Two Feral Cats - Help Getting Them To Socialize

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Hi, I have two feral cats. I brought them home and let them out in my room where I had it all set up. They are anywhere between 6-10 weeks old. They found a little crawl space that I did not know about under the cabinet. They will not come out when I am around. I want to get them out and seal it up, but nothing seems to be working. One came out to eat and I tried grabbing him but he got away and crawled right back in where I cannot get to them. Any suggestions? I was totally worried and freaking out, but I think it is just going to take time patience coaxing and food. They are fine and have access to food and water (outside the crawl space) 24/7, but I was really hoping to spend this time socializing them, and I just can’t get to themAny suggestions welcome

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Update they are doing great! So excited they are coming around so quickly. I will try and seal up the crawl space soon, but it’s kind of their hiding spot.they are playing and coming very close to me, but will run if I try to pet them.

 

[bigbadbass]

given time and patience, they are young enough to fully integrate accompanied by some prompting on your part. Sounds like you are quite capable and on the way already.

Pics of the kitties, please?

 

[maggiedemi]

It sound like you're doing really well. It was easier for me to socialize Demi because he was only like a month old. Maggie was harder because she was at least 6 months old. They are still afraid of all strangers though, hopefully you will do better than me on that.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

given time and patience, they are young enough to fully integrate accompanied by some prompting on your part. Sounds like you are quite capable and on the way already.

Pics of the kitties, please?

 

[Norachan]

Awww, sweet little things! Thank you for taking them in. Have you tried coaxing them out with a wand toy? Getting kittens to play with you is a big part of getting them socialised. Don't worry if they don't respond right away, these things take time.

Even if they hide when you are in the room you should still spend time in there with them. You could try sitting on the floor and reading to them. That helps get them used to the sound of your voice. Once you've sealed up the crawl space give them a cardboard box covered with a blanket to hide in. They will feel safer if they have somewhere to hide.

Good luck.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

YES thank you, I’ve been playing other then using a wand and anything dangly. I am always near them and talking to them when I am at home. I picked up the yellow cat (Ripple) and get scratched and bit me. Not too bad, but broke the skin. They just had their rabies on Wednesday. I’ve raised a feral cat that was less domesticated many years ago, but he became a mostly outdoor cat. These two guys will be indoor.

Any idea about how long before they will let me touch them?

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Oh and we are unsure if they are brothers...the gray cat (Jacks) is much smaller, although they were found together in a car engine just about a 10 days ago.

 

[maggiedemi]

I petted Demi with a long handled duster. After 3 days, he let me pet him with my hands.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

That is a great idea, I Sawyer that posted somewhere...maybe by you...I’m going to get one today. Thank you!

 

[orange&white]

Any idea about how long before they will let me touch them?

I think the feather duster/back scratcher is a good idea, especially since Ripple scratched and bit when you picked him up.

When you do pick them up, be in a squatting position where your thighs are even with the floor. Lift them quickly, set them on your thighs and let go immediately. That way they are able to jump down right away if they want. It teaches them that being picked up and being on your lap does not result in any pain or in being trapped. Since they aren't restrained, they are less likely to bite or scratch you. After a while they'll hesitate and stay a little while, giving you an opportunity to pet them.

Alternatively, you can quickly pick them up and put them on a bed or counter and let go. I used a table instead of my lap with a little wild feral I have in my backyard. I didn't try lifting her until she came to me and started wrapping herself around my ankles. She got used to being lifted, then started hanging around for a pet instead of running.

If your kittens aren't food-possessive, they will probably let you gently pet their heads while they are eating. If they are insecure about food, that may result in them lashing out. That's just something you'd have to try and see how they react.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Thank you I will try that. They let me pet their backs with a wand while they were eating. I was sooo close to blocking the crawl space with a sleeping bag and Ripple snuck through. Jacks was unable to get in right away, so he is now terrified and I feel the trust is broken. I can try and trap them to get it covered but that could end up scaring them more, but I don’t want them in there. It’s a process, a slow process. This is the fourth night with them and I’ve only gotten about 6 hours where I’ve been able to interact with them. The smaller gray (probably younger one, Jacks) is much more timid and less interested in me.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

 

[Norachan]

You know, for only four nights indoors they're making really good progress. I don't think you need to worry about things going too slowly.

All cats are different in terms of how long it takes to socialise them. One of my feral rescues hid at the back of the wardrobe for the first month he was indoors and I didn't see him at all. It took four months before I could pet him and several years before he started climbing onto my lap.

Another feral cat I rescued let me pick her up and carry her to my vet within a few minutes of finding her. There's no fixed time scale on how long things will take, but these boys are young so that should work in your favour.

