Feral kitten. Need advice.

[Varga]

Hi. I don't post here often but today I thought I might seek some advice from more experienced cat people.

I might as well start by telling you the whole story before getting to my question.

Exactly a week ago (on june the seventh) my dad phoned me and said he had found a little black kitten down at the boat yard when he was seeing to his boat. The kitten was soaking wet and he thought it was dead but when he touched it with his foot it lifted its head, so he hurried home with it.

I took the kitten to the vet for a check up. She was slightly dehyrated but otherwise in good condition.

I took her to my apartment and she's currently staying in the bathroom. This is the first 100% feral cat I've ever rescued (all in all I've rescued six cats from the streets, counting this one, and found them new homes.. Except this one black and white male cat where we managed to find the owner).

She has made great progress the short week she has been here. The first two days she was so scared that she didn't eat or do anything except hide as deep in a corner as she could manage.

She'll now eat and let me pet and play with her. The day before yesterday she even started purring when I petted her and that really made my day.

I've been slowly socialising her to my dog as well. Letting my dog lie down close by while the kitten eats and that has been going well. Today she even allowed Tiki to sniff her for a brief second.. Before she would run away and hide if she even caught a glimpse of Tiki. My cat Leo is a whole other story.. But I'll get to that later..

The plan is that my dad will take her when she's socialised enough.. So here comes my first question. When will be the right time for her to move out? I was thinking that I would keep her until she's brave enough to walk all around the apartment and not getting scared of televison noises etc.
Do you think that's a good idea? Or should I rather move her straight to my dads now that she's accepting food from humans and let him carry on with getting her used to ordinary household noises?

I do think it is rather important that she does get somewhat used to Tiki before she moves out, or her life with my dad will be rather stressing, since I always bring Tiki when I visit and he also takes care of her sometimes when I have to work late..

Then there is the thing with my own cat Leo. I've only let him come close to the kitten once. He went close enough to sniff her and she didn't seem perticulary scared. I thought they were going to do that nose-butt thing that cats do.. but without warning Leo makes a hiss and swats her. Of course I seperated them and I haven't let him come close to her again. If he sees her he'll growl and make one of his "I'm annoyed" hisses (He does the same sort of hiss if I play with him and don't let him catch the toy often enough.. I don't know if it's normal for cats to use their hiss in this manner but he has always done this. )

Is there anything I can do to make them friends.. Or do you think I just shouldn't bother since the kitten isn't going to live with Leo anyway?

I think this sums it up.. I would really appreciate any help I could get.

As I mentioned before, this is my first feral kitten, so any of you who have experienced this before and have tips and "do's and dont's" please do share. I want to do this right.


I've given her a name by the way. It's Balea Fljóð. Ba after my best friends cat Baldrian (a cat my friends sister rescued. The owners had moved and left Baldrian and his sister alone in the house) and lea after Leo. Fljóð (Faroese for elf) is after my dads boat Fríðfljóð (meaning beautiful elf).


I'll probably post a picture of her soon as well and then maybe you could help me determine her age.

-Varga

[moosmom]

You've done the right thing by letting Tiki sit nearby while the kitty eats. As far as getting her used to your kitty, I wouldn't bother since she'll be going to your Dad's to live. Does your Dad have another cat??

One thing about feral kittens...the younger they are, the quicker they come around. Make SURE you have a collar on her, or have her microchipped in case she gets out. Feral cats should NOT be let out under any circumstances. They need to be totally indoors.

You and your Dad are to be commended for taking in this kitty (Love the name!!!). She will give your Dad many years of joy and that probably wouldn't have been if she had been left out to fend for herself.

Way to go!!

[Laura's Babies]

Now that you can handled her, why not walk her through your house (holding her close to you). That is what I did with the 2 ferals I had once we could handle them. That was to get them use to their surroundings and the assorted noises around the house, I did that several times a day and only for a minute to start with. I also put a radio in the room I kept them in to get them use to the sounds. This is a completely different world than what she is use to so introduce her to it slowley.

[momofeight]

Hi, it's such a wonderful feeling to rescue a kitten. Almost two years ago, the people who lived up the street moved away, and left their cat. She was so scared, it was terrible. I started feeding her, at first she would take the food only after I left. I did not know at the time that she was pregant. In fact, I did not know about the kittens until she carried them to our barn. It took awhile, but we were able to catch the Mom, and all four of the kittens and have them all spayed, and one nutered. Right after the surgery two of the kittens were very calm and wanted to be close to us, those two stayed inside that very first night, and have never been out again. The Mom was calm and I was very tempted to keep her in, but the other two were really wild. I kept feeding and taking care of the remaining three outside. One day the male just followed me into the garage, and into the house, and he settled in too. The mom dissapeared for a few days, and we were really worried. She came back, but seemed ill. Took her to the Vet, who said she was just very run down. In came Mom that very day. With only one very scared female outside I did not know what to do. This one would not let me get close to her, but I was so worried and sick leaving her outside. It was like a miracle, another cat showed up. She was terrified and ran to me to be held. I could'nt belive it, she was in too. Now I have Teezie ( the mom ) Tippy ( the only boy ) and Bootsie, Callie, and Flower ( the scared last little kitty ). All five have been inside, living happy for over a year. Bootsie and Callie have been in for over a year and half, that is how long it took to develop their trust, and come inside. I never had a cat before, now I have five, and I don't know what I would do without them. As for the other cat that showed up and scared Flower inside. His name is Skiddy. He had a very badly hurt foot and was starving. He now lives a happy life with my Son. We were able to rescue six cats in all.
I do know one thing to pass on to you. It is very important to have your Dad spend alot of time with this kitty. Feral Cats develop a strong bond with the person taking care of them, and they don't pass the bond off very easy. They usually bond to their caretakers, and are never very comfortable around lots of people. I read this in a pamphlet given to me by my Vet. I have also found alot of really good information by just doing a online search for feral cats.
Good luck with your kitty. People tell me how lucky my cats are, but I am the lucky one. I can't tell you the amount of joy they have given me. Lois