Advice from anyone experience with feral kittens...?

Question

I would really like advice from anyone out there who has worked with feral kittens. I had a male and a female that I caught with a humane trap, and I had them both tested and neutered. Neither of them ever tried to bite me or scratch me, but they were very uncomfortable being touched - especially the male. The female seems to relax quite a bit when I take her out of her cage and pet her, but I feel like I start over from ground zero every time I try to touch her. The male was so resistant that I decided to let him go today so that I could concentrate my efforts on the female. My question is this - how long should I keep trying before I give up on her? Can cats like this ever be good pets? Can I expect some sort of "break through" to occur with her? I have been working with her for over 3 weeks now.

Answer 1

We socialized a 6 month old.  I'm pretty sure he was never touched by people before and now he's a bit over a year old and is a snuggly little lap cat.  Although if you walk up to him in the living room he panics and runs, but in all other rooms he's fine.

More recently we found a little 5 week old.  It's been a month and a half since then.  Sometimes he runs, sometimes he pounces on my feet.  Mostly he's only interested in people if they have food or want to play with him.  For the rare times he's calm he is friendly.  But I think it will be fine, he's just very busy doing kitten stuff.

Do you have any other cats?

It would have been more difficult without my other cats.  With the older one my two older boys spent a lot of time with him, which seemed to relax him.  I think he was a lonely guy and we think none of his siblings made it so he was always wanting friends.  He didn't even hide for very long.  He just napped wedged between my boys then slowly explored beyond the couch.  He used to stare at me all the time.  I guess he was trying to relearn the rules of life since everything had changed so abruptly for him.

Cats helped a lot with the little one too.  Two played mommy to him, allowing him to dry nurse and frequently giving him bathes (one mommy is male).  Our other kitten was thrilled to act as a litter mate.  We let the little guy hide for as long as he wanted and within a week he was comfortable sleeping out in the open.  Now he sleeps on the bed and often on my legs.

Play time should help.  Get toys like shoelaces, feathers on a stick... anything that lets them play with you from a safe distance.  Leave on talk radio or a tv to get them used to hearing people.  If there's a room that's safe for them then try to let them out of the cage more and more often.  Put a little wet food on your finger and see if they'll l**k it off.  Try to be in the same room with them sometimes when you're doing something else.  Being the center of attention can make them nervous, seeing you around but not interested in them can help.  And don't stare at them, it's aggressive in cat body language.  When you watch them blink slowly, like you're tired and relaxed.

It can take awhile and sometimes it just isn't possible.  But I think most of the time with kittens as young as yours it is possible.  

It's tough, but when you do break through it will feel so rewarding.  That first purr means so much.  Good luck!

Answer 2

I tried to socialize one of the feral cats in a colony outside of my home in a park nearby. It was a beautiful fluffy tailed female who never let me touch her but never threatened me in any way either.

I finally caught her in my garage--not in a trap--by using food and the electric door closing behind her. I tried to socialize her for three days and she never let me come near her, didn't eat, and popped and peed behind my water heater.

So I don't give you much of a chance socializing these cats. If they don't have human contact from when they are mere weeks old they probably never will adapt. By the way I fed two litters of her kits and none of them allowed me anywhere near them either. I caught one by the scruff of the neck at about 5 weeks old and it like to tore off my finger!

They're happiest when they run free. That is their life choice and we should help them along with food and love.

The female I tried to help was barely two years old and already had two litters. One day she wasn't in the park any more and no one has seen her since. I think she is dead.

Answer 3

I have a kitty who is nearly 4 and he was feral. He was brought in at 8 weeks old . He had his eye gouged out and had to be taken to the vet for treatment. He lost his eye.

Anyhow, He is a beautiful friendly lovable kitty and I am so happy he is part of my family.

I got him from the shelter, though, so I donto know about his history other than his former owner told me she found him outside and took him for surgery.

Growing up we took in a couple feral cats and I seem to remember after about 6 months they became wonderful pets.It takes time.