Cooling off hot but skittish kittens?

[Idk a good username]

I have been trying to foster a stray who showed up and had kittens, with her just recently bringing a few of the kittens out. I'm not sure how old they are, but estimate about three weeks? They just showed up yesterday, and I know there are atleast two, but only one will let me close at the moment. Because I'm not sure how many there are, I haven't brought the ones I am aware of inside in fear of the others being away from their mom.

The tabby, the braver of the two kittens, was panting but simply laying down instead of drinking from the water I have out for them. Putting the kitten by the water bowl, he seemed to drink a bit, play in it, and is fine now. But, I'm worried about the other kitten. I'm not sure if it's been drinking since it hides the moment I go outside, and I've only seen glimpses of it. I'm unable to reach it because it's under the house, and I'm not sure if there are others with it. Any suggestions on either getting the kitten, and any siblings, out from hiding to make sure they are OK? Or even a way to keep them cool in the little hole they have been hiding in?

 

[Sarthur2]

It must be cooler under the house than outside? Where are you located?

Keeping cool water available at all times is important. Are you feeding the mother and kittens? Wet cat food is best as it also contains moisture.

I hope you are able to trap mom and the kittens soon so they can get the care they need!

 

[Idk a good username]

It must be cooler under the house than outside? Where are you located?

Keeping cool water available at all times is important. Are you feeding the mother and kittens? Wet cat food is best as it also contains moisture.

I hope you are able to trap mom and the kittens soon so they can get the care they need!

I planned to get kitten food today, they have all been getting moistened kibble until I can get out though. I'd rather not get specific about location, but I live in rural Kentucky. It's currently 86 degrees.

I have one bowl under the porch, and another near the hole the kittens hide in, I check the water about every hour to make sure it's still cool. I also plan to get a smaller bowl to see if I can actually get it into the hole they are in, but, I'm not sure I will be able to find one small enough, or if that would be safe.

For their care, I hoped to call an animal rescue tomorrow (they are closed today). I have experience fostering, my current cats were all strays as well, but, I don't have the means to keep any more cats long term, and I'm hoping a rescue would be better equipped to care for them and have proper screening to find them proper homes. The ones I did foster were more social as well, and I had better means to care for them. I'm worried rescues will be at max capacity though with it being kitten season...would a rescue be able to even trap them without knowing how many there are? Additionally, the nearest rescue is not in my county, so I'm not sure if they could even take them in the first place. There is a county animal shelter, but I hope that the rescue could take them so they can be in a less stressful environment.

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, Kentucky can get hot — I’m in Florida and it’s extremely hot here.

I wish you luck with finding help. Do keep us posted!

 

[Idk a good username]

Alrighty, will do!

Walmart didn't have any wet kitten food, but they did have Purina kitten chow. I'll call the rescue in the morning and give an update then.

 

[Idk a good username]

I emailed the rescue, waiting on a response. But, I did have a question regarding one of the kitten's fur.

Would this fever coat? Or is the kitten just have odd-colored fur? They seem healthy otherwise, they are the fiestiest of the three (it was hard getting a good picture of them because of it) so I'm not too concerned? Just curious is all, since I've heard of fever coat, but never really seen it.

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m not sure — let’s ask StefanZ if this is a fever coat or just his genetic coloring.

 

[StefanZ]

I emailed the rescue, waiting on a response. But, I did have a question regarding one of the kitten's fur.

Would this fever coat? Or is the kitten just have odd-colored fur? They seem healthy otherwise, they are the fiestiest of the three (it was hard getting a good picture of them because of it) so I'm not too concerned? Just curious is all, since I've heard of fever coat, but never really seen it.

My guess its a touch of fever coat. Not much even, mostly on the leg... It has no negative consequences of the kitten, and will disappear after a couple of months...

You can always supplement them with goats milk Walmart should have several different types, if nothing else so in the baking section they do have Meyenbergs goats milk in powder... We had at least one forumite, a rescuer, whom happily raised several batches of orphans on Meyenbergs powdered goats milk...
You dont need go after the pricey raw goats milk, its not necessary for them.

 

[Idk a good username]

My guess its a touch of fever coat. Not much even, mostly on the leg... It has no negative consequences of the kitten, and will disappear after a couple of months...

You can always supplement them with goats milk Walmart should have several different types, if nothing else so in the baking section they do have Meyenbergs goats milk in powder... We had at least one forumite, a rescuer, whom happily raised several batches of orphans on Meyenbergs powdered goats milk...
You dont need go after the pricey raw goats milk, its not necessary for them.

