Advice from all you lovely cat people please..

debsue

Hi

I have had cats in the past and my last (much loved) cat died a few yesrs ago aged 18. I have recently been wanting another cat and my daughter told me about some abandoned Kittens that her friend had taken in 3 weeks ago, she was looking to rehome them. We decided to take two and my dd brought them round last night.

What i wasnt expecting was that they are really timid, it appears that her friend had kept the kittens in her garage and had been caring for them but not handling them. They look about 12 weeks old, are healthy looking and very clean, but they just dont like us!

This morning I went to stroke one and was hissed at then bitten quite badly.

I know that it is very early but will they settle in and become Pets or is it too late and are they feral? I really want to give this a go, any tips?

Thank you

Deb

Raksha

Do you know anything about the mother? If she was truly feral, these kittens may well have similar beliefs about humans.

Im a great believer in TTouch techniques, initially using soft ended sticks or paint brushes to initiate contact and associating humans with good things. Don't expect too much at this early stage, and give them plenty of short sessions 'training'

debsue

The kittens were abandoned at the side of the road in a box, no nothing about the mother

missindecisive

Id take things really slowly...dont handle them immediately, let them get used to you as their feeder at first. Then start off touching them with a soft hairbrush/paint brush. Sit next to them and let them clamber over you at first, but don't pick them up. Then when you do pick them up, use gardening gloves and wear long sleeves..eventually they will gain confidence and begin to trust you

scaredy_cat

you could try sitting with them, quietly and play with some string til they get interested and start playing again.

my old cat (rip) i got from a pet shop back in '89 and she was timid. i would pick her up and snuggle her in the crook of my neck and just stroke her gently (probably not the right thing but i was a young lass then) and she would stay there and eventually get there herself. she took about 3 weeks to purr.

she ended up being a very loving cat and would always creep onto my lap or climb up and sleep on my 'chest shelf!'

Tigsteroonie

I had a kitten many years ago from what we think was a feral father & a semi-feral mother (she found a home when pregnant). The people caring for the mother didn't handle the kittens much during the first 8 weeks, so Tigger (the original Tigs!) was quite hissy. To be honest, he didn't ever become a big soppy lump of a cat, he always had a bit of a split personality - could be loving and affectionate one hour, and then hissy and scratchy the next.

scaredy_cat

have you thought about getting a Feliway?

moggymutt

It all depends on the individual personality of the cats.
If they are running away from you, it might be worth keeping them in a cage for a while so that they break the habit of running away. Raise the cage if possible for ease of you handling them. Things to try are wrapping them in a towel with just their head popping out, and cuddling them quietly while you watch telly, my latest lot actually fall asleep after a while. Towel means you don't get bitten. As already mentioned, dangly strings and other similar toys help to get them to start interacting with you. Have lots of tasty titbits, pretty quickly they will be eating from your hand.

In short, the more time you can spend with them as quickly as possible, the far sooner they will come round.

I sleep every night with a crooked neck because one of the wildest kittens we have taken in, is now a total mummy's boy, and sleeps on my pillow at night, all snuggied up to me.

Don't feel bad about using a towel to pick them up, if you start getting nervous about being bitten then they will pick up on it.

Kittens always tame up quicker if separated, I don't know if you have the facilities to be able to do this. Seems mean to part them, but they get a lot tamer a lot quicker.

gunsandbanjos

http://www.carolsferals.org/taming-feral-kittens/

Kittens should ideally be handled and tamed before they are 6 weeks, after that it becomes quite hard. Link above gives you some advice that might be helpful.

southcoastrgi

moggymutt wrote: »

If they are running away from you, it might be worth keeping them in a cage for a while so that they break the habit of running away.

keep them in a cage, yeh right that's really gonna make them more loving towards you isn't it !! geeze

Myrtle77

Cats Protection generally recommend that feral cats (if that's what they are) can be turned around prior to 12 weeks. After that, it's very difficult, but not impossible.

I'd recommend finding your closest Cats Protection adoption centre and visiting them for advice. They have tried and tested techniques in domesticating kittens like this, and they'd be more than happy to advise.

Good luck!