My kitten update

equicat

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Im not sure where to post so i thought here was appropriate. Fair warning, i have yard cats not house cats.

I posted in Sept that i was getting new kittens but it didn't work out and then i forgot about the forum lol, but a few weeks later i was made aware of kittens to home. I really only wanted one but would never take one scared feral kitten on its own so would have taken two to comfort each other. So i got a call to say someone has 3...well.. the 3 kittens came they were completely feral (im not even sure how they managed to catch them) they promptly went into a secure stable. I assumed they were never wormed etc so I managed to grab them and get that done and tried as best i could to spend time with them and get them comfortable with me/humans and come for food. To be honest i thought i was fighting a losing battle..I did not get them intending them to be tame lovable pets, they were for vermin control of the stables but i wanted to at least be able to account for them and get close enough to them to check on their health etc. They were not going to be let out of the stable until they had been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, wormed again and health checked, with gloves lol.

They just did not ever get there although one was coming around, and eventually i felt they had gotten too old to ever be comfortable, they were set in their ways. I had to obviously catch them for the vets (who were warned they are feral) and as i had not been able to get hands on enough to sex them i didn't know what i had..so i had two boys and a girl. After the healing process and the second vaccination they were given a little freedom.

Then they went and blind sided me by deciding they want to be tame! One (pretty) at first, then the second (syd). The third (kit) is not far behind he has yet to make contact...but he understands that "purr time" is a happy thing. Dunno why it happened or what changed....one just walked up to me and got a stroke and that was it. I think they had been watching my other cat getting love and purring like mad then just thought well that looks nice!

So here is Syd, Pretty and Kit. (the ginger is baby, my older cat)







 

MikyPiky

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Im not sure where to post so i thought here was appropriate. Fair warning, i have yard cats not house cats.

I posted in Sept that i was getting new kittens but it didn't work out and then i forgot about the forum lol, but a few weeks later i was made aware of kittens to home. I really only wanted one but would never take one scared feral kitten on its own so would have taken two to comfort each other. So i got a call to say someone has 3...well.. the 3 kittens came they were completely feral (im not even sure how they managed to catch them) they promptly went into a secure stable. I assumed they were never wormed etc so I managed to grab them and get that done and tried as best i could to spend time with them and get them comfortable with me/humans and come for food. To be honest i thought i was fighting a losing battle..I did not get them intending them to be tame lovable pets, they were for vermin control of the stables but i wanted to at least be able to account for them and get close enough to them to check on their health etc. They were not going to be let out of the stable until they had been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, wormed again and health checked, with gloves lol.

They just did not ever get there although one was coming around, and eventually i felt they had gotten too old to ever be comfortable, they were set in their ways. I had to obviously catch them for the vets (who were warned they are feral) and as i had not been able to get hands on enough to sex them i didn't know what i had..so i had two boys and a girl. After the healing process and the second vaccination they were given a little freedom.

Then they went and blind sided me by deciding they want to be tame! One (pretty) at first, then the second (syd). The third (kit) is not far behind he has yet to make contact...but he understands that "purr time" is a happy thing. Dunno why it happened or what changed....one just walked up to me and got a stroke and that was it. I think they had been watching my other cat getting love and purring like mad then just thought well that looks nice!

So here is Syd, Pretty and Kit. (the ginger is baby, my older cat)







They are absolutely adorable! I'm so happy that they've warmed up to you, cats can be so mysterious sometimes.
 

moxiewild

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How old were they when you got them?

Honestly most kittens less than 12 weeks will ultimately tame up on their own with time just by being (forced to be) around you.

If all you did was feed them every day, they’d still come around. I’ve had to hold onto kittens until I could get them into a foster when I didn’t have any time to actually work with them. They’re all hiss and spit until one day, they’ll approach me just close enough that I can pet them. Kittens are real suckers for pets, so that usually does it 😂

But their socialization will happen faster and be better in the end if you actively work with them, of course.

