Feral Kitten Socialization And Care

melontine

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Tomorrow I'm getting a group of feral kittens to foster. They're about five weeks old and are quite feisty little characters (or so I hear ;). They won't be very happy at first being in our house but given enough patience, treats, and places to hide I think they'll be alright.
These guys will be my first time socializing feral kittens. We did have a feral mom once and were told to hold her kittens and get them used to people. But that ended up being a completely different thing.
Any advice? These guys still seem quite young, and in my experience, that means they learn to adapt fairly quickly. But I won't know until they get here.
Any advice concerning socializing them is appreciated. I can't wait to meet them.

I am a bit confused at one of my shelter's requests. They asked if I could keep them separated from my other group of foster kittens who are just a week older. I responded with, of course, I would have wanted them quarantined a bit anyway, at least until we knew both groups were healthy. But they're asking them to be apart for the entire foster period?
Before now, I've been allowed to mix groups of foster kittens and encouraged to introduce my own pet dogs to help socialize them. So long as everyone is healthy, up to date on shots, and they aren't being overwhelmed, introducing one group to another hasn't been something we've avoided.
What's different in this case?

This is a picture from the shelter, I'll try to post more after I get them.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
Sitting on the floor, reading to them, not looking directly at them, have some low volume classical harp music now and then.

Maybe they are concerned these little ones actually would be overwhelmed? I'd ask them why they want these babes to be kept separate the entire time.
 

jcat

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When we have feral kittens at the shelter, especially ones that young, we pick them up and carry them as much as possible and hand feed treats. We begin with just a minute or two, then double the time every 2-3 days. They're usually used to it within a week or two. Use a towel if they scratch a lot while squirming.

Wand toys and throwing small balls and toy mice help, too.

If they're feral, there's a greater chance of Corona virus, distemper, coccidia, and especially giardia popping up within the next few weeks, despite tests, so that's probably why they want them kept separate.
 

danteshuman

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Awwwww fostering 3 feral month old kittens was how I got my boy Jackie!

Honestly at that age they still needed bottles so I just ignored Cami’s/Huff&Puff’s hissing and took care of her. I was extremely worried about the runt (black/Nick) so the first couple of days they basically lived on my lap under a blanket (with short amounts of time in their soft crate.) After I got them over the hump they got more time and got to explore the wire bunny pen in the living room. They were around me 24/7 from the beginning. Within a week they were completely calm about me caring for them. Within 2 weeks they were calm with others holding them (and the escape artists slept in a small bunny cage the vet gave us ..... which was great because they were climbing the metal pen and escaping the soft-crate!)

Just keep talking to them, doing the slow blink, soft puuuurrrrssss are great, feed them and love on them, play with them and hold them often. They will get there. Use a toothbrush to groom them, to see if they like that better than your hand. You can try putting them in your sweatshirt pockets. I didn’t hold them under the blanket I just tucked in the edges under my feet and legs. So they warm, near me but not being restrained by my hands. Take tons of pictures and videos, they grow up so fast!!!

Included pics of the pen with a blanket clipped on top to hold my escape artists and the bunny cage. I gave them a mini litter box in both the pen & bunny cage. Later the pen got transitioned into a baby gate to kinda keep them in the living-room during the day..... at least climbing it slowed the minions down, so I could catch them mid-escape.

The pic with the white kitten/Jackie on my chest is 8 days after we got them. The other two are on my belly, you just can’t see much of them in the pic. Jackie is a total snuggle bug, as is his brother & Cami likes affection but not being on your lap. (Unfortunately her pre-name nickname stuck and the kids still call her Huff&Puff occasionally.)
 

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melontine

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Oh how sweet! Thank you all for the advice, I’ll try and put it to good use.
The shelter asked me to take a different litter of ferals instead (same age, four of them, supposedly more difficult). I didn’t get the kittens until yesterday.
I think they’re doing well, they get pretty vocal, but the black and white one is easing up around us.
I’ve got them in a playpen (with a mesh cover) so they can’t escape, they like to hide inside the scratching post.
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danteshuman

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Awwwww they are so cute. I am wondering whose nose was in the scratcher in that top pic. Since they like to hide so much, could you give them a box on it’s side with a blanket in it? That way they get same floor space as they get on the box but they can also hide. Also talk, talk and more talk around them.
 
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