What Should I Do With The Feral Kitten

myfamily

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So I trapped a mama and her kitten on Thursday (today is Monday). I had been feeding mama for about a year, and the both of them for about 2 months. She only has one kitten. So, yeah, I trapped them. I got mama spayed. She still feral and bit me this morning. I had been able to pet her previously, but this morning she bit me. So she is going to be returned outside immediately. The kitten is slowly slowly coming along. I can now walk up to him and pick him up with only a minimal amount of terror on his part. But I am thinking about releasing him too. It is causing much havoc with my own cats having him in my apartment. He is not socialized enough to give to the shelter. I work 10 hour days. I am thinking about putting them both outside today, and then maybe recatching the kitten later on when it gets really cold. He's probably 4 months old. Yes it's a boy.
 
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myfamily

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well I don't know why I posted that since I took action minutes later. I grabbed the mama cat with a pair of welding gloves and got her outside. And then I picked up the kitten and carried him outside gently. Maybe enough socialization has rubbed off on the kitten that I can catch him again in the future. I would like to get him fixed. The important one was the mama who I did get fixed. I just feel bad for them outside this winter, especially when I move away in January.
 

Jcatbird

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Okay, you already put them out so I am a little late replying. Sorry. I am glad you posted this though. I know your work schedule made any effort on socialing very tough. I would encourage you to continue to work with them both outside. The kitten may not survive a tough winter and it will be hard on the mom as well. I don’t know where you live but many areas are deadly for them. I know many people think they will survive okay but I live in the Deep South and last year we had snow. The ferals were in bad shape. May in a colony near the islands did not make it. I wish I had seen your post right away. Are there any feral rescue groups in your area? It is possible they could help out here. Mom probably bit you because she was afraid. Just imagine if you and your only surviving child were suddenly taken from everything you knew by a giant and thrown into a prison. She went from being free to being closed in. Her trust of you had been violated and she was just protecting herself and her baby. If you had been able to follow some steps towards a smoother transition I don’t think she would have bitten you. I hope you are okay.
There are steps you can still take to get Mom and baby to safety. I do feral rescues, socialization and then get them adopted out. At about a hundred cats to date, I would be glad to try and help you to accomplish what you were hoping to do. Your attempts and intentions were fantastic! I totally admire you for caring about these kitties. Thank you! Getting the mom spayed was a great thing. Baby will need fixing too. It will be in heat very soon now. The kitten could be socialized much more easily if you caught it now. The younger, the easier. Although , I have socialized cats that are several years old without a lot of trouble. I am sure everyone here would love to hear back from you. If you just start out by feeding them in a carrier, cage or trap regularly, they will get used to eating there over time. That makes catching them again much simpler. Re establishing trust with Mom could mean lives saved later. If you feel you cannot help them then I would suggest you look into feral rescues. You obviously care about saving their lives. It’s awesome that you already made so much progress! Many here would be glad to help you search for rescuers in Your area if you desire that. Your other cats can adjust to them with a little guidance. I have 28 currently. Some are pets for tens years and others have only been in for weeks. I can pet and hold all of them. ( not to say I have never been bitten lol but only twice in ten years and not by ferals! Go figure.) I have a constant flow of new kitties coming, socializing and going that my cats have had to adjust to. If you want to see more info now just do a search on this site for feral and rescued cats. I hope some of this has been helpful to you. Good luck to you and your kitties. Thanks for posting.:)
 
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myfamily

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what does a feral rescue group do? Do they socialize feral cats? Or are you just talking about trap, spay/neuter, and release groups? I had been able to pet the mama after first using a pencil to rub head. Then while scratching her head with the pencil I slowly switched over to using my hand, and was able to pet her. I did this numerous times in the 3 days she was in my house. Then she made her way up to a narrow bathroom window (it is narrow rectangular space up near the top of the bathroom). She felt very defensive up there. I tried to reach up with my hand to pet her (not using the pencil first), and bam she bit me and punctured my middle finger. It is sore, I hope it doesn't become infected. I regret the way I took her out. I had to go to work, and didn't have time to pussy foot around. I put on some welding gloves, and reached up and grabbed her. She bit as hard as she could, but the welding gloves protected me. I got her half way down the stairs when I let her loose, and she ran the rest of the way down and out the open door. The kitten I was able to pick up and carry out gently. I set him down and he ran off. The kitten was back in his usual spot tonight for food, and I fed him. I haven't seen the mama. Of course, the kitten is back to his normal self of not letting me any closer than 6 feet from him. But I will be able to catch him easily when the time comes. I just wanted to get them outside since the weather is still nice instead of having them trapped inside my bathroom. I live in Boise, Idaho. The winters are mild, normally the lows are in the teens during the winter months. But there have been 10 below zero nights too. Mama survived last winter. I fed her all last winter, actually, on my patio. I doubt mama will go into a trap again so I am going to order a drop trap if I need to catch her again. But the question I have for you is, if I did catch her again is there anyone or any group that will socialize her? I live in an apartment (renter). I already have cats, and they were very stressed out by the cats in our bathroom.
 