So glad they came around and you were kind enough to be patient with them and take them in! And also for being so responsible with their care! Wish I could find more barn cat adopters like you!
 

fionasmom

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Alice, my avatar, and her almost identical sister Elise were born under my neighbor's house 2 years ago. Wild feral parents and one other sister. All were TNRed but showed signs of no domesticity. Well, now Alice and Elise live inside sleeping on memory foam beds and listening to music all day. Little by little they became very curious about the house and one thing lead to another. Remaining sister hates me but lives comfortably outside and does understand that I am her food and shelter source. Who knows what cats think?
 
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equicat

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Well just another update, all three kittens are proving to be total pets. Even Kit, the most reluctant, is getting pet. They are understanding life and the inside of cars is fair game! Ive had to tell anyone who comes to the yard to check for cats before they leave. Due to the lockdown this has not been much of an issue. They seem to respect cars and know they are not "nice" so hopfully they are road savvy in the ongoing future. They have tried to come in to the house a few times and been told no, which is a must due to my sister. She has a brain injury thus mobility issues and if anything was in her way she would trip/fall and literally one hit to her head could kill her. The kitties like feet, so i have to shuffle and scoot them away lol Baby already knows not to do this so the kittens just have to learn.

Kit getting lovins

Syd giving kit a good lickin (which i have read means she is above him in stature...im not sure about that!)


The darling pretty, this is his "food, yes?"
 

MikyPiky

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Well just another update, all three kittens are proving to be total pets. Even Kit, the most reluctant, is getting pet. They are understanding life and the inside of cars is fair game! Ive had to tell anyone who comes to the yard to check for cats before they leave. Due to the lockdown this has not been much of an issue. They seem to respect cars and know they are not "nice" so hopfully they are road savvy in the ongoing future. They have tried to come in to the house a few times and been told no, which is a must due to my sister. She has a brain injury thus mobility issues and if anything was in her way she would trip/fall and literally one hit to her head could kill her. The kitties like feet, so i have to shuffle and scoot them away lol Baby already knows not to do this so the kittens just have to learn.

Kit getting lovins

Syd giving kit a good lickin (which i have read means she is above him in stature...im not sure about that!)


The darling pretty, this is his "food, yes?"
What a cute bunch of tuxedos! Im glad that they are getting used to you and are starting to want the lovin'!
 

molly92

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Then they went and blind sided me by deciding they want to be tame!
Ahh, my theory (could be wrong) is that you won them over by "giving up." Cats instinctively distrust attention and have to learn that attention from certain people = good things. That's why in the early stages of socialization you don't want to make a lot of eye contact or seem to target them, just exist around them. And once you decided to stop trying, they could just observe you in peace without worrying that you were watching them, and they learned hey! That human seems fun!

It's the "cats always love the non-cat person" principle. Cat people can't help but look at the adorable cats, but people that don't like cats will try to ignore them as much as possible.
 
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equicat

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Ahh, my theory (could be wrong) is that you won them over by "giving up." Cats instinctively distrust attention and have to learn that attention from certain people = good things. That's why in the early stages of socialization you don't want to make a lot of eye contact or seem to target them, just exist around them. And once you decided to stop trying, they could just observe you in peace without worrying that you were watching them, and they learned hey! That human seems fun!

It's the "cats always love the non-cat person" principle. Cat people can't help but look at the adorable cats, but people that don't like cats will try to ignore them as much as possible.
Its totally that! I never did eye contact with them and i spent many an hour just sitting in the room with them reading a book or on my phone while they got on with life around me sniffing me now and then but generally getting on with life being kittens. I let them play with my expensive horse driving stick now and then cause they seemed to like it best lol

I know from my cattery days not to pressure too much or you loose! I think one of the turning points was them seeing me interact with my already tame cat (who was also a farm kitten) the first time i heard them purr was when he was getting his love and shaking the walls lol so i guess its learned behaviour in a way. He (bobby) is such a soft cat.
 
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