Hi all, its been a while since Ive been able to post ...hope all is well with everyone. Background: I took in four feral kittens on Dec. 5th.(two males, two females) At the time, we thought their age to be about 8 weeks old but turns out they were more around 12 weeks. They were so tiny due to malnutrition and worms. They are doing much better now, healthwise, and growing by leaps and bounds! This Sat they are due for the next set of shots, deworming (again) and to get fixed. They are now about 19 weeks old.
My problem is I dont think we will be able to re-home these guys. They have been living in my studio, which I spend much of my time in. Each one is unique in how they interact with me, ranging from one that will occasionlly voluntarily come into my lap, to one that still barely lets me touch him at all and everything in between these extremes. They are VERY attached with each other, not liking to be separated at all. Its amazing to see in them a pack-like mentality, where there even seems to be a leader that sort of looks out for the others. I have occasionally allowed them into my bedroom which is attatched to my studio. When I do this, they love having the room, but barely let me anywhere near them and will hide under the bed when I come in. They do this in every new enviroment they may come into. Its like they revert right back to pure feral behavior. Nobody else in my house, despite seeing them everyday, can really touch these kitties without being firm and not letting their hissing scare them away. For instance, when my son or husband gently goes to pet one, the kittens will hiss and run and my son or husband will let them be. My daughter though, while still being gentle, will just ignore the hissing and gently pet them till the purrs come. But, if she where to walk away, come back and do it again, they are right back to hissing. And again, theres only one kitten, Zaria, that will sit in my lap. (We decided long ago we were keeping Zaria)
I cant imagine how they would react to being separated and put into strange homes. As a matter of fact, I fear it would be so distressing for them, that they could possibly get sick and really distrustful of people. I dont know anybody, (besides people who already have homes that are filled with cats), that wants a cat that is so unsociable. So, hubby and I have resolved to keep them all ourselves ...unless we do find someone who will be VERY caring and sensitive to their situation, and will take the time to make the kitty feel comfortable while realizing kitty may never be a *lap kitty. I honestly have no problem giving them the care they need and a safe place to stay the rest of their lives, even if they never let me touch them again. So, what I am thinking of doing, since these kitties seem to prefer each others company over peoples company, is moving them downstairs to my husbands large office, till they are big enough to roam around the house with all the other kitties and our one small dog. See, at this time, I have three adult cats in hubbys office, that still need to be vetted (we had to vet the kittens first cause we felt it was more of an emergency and should be able to afford vetting the three adults (all fixed) next month), so they cant just roam the house, but they are very loving and really WANT human contact and attention and would like it better in my studio. I sure hope Im not confusing you all with my many kitties in many *isolation* rooms of my house ...lol.
What I would like some insight on is, do you think Im giving up too soon as far as having hopes that these kitties will get more socialble? It has been almost 7 weeks they have been with me. Is that enough time to assume the way they are now, is basically the way they will stay? If I put the kittens in hubbys office,(again, just till they are bigger and then can go anywhere in the house they want), they wont have nearly as much contact with people as they are having now. Of course, they wont be neglected in any way, and I would visit them during the day, and hubby works down there often, but they will be alone together more then they are now. Im not sure if this will make things worse for them, but then again, if this is gonna be as good as it gets, it might be what they prefer and they maybe more comfortable with not being forced to deal with people too much. So, what do you more experienced feral kitty people suggest? Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Kali
My problem is I dont think we will be able to re-home these guys. They have been living in my studio, which I spend much of my time in. Each one is unique in how they interact with me, ranging from one that will occasionlly voluntarily come into my lap, to one that still barely lets me touch him at all and everything in between these extremes. They are VERY attached with each other, not liking to be separated at all. Its amazing to see in them a pack-like mentality, where there even seems to be a leader that sort of looks out for the others. I have occasionally allowed them into my bedroom which is attatched to my studio. When I do this, they love having the room, but barely let me anywhere near them and will hide under the bed when I come in. They do this in every new enviroment they may come into. Its like they revert right back to pure feral behavior. Nobody else in my house, despite seeing them everyday, can really touch these kitties without being firm and not letting their hissing scare them away. For instance, when my son or husband gently goes to pet one, the kittens will hiss and run and my son or husband will let them be. My daughter though, while still being gentle, will just ignore the hissing and gently pet them till the purrs come. But, if she where to walk away, come back and do it again, they are right back to hissing. And again, theres only one kitten, Zaria, that will sit in my lap. (We decided long ago we were keeping Zaria)
I cant imagine how they would react to being separated and put into strange homes. As a matter of fact, I fear it would be so distressing for them, that they could possibly get sick and really distrustful of people. I dont know anybody, (besides people who already have homes that are filled with cats), that wants a cat that is so unsociable. So, hubby and I have resolved to keep them all ourselves ...unless we do find someone who will be VERY caring and sensitive to their situation, and will take the time to make the kitty feel comfortable while realizing kitty may never be a *lap kitty. I honestly have no problem giving them the care they need and a safe place to stay the rest of their lives, even if they never let me touch them again. So, what I am thinking of doing, since these kitties seem to prefer each others company over peoples company, is moving them downstairs to my husbands large office, till they are big enough to roam around the house with all the other kitties and our one small dog. See, at this time, I have three adult cats in hubbys office, that still need to be vetted (we had to vet the kittens first cause we felt it was more of an emergency and should be able to afford vetting the three adults (all fixed) next month), so they cant just roam the house, but they are very loving and really WANT human contact and attention and would like it better in my studio. I sure hope Im not confusing you all with my many kitties in many *isolation* rooms of my house ...lol.
What I would like some insight on is, do you think Im giving up too soon as far as having hopes that these kitties will get more socialble? It has been almost 7 weeks they have been with me. Is that enough time to assume the way they are now, is basically the way they will stay? If I put the kittens in hubbys office,(again, just till they are bigger and then can go anywhere in the house they want), they wont have nearly as much contact with people as they are having now. Of course, they wont be neglected in any way, and I would visit them during the day, and hubby works down there often, but they will be alone together more then they are now. Im not sure if this will make things worse for them, but then again, if this is gonna be as good as it gets, it might be what they prefer and they maybe more comfortable with not being forced to deal with people too much. So, what do you more experienced feral kitty people suggest? Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Kali