Feral cat experts - I need your advice.

[Avalux]

I've taken in 6 week old feral kitten. The neighbors and I trapped the mother and 5 kittens; I offered to take the little grey tabby female, whom I've named Delilah. I kept her in the bathroom for the first couple of days in a pet carrier; she allowed me to hold her even though she hissed like crazy. I could see the fear in her eyes and she trembled. Poor little thing.

5 days later and she's not so scared now. I moved her to a room upstairs so she has more space and can start to get accustomed to her surroundings. No problem using the litter box. She is the cutest little thing ever, but still hisses at me when I come near although doesn't try to bite or scratch. She sits in my lap while I pet her, but I can tell she's wanting to run away. When I stop petting off she goes, behind the table.

What I'm wanting to know - will I be able to domesticate Delilah? Should I keep doing what I'm doing, and is there anything else I can do to help her?

[fizzgig]

1. just give her time and space

let pet and snuggle time be on her terms. move slowly and speak softly around her. she is definitely young enough to be socialized, just be patient with her.

thanks for taking her in. and this thread is useless without pictures

[Avalux]

2. I'll post a pic soon!

So good to hear she can be socialized! I have to remind myself to do it on her terms, and that it will take some time. Thanks!

[fizzgig]

3. we took in a half feral, badly abused tom when i was a teen

it took him years to fully adjust, but he turned into the sweetest boy. he was a testament to how love can heal.

[Avalux]

4. I believe that it can.

I just keep thinking about the family being split up and all of them going off alone away from mama; how terrifying. I am on my way now to get some little toys for her.

[fizzgig]

5. play is a great way to bond

make sure to get those ribbon string on a stick things so you can play together.

[Demoiselle]

6. I've got a feral momma outside, still. I feed her and she lets me pet her while she's eating. ..

I've put a kennel heating pad in a little house outside to get her through cold weather. All of her kittens (five) are very domesticated and live inside the house. I brought them all inside when they were kittens, and the transition to complete domestication was total. They're all inside now and completely calm and contented. It really shouldn't be hard for you to domesticate your kitten. Sitting in your lap is just the first step for her…
I would like nothing better than to bring my feral mama into the house permanently. Unfortunately she was all grown up when she arrived. She did spend the very cold winter inside, in her own private suite (it's a big old house) and I think she'll probably allow me to bring her inside next winter if conditions demand it. But when the weather is pleasant outside, she's not the least bit interested in coming into the house. She's called, because of her strawberry blondness, Nicole Kitman. If I can't convince her to come inside permanently, I hope she stays around for a long time anyway. Cheers and good luck.

[Avalux]

14. Delilah's momma was so wild!

She was not happy when my very experienced neighbor transferred her from the trap to the carrier; I've never seen a cat act like that. She was taken to a vet that specializes in neutering feral cats at a reduced cost, then we brought her back and let her go. Haven't seen her though and I don't think she'll ever be ok around people.

I am not really a cat person but Delilah is so very sweet and adorable! I'm going to make it my goal to bond with her and give her a good life.

[narnian60]

27. Thank you.

[Fla Dem]

28. I never had a cat, but then took in a 6 week old feral kitten which I think was the runt of the

litter, when I found her collapsed and abandoned on my neighbor's driveway. The vet estimated her age and rehydrated her. She took to my lap almost immediately and from the first night, slept on the bottom of my bed. As I have allergies, I never had a pet, so this was a new experience for me. Eight years later and she is my daily joy.

[sammytko]

7. yes, she will tame down

I have several former feral cats living indoors with us now.

I'm in the process of trying to tame down a mom that just had 4 babies. They are a week old.

[Avalux]

15. How do you tame down the mama?

This mama was crazy. I guess they need to be when they have babies to take care of in the wild.

[LadyHawkAZ]

38. There is only so much taming you can do with an adult feral, unfortunately

particularly if they have grown up feral and never been socialized to humans. They may gain some level of trust in one or two familiar humans in time, but I've never known one to fully domesticate.

[LaurenG]

8. Keep talking to her and loving on her

It takes a little time and patience. She'll come around.

[Avalux]

16. I bought her some toys and read to her today.

Sat on the floor where she could see me and read aloud (softly). I also put t-shirt I'd worn in the carrier with her blanket, as someone else suggested.

