Feral Kitten training help....

[Stacie_and_Jed]

Hey all.

I am hoping someone may be able to give me some advice on training the newest addition to my pets, a feral kitten which I found at work. I work for a large logistics company and the kitten had been wandering around on its own for a couple of weeks with people feeding him a concoction of different things! Sausages, bacon, tuna sarnies and cows milk to name but a few. Whilst it was dangerous for the little man to be wandering around huge 18ton lorries it was equally as bad to let him endure all of the bad food he was being fed!

Anyway, I took him home two weeks ago tomorrow and although he has come out of his shell a tremendous amount he is still very scared. I have managed to stroke him a couple of times and he was purring but when he realises what I am doing he runs away, hisses, spits and lashes out. He is kept in the kitchen over night and when I go down in the morning to feed, clean his litter tray etc (which he is brilliant at using) he hisses as soon as I open the door. Also when I get home from work the hissing is there again.

He comes out a plays in the house with us and acts like a proper kitten. He has numerous toys and loves the tent string which we gave him to chase.

It’s just the hissing and not letting us any where near him which is the problem.

I managed to convince the boyfriend to letting me have him (HE REALLY DOESNT LIKE CATS) and now he is putting pressure on me saying he will always be the same and he wants rid. He doesn’t want a cat that rules the house!

Is it too early after only two weeks to expect him to let us stroke him or should I be more patient?

I think he is around 8 weeks old, his eyes have changed from blue which happened over the week which I noticed him at work before I nabbed him lol!

Thanks and sorry it turned out so long winded.

Stacie

 

[Blackwijet]

All you can do is carry on as you are - it sounds like you are making good progress as he is coming out to play and is just avoiding actual contact at the moment. He may always be a bit hissy but I would just keep on slow and steady and don't force the issue. Once he's old enough to be neutered you might find that will help as well. When I rehomed my two the eldest was 10 and had been in a loving family household all that time but it still took 3-4 weeks for her to come out from under a chair when I first got her. I spent weeks basically ignoring her, sat on the floor talking to myself (felt a right prat but thankfully I live on my own) and just let her slowly get brave and come to me in her own time - now she is a Mummy's girl and sleeps under the duvet with me in winter! Your little lad may take a bit longer but it sounds like you are on the right track.

Boyfriend is another matter though!

 

[Suelin]

It will take longer than a fortnight. It sounds as if you are making good progress though. Let the kitty come to you is my advice. Don't push yourself at the kitty. I've done several ferals of varying ages and they do take time. With a young kitten you will more than likely wind up with a very nice cat as long as you are patient. Don't worry about the spitty kitty stage, it will improve given time and quiet. One tip that seems to help a lot is to nod off on the sofa with the kitty in the room. Cats are very nosey and it won't take long before you are being examined. Stay asleep and let the kitten explore. Keep doing that when you have a half an hour and you will be surprised at how much the kitten gains trust.

Good luck with it and where are the pictures?

 

[Stacie_and_Jed]

Cool thanks guys i will be more patient.

I make sure i talk to him a lot when feeding and playing around with him.

He is very curious too bless him. I sat on the sofa last night and he started atacking my feet

I think he will be a lovely cat eventually.

The other thing, i havent taken him to the vets yet, i wanted him to settle in a little first before i scare the living day lights out of him with another car journey and some strangers pulling him around and stabbing needles in him! Should i take him sooner rather that later?

Pics to follow

 

[Suelin]

If you are keeping him indoors then I would wait for a bit and before you have any injections and large bills I would have him bloodtested for FeLV & FIV. If he is positive for the former it is kinder to PTS frankly and if it is the latter then it would be best to keep indoors and not be an outside cat. Not trying to scare you but it is a pointless exercise to have the kitty vaccinated just to lose him later. Chances are he will be fine but best be safe I think.

 

[Arizahn]

Invest in some extra thick canvas gardening gloves: suitable for pruning roses, etc. He can't do you much damage at that age, but gloves will give you security. Just let him chew/claw away at the glove and work out the stress. Keep your hand still and don't hold him. Just let him either stay on your knee or not as he chooses.

I have one just like him, that was abandoned in a blizzard aged four weeks. Lovely cat now, but still has moments where he freaks out and claws at whatever is closest. I also have one that hates all other life but may sometimes miaow at you from a distance. She has her own little domain in the boxroom: the door is kept open but she rarely comes out. We only got her a few months ago, and she was never socialised with other animals or allowed out. She also rarely had attention from her owner, save to be shouted at.

Gloves are good. And make sure your tetanus is up to date too.

Sorry, just reread op and saw that he is not sitting on your lap yet. Sun has melted brain! Gloves still good for when you need to interact though. And cooked ham. Drop it near him as opposed to hand feeding him. Good luck!

 

[Squeak]

http://www.feralcat.com/taming.html

I did this with 6 week old kittens and within a week they were tame.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

The best idea is gauntlet gloves that way no risk to you. Then its just a matter of time, buy some wafer thin chicken or ham and work to get him easting from your hands. The takes and dedication, he will eventually stop, keep him in one small room and you will find it easier to train him , also wear him our chasing a string etc.

 

[Adopter]

Lots of good advice above, but the answer from my experience is that you will need time and patience, it is very early days. Cats need to come to you rather than the other way round the are very independent.

I took on an 18month old ginger tom who was neutured and feral from a rescue as a stable cat.

He took his time but after about 8 weeks came and sat at the back door, I left it open and he came in, it took 2 weeks to be able to close the door and him understand cat flap. It was another few months before I could really handle him.

