Four Feral Kittens

[PayItForward]

We are now the temporary owners of four feral kittens currently in a kitten cage in our bathroom. (Two black and two black & white.)

Link for full story and more photos.
http://www.piftails.com/forum/upload/showthread.php?t=1478

Any advice is gratefully received and we are going back to buy a bigger kitten cage on Monday.

Taming four older kittens will be a challenge.

In Travel Cage
http://www.clanczr.com/images/ferals/aa_ferals01.jpg

In Kitten Cage in Our Bathroom
http://www.clanczr.com/images/ferals/aa_ferals03.jpg

[catcrazylady]

They are very pretty and obviously terrified at the moment. Poor babies! You sure are going to have your hands full but I have no doubt that they will be purring bundles of love in no time!:D
My only piece of advice to you is that if one or two seem tougher than the others than seperate them. The most dominant will lead the others and if he/she is being hard to tame the others will follow. That is always the first thing we did at the shelter and it was much easier to tame them one on one without influence from another. It's hard and sad to seperate them but if they are super feral it may be necessary.
The rest is just lots of time and patience. You are a great cat person so your instincts will tell you when to push and when to back off so as not to overdo and scare them forever. Let them learn to trust you, never stare them in the eye, and good luck! Just about the time you get them calmed down you have to haul them to the vet to get spayed/nuetered and then you have to start all over again!!;) :D

Keep us posted on these cuties!

[rg_girlca]

Very good advice Lisa.

I was going to say that, in the first picture, the kitty coming forward, giving a look that could kill, seems like the dominate one.

They are all such black beauties. I just hate seeing the fear in their little eyes.:(

Wishing you all the best with these little ones.

[PayItForward]

Thanks for the advice.

They are scared as it is non stop fireworks tonight in England (Firework night) but they seemed calmer on the farm.

We are going to take up their food tonight and try hand feeding some cooked chicken tomorrow morning (and some for Annie girl too, she likes chicken)

[rg_girlca]

I just finished reading and seeing the other pictures.

Gosh I hope your hubby will be okay with all those scratches on his hand. OUCHY, especially the one on the inside of his wrist.

What a shame that the mum cat was PTS.:(

Since the other woman was able to pet them and had one on her lap, I think it won't be long before these little ones will be tame.

Again, good luck with them and bless you for all the hard work that you do.:)

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by rg_girlca
Gosh I hope your hubby will be okay with all those scratches on his hand. OUCHY, especially the one on the inside of his wrist.
He washed it well so hopefully he'll heal quickly.


Originally posted by rg_girlca
What a shame that the mum cat was PTS.:(
I was upset to, but mum had been PTS three days ago. I wish her vet had heard of TRN her death could have been avoided :(


Originally posted by rg_girlca
Since the other woman was able to pet them and had one on her lap, I think it won't be long before these little ones will be tame.
I hope you are right the quicker they tame the easier it will be to find homes for them, people want little kittens and these are at least 8 weeks old maybe older, so they need to tamed quickly.

[K & L]

Bless you for taking these babies in! Be sure to keep them secluded in an area (like your cage) or small bathroom so they cannot run under a bed etc. and hide. Do not leave wet food or special treats out, always bring them in with you to feed. This way the relate to you and food! Here's a wonderful article on how to socialze feral kittens. Hopefully it will help!

http://www.alleycat.org/pdf/socializingferal.pdf

[moosmom]

PIF,

Patience is the key to socializing feral kittens. From the pictures, all I can see are EYES!!!!! But I estimate them to be about 12 weeks old.

Put a nightlight in the room and a radio playing soft, classical music. When you go into the room, don't make eye contact as that is taken as a threat. Spend sometime with them by sitting on the floor, tossing them treats inside the cage. Softly talk to them, whispering telling that it's okay. Do this alot. This will get them used to you.

You did a good thing taking in those babies. Shame on the vet for putting mom down. It was not necessary.

Keep us posted. Let me know a little more about them so I can give you other hints on socializing them.

[PayItForward]

Thanks for the article it made a good read and thanks for giving me an age , wow they are 12 weeks old already. Sweet kittens.

Luckily the RSCPA bloke called Brain has offered to vaccinate them free and rehome them if we can tame them.

They are currently in an darkened bathroom with a towel around half the cage as it is fireworks night here and the area is full of bangs & lights.

I have just been upstairs and they are sitting close to each other but they are seperate and forming little meatloafs. Enjoying the warmth, they have never been inside before.

The lady who caught them had them in a drafty outhouse and when we got there. She had them in a small catcase in the open boot of the car, no wonder they look happier inside.

We are cooking chicken as a treat for Annie tomorrow, so we are going to cook extra and try and hand feed the kittens.

We also have to sort out blood tests though they might have to wait until they are older and I hope they are clear.

[NoahsMommy]

They are sooooo cute!! It may be that their Brittish, but I'm in love!! :)

I just know you and Steve will be able to tame them. You're very kind and I'm sure they'll be able to sense that.

Let us know how tomorrow goes.

[catmandu]

What Elegant Ebony Babies,and we do hope,that they can all get Great Furr Ever Homes.Bless you,for helping.

[Laura's Babies]

I reckon I should have posted and said something about what to do when I caught Wally and Marty and got all these informationial links then.... Maybe I wouldn't have had to bug the experts here as much but I have to say, I wouldn't have got as far as I did without their advice and instructions.

Those you got are BEAUTIFUL!! I can't wait till you tame them down enough to get better pictures of them but a pile of blackies looks like heaven to me!!! I just want to reach in the monitor and LOVE them!!

Don't forget the sack trick QSL told me about.. If you can get them covered in a pillow case or laundry bag and work one into it, it worked like a charm with Wally and Marty. I was able to cut their nails, give them flea treatment and pill them in the sack!!

I took one old pillow case and cut the open end out leaving tails and made a sack to put Marty in, that I tied around my neck and carried him around in but this was AFTER we had them awhile already.. Just remember whenever you need to handle one, cover it completely with a towel or blanket and it calms them WAAAAY down.

[moosmom]

Jenny,

How are they doing?? It's been a while since you've posted. Did you separate them?

Please fill us in on their progress. Oh, and pictures please! :rolleyes'

[sirrahbed]

I don't know a thing about the taming but I do furnish the crates:) We found that a soft sling hanging from the top was wonderful!!! It gave the place an "upstairs" with more room underneath for the litter box, food, etc....also they really loved snuggling in there and that is where we usually found them. This one we found in the ferret department. It is soft fleece with clips at each corner.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/sirrahbed/Our%20Pets/crate2.jpg
I believe it was Lacey here that did something similar with a shelf attached partway up for a place to sleep, snuggle, etc,

Those babies are adorable - little quadruplets:D:)

[PayItForward]

Debbie, what IS that hammock thing. It is wonderful. I need one for our cage (just in case we get another batch of feral kittens)

Here is our feral kitten page, I'm going to get better photos up shortly.
http://www.piftails.com/feralfosters.html
The friendlest (Whiskers) and most unfriendlest (Hissy) have homes. Whiskers has gone already and Hissy is going in a month after her new mum has finished her current building work. on the 11th March.

Tonight I have interest in the other kittens but I'm not sure if this is for Spot, Felix or both. So keep your fingers crossed that it is both of them. :)

[kaoK'okung]

thankfully those ebony delights were rescued by humans who decided to make a difference, they will come around with patience and love, way to go, those kitties are going to make some lucky human's life a lot richer.....:) :)

[catmandu]

And they will repay,thier New Guardians,a Million Fold,for your kindness.And are you a Cat Who Fan,and I am thinking,that that is KOKO,the Meezers Full Name.