Feral Kitten

[Stockorlando]

I need help caught a feral kitten unable to catch mom and sibling in a large industrial area. Kitten in a room with litter box which she uses. Kitten has good appetite but is hiding under book case for two weeks will not come out in front of us or eat in front of us. Also have dog crate in room. Should we remove bookcase and try and get her to use crate as a safe place so we can interact. Also kitten has never made sound in two weeks no meow totally silent. We have set up camp when not in room she comes out and eats uses box but will not interact with us at all,? Should I remove book case from room? Also approx 10 weeks old and we need to get her to vet to get checked out

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, absolutely. She needs to see the vet and begin the socialization process. That will only happen when you begin to interact with her and she can learn to trust you. She's clearly scared right now, poor thing.

 

[orange&white]

Yes, either remove the bookcase or stuff blankets or something in the cracks so she can't go under or behind it. The dog crate should be covered on all sides except the front. You can give her some cardboard boxes with a door cut out, or a "cave-style" bed to hide in, but some hidey-holes where you can easily access her if you need to. Does she have a cat tree or something else to climb on?

 

[Stockorlando]

Yes she has tree don't know if she's using it. Should I have the crate facing out so she can see us? Or does it need to be positioned so she can hide from us if she wants? Don't want to scare her too much?

 

[orange&white]

Yes, I would face the carrier where she can see you. When I brought my feral home in February, she lived in the bathroom for 9 days. The only hidey hole she had was a medium hard-sided carrier, except that she didn't think I could see her if she hid behind the toilet. I spent hours (10-15 minutes at a time) sitting on the floor where she could see me. What frightens them is making direct eye contact, so I stared at the ceiling, the shower curtain, the cabinets, or just closed my eyes...anything but staring straight at the kitty. Pretend there is no kitty in the room. Just sit and talk or read out loud, or just sit. Toss a few treats around once in a while or drag a string toy across the floor. She'll come out of her shell. Some take longer than others to feel safe.

 

[orange&white]

That was not a cuss word (it was f-r-I-g-h-t-e-n-s). Silly auto-censorship.

 

[Stockorlando]

Ok removed the book case she ran into carrier then we put down water must have gotten to close run out of carrier behind pillow. We moved pillow now she in a hidey hole part of cat tree just going to leave her for now. Her eyes big as plates going to let her chill for a while.thats the first we seen her in two weeks.

 

[orange&white]

That's all right. Let her chill a bit while she figures out the new floor plan and decides where she feels safest. If there's room, try lying down on the floor for a while. We humans are least threatening to shy cats when we're horizontal.

 

[Stockorlando]

Yeah I will try that have been doing it while she was under bookcase but no luck. Even slept in room a few nights on mattress on floor and nothing. Will let her settle down in new arrangement. I want to get her to the vet to get checked out.

 

[hosta]

At approximately 10 weeks old, she is at an ideal age to be socialized. This takes considerable patience.
You have recieved excellent advice from others.
I don't have much to add, except my own experience with two feral kittens.
When I brought them indoors, I kept them in a large dog crate for a week, in their own room. After a few days, I squeezed into the crate and just sat there with them, not looking at them.
I slowly began to touch them - they were terrified.
I also read children's books to them so they got used to my voice.
After a few days, I played with them, using a plastic dragonfly on a string. They seemed to enjoy this.
I kept the radio on at night to soothe them.
Like yours, mine didn't make a peep for the first few days, they were simply too scared.
I offered food from my fingers, which they took.
After about a week, I let them out of the cage, and they immediately hid under the couch - I couldn't even lure them out with food. The dragonfly on the string did the trick.
I maintained a very quiet environment for them.
When they were comfortable eating off my fingers, they let me wrap them up in a towel and pick them up, and pet them. That was a huge milestone.
A few days later, they purred. When this happens, and it will with time and patience, you will never forget it.
Best of luck.

 

[Stockorlando]

Been months but thx for all the info cat doing great has run of house gets along well with dogs