2-months Old Kitten Thrown Out Of Vehicle... Need Advice?

[dmartin]

Hello everyone,

I just joined the forum because yesterday I witnessed someone throw a kitten out of their vehicle during rush hour onto the highway. Not only did the person in front of me nearly run it over, the poor thing was screaming and trying to escape with it's life, and I also nearly ran the poor thing over! It was a huge detour, but I looped around the system until I made it back onto the ramp, and the kitten was safely rescued ( although it did a number on my finger from pure fear ).

This afternoon I took the kitten to a vet and everything seems to be ok. He is approximately two months old. He got vaccinations, a dewormer, flea medication, and has booster shots in a couple of weeks. Thank God he had no broken bones, which I was almost sure of! So far he is in good health, though I was traumatized about as much as this poor cat by what I witnessed!

In any case, I have a few questions about this kitten, because he seems to be at least somewhat feral, or maybe he's just scared out of his mind?

1. What is your advice on how best to approach a timid and hissing kitten? I believe he is still young enough to socialize, but I don't want to do anything that will scare the poor thing even more.
2. I have two older female cats who I adopted as kittens, and they're cuddly and very sweet cats, at least towards me. I have never seen them interact with another cat in my life, so I don't know how best to introduce them to this kitten! I do not wish to get rid of the kitten, as I took on the responsibility of saving him, so introducing them is a must.
3. I'm not sure if I should introduce them at this moment, because so much is happening right now, I don't want to add to the kitten's stress. When would be the best time to introduce this nervous kitten to my two house cats?

The kitten is currently in my workout room, it's a large open space in which I have placed a cat bed inside a large dresser. He seems to like the quiet, dark place. One door is kept open so he can explore, and he has been for the most part. By the time I come in, I can hear the kitten scurrying to hide from me, and it's completely understandable.

My heart hurts for him, as you can imagine. I just want to provide a safe and harmonious home if I can. He is a beautiful kitten and he deserves a chance.

 

[tabbytom]

D dmartin , welcome to TCS and thank goodness the kitten was ok and thank you for making that turn back to rescue him and taking him to the vet and getting him checked and vaccinated!

Yes, at this point, he is still traumatised as to what has happened to him. Good that you can keep him in a separate room from your other cats at this moment. He'll be afraid as the place and surroundings and people around are new to him. Visit him as often as you can and earn his trust. Leave your scents with him as in using your clean unwashed garments so that he can get familiarised with your scents each time you visit him, he knows you are not a threat.

He is still young and should be quite easy to socialise him but it may take awhile before the kitten comes out from his shell but please don't give up hope. Remember, he's just been through a rough episode.
Introducing him your other two cats can come later but first you must win the trust of this new kitten. We have many interesting and helpful articles to red and articles including introducing cats are available here in in the ams. But the primarily task is to get this new kitten to overcome whatever obstacles before introducing the cats.

Fell free to ask questions and there are many experienced member here who will be glad to help you out.

Here are some article for you to read :-

how-to-get-a-cat-to-come-out-of-hiding.33840
introducing-cats-to-cats.29726
how-to-successfully-introduce-cats-the-ultimate-guide.32680
how-to-fix-an-unsuccessful-cat-introduction.33882
how-to-deal-with-non-recognition-aggression-in-cats.33864
how-to-safely-break-up-a-cat-fight.22398

Do keep us posted of the progress.

 

[msaimee]

There are many threads on this forum that offer advice on how to socialize a feral or stray cat, and how to integrate it with resident cats in a household. If you browse through them you can get a lot of helpful advice. Very briefly, you were right to put the kitten in a room of his own. Keep him in the room until he is settled in, less afraid, and you can handle him. Sometimes this process with a kitten can take several days, sometimes a few weeks. Spend time with him each day, talking softly to him and offering food treats. I would advise that you keep a bowl of kitten chow available for him 24/7 in addition to feeding canned food once or twice a day. Place toys, especially catnip ones in his room. Try to engage him in play with a wand toy and Laser toy. Play is a wonderful way to socialize a kitten. Are you able to handle him at all? Once he begins to be less scared and settles in, you can begin slow introductions with each of your cats. Begin with scent swapping. Put something of his with the other cats, and something of theirs with him. Bring them one at a time into his room for short visits but be sure and hold them in your arms until you know how they will interact with the kitten. You could also borrow a baby gate from someone for them to safely interact through the gate, but you would need to be present because they can easily jump the gate. Your kitten is young enough that he will be easily socialized. It is also very possible that your other cats will adopt and mother him. You are a wonderful person for stopping your car, saving his life, and giving him a loving home. He will love you forever.