[Skittles]

9. 6 weeks? yes, you'll be able to domesticate

as others have said, just leave her be....she'll come around

[Avalux]

17. I can hear her playing around, when I go in the room she hides.

I'm looking forward to the day when she jumps in my lap on her own!

[Skittles]

20. I trapped an injured feral at age 7 months

I got him fixed at the vet and kept him inside, but he NEVER stopped trying to get out - after I had him about 6 months he did get out.......and stayed gone for 17 days. Then one very cold and rainy day I spotted him from my patio......I called him and he looked over and it was like I could see the wheels turning in his mind.....yeah she kept me inside, but it was warm and there was food and.......maybe I'll give it another shot. He is still with me eight years later.

certainly the earlier you get 'em, the easier the transition will be

[Avalux]

23. That's a wonderful story...

of the 'grass is greener' variety! He realized how good you had been to him and came back! Has he never been back outside in 8 years?

[Skittles]

24. aw that's an even better story

to this day he HAS to have his "outside time" - he's fixed, has all shots, is microchipped and wears a collar, but he's outside daily only when I am home......he knows he has to come back before I go to sleep and he sticks to the schedule pretty good

here is the hairy devil:

[Avalux]

26. You've trained him well!!

He's such a cutie pie! Does the DU clock belong to him?

[TuxedoKat]

29. I love him!

He looks so much like my tuxedo cat that passed a few months ago. Mine just had to go outside too. I'm hoping to adopt another cat that looks like my/your cat!

[Skittles]

30. he was very hard to catch (hence the feral trap)

here's a pic an ex took of Riff Raff when we first spotted him outside my apartment window (taken with zoom lens) - he was a very wild kitten

[TuxedoKat]

35. I've trapped and rescued a few cats myself

I would go to great lengths to rescue a cat like that myself!

[LiberalElite]

10. keep doing what you're doing and

let her come around in her own time. It may take a while. I adopted an older feral kitten and for several months it seemed like I didn't have a cat at all. Never saw her.

[Avalux]

18. It took several months?

Then I won't panic if it seems to be taking awhile.

[LiberalElite]

32. Yup -

I have another formerly feral kitty, Charlotte, who is very timid. She's now about 8 years old. I adopted her about a year and a half ago from someone whose fiance was allergic. She still runs from me like I'm animal control or something.

EDIT: It's not as hopeless as it may seem - this one also hid at first but doesn't anymore. She also comes over for affection and "talks" to me (I think she's a Maine Coon). But the least little thing, and she's outta here to another room. The main thing is let them come around on their own. You can't force a cat to do anything.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. It sounds like you need to just keep doing what you're doing.

It took several weeks for me to get my feral kitty (who is now 13 yo) to the point that she would come to me and several more before she quit hiding every time I entered a room or stood up around her. It takes time and patience to win the trust of a feral kitty. She will come around with time.

[Avalux]

19. Awwww....that's what I hope she will do.

It is kinda cute when she hisses, she's trying to be so tough! My goal is to win her trust.

[Flaxbee]

12. She'll be fine. Slow and steady and you'll have a furry bundle of purr in your lap in no time.

Last summer I caught a feral momma and her three kittens, who were at least 12 weeks -- took a while, but all kittens were socialized. I got one of them to the point where I could hold her without her trembling in fear and she had started to play ... then another du-er adopted her and she is completely tame and happy. Momma isn't, but she's never going to get preggers again, so at least there's that. And I feed Momma ("Lily&quot every day.

Anyway - yes, Delilah will be fine. Just be loving, gentle, slow in movement and soft of voice until she acclimates.

If you have a t-shirt or other item that smells like you, put that near her bed -- just so she continues to get used to your scent.
And get her a few soft toys she can cuddle with - she may be missing her litter mates a bit.

[Avalux]

21. I put a worn t-shirt in the carrier with her blanket.

I don't lock her in the carrier, she likes to sleep in there. And she's playing which is a good sign. I bought her some toys today, and read aloud to her for awhile.

This momma isn't going to get preggers again either. How old does Delilah need to be before I can get her neutered?

[bettyellen]

31. I think it is about 5-6 months, definately well before a year. You do not want her to go into heat!

there are many local organizations that help defray the cost of fixing the cat- you can google free/ low cost spaying and find listings.

