Last week we trapped one of the feral kittens that have been living in our yard (there is a 2nd one out there somewhere we're still working on catching) and we have been attempting to tame and socialize it. We don't know it's gender yet (I'm using "her" for now) and we estimate she is between 7 and 9 weeks old. I bought a large dog kennel and outfitted it with a litter box, food dish, etc, and started working with her that way.
Unfortunately only a couple days in, either my fiancé or I didn't latch the gate closed properly after feeding. So she got out... The crate was in a small back storage room, so she is still secluded to that part of the apartment. However, it is full of junk. There's lots of nooks and crannies to hide in and boxes to scurry behind.
She will come out to the open area to eat and use the litterbox, but never while one of us is there. We've barely seen her since her escape, she's like a ghost kitty who makes food disappear....
Ive been trying to put the food dish a few feet away from me and just sit and wait quietly until she comes out for the food. But she's so stubborn! I sit on the concrete floor for over an hour at a time but she still won't come out to eat. I've tried multiple different dry foods, wet foods, treats, even baby food but it doesn't make a difference, she'll only eat it when I'm not in the room.
How do I precede from here? I can't forcibly dig her out and put her back in the kennel, that will just make her scared. Moving all the stuff out and causing a ruckus would also scare her. But I usually can't last much more then an hour before I get too sore sitting and waiting that I have to leave.
It's my understanding that getting them to eat in front of you is the first step of building trust. So how do I get to that starting point when I've already lost some control of the situation?
Unfortunately only a couple days in, either my fiancé or I didn't latch the gate closed properly after feeding. So she got out... The crate was in a small back storage room, so she is still secluded to that part of the apartment. However, it is full of junk. There's lots of nooks and crannies to hide in and boxes to scurry behind.
She will come out to the open area to eat and use the litterbox, but never while one of us is there. We've barely seen her since her escape, she's like a ghost kitty who makes food disappear....
Ive been trying to put the food dish a few feet away from me and just sit and wait quietly until she comes out for the food. But she's so stubborn! I sit on the concrete floor for over an hour at a time but she still won't come out to eat. I've tried multiple different dry foods, wet foods, treats, even baby food but it doesn't make a difference, she'll only eat it when I'm not in the room.
How do I precede from here? I can't forcibly dig her out and put her back in the kennel, that will just make her scared. Moving all the stuff out and causing a ruckus would also scare her. But I usually can't last much more then an hour before I get too sore sitting and waiting that I have to leave.
It's my understanding that getting them to eat in front of you is the first step of building trust. So how do I get to that starting point when I've already lost some control of the situation?