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I am so glad you wrote back. I can research your area. Some groups do the TNR but some do more. If you are moving then I do worry they will not survive after you leave. You may consider your winters mild but to a cat they can easily be deadly. Mom probably survived the last one because you helped her and , even so, was lucky and likely suffered. I can teach you how to deal with all of the situations you worry about if you want to bring them in to socialize. Once socialized if you decide they need to find another home then they have a good chance at getting adopted. The thread I write deals with all these issues as I have gone through them myself. Many people on this site go through all the same things bringing in ferals for rescue. I am currently working to help others who have written in to the site as well. I can tell your instincts with the cats are excellent! I can tell when someone has the ability to socialize. Using the pencil to start petting is one of the things I teach people to do but you did it instinctively. That is so great! Most people don’t have a clue how to start out. There are lots of tricks to help calm the cats too. I have a friend I will tag now to ask if she will give you some tips she has perfected on calming kitties. It would help your cats to be more accepting and the ferals to be easier to work with. Furballsmom Furballsmom Could you provide some of your excellent help here?
You can google feral rescue groups in your area to get started with help if you want the kitties to go. If you can’t find what you need just let me know what you plan to do. We can try to figure out if anyone there will help socialize or not.
Once again, I am so glad you wrote back. So many people give up. It is so encouraging to me to see that you still want to help these kitties. Just a tip for your finger, I soak bites in very warm, heavily salted water to help with the soreness and the salt helps heal. It may swell but if it turns bright red you need to get it checked. It might take some antibiotics if it gets infected. My doctor told me not to use neosporin but to get an antibiotic cream from him that is made for that type of wound. The salt water has seemed to work very well but I do keep that cream on hand since I work with so many cats. It was actually my own cats that bit me! All the ferals I catch and my two buddies bit me! Ha! They were both scared when they did it though. One by a bad child and one by a dog. I really could not blame them. Keep me informed and hopefully my friend, and others will stop in to add more tips and information here. You can send a PM here too if you want private information from anyone. Thanks again on behalf of rescuers everywhere! Kitties too!:petcat:
 

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Hi!
As Jcatbird Jcatbird as mentioned, the sooner you bring the little guy in and begin working with him, the easier it will be. I realize you're working long hours but it can still be done.

One thing to do is to gather up the same number of cloths as you have resident cats. Gently rub each cloth over him, and then rub the first cloth over your first cat, the second cloth over your second cat and so on. The idea is to get his scent on each of your cats.

For him and his mama, make sure they sleep on blankets or towels, and likewise with your cats.
Then after a couple of days/nights, swap the blankets so that your resident cats are sleeping on the blankets from the outside kitties. Do this back and forth several times so the scents really get dispersed between all the cats.

Some people have had good luck with calming products, some have not.
So, instead, for his mama, start by taking a worn (the sweatier the better) unwashed tshirt of yours and putting it under her food bowl. Then after a few days of that, sit on the floor in her room, don't look at her, and read poetry to her. Work on your computer and read more poetry. Have treats out on the floor but (at least right at first) don't reach out toward her.
Don't approach her, let her approach you - it'll happen at some point.

For your cats, from @mamany1953;
"I'm going to suggest trying 1-3 teaspoonfuls of chilled chamomile tea, up to 3 times a day. Administer via syringe, placing the tip between the cheek and gum, and injecting SLOWLY, allowing time to swallow. Use the commercial tea bags from the coffee/tea aisle of your local grocery store to insure that you are getting German chamomile, which is safe for cats. English, which often grows in gardens, is not. I like the chamomile because it is gently calming without being actually sedating."

For all the cats, try low volume music. There's classical harp music, an app called Relax My Cats, and MusicForCats.com. George Handel compositions work as well.
 
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