Likely feral Kittens of uncertain age

[Aurel]

Hello
Recently a brown kitten has started to roam around our house, probably because of our own cats. I dont live in space with feral colonies, most cats are at least semi socialized.
When I noticed this cat I started to offer it wet food and it gulped it down (so either hungry or weaned off) and it happily accepted and even came pretty close to me. However when I tried to catch it (i was worried it was injured) it hissed scratched and bit me. Probably was never touched a human before. It is pretty connected to a VERY friendly stray we semiadopted (we feed him, vacced him and neutered him and hes very friendly to us). Our indoor cats hiss at it though.

From my brief research it seems that trying to socialize kittens beyond 4 months is not advised. I am not sure how to proceed because mom says its 3 month-ish but i am unsure. It is worth saying that it keeps calling out to its mom and came to us pretty starved. Really unsure on what to do here?

Also, another similarly aged cat turned up today. Right now we let them in our outside building which we call summer kitchen. Theres a lot of hiding spaces and food. Mom managed to play with the fishing pole with one of them, but it kept the distance from her. When mayor was around (unrelated, but there is roaming stray dog so mom and him are trying to find it and get it to safer place) he mentioned someone reported abandoned kittens at graveyard but when he checked, they werent there. I am not sure what to make of it, because that would imply, they had human owners. I just am unsure what to do.

 

[tabbytom]

Hello
Recently a brown kitten has started to roam around our house, probably because of our own cats. I dont live in space with feral colonies, most cats are at least semi socialized.
When I noticed this cat I started to offer it wet food and it gulped it down (so either hungry or weaned off) and it happily accepted and even came pretty close to me. However when I tried to catch it (i was worried it was injured) it hissed scratched and bit me. Probably was never touched a human before. It is pretty connected to a VERY friendly stray we semiadopted (we feed him, vacced him and neutered him and hes very friendly to us). Our indoor cats hiss at it though.

From my brief research it seems that trying to socialize kittens beyond 4 months is not advised. I am not sure how to proceed because mom says its 3 month-ish but i am unsure. It is worth saying that it keeps calling out to its mom and came to us pretty starved. Really unsure on what to do here?

Also, another similarly aged cat turned up today. Right now we let them in our outside building which we call summer kitchen. Theres a lot of hiding spaces and food. Mom managed to play with the fishing pole with one of them, but it kept the distance from her. When mayor was around (unrelated, but there is roaming stray dog so mom and him are trying to find it and get it to safer place) he mentioned someone reported abandoned kittens at graveyard but when he checked, they werent there. I am not sure what to make of it, because that would imply, they had human owners. I just am unsure what to do.

It is very hard to say whether the cats have human owners or not at this stage. Sometimes, kittens are abandoned this way by humans as they just dumped them somewhere and the kittens have to fend for themselves and therefore like this one, gulping down the food and that shows that he is very hungry and probably not have food for some time.

They dare come near you but the hissing and scratching are just self defense mechanisms, it's natural. even time and space, yes, be it a ew months old kitten or a grown up cat can still be socialized. All you need is lots of love, time and routine for the cats to get used to you and knowing that you are not a threat to them.

You may continue the feeding regime on a regular basis and hopefully they don't take too long to trust you. Once the trust is bonded, get them to the vet to do the necessary. If you cannot keep them inside, build a home on your compound for them.

Please feel free to ask questions and please keep us updated and thank you for taking care of them.

 

[Aurel]

Thanks for the reply. Right noww we plan to feed them and try and become friendly with them. The issue is their bellies are really big and they need deworming but catching them and holding them is difficult as I know from experience now.

 

[HeyKat]

Thanks for the reply. Right noww we plan to feed them and try and become friendly with them. The issue is their bellies are really big and they need deworming but catching them and holding them is difficult as I know from experience now.

Try putting the dewormer in their food.

Socialising feral cats over 4 months isn't recommended for rescues, because in the time it would take, they could help many more friendly cats. Younger kittens socialise much faster than older feral cats. But as an individual, if you have the time and patience, there's no reason not to try. Especially if there's no rush to bring them indoors (high traffic, predators etc).