If their mom is still letting them nurse and they are doing OK on the kitten kibble, should I still give them goats milk?

I'm not 100% on age, but bought the kibble after they got sick eating the mom's food when I fed her adult cat food. They haven't gotten sick on the kitten kibble, but I only started feeding it to them lats night.

Still no word from the rescue, but I found a fourth kitten about an hour ago. It's a tabby, so I may have seen it before and just assumed it was one of the tabbies I had already seen. I've only seen it once today so far, but, it seemed healthy. A bit worried where haven't seen it eat or drink anything, but where it is still scared of people, it may be eating and drinking when I'm not outside. I was going to try to bring them inside tonight if I didn't hear anything from the rescue, set something up in my bathroom to keep them separated from my cats. But, I'm worried I should wait another day now incase there are more I'm not aware of.

The mom is taking good care of them, runs to them the moment they cry, so, I'm not too worried about her not protecting them like the last stray that showed up. I'm mainly worried about the heat, or the neighbors cat.

 

[StefanZ]

If their mom is still letting them nurse and they are doing OK on the kitten kibble, should I still give them goats milk?

Its surely not necessary, but I wanted to mention it, if you would decide they need something extra.

 

[Idk a good username]

Just wanted to give an update, and questions about rehoming them:

Still no word from the rescue. I've contemplated calling them, but the call said email them about intakes, and where it's not an emergency situation, I'm worried they would just refer me back to their email.

The kitten's themselves have been doing fine. I was able to get a better look at the 4th/most recent to show up, and it also seems healthy. It's the biggest of the four, and very fluffy compared to its siblings. I was not able to check gender where it only let me close because it was eating. The other three are doing good as well. They are still pretty scared of me, but, they seem to come closer when their mom is beside me or in my lap, so I'm hoping by watching her they will start to give me a chance. So far, being near their mom is the only way they have gotten close to me, aside from the first that showed up that will sometimes come closer if I try to play with it using a piece of grass or hay.

The mom is very attentive, runs to them the second they cry. I'd still like to bring them inside, but I'm not sure about catching them, and my parents aren't too open to the idea...I'm also hoping to get the mom spayed as well, but I'm not too sure if it's OK to do that now with the kitten's? That aside though, I'm also getting ready to go to college, and my parents have been sending pretty mixed signals on if they would help pay for her to get spayed or not. Still hoping the rescue will get back with me, but, if not, I'll try to figure out how to get the mom handled so she does not have another litter atleast.

Back to questions:

The last time I fostered was a puppy that was dumped, but unfortunately, the person took it to the shelter just a few months later. I fostered kittens a while ago as well (about 2 years ago now) when again, a stray brought them, but the same happened with the person who took 3 of the kitten's taking them to the shelter, which is why I wanted to find a rescue rather than trusting myself to, because I really don't want to make that mistake again. But, it's starting to look like I may not have a choice. So, how can I avoid them going to bad homes, or just ending up in a shelter a few months later?

 

[fionasmom]

"kittens To Good Homes" - How To Find A Good Forever Home For Your Kittens - TheCatSite
https://www.alleycat.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/adoption-contract.pdf

You might try using an adoption contract which, while not always enforceable, might deter anyone who is not serious. Ask for some money for the care, food, "training" that you have provided for the kitten.

 

[Idk a good username]

Thank you, the questions especially helped a ton! I may try the down payment with the spay!/neuter agreement, but I'll have to talk to my vet about it and how I could work that out. Plus, prices or atleast a median price that could pay half/be the cost of the cat or kitten.

Still no word from the animal rescue. I doubt I will here anything from the looks of it.

Another question about the kitten's themselves now:

I'm worried that they are still acting feral. One is pretty good, he will let you pet and hold him without complaint, but, all of the others still hiss and run when they see me. One will let me touch it only when it eats, but otherwise, it runs like the others. Additionally, today, that same kitten clawed me pretty good when I pet it as it ate. I may have mistaken it for one of the more skittish kittens, but I'm pretty sure it was the same one who let me pet it while it ate, so I'm not really sure what happened. I'm worried I may have scared it quite a bit sine I haven't seen it again. I don't know if I ruined chances of socializing it. The last fosters didn't take nearly as long to socialize I don't think, but, they was in a separate room outside. The ones I own now were also brought inside because they were much less healthy at the time, so I wonder if them being allowed to roam and hide so easily may be why it's taking longer? I'm just worried about missing the socialization window

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like you’ll need to trap the kittens yourself — the sooner the better. Begin feeding them inside a large crate and you should be able to close the door on them soon and bring them inside for socializing.

