Feral kitten

HufflyPuffly

HufflyPuffly

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So my day took a slightly bizarre turn when trying to find a rolling pin to purchase, a little grey blur legged it in front of my car! Realised it was a tiny kitten not a squirrel/ rabbit, stopped and managed to retrieve her from a drain ?.

Captured with a bit of scratching and attempted biting, she was very scared, and put in a shopping bag as that’s all I had!
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Took her to the vets, no chip, looks healthy enough and about 8/9 weeks old. Nurse agreed that she’s either very scared or feral judging by her behaviour.

I took her home and the vets kindly gave me a proper carry case ??. I’ve set her up in the bathroom and think she could well be feral as she’s not ventured out since this afternoon and is quite hissy... no one has called for her either yet ?.
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So if no one claims her she can stay but never had a feral to tame before. Any tips, currently I’m leaving her be in the bathroom away from the other cats.
 
HappyHollyDays

HappyHollyDays

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I have 2 ferals, or they were before they arrived. Bought as yard kittens they spent the first few weeks living in a dog crate in the kitchen until they were quite happy with the fact food meant being stroked and fussed over. Let them onto the yard when they were hungry and they haven't left since. They work for a living but I also feed them twice a day and they have biscuits on tap not to mention a catflap into the yard kitchen with beds and a wood burner in the winter.
 
HufflyPuffly

HufflyPuffly

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Rumtytum said:
No tips sorry but o my life she is SO cute! Is that a tasty titbit you’ve put in front of her (last pic)?
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She’s super cute isn’t she! It is, she seemed a bit more confident so I tried tempting her as I don’t think she’s touched her water or good yet, she just hissed at me lol.

Lindylouanne said:
I have 2 ferals, or they were before they arrived. Bought as yard kittens they spent the first few weeks living in a dog crate in the kitchen until they were quite happy with the fact food meant being stroked and fussed over. Let them onto the yard when they were hungry and they haven't left since. They work for a living but I also feed them twice a day and they have biscuits on tap not to mention a catflap into the yard kitchen with beds and a wood burner in the winter.
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Ok, hopefully she will start eating/drinking soon and then I can start more interaction. I am planning on giving her a few days of minimal fussing to let her acclimatise?
 
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TPO

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Long story short but there were feral cats on my grandparents farm.

Sometimes we (the grandkids) would find the kittens first so would pet and tame them otherwise they were all ferals.

My mum started trapping the females and taking them to get dressed. There was only one surviving kitten in the penultimate litter and dad managed to catch it in a fishing net ?

We took it home in a dog carrier and put the carrier inside a large dog crate. Bailey (dad named her because she was found in a "bale i' hay"?) was a wee spitting and hissing ball of hate. We just used to sit and talk to her and, as kids who wanted her to "love" us, kept shoving a hand into the doorway of the carrier just to get it shredded. Only a few days later I done the same and she let me pat her and that was that.

She was always a bit mental but no longer feral. She would claw you if you patted her when she decided that she didn't want to be patted and she would claw you if you dared to stop patted her when she wanted to be patted.

The last litter of ferals (Bailey's mum.was already far on with a pregnancy when we caught them both) I found in my stable banks. We moved them into the old workers cottage and left a window open for the mum.tonget in and out. The kittens got used to us being a source of food. Some stayed quite timid but they could all be handled. I rehomed them all via my workplace's intranet and all the new owners were really happy.

Sorry that was a big long story to basically say just give the kitten the first night to settle then spend time just talking to them and letting them get used to you. All the farm ferals used to come around within a week and that includes the ones that lived in the hay shed
 
HufflyPuffly

HufflyPuffly

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TPO said:
Long story short but there were feral cats on my grandparents farm.

Sometimes we (the grandkids) would find the kittens first so would pet and tame them otherwise they were all ferals.

My mum started trapping the females and taking them to get dressed. There was only one surviving kitten in the penultimate litter and dad managed to catch it in a fishing net ?

We took it home in a dog carrier and put the carrier inside a large dog crate. Bailey (dad named her because she was found in a "bale i' hay"?) was a wee spitting and hissing ball of hate. We just used to sit and talk to her and, as kids who wanted her to "love" us, kept shoving a hand into the doorway of the carrier just to get it shredded. Only a few days later I done the same and she let me pat her and that was that.

She was always a bit mental but no longer feral. She would claw you if you patted her when she decided that she didn't want to be patted and she would claw you if you dared to stop patted her when she wanted to be patted.

The last litter of ferals (Bailey's mum.was already far on with a pregnancy when we caught them both) I found in my stable banks. We moved them into the old workers cottage and left a window open for the mum.tonget in and out. The kittens got used to us being a source of food. Some stayed quite timid but they could all be handled. I rehomed them all via my workplace's intranet and all the new owners were really happy.

Sorry that was a big long story to basically say just give the kitten the first night to settle then spend time just talking to them and letting them get used to you. All the farm ferals used to come around within a week and that includes the ones that lived in the hay shed
Click to expand...

Thank you for that, I’m secretly hoping she is a feral and no one claims her ?. Hopefully she will come round soon!

DabDab said:
What a beautiful cat. Is she silver tabby?

She's very lucky that she happened to run in front of you!
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Not sure if she’s a true silver tabby but she’s grey with tabby markings ??‍♀️
 
BeckyFlowers

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Oh my goodness, she is one of the cutest fluff-balls I have ever seen! I wonder how Hufflepuff will cope now she has a cute younger sister/interloper? ?
 
KittenInTheTree

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Leave food and water available, make sure there's a litter tray (don't fuss if this isn't used as intended at first!), and then just let her be. She'll observe the adult cats and come round to you in her own time, not before. Trying to actively tame her will only create unnecessary stress.
 
Archangel

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Oh absolutely adorable.
I just left mine with the occasional quick stroke if the opportunity presented itself. They come to you in their own time and then suddenly they are all over you. I have one sitting on the windowsill right now meowing because she thinks we should be going for a walk with the dog (dog fast asleep on the bed).
 
Errin Paddywack

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We took on a farm kitten, pretty wild but not totally feral. We collected her in in a wicker cat basket which we then opened but placed in front of our sideboard so she could get out under it and easily access the litter tray which was tucked in the corner. Food and water under the sideboard too and left her to it. Only took a few days before she started very tentatively investigating the rest of the room and us. Turned into a delightful cat.
 
fiwen30

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Let her settle in for a day or 2, and after that spend time with her, and handle and stroke her (thick gloves first, if necessary). At this age, they come around easily - all that hissing and spitting is mostly for show, and out of fear. Realistically there isn’t a lot of harm they can do to you at this age, so don’t be scared of her!

She might need a fair bit of work, but she’ll come round with time and patience.
 
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