[LisaL]

13. Sounds like you are making good progress and the kitten needs some more time.

[Avalux]

22. Yes, that's what it sounds like!

I am excited! As long as I know it'll take a little while I'll be patient and do my best to win her trust.

[LisaL]

25. We once adopted a feral kitten.

He was the smartest cat we ever head. He took a while to trust us. He was hiding under the bed at first. We even thought of taking him back, because we didn't think he would come around. But he did. He was a great cat, as smart as a dog.

[snot]

33. We adopted a "teen age"-sized cat who'd been a stray . . .

He made clear he didn't like being picked up, or even to sit on my lap; and I respected that, although maybe I should have been pushier. But I always showed him love. And he was a pleasant cat, and clearly liked being petted, so long as it was on his own terms. After we'd had him for about 6 years, I had surgery and had to stay off my feet for a month; that's when he finally started coming onto my lap to be petted. He gradually became sweeter and sweeter, and now at some 13 years he's wanting to be on my lap so much that sometimes I have to push him off to work. We also communicate verbally amazingly well; I could almost believe there's a bit of ESP involved.

I found this process very interesting, because I'd have thought his preferences might have become pretty set during his younger ages, but the process with him has been steady and gradual, continually becoming more loving.

[trueblue2007]

34. WE HAVE TAKEN IN 3 FERAL KITTENS. Inky, Sadie & Sally

they are all loving cats now. Just keep the love coming to your baby. She will love you "furever and ever" .....

Inky .....


Sadie and Sally .... Sadie is taking nap and Sally is looking at us

[IdaBriggs]

36. We did puppies - orphaned, abandoned, abused and neglected.

Over 80 went through our home.

Keeping in mind that puppies are not kittens, we had to "socialize" some pretty traumatized babies so they could become family pets. We used the "de-sensitizing" method: we completely ignored any signs of fear, and calmly continued to behave with love, touching, and petting. This was *NOT* always easy; some of the puppies were initially absolutely terrified due to the trauma levels.



However, those babies were treated to *extra* treatments of "pick up, pet/caress, speak soothingly, touch everywhere, give nibble treats" with us "ignoring" any signs of fear, biting, trembling, peeing, etc. (and in one case, we did it nearly hourly). We did not do eye contact (with puppies, it is a sign of dominance) in the beginning, just kind of "ignored/held/cuddled/loved" without making it a drama or making our voices "squeak" with the whole "aren't you the cutest?" stuff that was *really* hard not to (especially when you wanted to "squee!" at them, if you know what I mean).

We also "tortured" them (as they calmed down) by gently massaging them/playing with their ears, tails, mouths, bellies, etc. and even gently "tugging" at those spots so the puppies would be "vet and child safe". We also quickly exposed them to as many types of people as possible - men, women, children, sizes, colors, uniformed, etc. - as possible, especially during their fifth week if we could, or as quickly as they got comfortable that we were going to keep them safe (which let them develop their natural puppy curiosity to explore/investigate/learn). Discipline was pure "mama dog" - gentle, but firm "tug/nip" on the scruff of their neck because *we* were alpha/mama/daddy.

We got extremely good at it - yeah, because we were able to help, and whimper, because we *had* to get good at it because so many needed us.

The burnout for rescue work is high - we managed to do it for several years before we hit it. I cried every time one of my fur babies went to their forever home.

As I said, the method worked very well for puppies; I have to assume that it or a variant on the theme would also work on brain washing your little kitten as to what the "new normal" is - absolute safety in your loving arms.

Good luck!

[hamsterjill]

37. Yes, generally a kitten that young can be socialized.

You are definitely doing the right thing. I've taken in many feral kittens and I'd say that 90% of them will tame down and become love bugs. The other 10% IMHO were kittens that simply didn't have personalities that wanted human contact. We've all heard of cats being independent, and some, unfortunately, just don't like all of the petting and scratching, etc.

I would suggest that you get some tasty treats (Costco grilled chicken does wonders!!!) and start rewarding her when she allows you to pet her and pick her up.

Best of luck to you, and thank you for caring about her!!! I assume since you indicated that the mother was trapped that you understand the importance of spay/neuter, and hopefully this will be the mom's last litter, and each kitten will be fixed when age appropriate.