Fostering a Feisty Feral Older Kitten

[Emma Claire]

Hi everyone, I’m so happy I found this site! I volunteer for a local cat rescue organization and two weeks ago I started fostering two kittens who were trapped by another cat rescue organization without the resources to work with unsocialized kittens. These two kittens were slated to be returned to a colony in a used car sales lot, but the trapper felt the younger one (@3 mo) was a candidate for adoption (rubbing and purring and seeking attention) and the other (@6mo) may have potential but was so shut down it was hard to tell. Both kittens suddenly appeared at the colony three weeks apart and neither had been there very long before being trapped. The feeder did not know where they came from. The smaller kitten (Zuko) is a doll and will be easily adopted once he has his shots and a little kitty finishing school time! The older kitten (Iroh) was super scared on intake, hiding, spitting, lashing out, trying to bite etc. The kittens are in separate cages, the smaller one has the run of the room during the day and sleeps in a single level cage at night. I have the older kitten in a multi level cage with shelves and a hammock and scratching post, litter box and wool cave in a small bedroom. I interact with him in the cage with the door open but as I can’t handle him safely yet he is not given free run of the room until we get to that point. At first he wouldn’t eat, and just hid in his cave, but over the course of the past two weeks he settled in a bit and now will lick Churo meat-tube from my fingers and will allow me to pet him with a long pet toothbrush (only occasionally swatting me when he wants me not to forget that we are still not friends). He loves to play in the evenings and will come out of his cave to lie in his litter box and play feather wand toy with me and Zuko. He will eat and use the litter box in front of me, but I still can’t (and haven’t tried to) touch him and I wear leather work gloves when I work with him or tidy his cage to avoid injury- he has calmed down a lot and we seem to have reached an understanding that I can provide food, play and comfort but touching with my hands is off limits! The foster program I volunteer for support me with advice and vet visits-Iroh is definitely one of the least socialized kitties I have worked with and I realize this is due to his age/experiences. Ideally, I do need to get him to the point where he can be safely handled if he is to ever be adopted, but I have lots of time to do this. Early on I tried to take him to the vet (usual protocol in the first few days of fostering) but the techs wouldn’t risk examining him in his spicy state and suggested sedation next time or returning him to his colony. I have been able to get Revolution on him and he ate his dose of Nemex dewormer in his food. His nails are so long and sharp and I can’t wait to brush out his coat with a proper grooming brush, but I know I have to let him lead the way in how much he is comfortable with. This has been a rollercoaster of a ride and after that failed attempt at the vet I really questioned (and sometimes still do) whether I am doing the best thing for him, but his willingness to interact and the wins we have already experienced, in combination with the terrible thought of him running around in between cars in a sales lot, keeps me feeling determined to work with him as long as I need to, to help him learn to trust humans. Any tips or advice would be so welcome. He may have a bit of a cold, noisy breathing, reduced appetite, so I am working on getting him seen at the vet (wish me luck!) in the next week so that he can feel his best which will hopefully help jolly things along with his socialization. He really is a cutie and I know there is a happy, relaxed kitty in there somewhere-I just need to continue to be patient and find the right approach and stick to it. Am I on the right track? What has worked for you? I’d love to know

 

[Emma Claire]

 

[fionasmom]

I just love that angry little face! So....you are very experienced with cats and probably already know the answer, or at least one possible answer. And you are very kind to help these organizations with their rescues.

My experience with ferals is that there can be a very long lead time with some of them but eventually they make it. Some may not be the most affectionate cats in the world but are adoptable as not all people want a velcro cat in the first place. I do not think that this little boy sounds like a truly wild feral with no hope of socialization. Certainly those ferals exist and usually are the ones in colonies...and I did wonder if the car lot was on board with having the colony or if returning him would be unwise because at some point someone may want them gone.

I have personally not found age to be a big determiner of socialization and don't believe in the 8 week cut off for ferals that many groups seem to believe.

The fact that he is eating from your hand, playing, allowing Revolution to be applied, and playing with the toothbrush is way beyond what any true feral would do. I have TNRed cats I never touched in their entire lives because they were truly wild and only came for food, often not even using the shelters I provided. This is going to be a longer road than it will be with your other foster, but I do think that he can make it.

 

[Emma Claire]

Thank you fionasmom, it’s nice to meet you! I have had mildly spicy fosters before, but nothing like this guy-I feel a lot of encouragement in hearing your experiences. I am hopeful that this little guy, serious frowny face and all, will get there. I’m all in anyway. I just have to figure out the balance between allowing him his space while challenging him enough to build up to hand petting and handling, at least to get him into a carrier for vet visits for now. I’m more than a little afraid of those claws and his side eye, but trying not to show it

 

[fionasmom]

If you get him to the vet, have them clip his nails for you. Sure, you want him to allow himself to be tended to by his owner, but this is a special time in his life and not having sharp nails will be a plus.