 

[dmartin]

Are you able to handle him at all? Once he begins to be less scared and settles in, you can begin slow introductions with each of your cats. Begin with scent swapping. Put something of his with the other cats, and something of theirs with him. Bring them one at a time into his room for short visits but be sure and hold them in your arms until you know how they will interact with the kitten. You could also borrow a baby gate from someone for them to safely interact through the gate, but you would need to be present because they can easily jump the gate. Your kitten is young enough that he will be easily socialized. It is also very possible that your other cats will adopt and mother him. You are a wonderful person for stopping your car, saving his life, and giving him a loving home. He will love you forever.

Thanks for all the advice above! I am slowly making my way through the threads as we converse.

As far as handling him, he only bit me during the rescue. He doesn't scratch or bite as of now, but he does hiss. I wasn't sure if touching him was going to frighten him since he seems too scared to even move when I hold him.

I have a very large pet crate, would that be a good substitute for a gate? I was thinking I could have the two cats greet him while he was in the cage with me present. But I do think holding him may be better at first.

Thanks again for your reply and kind words.

 

[dmartin]

D dmartin , welcome to TCS and thank goodness the kitten was ok and thank you for making that turn back to rescue him and taking him to the vet and getting him checked and vaccinated!

Yes, at this point, he is still traumatised as to what has happened to him. Good that you can keep him in a separate room from your other cats at this moment. He'll be afraid as the place and surroundings and people around are new to him. Visit him as often as you can and earn his trust. Leave your scents with him as in using your clean unwashed garments so that he can get familiarised with your scents each time you visit him, he knows you are not a threat.

Hello and thank you for the links, I will be sure to read them all! It's my ultimate goal to make sure he is safe and happy in his new home with my two cuddly girls.

I feel so awful for him, I feel too nervous to make things worse that I haven't spent so much time with him. I'll make an effort to visit the kitten a little more often for physical contact. My gaming room is right next to his, so I sat in there and talked to my cats so he could hear me and them talking back.

The cat laser sounds like a good idea. Maybe his instincts will prove stronger than his fear! I'm very glad there are people here who know what they're doing, because I certainly do not.

Your kind words and advice are greatly appreciated!

 

[tabbytom]

 

[msaimee]

You are able to pick him up and hold him? That's wonderful! You are way ahead of where many of us started with our rescued cats. Even though he is timid and afraid right now, it's important to spend time each day holding him and gently petting him if he will allow it. Even if only for a few minutes a few times a day. Perhaps you could hold him in a soft blanket so he will feel more secure. It won't take long for him to bond with you. Have either of your other cat's expressed curiosity or interest in him yet? Have they been sitting outside his door or stiffing under it? I think it will be a great help if at least one of them were to adopt him. Older cats tend to be very patient and kind with frightened kittens, hopefully that will be the case with your cats.

 

[dmartin]

You are able to pick him up and hold him? That's wonderful! You are way ahead of where many of us started with our rescued cats. Even though he is timid and afraid right now, it's important to spend time each day holding him and gently petting him if he will allow it. Even if only for a few minutes a few times a day. Perhaps you could hold him in a soft blanket so he will feel more secure. It won't take long for him to bond with you. Have either of your other cat's expressed curiosity or interest in him yet? Have they been sitting outside his door or stiffing under it? I think it will be a great help if at least one of them were to adopt him. Older cats tend to be very patient and kind with frightened kittens, hopefully that will be the case with your cats.

This sounds like good news to me. I have been nervous about this since I brought the kitten home!

As for my two cats, they were curiously peeking under the door while I was inside talking to him, and right before I took the kitten to the vet, I walked around with him for a few minutes... they looked at him and meowed, but didn't make any effort to get closer to me or him.

He is so small right now, he could easily fit in your run-of-the-mill hand towel. I will give that a try next time I hold him.

Thanks again, I feel less insecure about my ability to help this kitten than I did at the beginning of today.

 

[tabbytom]

Just remember, we are here for you

 

[Norachan]

Thank you so much for saving him!



I think he's understandably scared now, but the fact that he is letting you pick him up and pet him is a great sign. Kittens are very resilient, if you spend as much time holding and playing with him now as possible he'll forget all about his ordeal.

I take in feral cats and kittens. I've found Feliway to be really useful. A diffuser in the room helps to keep all the cats calm. A squirt of liquid Feliway on your hands before touching a nervous cats helps too.

Did you report this incident to the police? Even if you didn't get the registration of the car they were probably spotted by CCTV on the highway. This kind of cruelty should be reported, so the people who did this are stopped from hurting other animals.

Please keep us posted, we'd love to see some pictures too.

