fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3101 ]

[ SECRET POST #3101 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3101 ⌋

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One of my coworkers located a feral kitten hiding out under the mulch pallet at work and we managed to catch it to at least get it out of the heat (Louisiana summers are brutal). I'm housing it until she gets off work to pick it up, and if she's unable to keep it, my aunt has expressed interest in giving it a home.

I want to know if anyone here has had any experience or can share any articles on trying to domesticate a feral kitten? I can't tell how old this one is, but it can eat wet food and is about the size of a Beanie Baby from nose to tail tip.

That should be fairly easy to domesticate! Just feed it regularly to start with. Keep it from going outside. As it gets used to you, slowly introduce touch and such to it.

Thank you! It's very angry at me right now, hissing whenever I walk near the kennel I'm keeping it in, but that's understandable considering everything it's been through today.

I really hope one of these homes works out for it. I can't give it a home because my Mom's partner is allergic. :\

This. You have to get them young.

That young? You just raise it. It's not like you're dealing with the difference between a tiger and a house cat, here.

It's very angry and fearful, quick to spit and scratch. I think we're at least walking the line between tamable and feral.

Nah, not that young. It is just a bit scared, not feral.

If it is actually a kitten, it's almost definitely "tamable" - even an adult feral cat can be "tamed" with enough patience. As anon above me said, if you've just caught it, the poor thing is probably really scared, and going to try to puff itself up and look as much like a little monster as it can to try to intimidate you, you just need to make it clear that you're not an enemy, and always give it space when it asks.

Is it actually feral, or just stray? How old is the kitten? A young kitten is pretty easily socialized, but if it's too young the kitten might still have a mother looking after it? Or need milk and such still?

Anyway, yeah, the younger the easier. The important thing is to take it slow, let the cat associate you with food. No sudden movements, it's probably frightened and likely to lash out if it hasn't had contact with people before. It would really be best to get the kitten to a vet before handling it too much, if you can afford it. If your aunt is prepared to take it in hopefully she can cover neutering and the first round of shots?

SA but with actual behavior, don't try to rush petting it. Let it hang out around you, free to move closer or further. Especially let it associate you with food. The first way to pet is probably when it's eating, just down the back - that's a relatively "safe" spot. Definitely don't go for the tummy, or near the face (because it'll bite if it gets panicked). Do the "slow blink" with the kitty and encourage it to come to you, if it has become calm enough in your presence you can let it sniff your fingers, but probably better to be wearing a pair of gloves the first couple times if kitty is still nippy. Make sure kitty has a little cave - like a pet carrier with a blanket over most of it - to feel safe in, so it has a retreat if it needs it.

Thank you for your comments!

I don't have a lot of experience with kittens or cats, so I can't tell how old it is at all by just looking. All I can really tell is it's size and that it can eat wet, solid-ish food (wet food from a can is what my coworker gave it last night out of pity). I didn't explain well, but we've found out that the kitten is injured (red, irritated, hairless skin on the back of a leg), so I think it was hiding there to recover?

I have it set up right now in a kennel carrier with a towel, and it seems to be taking comfort huddled in the back behind a mound of towel.

Thank you very much for you comments and notes about helping to make the kitten comfortable with humans again! I'm taking down everything to pass off to my coworker (or my Aunt if it doesn't work out with my coworker) and hopefully make things easier for the poor thing.

You do realize that cats are a hot climate animal. The hotter it is, the more they like it. You just terrorized a small animal while it was enjoying itself in its preferred temperature range. Well done you. It was probably a local's kitten too. So somewhere there is a small child or lonely older person missing their pet.

.....no.

Cats can take some heat, yeah, but blistering hot temperatures can certainly be dangerous to them, especially if they aren't hydrated, just as any other animal.

That being said, OP might want to call the pound/check for a microchip to see if the cat does belong to someone. But if it is acting aggressive, she's probably right in that it's a stray. And OP did good work getting a stray off the streets - not only for the kitten's own life, but for preventing that kitty from breeding and contributing to stray cat populations.

OP of the thread and no, just no.

I know I haven't explained a lot of detail, but this kitten has been under the pallet for two days, or so says my coworker. I only became involved today because I was leaving work when they wanted to remove it from the pallet and I have a spare kennel to hold it while my coworker finishes shift.

The kitten is also injured, which we discovered while we put it in the kennel. It's back leg has a scratch of some kind and the skin is red with irritation. My coworker is going to take it to the vet to see if everything's alright, and I assume she's going to check to see if it's chipped or if there are missing pet fliers.

Perhaps I would understand your concern had you been less aggressive about it. Louisiana is very harsh during the summer and the area I live in isn't kind to strays (heavy traffic, swampy marsh filled with snakes and gators). I wouldn't have gotten involved if the weather wasn't favorable for the animal and it wasn't injured.

Missing their pet? Shouldn't have been letting a tiny kitten out to roam freely and get squashed by cars, then.

7/10

Successful troll is successful!

... No, anon troll was not. They got slammed down in a couple of comments and nothing further happened. 0/10 for effort

aww, poor neglectful owners who keep their cats outside :'(

when i had a feral kitten, i used a cat toy (ribbon on a stick) to try and play with her. then, when the cat was comfortable with the toy, i used the end of the stick to pet her and slowly started moving my hand along the stick closer and closer until i could pet her with my hand.

i also tried to handle her as much as i could just to get her out of the cage and used to me. like, i'd sit and hold her for hours at a time (though yours sounds younger than mine was at the time that i caught her.) the hardest part was picking her up to get her out of the cage so for that, i put a small towel over her before slowly picking her up by the nape of the neck. once i had her out of the cage and in my lap, it was much easier to pet her. that was also when i'd feed her.

they do have a tendency to run and hide under stuff so make sure you're in a room where it can't get underneath something, like a bathroom. don't get too upset if the cat scratches you out of fear. getting scratched/bitten is just part of working with animals. kittens usually don't bite, though.

Thank you for your comment!

I actually had the kitten in the bathroom for a bit so I could transfer it from the box we had it in after catching it to the kennel it's in now. I wore garden gloves and picked the kitten up with a towel to put it inside, and felt kind of awful because it was spitting the entire time.

The kitten is actually being well behaved since I put it in the kennel, though! It isn't meowing or yowling, and I make sure to check up on it every twenty or so minutes to make sure everything's okay.

Is it pooping? For very young kittens, you have to gently massage their tummies with a wet washcloth to help them move their bowels--the mother cat normally does that by licking them.

Oh man, I'm not sure... I tried to leave the poor thing alone after we caught it and I had to transfer it into my kennel. I put in a small cup of water, but it just hissed at me, though I didn't take it out until five minutes before my coworker arrived to take the kitten.

I'll be sure to message her on FB about that. Good luck to her trying to massage it's tummy...

Re: Feral kitten advice?

(Anonymous) - 2015-07-02 21:51 (UTC) - Expand

I once found a blog about taming cats that advised a method where you house it in a cage or other enclosure, big enough to move around in and include food and water dishes and a litter tray, and it can watch everything happening in the house. Then go about your daily business and don't pay attention to it unless food water and litter need changing.

Cats don't like being stared at because it's predator behaviour and though they may be predators themselves, they are small enough to be prey too.

If they can watch you without feeling threatened by you looking at them, they will start to see that you are not a threat and calm down.

Hope it's not rabid.

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