- Joined
- Aug 28, 2014
- Messages
- 18
- Purraise
- 6
Hi all,
We just adopted what can best be described as a semi-feral kitten, the shelter/vet estimated him to be around 12 weeks old. He has been in human hands since 7 weeks, has been chipped, vaccinated etc. He has been isolated in a cage and the shelter staff has been spending time talking to him and handling him. He was born on a farm and presumably hasn't had contact with humans until he was captured with his 3 siblings. They were all in poor health and one of the sisters lost an eye. The shelter staff said that he was the one with the best chances out of the 4 kittens.
At the shelter we handled him, he was very nervous but would pur when being petted, didn't hiss but was definitely scared. On the way home he was very curious inside the carrier, looked out all the time etc - it was the same at the shelter. Curious, which we considered very positive.
We got him home yesterday and put him in a safe room, he hides but will move around the room while I'm in here, walking normally and not crawling, so I feel he is confident but extremely frightened. He is very curious to look at me but hisses and spits if I come near him. He will come out and eat about 1 meter away from me, and I got to pet him a tiny bet at one point - and then we took two steps back when he lashed out and scratched me as I was offering some wet food on a spoon, no warning, just bam.
I frankly have no idea what to expect or evaluate how socialized he is and what his prospects are!
Should I completely back off, spend time in the room with him and talk to him, or should I just start to pick him up in a couple of days to get him used to being handled? I have no clue!!!
We just adopted what can best be described as a semi-feral kitten, the shelter/vet estimated him to be around 12 weeks old. He has been in human hands since 7 weeks, has been chipped, vaccinated etc. He has been isolated in a cage and the shelter staff has been spending time talking to him and handling him. He was born on a farm and presumably hasn't had contact with humans until he was captured with his 3 siblings. They were all in poor health and one of the sisters lost an eye. The shelter staff said that he was the one with the best chances out of the 4 kittens.
At the shelter we handled him, he was very nervous but would pur when being petted, didn't hiss but was definitely scared. On the way home he was very curious inside the carrier, looked out all the time etc - it was the same at the shelter. Curious, which we considered very positive.
We got him home yesterday and put him in a safe room, he hides but will move around the room while I'm in here, walking normally and not crawling, so I feel he is confident but extremely frightened. He is very curious to look at me but hisses and spits if I come near him. He will come out and eat about 1 meter away from me, and I got to pet him a tiny bet at one point - and then we took two steps back when he lashed out and scratched me as I was offering some wet food on a spoon, no warning, just bam.
I frankly have no idea what to expect or evaluate how socialized he is and what his prospects are!
Should I completely back off, spend time in the room with him and talk to him, or should I just start to pick him up in a couple of days to get him used to being handled? I have no clue!!!