are these semi feral kittens a bad idea?

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

Two stray kittens, mother taken off by the RSPCA when they were about 8 weeks old, living in the garden shed. They accept handling when being fed. They are about 12 weeks old now I think.

We definitely want friendly cats not feral beasts!

I tend to think they could be fine as long as you are in a position to give them lots of TLC and socialization/games. They're just about young enough.

We had one, she was born to a mother whose previous kittens were all drowned after weaning because cats food is pricey when you have fags and booze to pay for so she had the last kittens somewhere she couldn't be reached.

When we got her she had been taken in by neighbours but physically abused and wasn't being fed so had gone feral. She was 5 or 6 months and feisty.

She wasn't fussy and was always on her guard for sudden movements but she was a very clever girl, brilliant mouser and loved us in her own way. She wasn't nasty, she was just ever watchful that you weren't going to turn on her.

Mine were found in a neighbour's garden at the age of 7-8 weeks; they've been fine with me and my kids / OH but do tend to be a bit timid and easily startled.

No other behavioural issues though, and they are REALLY nice cats.

I say go for it!

Go for it! Mr Cory started out feral, he is a big cuddle bag of adorability now.

I have (had) a semi feral cat. I say had because although we think he is alive and well he has reverted to type, he sometimes shows up but hasn't been in the house in about 12 months. He is a beautiful, if not somewhat nervous, cat though.

With pretty much constant handling/TLC from now on you might get away with it, as they've already been half-accustomed to handling. They may never be those big passive cushiony things that some cats turn into, though.

We've had ours for 10 years, acquired as a big kitten who had been occasionally handled but mostly living rough. She's a brilliant mouser (we're rural and need this) and can be stroked as long as we allow her to approach us rather than the other way round. She even climbs onto knees sometimes. Couldn't be handled by our children when they were small, but seems to see them as adults now (11 and 14). Every so often when younger she'd be enjoying a bit of a stroke and then suddenly seem to panic and swipe (with soft paws/mouth, so just warning), but she has mellowed with age.

We always made sure to warn visiting children that she wasn't completely tame and couldn't be grabbed and bundled about like they sometimes wanted to do. I remember one little madam darling who ignored this and marched up to her anyway, grabbing her roughly from behind. We got through a bit of Savlon that day BUT we had warned her. (We'd always kept her away from smaller children but we'd thought a 7 yr old would listen.)

I like her independence and her spirit. Not sure I'd know what to do with a big passive ball of stuff these days!

i would say go for it they are certainly within the realms of being tamed, the rescue i work at says that 3-6 moths is usually best for taming them, i am about to foster a ferally for taming will let you know how i get on lol

thats months not moths

Glad to hear the positive feedback! The woman whose shed they are in (my friend's mum) wondered whether they would be more domesticated if seperated rather than kept together - any thoughts on that?

seperating them depends on just how nervous they are, if they a very nervous and wont come any where near you then seperating them is a good idea as they will be feeding off each others fears,

have found that with feral kits in the rescue pens that if one comes round quickly and gets rehomed then the shyer one comes out of thier shell without sibling to hide behind

if they are just slightly nervous and can be approached then by nominating one person in the house to tame up one kit and someone else to devote thier time to the other kit it can be done with them together

Much depends on how many generations have been feral. Kittens born wild need socialising before 10 weeks and even then they may always be shy. If the mother cat was a pet and the kittens have seen people around the shed it should be easier to tame them.

Hi ive just rescued 2 very feral kittens from appalling conditions, they have gone from hissing and spitting to letting me stroke them briefly in a week, lots of food and patients. Vets on monday for a check because they have got weepy eyes and sniffles, ones eye has swollen quite badly, monday will be a weight off my mind, im bathing his eye gently.

Nuttyfilly it sounds like they have cat flu quite a lot of ferals have it, have seen loads of ferals survive it though, but if they do have it means they will probably be carriers for the rest of thier lives so any cats that come in contact with them will have to be vaccinated against cat flu

I think their mother was also semi feral - used to go into the house for food but not much else. But they are used to people being around as these are city gardens.

I should have said - we have a 5 year old (capable of being quiet & patient) & a nearly 2 year old (loud, unpredictable), does that change the answers?

I grew up with a feral rescue kitten (she had been found in a dreadful state) and she was absolutely beautiful and had a lovely character. She was always slow to trust but once she trusted you, you were given lots of love. I agree on patience. She was "my" cat and I spent hours a day giving her lots of attention in particular when she first came to live with us, she had a very long and happy life.

Arabella

It might, just a tad. Will the kits have a safe place to retreat to easily if the DCs get excitable/loud or pokey?

We have a big kitchen/dining room, I was thinking of keeping them in there at first & setting up a nest for them at the back of the dining room (it's kind of a U shaped room). Or they could be kept in the front room & visits paid to them?

Thanks issey6cats, vets said the same thing, they do seem alot better now