 

[girlmom4]

I have continued to set the traps for the other baby but it doesn’t weigh enough to trip the trap! The only reason I caught this one was because a frog went in and she followed it and I was able to jump and close the door.

Mama is around and I guess if I don’t catch the other baby pretty soon, I’ll just focus on catching mama so she can get spayed.

Inside kitten is getting so brave but still hisses if I reach a hand toward her so I haven’t picked her up yet. I need to get a blanket and just go for it I think!