 

[fionasmom]

I am assuming that these are feral kittens, one only discovered less than a week ago. Don't give up trying to slowly socialize them. The so-called 8 week window is not exactly carved in stone, so don't fixate on the fact that you are missing somehow.

How to Socialize a Kitten
How to Socialize Feral Kittens<br/> — Kitten Lady

These are just two website with ideas. If you google "socializing feral kittens" you may find some that fit your situation a little bit more.

Being allowed to roam and hide might be reinforcing their behavior, but you can only work with what you are able to do at a given time.

I have also found feral litters to run the gamut from the very sociable one to the one who almost remains feral.

 

[Idk a good username]

So, update on the babies and mom:
2 kittens have a home (the ones who do not like people), the other two do not. The mom has a potential home, but I'm waiting to hear something definite

Some great news though, I was able to find an animal rescue who is covering the moms spay and vaccines, the kitten's vaccines, and when they are 4 months their neuter if the new owners wish. They go next week. But, a new issue:


I'm pretty confident I can catch the mom and get her in a carrier. She would be pissed at me for a while I think, but I'm hoping I can regain her trust after. Her being spayed is more important than maintaining her trust where I really can't handle more kittens. But the kitten's are a different story. I'm only confident that I can catch social tabby, potentially the black one. Goose and mayo though still won't hardly come near me. Mayo sometimes will if he is given good, but Goose won't even eat if I'm outside, so I'm not sure how I can go about catching them. A possible option may be a drop trap, but unless the rescue has one, I wouldn't have a way to order one with my current budget, and it wouldn't be here in time regardless. Would a drop trap be dangerous? If I'm unable to get one, is there any other tricks that could work for getting them in a carrier?

 

[Sarthur2]

The difficult ones will need to be trapped. Drop traps are what all the rescues use and are safe. Most rescues will loan out traps, if not come out and do the trapping themselves.

Also, see that the kittens are spayed and neutered by the rescue before they go to new homes. It’s the only way to ensure it gets done. If that doesn’t suit the potential adopter, it tells me they have no business adopting.

Ask the rescue about traps and trapping, and begin to set dates for appointments and put your plan into effect.

You’re doing a good job!

 

[Idk a good username]

Wanted to give an update and small question. It has been a while, they have all been to the vet. The mom even became an ESA of a friend of mine, so I receive regular updates. She is doing great, and has adjusted surprisingly well, and is adored around the dorm. But, two of the kittens are still unhomed unfortunately. My parents have been taking care of them while I'm at college, and visiting today, they seemed to be doing well.

However, while one is still very social and lovable once he gets used to someone, the other is still somewhat feral. It's strange though that the more skittish one will come up to you only to smack you (specifically hands. He will even crawl onto my knee just to slap my hand or sniff me, but run or slap when I try to actually touch him), or even at times lightly grab your hand with his teeth and try to drag it away? I'm not too sure how to get him to trust people enough to actually pet him though, or even whether or not to label him as 'feral' since I've never really seen a cat act this way.

My parents have allowed me to keep searching for a home for the more social one to try to find a home where he can be indoors rather than a barn cat. They have even been debating even keeping him if he is unable to find a home where he can receive attention where he wouldn't be as happy. I'd like for them all to go to good homes where they can be well taken care of, but the more feral one has just been impossible to socialize past this point, and while my mom has been trying to continue socializing him while I'm away from home, there has been little progress since last I was home with them...is there any hope for socializing him, or should I cave and let him be homed as a barn cat where he would likely be less stressed?

 

[Sarthur2]

Have the kittens been spayed or neutered yet? If not, doing so will help a great deal to calm them. How old are they now?

I honestly think the kittens need more time to learn manners and gain trust and to mature, especially if they are not yet fixed. Are they living inside or outside?

 

[Idk a good username]

They are about five months, vaccinated but not neutered. About four months old now. With it being my parents house and them having excitable dogs, they still do not want to bring them inside, but I've been trying to talk to them about it especially with them considering keeping one. I'm not at home consistently enough to be able to care for them myself though is the biggest hesitancy they have (I am able to come home about every other weekend or so). Quite honestly, id hope for the two to be rehomed together in new homes as well rather than my parents just keeping them just for the fact its better to have two kittens, and personal irl things, but they would both have to be barn cats is the issue there if the other cannot get socialized. Overall, I still don't think bringing them inside is an option