Now he is a fantastic companion, he decides when to come to me, he follows me round outside and tries to help me garden! He is also very efficient with local rabbit problem.

 

[Dry Rot]

I've read this thread with interest and hope you will post your progress from time to time.

There is a process in growing up called "imprinting" when an animal (or bird) learns things that will usually remain with it for life or can only be changed slowly and with difficulty.

My first experience of this was when I visited a gamekeeper and, while waiting for my knock on the door to be answered, I watched a cockerel making amorous advances to a pair of wellington boots on the doorstep! When the gamekeeper came out he told me how they had hatched a hen's egg on the Aga to amuse the kids. The bird had become imprinted on the first moving object it had seen, i.e. the boots!

Years ago, someone trapped a big cat near Inverness. I think it was a puma. Anyway, the SSPCA said it must have been released quite recently as it was very friendly, rubbing up against the bars of the cage whenever anyone went up and spoke to it.

Back in those days, live animals were often used in circus acts and there was a circus in town. I think it was Billy Smart, the circus owner, who said that need not be the case at all as once cats are imprinted (socialised?) on humans they remain so, often for years, but if they don't get this period of exposure to human handling they remain wild.

There have been experiments on imprinting horses with mixed results. It is quite a complicated process, although natural, sometimes quite rapid (as in some birds) but other times taking a while and I am not convinced it is always a good thing when animals are deliberately imprinted on humans!

So it will be interesting to hear how you get on. I do hope you will continue to post your progress.

 

[Highlands]

Hand feed too.

My two are now 10 weeks, I have had them 5 weeks as mum abandoned them. Not a hiss from them from day one. They are so lovely and friendly. Think I might be really lucky having them at such a young age.

 

[Alexart]

He'll settle in time, the quickest way to their hearts is food and toys and persistence and just keep pestering them until they realise you mean no harm!, the younger they are the quicker they tame down so it shouldn't take too long! I allow on average 6-8 weeks for an adult feral cat, and for those they get shut in the bathroom and everytime we go in they get stroked as nowhere to hide really and after a while they relax when you stroke them then after more bugging they start to purr!! The longest one I've ever had to get tame was about 8yrs old judging by the state of his teeth and would climb the walls right up to the ceiling no problem, we trapped and neutered/dental etc him as we've done for most cats that turn up on our farm, and he would take chunks out too if you went even vaguely near him!! 6 months later he let me stroke him whithout getting him into a corner and now 6yrs later he's the laziest thing going who lies on my bed on his back purring for ages!!
I've had a good few feral kittens too, one came out of a hole in a stone wall in one of our fields - made a total mess of my hand trying to get him out as I didn't have any gloves on me at the time! He spent a couple of weeks under my sisters bed until he got used to us walking about and going about our daily things, but he would come out for a tasty bit of chicken or while playing with a feather on a string. The way we won him over initially was everytime he played with his feather on a string and came flying out from under the bed and was near enough he got stroked, ignore the spitting/hissing/biting etc!, after a day of doing this with him fleeing everytime we did it he got fed up with running and hiding and it clicked that we weren't hurting him so he started purring - that's the halfway point - after they purr it gets easier and they catch on quickly!! Good luck I'm sure he'll be a lovely pet in no time at all, my 16 reject feral cats are all adorable and so grateful for being rescued so it's well worth the effort I think - the kitten that shredded my hand and is now 5yrs old sleeps on my pillow and purrs in my ear all night now!!!

 

[Stacie_and_Jed]

Thanks for all of your tips guys, i will certainly take it all on board and work my socks off with him! It started to get frustrating with the hissing and i did start to take it personal haha!

I tried the nap on the sofa (pretend nap) and he was up and nosing in 5 mins. Ive started ignoring him a little and this seems to help too as he looks to me for some play time

I will of course keep you all updated on my progress

I have no idea on how to post pics from ipad or iphone but as soon as i figure it out i will introduce george properly

Xx

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Being with the CPL I deal with feral cats and normal cats day in day out.


If he can be neutered that will help a lot, hand feed him but make him work for it don't let him swipe it out your hand. Make him come to you then give to mouth don't let him, snatch it or your will lose fingers or he will learn to scratch.
Use wafer thin chicken , this is what I used for my ferrals, sit with him have a coffee watch tv anything to spend time with him so he gets used to humans.

 

[Highlands]

Mine love playing with a kong butterfly and a kitty wand they love to interact with me and each other

 

[mandyroberts]

I have had ferals but it sounds like yours are semi-feral otherwise you would be in shreds by now. One came round in about 6 weeks after her sister died, she was about 2 at the time. They had lived outside for 6 months after we had contained her and her sister for 8 weeks in a stable (I took them as outside ferals from a cat rescue organisation). When released, they appaered every day at feeding time, we didn't interfere - one move and they were gone - but our mouse problem was sorted! Her body language was very strange for ages - she would hiss&purr at the same time. Wuscat is now 14 yrs and the cuddliest cat you could imagine. I have 2 others who are 8 yrs - I got them at 11 weeks, they had been caught at 8 weeks but hardly handled. (The tom cat my mother had been feeding had kittens!). They love attention on their terms (they come to you) but don't like being picked up. I read (and believe) a single kitten comes round quicker as they have no friends but you. Your progress in 2 weeks sounds great, give it another 2 months you will wonder why you were ever concerned.

 

[katastrophykat]

With our ferals, radio four was great! Whenever we had to go out, or overnight, cats were in kitchen with radio four so they had voices 24-7. Loads of time, patience and ham needed. Good luck!

 

[Highlands]

My radio has been tuned to classic fm, kittens enjoy it!