First time with a feral kitten, help!

Kwik

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Sorry, I meant it was too soon using the pheromone spray.
I knew what you meant,lol
You know kittens don't always get the full effect of the pheromone sprays and even catnip or silver vine- so it could be partly why & also when they are soooo scared it's doesn't help that much becausd they're so preoccupied by fear itself.... where do you think the phrase " scaredy-cat " came from 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Seeiously,don't worry Mommy- your little baby is going to be just fine,he is ready by this time for you to be making contact- keep gradually shortening up on your " spoon" little by little and before you know it he'll be licking the treat off your fingers

Patience,lots n lots of patience,,high praise and reward are all positive re- enforcement.... ❤
 
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Diane20-24

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Thanks for asking, Tabbytom.

We have made great progress in that he is more outgoing, loves to play with his older brother and sister (especially his brother who has the same colorings as his litter sibling did), and spends time with the whole family unit - 2 and 4 legged members! He eats out of our hands with no problem, but does a lot better if the other 2 cats are trying to eat out of our hands at the same time. He talks a lot and purrs a lot, especially with his brother and sister near by. He sleeps on the bed with us often and will even do this sometimes when he is the only cat on the bed. He is braver in that he plays all over the house now.

Issues: I still cannot pet him unless I am feeding him. If they are all getting treats from me at the same time, I can get a lot of pets in. If it is just him, I can only get a nanosecond of a pet in. I cannot pick him up. I was unsuccessful trying to wrap him in a kitty purrito and have the scars to verify it. He still will run the periphery of a room to hide from us, but is more tolerant of us being closer before he runs. It bothers me that I cannot touch him or hold him or give him the loving touch I know he wants. I don't know how I will ever get him back to the vet for his next shots/checkup or if I will ever be able to trim his claws (that is more long term issue. It is still a struggle to do this with my other two, but I am able to get it done).

He left his safe room about one month ago by jumping over the barriers I had set up at least twice. So, we let him explore and he never looked back.

I just get this feeling that he wants to snuggle, but he is not trusting us. He will run up to the other cats and rub on them and want to get love, but they are not always in the mood.

I appreciate any ideas or suggestions at this point. We love him so much and are so glad he is in our lives. We want him to have the best life ever! Thank you!
 

Kwik

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Thanks for asking, Tabbytom.

We have made great progress in that he is more outgoing, loves to play with his older brother and sister (especially his brother who has the same colorings as his litter sibling did), and spends time with the whole family unit - 2 and 4 legged members! He eats out of our hands with no problem, but does a lot better if the other 2 cats are trying to eat out of our hands at the same time. He talks a lot and purrs a lot, especially with his brother and sister near by. He sleeps on the bed with us often and will even do this sometimes when he is the only cat on the bed. He is braver in that he plays all over the house now.

Issues: I still cannot pet him unless I am feeding him. If they are all getting treats from me at the same time, I can get a lot of pets in. If it is just him, I can only get a nanosecond of a pet in. I cannot pick him up. I was unsuccessful trying to wrap him in a kitty purrito and have the scars to verify it. He still will run the periphery of a room to hide from us, but is more tolerant of us being closer before he runs. It bothers me that I cannot touch him or hold him or give him the loving touch I know he wants. I don't know how I will ever get him back to the vet for his next shots/checkup or if I will ever be able to trim his claws (that is more long term issue. It is still a struggle to do this with my other two, but I am able to get it done).

He left his safe room about one month ago by jumping over the barriers I had set up at least twice. So, we let him explore and he never looked back.

I just get this feeling that he wants to snuggle, but he is not trusting us. He will run up to the other cats and rub on them and want to get love, but they are not always in the mood.

I appreciate any ideas or suggestions at this point. We love him so much and are so glad he is in our lives. We want him to have the best life ever! Thank you!
It's still very early in the grand scheme of things( lol,his entire life)-not even 90 days,he's doing wonderfully..keep petting while feeding as you've been,it's not just one on one for him to relate to as a companion so it's takes time in multi family & pet households but time,time,time...... you'll see a different cat in the next 90 days at this rate

Nice update,happy to hear he is doing so well❤
 

tabbytom

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I appreciate any ideas or suggestions at this point. We love him so much and are so glad he is in our lives. We want him to have the best life ever! Thank you!
One way of petting him is not to show your open palm. An open palm looks threatening to him. To pet him, you have to do it slow with a closed palm and formed into a fist. A fist resembles a cat's head and cats like to do head bumps when meeting each other.

The way to do it is like this, form your fist, let him sniff your fist or place a treat in your fist. Once he sniff your fist, gently brush your fist against his cheeks and see what his reaction is. If he moves away, try again later. If he keeps still, continue the action a few times and repeat again later and do this till he gets use to it.

Le's say, he's use to it already after a few tries, slowly move your fist all the way back under his ear. Again repeat till he gets use to it. Once after many attempts, if he's kind of ok with the fist brushing, next step is do the same, fist brush from cheeks to under ear and then once your fist past the ear, gently open you fist and stroke him with the back of your palm continuously down his neck.

Repeat these steps many times till he gets use to it.
 
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  • #26

Diane20-24

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One way of petting him is not to show your open palm. An open palm looks threatening to him. To pet him, you have to do it slow with a closed palm and formed into a fist. A fist resembles a cat's head and cats like to do head bumps when meeting each other.

The way to do it is like this, form your fist, let him sniff your fist or place a treat in your fist. Once he sniff your fist, gently brush your fist against his cheeks and see what his reaction is. If he moves away, try again later. If he keeps still, continue the action a few times and repeat again later and do this till he gets use to it.

Le's say, he's use to it already after a few tries, slowly move your fist all the way back under his ear. Again repeat till he gets use to it. Once after many attempts, if he's kind of ok with the fist brushing, next step is do the same, fist brush from cheeks to under ear and then once your fist past the ear, gently open you fist and stroke him with the back of your palm continuously down his neck.

Repeat these steps many times till he gets use to it.
Ah ha! I don't always have a closed fist when trying to pet him when he is eating. If he is standing in-between the other 2 cats, I can sometimes pet hit head to tail tip with open hand. I will try the closed fist method as you mentioned 😀. Thanks!
 

tabbytom

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Ah ha! I don't always have a closed fist when trying to pet him when he is eating. If he is standing in-between the other 2 cats, I can sometimes pet hit head to tail tip with open hand. I will try the closed fist method as you mentioned 😀. Thanks!
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Let us know how it goes.
 
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