I know some people believe in blocking off escape routes and trying to get as much contact as possible early on, but I'm a big fan of letting the cats choose the pace. If they feel comfortable with their hiding spot don't feel that you have to block it off. Far better that they come to you because they want to, rather than being forced to stay close to you.

Are you planning to keep them yourself or re-home them? If you're not in any rush to get them adopted while they are young I'd suggest you take things as slowly as needs be.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Thank you so much. All I want i was thinking same thing about not blocking it off, but then I saw an opportunity, and now regret having tried that. I think I’ll let them have that space(they are safe)and hopefully hey will come out more and more. THank you for your words, I appreciate it, I was feeling discouraged but There was even some progress today

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

They are going to stay with me

 

[Norachan]

That's good. They're really lucky to have you.

Has someone already suggested a Feliway diffuser?


They mimic the odour female cats give off when they are nursing kittens, it helps to keep the cats calm. You can also buy a spray version which I squirt on my hands when I'm petting or playing with skittish kittens.

There is also something known as "Kitty Crack", actually baby food, which is supposed to be irresistible to all cats. You need the plain meat variety with no garlic or onions. If you can get a long handled spoon and get them to lick the food off the spoon they'll start to see you as their best friend.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Thank you for the suggestions. Yes I have used the baby food before at best friends in Utah! The cats there loved it

 

[orange&white]

How much time are you spending in the room with them?

I brought home a 4 month old feral kitten in early February. For the first 9 days, she lived in my master bathroom with a fleece blanket lined hard-sided carrier for a bed, food, water, a litter box and some toys/stuffed animals. The carrier was her only hiding hole, and I had easy access to her there. I took a different approach than Nora and the setup sort of forced the kitten to be in relatively close proximity to me. For every hour I was home, I spent 10-15 minutes sitting on the bathroom floor. That added up to quite a few hours a day, which is why I was asking how much time you have to spend with them, as it may affect which approach is right for you to take.

I never tried to "grab" her that first week, but when she gave me the opportunity, I did lift her onto my lap and let go as described above. She's been raised on an all-wet diet, but I did buy a small bag of kibble as training treats. I would put a couple pieces on the floor of the carrier. While she ate those, I dropped a piece or two on the floor outside the carrier to get her to come out on her own. Then I'd roll a couple pieces across the floor to get her to voluntarily leave her "safety carrier". It also took about 3 days to teach her what toys are for. She ended up loving the feather on a string toy and would temporarily forget that she was "supposed to be afraid". Eventually I could drag the toy across my lap so that she was willingly touching me and running across my lap to catch the toy.

By the end of the second weekend, she was letting me pick her up and pet her, and she loved playing. She "graduated" to having access to my master bedroom and the bathroom. She never was a "hider" after that.

That's more of an "immersion" approach to socialization which I think I read on one of the New York city feral group's socialization techniques. (I read a lot about ferals in a very short amount of time last winter.)

You do need to trust your instincts on which direction to go because you are there to see the kittens' reactions and responses to different stimuli. I am taking more of Nora's approach with a wild backyard feral I TNR'd in the spring/summer. She lives outside and I'm just letting her go at her pace, which is a lot slower in getting her to trust me, but her personality is very different (much more aggressive) than the younger kitten I adopted to live indoors.

 

[Gr8fulcatlady]

Thank you for your reply. I also have them in the master bath and when I am on my bed they come out to play in the bedroom as of last night! I was able to rub their backs with the wand while eating and playing. I also used a laser light to get them to come closer. Ripple, the older or larger kitten is less skiddish and uses the crawl space to sleep, while JackS runs in there most every time I move. They have even slept for a little while on the bathroom floor. Ripple was purring when I rubbed him with the wand. THey are definitely progressing. I really want to seal up the crawl space, in the case of an emergency. However, trust seems to be building and I to want to compromise that right now. I think I will be able to close it up in the next couple of days. I put a box in there that they love, covered with a wool sweater. They are very active between 1am-6am, and only for about a couple of hours during the day. I’ve been talking softly to them while sitting on the floor. They wrestle a lot and I am so glad that i didn’t separate them, especially since I have some really long work days. I am thankful I will have We’d-Sunday to spend a lot of time with them. I think today Ripple will let me pet him ? they are happy eating playing thriving! You can see the cabinet on the right, that is where they hide underneath. It goes about 3 feet in on a slope, if worse comes to worse a day will come when the ill be to big to fit through the 2 inch opening, lol. It is 2 inches wide and about 3 feet long, that is why it has been such a challenge to block it off. Hopefully in the next couple days