Hey y’all! I’m new here, and I need a little advice. …maybe a lot of advice.
Momma Missy, who’s a petite little ~1 year old white and tabby girl, showed up on my porch in February or March so I started putting food out daily, and as time progressed she looked mighty pregnant but I never saw any kittens. Found out in late June that she’d had them in a neighbor’s yard 4-5 weeks earlier, so I went over there and trapped Missy and her four babies, brought them home and put them all together in a large dog crate in the basement - litter pan, constant dry food, water, wet food 2-3 times a day, petting the wee ones and handling them as often as I can. (Missy did an AMAZING job with them - cleanest bills of health I’ve ever had for wild-born kittens, the vet said there’s not a flea or ear mite among them!)
So the little ones - the Tiny Turks I call them (named Reno, Rude, Tseng, and Elliot; any Final Fantasy 7 fans will get the reference) - are about 8 weeks old now, and they get lots of playpen time with toys but now they want to stretch those growing legs and roam and explore. Our basement is fully finished so that’s no problem, hubs let them out two nights ago to run around and play with them with a wand toy. Problem being that last night, Missy ALSO came out. Missy is semi-social in that she would lick treats off my fingers and would let me be right next to her when she ate - BUT now that she’s out of the kennel, it’s like she’s right back to square one as far as socialization. Lots of hissing, growling, hesitant to come within three feet of me.
This morning I was able to wrangle the Tiny Turks back into the kennel before work, but there was no hope of getting Missy back in there. I checked on my Kitten Spy Camera when I got to work (I have a Wyze OG cam set up to watch the kennel - HIGHLY recommend them for feral caretakers, $30 on Amazon!) and the kittens are all sleeping, but poor Missy is crying because she can’t get to the babies.
SO here’s where I need the advice - what should I do? Should I bother trying to get Missy back into the kennel? Or should I just leave the kennel open and let the kittens roam free so momma and her babies can be together? My major concern is the socialization aspect - when the kittens are out and about they dart away from me (probably because they’re afraid I’ll lock them back up, which is valid), and Missy is just WILD right now (and that’s probably because she’s still a semi-feral cat, she’s protective of her babies, and she’s got a whole new environment to get used to.) I’m absolutely stopping to pick up a Feliway diffuser or two on my way home
My end goal is to get the kittens ready for adoption, and I would genuinely love to keep Missy - I think she’d be great gal pals with my five year old girl-cat Perry. I also plan on keeping one of the kittens, the little girl Reno… annnddd possibly her twin brother Rude. (Hubs needs to warm up to that 2-kitten idea.)
So yes, please hit me with any knowledge, advice, and experience you guys have. I have so much feral and socialization experience, but this is my first time with a feral momma and her kittens and I’m feeling like a fish out of water.
Thanks in advance!
(Obligatory photo of Missy and the Tiny Turks attached - please excuse what the kennel floor looked like, that was RIGHT before the daily scrub-down and boy howdy they created a disaster that day. As kittens do.)
Momma Missy, who’s a petite little ~1 year old white and tabby girl, showed up on my porch in February or March so I started putting food out daily, and as time progressed she looked mighty pregnant but I never saw any kittens. Found out in late June that she’d had them in a neighbor’s yard 4-5 weeks earlier, so I went over there and trapped Missy and her four babies, brought them home and put them all together in a large dog crate in the basement - litter pan, constant dry food, water, wet food 2-3 times a day, petting the wee ones and handling them as often as I can. (Missy did an AMAZING job with them - cleanest bills of health I’ve ever had for wild-born kittens, the vet said there’s not a flea or ear mite among them!)
So the little ones - the Tiny Turks I call them (named Reno, Rude, Tseng, and Elliot; any Final Fantasy 7 fans will get the reference) - are about 8 weeks old now, and they get lots of playpen time with toys but now they want to stretch those growing legs and roam and explore. Our basement is fully finished so that’s no problem, hubs let them out two nights ago to run around and play with them with a wand toy. Problem being that last night, Missy ALSO came out. Missy is semi-social in that she would lick treats off my fingers and would let me be right next to her when she ate - BUT now that she’s out of the kennel, it’s like she’s right back to square one as far as socialization. Lots of hissing, growling, hesitant to come within three feet of me.
This morning I was able to wrangle the Tiny Turks back into the kennel before work, but there was no hope of getting Missy back in there. I checked on my Kitten Spy Camera when I got to work (I have a Wyze OG cam set up to watch the kennel - HIGHLY recommend them for feral caretakers, $30 on Amazon!) and the kittens are all sleeping, but poor Missy is crying because she can’t get to the babies.
SO here’s where I need the advice - what should I do? Should I bother trying to get Missy back into the kennel? Or should I just leave the kennel open and let the kittens roam free so momma and her babies can be together? My major concern is the socialization aspect - when the kittens are out and about they dart away from me (probably because they’re afraid I’ll lock them back up, which is valid), and Missy is just WILD right now (and that’s probably because she’s still a semi-feral cat, she’s protective of her babies, and she’s got a whole new environment to get used to.) I’m absolutely stopping to pick up a Feliway diffuser or two on my way home
My end goal is to get the kittens ready for adoption, and I would genuinely love to keep Missy - I think she’d be great gal pals with my five year old girl-cat Perry. I also plan on keeping one of the kittens, the little girl Reno… annnddd possibly her twin brother Rude. (Hubs needs to warm up to that 2-kitten idea.)
So yes, please hit me with any knowledge, advice, and experience you guys have. I have so much feral and socialization experience, but this is my first time with a feral momma and her kittens and I’m feeling like a fish out of water.
Thanks in advance!
(Obligatory photo of Missy and the Tiny Turks attached - please excuse what the kennel floor looked like, that was RIGHT before the daily scrub-down and boy howdy they created a disaster that day. As kittens do.)
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