Is it possible to tame a feral kitten?

[Cindy in C-ville]

Remember the kitten that wandered up a few weeks ago?

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294895

 

Well, we're still putting food out for Smitty/Toothless, but we cannot catch more than a glimpse of him and there is absolutely no way he'll come to us, or let us come to him. I'd really like to love all over him, get him to the vet, etc., but we cannot get our hands on him. Suggestions?

[DianeW88]

We've had lots of feral kitties over the years. Two of the three we own now are formerly feral. It takes a long time and a LOT of work. My dd was the one who did most of it. It took us about 4 months to get the last kitten we have tamed. You need to feed them and then let them see you (in the house) while they are eating. We feed the litter of kittens outside our house right now (five of them!) on our back porch. After about a month of that, we started going outside to feed them and then staying a while (a couple of minutes) until they got too nervous. After a few weeks of that, we feed them (wet food...that's hard to resist) and sit for most of the time, occasionally reaching down to try and pet one. They hate it and they run...but come back quickly. Our next step (now that they're staying here for most of the day is to sit outside while they're out...not going near them, just getting them used to us being around while they are NOT being fed. Gradually...they warm up and allow you to get closer and eventually touch them.

 

It takes a lot of restraint. They do not like loud noises (children especially will freak them out), unexpected movement or grabbing. You need to let them come to you. We started this in April with the kittens we have now and we're hoping they will tame up by October when the snow starts.

 

Also know that a feral kitten who's been domesticated will always be a little...weird. They tend not to quite behave the same as human raised cats. Our human raised kitties are much better behaved, much less skittish, and just in general....much better pets. Feral kitties tend to still hold onto some of that wildness. You may never make an indoor cat out of it. We had two that refused to live inside although they became quite tame. It's a hit or miss process depending on the personality of the kitten.

 

Even if you aren't ever able to tame it....I'd would call around and check for a "spay and release" program in your area. You can trap the cat, have it spayed or neutered, then you release it in your yard again. We've done this with several cats that just couldn't quite make it all the way to domesticated. It helps prevent even more feral kitties.

[redsquirrel]

We had a kitten that was once feral. We didn't know it when we got it. She lived with us for 15 years and was recently put down due to kidney failure, a common cause of death among old cats.

 

I can honestly say she was the worst cat I have ever owned, lol. No one could get near her. She lived in the basement or under the bed. If you touched her she bit or scratched. We had friends and family who knew us for her whole life who never saw her.

 

She had some redeeming qualities. She wanted NOTHING to do with the kids. If she had ever gone after them she would have been gone. When the kids woke up in the morning and came downstairs, she went upstairs to hide under my bed. When the kids went to bed at night, she came downstairs and hid in the basement. She was also healthy. We always said that if she ever got sick, that was the end of her because she would be impossible to medicate. And FTR, my dh is a vet's son who grew up working in the animal hospital. He knows how to handle a crazed cat for meds etc and he wasn't going near her.

 

So, we kept her healthy, we gave her a home, but she was never our companion. We got her when she was a teeny, tiny kitten just a few weeks old. We tried and tried to get her comfortable with us, but she always fought and bit. It was tolerable when she was a small but she soon became too big to deal with. She did have the habit of just biting people when they walked by.

[celticmom]

We've had lots of feral kitties over the years. Two of the three we own now are formerly feral. It takes a long time and a LOT of work. My dd was the one who did most of it. It took us about 4 months to get the last kitten we have tamed. You need to feed them and then let them see you (in the house) while they are eating. We feed the litter of kittens outside our house right now (five of them!) on our back porch. After about a month of that, we started going outside to feed them and then staying a while (a couple of minutes) until they got too nervous. After a few weeks of that, we feed them (wet food...that's hard to resist) and sit for most of the time, occasionally reaching down to try and pet one. They hate it and they run...but come back quickly. Our next step (now that they're staying here for most of the day is to sit outside while they're out...not going near them, just getting them used to us being around while they are NOT being fed. Gradually...they warm up and allow you to get closer and eventually touch them.

 

It takes a lot of restraint. They do not like loud noises (children especially will freak them out), unexpected movement or grabbing. You need to let them come to you. We started this in April with the kittens we have now and we're hoping they will tame up by October when the snow starts.

 

Also know that a feral kitten who's been domesticated will always be a little...weird. They tend not to quite behave the same as human raised cats. Our human raised kitties are much better behaved, much less skittish, and just in general....much better pets. Feral kitties tend to still hold onto some of that wildness. You may never make an indoor cat out of it. We had two that refused to live inside although they became quite tame. It's a hit or miss process depending on the personality of the kitten.

