First steps in bringing in a feral kitten

Sbcat

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A new kitten popped up in our neighborhood. I normally don't mind stray/feral cats but I felt compelled to get to know this one. I've been feeding it wet canned food and churus. It's very skittish and if anyone comes walking by it'll run away while in the middle of eating. It also won't come towards the food unless I walk at least 10 ft. Away.
Current plan is to gain its trust and see if I can bring it inside. Even if I'm successful I figure it'll take months before I can gain its trust and take it to a vet for a wellness checkup. My question is how do I inspect the kitten for any clear signs of illness or fleas if I can't get close to it. I don't want my apartment to have fleas if I can help it. Or is that just something you have to expect when taking in a feral kitten? Or is the first thing to do is take it to a vet after I trap it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is the first time I'm ever attempting this.
 

Alldara

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We didn't have any ferals exactly but we just flea bathed them on arrival.

To be gentler you can contact your vet in advance and let them know what you're doing. They may be able to provide a flea medication. You should also treat any other cats already at home.
 
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Sbcat

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We didn't have any ferals exactly but we just flea bathed them on arrival.

To be gentler you can contact your vet in advance and let them know what you're doing. They may be able to provide a flea medication. You should also treat any other cats already at home.
Thank you for your suggestion. I doubt it'll let me touch it let alone give it a bath but I can call a local vet and see if they'll work with a feral kitten off the street. I know there are local adoption clinics and I figure they must do something similar when they catch a stray or feral kitten
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi and welcome to TCS. I know we have folks on this site who deal with ferals/strays, up to and including bringing them inside. So, I hope some will see your post soon and offer their tips and suggestions.

I know some of them will try to build a rapport with them first to help with the trapping, vet visit, and what follows. If it truly is a kitten, it might be more amenable with a little bit more time to get to know you. I realize it is running from you, but even some strays will do that initially. Sitting however far away that you have to but staying there while they eat, to start with, helps them to understand you mean no harm. Inching a bit closer as time passes will also be one way to get them to accept your presence. Maybe even try talking very softly to it could be something to try.

The other thing to consider is when bringing a new cat into your home, they should be confined to a single room that they can use as their safe zone - that alone will help with fleas or any other issues the kitten may have. Taking your shoes off before you go in the room, maybe even changing your clothes afterward. That can help with any disease spread as well. You can even use flea sprays on you after you leave the room to help with that. Washing your hands too.

Until some of our 'gurus' come to comment, maybe there are things in this article (and the other article links in it) that can be helpful?
A Feral Cat Or A Stray Cat? How To Tell The Difference - TheCatSite
 

Meowmee

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Thanks for helping this kitten 🤗 Do you have any idea how old he/she is? If she is young, and you can get close you may be able to grab her and put her in a carrier instead of trapping her. Also if she is young enough, she will be able to be tamed a lot more easily and will get used to people and human contact more easily. Usually under 8 weeks or so it is easy to tame them, older 8 weeks to 6 months or so will take longer. Some say after 12 weeks they may not be tamable if they are truly feral. I am not sure if that is true in every case. This kitten may be a dumped stray also.

You can reach out to local rescue groups to help you also and obviously to your dvm if you are going to do it on your own. I have rescued a couple of young kittens who were abandoned outside. Both were touchable and not frightened to be picked up/touched etc. One was at a gas station and the other was meowing to get back into someone's house who had obvioulsy dumped him outside. I scooped them up no problem and brought them home. They went through an isolation in their own room and were vetted etc. As I recall neither had fleas. But with a touchable kitten you can bathe them with regular dish soap. With an untouchable you can have dvm do a flea treatment. Advantage is the safest topical available. First you or dvm should check for fleas with a flea comb as they may not have any and then would not need treatment. If there are fleas it is a good idea to thoroughly vacuum and clean everything like bedding for a while just in case any jumped of her to lay eggs.

There are all sorts of things you can do to socialize them, give them food and baby food on a spoon and try to pet their heads, purrito them and pet their heads, talk to them, play with them, interact etc., play music and get them a heartbeat stuffed animal to cuddle with, and a safe space, a small room and or carrier where they can retreat to if they are frightened. Try to keep a regular schedule of interaction and feeding so she knows you are there for her and she is dependent on you for food and interaction etc. Feed her plenty of yummy treats to make sure every experience with you is positive.

They need to be isolated from any other cats you have and be careful as suggested not to spread any possible diseases and they need to be tested for fiv/felv and vaccinated according to their age. They also need to be neutered/spayed.. some dvm do this at a younger age now than they used to. First thing to do is get her to a dvm asap to get checked out. Signs of illness would be weepy eyes, sneezing, mucus discharge, not eating, lethargic etc. Cats being predators are very good at hiding signs of illness especially if they are outside.

Here are some links... I am sure some kitten rescuers will be here to answer more questions. You could post a pic of her and we can take a guess at her age etc.

Taming Feral Kittens | Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.


A Guide to Socializing Older (Fractious) Kittens.
 
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Kris107

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With ferals, it's all about patience and earning their trust. Aside from the good tips above, it could help to try some other ways to get him to maybe interact with you. What about a wand (toy on string) toy or something? Not all cats are solely motivated by food. Or, you could try opening a can of tuna. Some cats will do almost anything for tuna. Let him come to you. Don't give him more than a bite though - tuna is a treat.
 

fluffpaws

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In your post you said a kitten,do you have any idea how old this kitten might be? Could you show us a picture? Are you planning on trapping the kitten?
 
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Sbcat

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So I've decided I would not be able to take it inside. I did learn some new things however. The ear was tipped so it's a cat that was trapped and released after it was spayed. It is much friendlier after weeks of feeding it. She lets me pet her now and we have built a routine. However, recently a few other cats started showing up and would bully the cat I've been working with. Basically, they pushed her out and now I don't see her as often. If I call for her, sometimes she'll show up out of nowhere. I'll feed her and then when the other cats show up she runs away. I'm kind of annoyed since she was there first. They don't even eat any of the things I try to feed them anyways so don't know why they decided to just show up and mark that area as theirs. My biggest concern is I don't know if she'll survive the winter. I don't know where she stays or sleeps since she was ousted from the area she used to be in.
 

Meowmee

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So I've decided I would not be able to take it inside. I did learn some new things however. The ear was tipped so it's a cat that was trapped and released after it was spayed. It is much friendlier after weeks of feeding it. She lets me pet her now and we have built a routine. However, recently a few other cats started showing up and would bully the cat I've been working with. Basically, they pushed her out and now I don't see her as often. If I call for her, sometimes she'll show up out of nowhere. I'll feed her and then when the other cats show up she runs away. I'm kind of annoyed since she was there first. They don't even eat any of the things I try to feed them anyways so don't know why they decided to just show up and mark that area as theirs. My biggest concern is I don't know if she'll survive the winter. I don't know where she stays or sleeps since she was ousted from the area she used to be in.
If she lets you pet her, she’s a socialized cat. So if you can’t take her in, I would try to get a local Rescue to help you because she can probably be adopted into an indoor home.
 
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