Hi Guys,
Maybe somebody can enlighten me as to this issue that has got me scratching my head and wondering "huh?" whenever it comes up.
I know that many of you rescue cats, and deal with new litters & kittens on a daily basis, and I also know that the USA is a lot different to Australia...
However, I also have rescued, and I've also helped rear/raise quite a few litters of kittens myself, and this is where my huh? moment comes in...
I have seen quite a few threads, where people seem to just give up on 5, 6, 7, 8 week old "ferals" because they aren't socialized enough...
I find myself blinking and in my huh moment, because I've had kittens, gone through all the ages and stages, seen them develop, various litters etc, and to me, anytime up until 4 months (16 weeks) they can be rehabilitated - they're babies, not adults but people keep refering to them as if they are beyond hope?
Two of my eldest cats, Lilly-Jade & Jessavyn were feral kittens. I rescued them when they were 8 weeks old, living in someones front yard. Lilly was emaciated and lying on concrete in 117 degree Fahrenheit temperatures.
I took them both, and pulled them back to health, and they are both the most loving, cuddly, big fat cats that you could ever meet... young + feral doesn't always = doomed.
Any opinions on this? am I taking something out of context? is there something I'm missing when people talk like this?
thanks!
Maybe somebody can enlighten me as to this issue that has got me scratching my head and wondering "huh?" whenever it comes up.
I know that many of you rescue cats, and deal with new litters & kittens on a daily basis, and I also know that the USA is a lot different to Australia...
However, I also have rescued, and I've also helped rear/raise quite a few litters of kittens myself, and this is where my huh? moment comes in...
I have seen quite a few threads, where people seem to just give up on 5, 6, 7, 8 week old "ferals" because they aren't socialized enough...
I find myself blinking and in my huh moment, because I've had kittens, gone through all the ages and stages, seen them develop, various litters etc, and to me, anytime up until 4 months (16 weeks) they can be rehabilitated - they're babies, not adults but people keep refering to them as if they are beyond hope?
Two of my eldest cats, Lilly-Jade & Jessavyn were feral kittens. I rescued them when they were 8 weeks old, living in someones front yard. Lilly was emaciated and lying on concrete in 117 degree Fahrenheit temperatures.
I took them both, and pulled them back to health, and they are both the most loving, cuddly, big fat cats that you could ever meet... young + feral doesn't always = doomed.
Any opinions on this? am I taking something out of context? is there something I'm missing when people talk like this?
thanks!