My Feral Kitten Situation...
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My Feral Kitten Situation...
| Thu, 09-23-2004 - 8:59am |
My neighbor and I spent most of yesterday trying to plug in to the cat-caring community here in Portland to try to help 6 kittens and 3 adults (we think 2 of the adults are pregnant, *again*).

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They can be tamed. It would take a while for them to trust you. For the pregnant cats and the kitties, try giving them a bowl of milk. In addition, to having a bowl of water. You can give them dry cat food and/or can food. Since they lived in the street, I'm sure they have broken garbage bags (to try to find food.) You can give the cats your left over food as well.
Good luck, girl
MYM
P.S. My mom is always feeding the strays. She took care of a pregnant cat. Once she had the kittens, we called animal control to pick them up.
First, I think what you guys are doing is wonderful! I know I adopted a kitten that was born from a feral mother. The man who I adopted it from did the same thing as you. Caught the mom and kittens, giving the kittens away, and spayed the mom. But he had to let her go, cuz she escaped out of the house and never returned. Thankfully, the kittens were old enough to eat solid food.
Also, if the older cats can't be tamed, spaying them is good, even if you release them back into the wild. Some cats, just gotta live out there.
and, please realize that a bowl of milk is a meal to cats. So, have water around for water, but milk is a meal. You can also mix scraps with cat food so they can learn what cat food is. And since they're mostly kittens, they should be okay. They should learn fast. I know mine was okay. She hated my dog for two days and then became best friends.
Although, since I never had a cat, her behaviors could be that of a feral cat now that I think about it. lol. I have no idea. BTW, if you have allergies, be careful. I didn't realize I was allergic and my allergies turned into asthma. So now i have that to deal with.
Yay for you being such a great person, and your neighbors too. Good luck.
~Cher
Just a thought, but if you can't tame the cats or can't find people to take them, you could look for a farm or rural property where the cats can be free to be outside cats. Some people with barns want "mousers"...I know I don't have to ask you to have them spayed first. That's so good of you. People that are irresponsible with animals infuriate me. In my old neighbourhood a girl moved 3,000 miles away and left behind a most wonderful cat whom I would have loved to take in (but I couldn't). I used to feed him but I couldn't do much for him; I was scared to take him to the spca because that tends to be a death sentence for cats in this city.
r
I used to work for a cat rescue organization and I think what you're doing is wonderful. There are two things we did with the feral cats that we caught... If they were young enough we would tame them (usually in foster homes) and when they were old enough we would have them spayed/neutered and find adoptive homes for them. If they were feral adults and were in a relatively safe area, we had a TNR (trap, neuter, release) program. Once they were neutered and recovered, we would release them where we found them. We did continue to feed in those areas and the cats could live out their lives, but they couldn't reproduce. It's amazing how quickly cats can reproduce. The vet's office that we used had a sign that said that a pair of cats could produce a million descendants in 7 years if none of the cats were neutered. That really illustrated to me how important neutering is. If we caught a mother cat who was still nursing, we would allow her to continue nursing the kittens until they were old enough to be weaned.
If you have a pet store around (the PetsMarts in our area do it), you might see if they allow any animal rescue groups to use their space. I think the group that works with our PetsMart has adoption fairs every weekend, so that would be a good time to contact someone who works with the group. They might be able to help you.
One other thing.... Milk is NOT a good meal for a cat. Most cats don't digest cow's milk easily. You would be much better off with cat food, even a cheap brand. It might work to help trap them, but it's not a good idea to feed it to them regularly. Tuna works well as bait for traps, too.
Good luck and thanks from one animal lover to another!
Amy
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Out here in Massachusetts we have some no-kill shelters who take in feral cats and socialize them and find homes for them. But here it costs $75 per cat, so you're getting off cheap! :-)
I trapped a semi-wild kitten two years ago, planned to have him fixed, get his shots, and release him back onto the streets. Of course I couldn't release him, so even though I have allergies, I take Flonase nasal spray, and Buddy is as sweet as ever (usually ;-).
Best of luck,
Lee Ann
Lee Ann
www.werenotafraid.com
It is exceptionally difficult to tame a feral adult; unless they have some fond memories of humans in their background, they're usually pretty ornery - the usual treatment is to neuter/spay and release. One of my ferals was 8 months old at the time of her capture, but she lived on a college campus and had been fed by students the whole time, so while she's skittish (still, 5 years later, she spends too much time under the sofa, and runs from hands), she's not mean, and gets along okay with my other two. The society that trapped her stated that this was the first adult in their 10 years that had *ever* been adoptable.
My other feral was a kitten when he showed up on our doorstep one rainy night 14 years ago, so he's never really known different, and was friendly from day... 2. A feral kitten is pretty easy to tame; just handle them a lot, and don't make loud noises or sudden movements. Play with them often, but never use your hands as toys; fishing-pole or rolly-ball type toys are the best. When we tamed our 8-month feral, we kept her confined to the downstairs of our home, and systematically removed all hiding places. This forced her to deal with us, and she soon realized we wouldn't hurt her.
And, I've got to agree with the other posters, cow's milk is *not* a good idea for cats, as they simply can't digest it. They do sell both kitten formula for kittens and "Cat-Milk" as a treat for adults if you want to give them that. Tuna-fish is good for trapping, yes, but is also *not* good for a long-term diet; It's too fatty and lacks several essential nutrients. Your best bet for the adults is a mix of dry and moist cat food, mostly dry (or all-dry if they'll eat it), and for the kittens, once they start weaning, is dry food mixed with kitten formula or "cat-milk" to soften it (water is okay, but the formula/milk provide more nutrients & palatability). Gradually work them up to the dry/moist food that the adults eat. And there should, of course, be water available to them at all times, in a shallow bowl.
One of the best boards here for cat training/behavior is "Think Like a Cat" - they'll have loads more advice on how to help tame the ferals. Keep us updated on how this goes!
***
Wanted to share pics of the kittens!
All my best,
Danni
MYM
P.S. Thanks for sharing the pics.
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