Feral kittens

[Mytwopenceworth]

Mum rescued 3 kittens from under a neighbours shed the other day, I've got 2 and she kept the other one. They were obviously terrified, and were hissing, spitting and biting. They have calmed down now, and accept being held and are eating, but they are spending all their time under the sofa! Has anyone every taken in wild kittens and how best to help them? I am feeding them, holding them (briefly!) regularly through the day, but other than that, I am leaving them to get used to the sounds and smells of living in a house - is that the right thing?

Should you even try to tame feral cats, or is that cruel? - but if they are tiny kittens, will they be happy when they get used to it?

And how old must they be to send them to the vet for 'The Op' !!

And how to introduce them to my 2 cats - I am handling the kittens then going to my cats to let them smell my hands - but what is the best way to introduce them? Are my cats likely to attack them?

I've called them Guinness and Tuska btw!!!!!

[BROWNY]

Hi, I took in a Feral kitten (it was found in a bin) a good few years ago, it was a beautiful tabby girl - but she always hid behind furniture and only came out to bite and scratch. Any sudden movement from either me or my husband and she would launch herself at us (we were frightened to move).

When I found out I was pregnant, we reluctantly gave her to a friend. This friend had two other male cats and it turned out that they were just what she needed to be taught how to calm down!!

Anyway, 10 years on and she is still timid with strangers, but a normal cat with her new owners!! Good luck, she might calm down!!

[Chloe55]

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Are both your cats vaccinated - there's always the worry that the ferals might be carrying a virus which could be passed on to yours so just be aware of that and once they have settled in then get them vaccinated ASAP. Neutering is normally done at about 6 months old. I have hand-reared a feral who is a feisty bugger but she is also really lovable but she sounds much younger when I got her than yours.

[laundrylover]

Growing up on a farm we had a string of ferals, kittens or kitten-cats, that would be brought in from time to time. They always lived under a chair for a week or two but must have come out for food and litter tray at night. After that they turned into the soppiest cats you've ever met. The last one, (who my Dad brought in after the fox kept us up all night screaming at her and her brood)lived with four kits in a cupboard! She was put down last year after about 15 years and was just a purring, dribbling black dishcloth in front of the fire at the end!

[Mytwopenceworth]

oops what do I do now - I've been keeping them in the living room, but with it being the weekend, the kids have been tearing round the house all day and obviously not been careful about keeping the door shut - Guiness got out and into the kitchen. He went behind the cooker and under the units and we can't get him. So dh had the bright idea of taking Tuska there so Guiness would smell him and come out.......

Only Tuska jumped out of his arms and dashed behind the cooker.

So now have 2 kittens behind the fitted kitchen, can't use cooker and am faced with dismantling the kitchen to get them out.

I daren't tell my mum or she'll go mental and accuse me of not taking care of them.

Which, I suppose, if you want to be technical about it, I haven't!

ps - dh tried to shove one of our other cats behind the cooker to flush Guiness out before deciding to take Tuska in there - I heard dh wail 'its no good, she won't fit' !!!!!!! Can just imagine how impressed my fat old cat was at him trying to stuff her in a 3 inch gap between cooker and unit!!!

[zebratwizzler]

?Could you borrow one of those humane-type traps, put some food in it & leave it in the kitchen, to catch them overnight? They will come out when hungry enough.

My mother tamed a feral kitten. He was always a bit strange compared to other cats. A runt for one thing. And very dim. I think it was the early malnourishment in his life that stunted his growth & brain development.

[Gem754]

Can you take of the front pliths below the units andtry tempting them out with food?

I used to work in Animal Rescue and IME ferel kittens tame quite quickly, if taken in young enough. If slightly older they may always be timid around strangers but should settle in with you, though it may take slightly longer.

[Lonelymum]

Just leave them, they will come out by themselves. Put some food out for them and leave the room.

We had two new kittens in Sept and they spent ages behind the fridge to begin with. They still try and hide there from my demon 2 yo ds3, but they don't fit anymore!

[mumfor1sttime]

I would take them both to a vet and get them checked over. My mum took in a stray cat and it passed on an illness to our cat we had at the time (years ago when I was a child),and our cat got very sick and we had to put it to sleep. Cant remember what was wrong with the cat.
Dont mean to rain on anyones parade!

[Mytwopenceworth]

well, we got them. We had to take off 2 cupboard doors, a side panel and smash through the floor of the cupboard under the sink, but 2 hungry dusty kittens are now eating a HUGE meal! Phew!

Ta everyone for advice.