Young Kitten Is Wild

[Antonio65]

First thing a bit of background.

On July 2 I spotted a new tiny kitten in my colony. All female cats in my colony had been spayed, and almost all males had been neutered. Occasionally the place is visited by one or two non-spayed female cats which, when it's time, show up along with their litters.
The new tiny kitten I spotted didn't belong to any of the moms I had seen on the days before, this kitten was too tiny and young.
Long story short, after a few attempts I managed to trap this tiny kitten 9 days later, July 11, and brought her home. Yes, it was a female. She had been feeding on garbage, I wonder how she survived with no water for such a long time and 95°-100°F outside.
The kitty was completely dirty with everything, so we bathed her in the bathroom sink, we rubbed her with a towel and dried her up with the hairdrier. She didn't fight at all, she was happy. A nice and lovely tiny grey tabby kitten.
She was also used to the litter box, dishes and all other things in the house.
My conclusion was that this tiny kitten had been dumped a couple of days before I first saw her. The vet saw her the next day and said she was fine and was about 5-6 weeks old.

About a week later, at the same place, I saw another kitten, same size, same color. It was hanging around with another group of young kittens and a mom. The kittens were bigger than the one I had just seen.
My second conclusion was that those who had dumped the kitten I had home, had dumped two kittens, not one. I thought that after being dumped, the two siblings split. One managed to survive someway until I rescued her. The other was probably less smart and chose to join a litter and their mom, who kindly accepted her.
After this sighting, I lost contacts with this group, until recently.

Now, on last Saturday, August 24, I saw this group again and I succeded in trapping this kitten. Now that I had it so close to me I realized that it was the exact copy of the one I have home, so the suspect that the two were siblings turned into a certainty.
The only thing that is different is the character, mine is so sweet and adorable, the second one is wild and untouchable!
I thought that the feral mom gave the kitten her imprinting, and instructed it to behave like a feral, just like her own kitties.

A person thought to adopt this kitten the following day. I told her that the kitten is wild, but that I was sure that she could revert to her previous status of sweet kitten.
But so far there are very little progresses, and this person still can't get close to the kitten. On the first day the kitten was taken to the vet for a check up, and the kitten bit the vet's hand to the extent that no further visit was possible!
This person is keeping the kitten in a large crate, and is trying the impossible to gain the kitten's trust. We believe it's a girl, due to the fact she has a couple of ginger spots in her grey tabby coat.

How is it possible that a feral mom could modify a very young home kitten into a wild beast in just a few weeks, and this kitten can't revert to her previous condition after a few days?
After all it's a 3 months kitten, not a senior tom cat.

Any thoughts or tips?
Thank you!

 

[ArtNJ]

I don't know why you are assuming it was the feral mom rather than time! Your probably much more of an expert than I am, but my understanding is that kittens handled young are much more likely to be trusting and accept handling without work! It seems totally normal for an older kitten to take some time to warm up. I've certainly seen a big difference in adopting home-raised and well-handled kittens as opposed to kittens rescued from the street. Rescued kittens take some time = normal.

(I'm not a fan of sticking in a kitten in a crate as opposed to a home base room, but that seems OT.)

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. She will come around, it will just take longer.

My neighbor had two strays show up in her yard. One probably 1+ yo, the other more likely 3-4 months old. The older one came around pretty quickly, but the younger one was still bit hesitant with my neighbor after 5 months, only allowing a 'tail-touch' or two, here and there. It took over 3 months just to get her to stop running away when she saw my neighbor.

What seemed to help was the younger cat starting to watch the older one interacting with my neighbor. The more she watched them, the more she would hang around - from afar - rather than run. Then, she started staying closer by, again watching the older cat get attention and pettings.

If the two kittens get along, you could try to have them near one another and let the skittish one watch the other one get pets, treats, and playful attention. It might just be enough to peak his/her interest in humans and what they have to offer.

Because this person's (as you call them) kitten is not able to run away, the time line should hopefully be shorter than what my neighbor experienced.