 

[kittychick]

Sadly, as a shelter volunteer I've seen more of this than I like to think of - the horrible act of tossing a kitten from a car isn't as unusual as you'd think. What is unusual is that someone as caring as you was willing to take him into their care. You restored my faith in the kindness of people - which is something that erodes more than I'd like to admit after years in the shelter world. Far more people would have driven past - - -so a HUGE hug from me for taking this guy into your care and your heart!!!!

You've gotten great advice from all above (and everyone who's given advice above is very knowledgeable - - as alot of people are on this forum). This forum is a wonderful place for questions and for support.

I might have missed it in the responses above - -but did the vet test him yet for Feline Leukemia, etc? If that wasn't done in this first vet visit, I'd hold off on letting him go face to face with your other guys until that can be done, just to be safe. I'd hold off anyway on introductions for at least few days even if he's been cleared by the vet. He's likely extremely overwhelmed, and some time in a room where he can rest and start to feel comfortable after such trauma is best. If you can spend as much time as possible with him - - that's obviously another piece of the "making him feel comfy and loved" puzzle.

And I agree with Norachan - Feliway is a great thing to have in your "help him decompress" arsenal. And so does spending time loving him up as much as possible. Giving him a few things to cuddle into helps, as does having a radio playing softly helps too.

I'm glad you found this forum - - -lots of kind, caring people like yourself here....all willing to lend an ear and a shoulder.

 

[Pucks104]

Thank you for rescuing the kitten! I can’t offer any advice but wanted to acknowledge your kindness and compassion.

 

[kittychick]

The only thing we charge for advice is pictures of your new fluff ball.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Wow, I can sort of imagine your thoughts as you were turning around to go back.

You are simply, purely AWESOME.

It's just fine that you didn't pop in all that much right at first, your own stress would have complicated things since he can detect it.
Can you leave a soft nightlight on during the day? ....just a thought --since I don't know whether there's natural lighting in that room?
Also, play classical harp music, it helps calm cats.

I don't know about the crate, it might be a little like he's trapped while your adult cats check him out.

Is he eating? If you like, you could look into kitten glop recipes on the internet, especially with goat milk. That kind of stress, from the event, is nasty and in my mind he's still recovering from it, mentally, emotionally and he's possibly a bit sore.

 

[dmartin]

Hello everyone! Here is an update!

First and foremost here is a picture of the kitten ( I havent thought of a name yet ) when he visited the vet. He tested positive for round worms but has been treated for them as well as given a dose of Revolution to kill his fleas, ect.

The kitten is eating very well, I got him some Science Diet for kittens. I put a security camera in the room so I can watch him, but I've been visiting him about every two hours or so.

He is still prone to hiding but when I grab him he seems calm and even talks to me!

Today was the first day that he didnt run away once I set him down, but he calmly walked away while looking at me. Once he got under the treadmill he talked to me some more. So far so good.

I wish I had been able to get the information off the car where he was thrown, but that person was one car ahead and I couldn't get a license or anything... doesnt help I was freaking out about the cat. In all, I'm just glad he didnt get killed!

I've been leaving my items and my other cat's items in his room so he can get used to our scents. My other cats sniff under the door but I havent given them any time to interact yet.

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate all the advice I have been given. Hope the pic brightens your day!

 

[catlover73]

I am glad your kitten was not injured. My 12 year old Starbuck was thrown out the window of a car as a 4 week old baby in the middle of winter at night. A friend’s mom was out walking her dog and was not able to see the car. She thought trash was tossed out the window until she got close enough to see the kitten. She grabbed the kitten and took her inside immediately. Another family member was contacted for advice about the kitten. I adopted Starbuck at 6 weeks old after she was brought to my friend’s house and my friend’s cat wanted to kill her. My two took to her immediately. One of them took on the mommy role and helped us raise her. I wish people that behave this way could personally experience what it is like to be tossed out of a moving vehicle. Your baby seems to be adjusting well.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hope the pic brightens your day!

It absolutely did!!

 

[tabbytom]

Hello everyone! Here is an update!

First and foremost here is a picture of the kitten.......

What a cutie!

 

[msaimee]

Oh she's beautiful. It sounds like she's becoming calmer and more comfortable around you. Has she seen your other cats yet, or sniffed at them under the door?

 

[Norachan]

Gorgeous! What a beautiful kitten.

I was just watching a video about another kitten rescued from the road and had to come here and check this thread.

So glad that everything is working out well so far. Round worms are pretty common in cats and kittens that have been outdoors, but they're easy enough to get rid of.

Please keep us updated!

Here's the video that reminded me of your thread, just in case anyone wants to watch it.