What is your goal with them? Do you want to semi-adopt them like your friendly stray? Free to come and go, but cared for by you? If so, all you need to do is keep feeding them and they'll hang around. You may have to trap them to get them to the vet for sterilisation though.

Or are you worried about their safety and want to bring them indoors? In that case you may want to trap them and keep them in a small room so you can work with them.

Good luck, and thank you for taking care of them!

 

[Aurel]

Try putting the dewormer in their food.

Socialising feral cats over 4 months isn't recommended for rescues, because in the time it would take, they could help many more friendly cats. Younger kittens socialise much faster than older feral cats. But as an individual, if you have the time and patience, there's no reason not to try. Especially if there's no rush to bring them indoors (high traffic, predators etc).

What is your goal with them? Do you want to semi-adopt them like your friendly stray? Free to come and go, but cared for by you? If so, all you need to do is keep feeding them and they'll hang around. You may have to trap them to get them to the vet for sterilisation though.

Or are you worried about their safety and want to bring them indoors? In that case you may want to trap them and keep them in a small room so you can work with them.

Good luck, and thank you for taking care of them!

Mom told me shell call some shelters for help. Right now we keep giving food. I will see about the dewormer. Thank you.

I would prefer them being inside but we cant have more cats. As such letting them use our outside unused building is best we can do

 

[CalicoKittyDaisy]

My rescue Daisy was a feral. The veterinarian estimated her to be about 4 to 5 months old. She was hit by a car and her leg and her foot were broke. She got medical treatment. She was very easy to give her medications and antibiotic and pain killer shots. Next month she will be one year old. She was neutered and got her vaccinations. She has become an indoor cat only. My almost 14 year old cat became best friends. She is very friendly and affectionate. In short, also an older kitten can socialized and they deserve a chance too. I can't imagine my life without my 2 cats.

 

[Aurel]

Update. We started to give them food. They hide under the car but i squatted down and talked to them and they came and took the food. Refused to take from hand.

They watched me play with Kvako (he never wanted to play before this is a side note...) and were clearly interested and even approached the fishing pole but didnt want to touch it. Both were outside because mom is cleaning out the ppace they are staying it. Both eat with GREAT vigour but the white/brown one has very clear eye infection. Not sure how to resolve it

Mom checked the gonads of the brown one. It was difficult and she got scratched for her trouble.but it seems to be a tomcat. I was trying to gauge the other one but it keeps its tail down and i cant get the glimpse.

 

[dahlia]

Since you can get close to them and your mom could even pick one up, I would say you absolutely can socialize them. They are adorable.

 

[Aurel]

Update. They are still extremely flightly. Wil come to beg food but not much else. And they avoid people. We usually can not come close even if they are open close to us. When they are eating to or cuddling with their foster dad (orange guy) they can be sometimes pet (the brown one only 90% of time tho). Its a bit stresful because the shelters dont answer not even with tips on what to do and grandma is already yelling about more damned cats .

 

[Umerwhat]

It actually sounds like they're warming up to you pretty well. Feeding, playing, and just chilling with them is the best you can do without having them indoors.

Might be worth looking at other nearby shelters if your family has the means to drive further out. My local shelter rarely ever picks up the phone. I always have to leave a message and hope they get back to me. Sometimes there are neuter/spay vans that will go to an area periodically. It might be worth seeing if there are any nearby any time soon. Usually they're low cost as well.

 

[tabbytom]

Update. They are still extremely flightly. Wil come to beg food but not much else. And they avoid people. We usually can not come close even if they are open close to us. When they are eating to or cuddling with their foster dad (orange guy) they can be sometimes pet (the brown one only 90% of time tho). Its a bit stresful because the shelters dont answer not even with tips on what to do and grandma is already yelling about more damned cats .

Spend more time with them so that they get more used to you. Usually cats like this in this type of environments need more human contacts to become more friendly.

Best is if you could bring them indoors and to take care of them and also get them treated.

Try this site :- Home