 

[Antonio65]

My assumption comes from the belief that both kittens came from the same home, and someone dumped them.
They were home kittens, and I think they were both used to humans, and both were docile.
Then something happened and both ended up on the street.
One was luckier than the other, I found her and took her home, where she was a bit and understandably scared the first day, but proved to be sweet right afterwards.
The second one joined a feral family and, I think, was trained to be as feral and wild as the other kittens.

Now I would believe that once back to a home, the real sweet nature of the second kitten would emerge again, though with a little patience. But it's a few days now, and the cat was young, not a cat born and raised in the wild.

The crate is necessary, or the person who has her at home wouldn't be able to get her in the carrier, for example.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Now I would believe that once back to a home, the real sweet nature of the second kitten would emerge again, though with a little patience. But it's a few days now, and the cat was young, not a cat born and raised in the wild.

Based on my neighbor's experience - and both of those cats were dumped by someone - this is not always the case. A kitten that has been in the environment you described, isn't going to turn around in a matter of a few days, despite its age.

A large crate is OK, one that allows a fair amount of space between where the food/water is placed and where the litter box is placed, and ideally a little bed somewhere in between. But to help with the scariness of it all, it would be preferable that the crate is in a location that allows the cat to feel somewhat hidden and secure - and away from constant 'human traffic'.

The kitten I described above, took a liking to a little bed and considered that her safe zone inside the crate that she was kept in at first. The crate was fairly large and was placed in a spare bathroom. The person who fostered her, went in to the bathroom multiple times a day and initially just sat near her reading from a book, aloud but softly, in order to help the kitten adapt to humans.

 

[Antonio65]

If the two kittens get along, you could try to have them near one another and let the skittish one watch the other one get pets, treats, and playful attention. It might just be enough to peak his/her interest in humans and what they have to offer.

The kittens do not live close.
Mine is here at home, the other one is in the center of another city. I wouldn't like to move either cat to the other's place. Even because the "training" could need a long time...

Because this person's (as you call them) kitten is not able to run away, the time line should hopefully be shorter than what my neighbor experienced.

Who I call "person" is actually a young woman

 

[Antonio65]

Based on my neighbor's experience - and both of those cats were dumped by someone - this is not always the case. A kitten that has been in the environment you described, isn't going to turn around in a matter of a few days, despite its age.

A large crate is OK, one that allows a fair amount of space between where the food/water is placed and where the litter box is placed, and ideally a little bed somewhere in between. But to help with the scariness of it all, it would be preferable that the crate is in a location that allows the cat to feel somewhat hidden and secure - and away from constant 'human traffic'.

Probably I was a bit optimistic in describing the crate as large.
It's probably something like 2 to 3 feet long, 1 and a half feet wide, and likewise high.
The vet lent this woman the cage, it should have been for the first couple of days.
The crate is in the bedroom, where the "human traffic" is minimum, the woman lives alone along with her two dogs, who never get access to the bedroom.
Of course the kitten smells and hears the dogs, so this could be a problem.
In order to avoid bad interactions, the woman chose to sleep on the couch in the kitchen for a few days.

The person who fostered her, went in to the bathroom multiple times a day and initially just sat near her reading from a book, aloud but softly, in order to help the kitten adapt to humans.

This woman told me that she sits at the crate and talks and/or reads something to the kitten, and sometimes she plays her guitar to relax the kitten with the music.

The last news I got a few minutes ago is that it seems the relationship between them has a bit deteriorated, and she can't explain it.

I'm so sorry for her, she's at her first experience with a cat, and she is going through such a nightmare.
I had warned her that the kitten wasn't an easy one, but she said she is stubborn and loves challenges.

She also plugged in a Feliway diffuser nearby the crate from day 2.

 

[She's a witch]

I don’t know if such kitten is a good idea for someone who hasn’t dealt with a cat before. Maybe it would be possible to place her in the foster care until she is tamed enough to be rehomed? And yes, dogs for stray cats are enemies, so this kitten is probably terrified when she can smell them