 

Even if you aren't ever able to tame it....I'd would call around and check for a "spay and release" program in your area. You can trap the cat, have it spayed or neutered, then you release it in your yard again. We've done this with several cats that just couldn't quite make it all the way to domesticated. It helps prevent even more feral kitties.

:iagree:I agree with this advice. I would add one thing, when you can pick up the kitten and are ready to introduce it to the indoors, bring it in for the first time on a day when the weather outside is miserable and show it a bowl of food and water right away. We did this with a feral kitten and he refused to ever go outside again until we moved to a new house. In his case his relatives(other feral cats) were mean to him and he had decided that we were far less scary than they were. He was always somewhat timid.

[gingersmom]

My neighbor has a feral cat that was born under her front porch 2 years ago.

It took many months before she could even attempt to pick up the cat.

 

Beware though. The cat will most likely have fleas and other bugs on it. I tried to warn my neighbor but she did not heed my advice to get a humane trap, have her go to the vet first and then touch her. She got fleas in her house and car. :confused:

 

The cat still lives outside (her husband has allergies) but it waits outside twice a day to be fed. It has been spayed and sees the vet regularly. My daughter cat sits when they go away.

[DianeW88]

It will have worms, too. They all do. It's from eating mice. Easily taken care of with a healthy dose of medicine from the vet. I pay the extra $25 for the one dose de-worming shot. Well worth it. You would need to wear a "haz-mat" suit to try and get pills into a feral cat. You will be sliced and diced in a matter of minutes. Ask me how I know. :glare:

[CalicoKat]

"He's not a tame lion." :D

 

Probably never to the degree of tame like you're thinking. But tamer than wild.

[kimnc]

You may want to contact a feral cat rescue group, they are usually glad to help. In the Raleigh area there are several pet rescues. These specifically deal with feral cats (there are probably others too):

 

http://www.operationcatnip.org/

http://www.feralcatfriends.org/

 

Or you could ask at places like PetSmart or a vet's office. They would know where to best get a low-cost spay/neuter also.

 

We looked into adopting a feral cat years ago, and decided against it because it seemed quite daunting for many of the reasons mentioned. Ironically, the second cat we adopted probably was feral. The rescue people said she was a stray and had given birth when they found her (she was maybe 6-7 months old) but they never found the kittens. :sad:

It took several years for her to warm up to us, but now she is very attached. At first, though, she was very skittish.

[DianeW88]

IMO, it is highly unlikely. We had a feral cat growing up and she was a very nasty animal. After YEARS of owning her she would trust us enough to sit on our lap then all of a sudden she would claw or bite for no reason we could figure out.

 

Yes, this. It will bite your kids (and you, but your kids more often). And scratch. Repeatedly. My children all have permanent scars from various cats we've had over the years. In the view of a feral cat, children are unpredictable, jumpy and loud. The cats tend to take a "pre-emptive strike" view in any kind of child situation.

 

Even my human raised, very sweet and loving male cat used to bite my youngest on the bottom when he was in his terrible twos and having a temper tantrum on the floor. I think his view was, "if you're not going to take care of this nonsense, then I will." :lol: It worked though. My son would stop a tantrum cold at the threat of "Rajah's coming!"

[Cindy in C-ville]

Okay, then, so here's my dilemma. While we'd be open to having a cat, I don't particularly *want* a cat. But, I don't want to be mean to this cat. So, what should we do?

[RhondaM.]

One of the sweetest cats I ever had was once a feral. Once he trusted me he decided me that he LOVED me. The cat would literally leap into my arms from the bed...he would DROOL excessively when petted. And he was fine with kids too. We had him neutered *as an adult* and he was a very good indoor cat. A gentleman who always used his litterbox. I never could tame his sister. But we did manage to trap her when she was pregnant and then had her spayed and adopted out her kittens (also spayed/neutered). So, it just depends on the cat.

 

RhondaM.

[celticmom]

Okay, then, so here's my dilemma. While we'd be open to having a cat, I don't particularly *want* a cat. But, I don't want to be mean to this cat. So, what should we do?

 

If you want to you could just keep feeding it and use a live trap to catch it and take it to the vet to be "fixed" and then release it back into its normal enviornment afterwards. That is what we planned to do with our kitten. We brought him in and carried him to the vet the next day. I kept him in for long enough to be absolutely certain that he was completely recovered and he decided that he was now an indoor cat. If I had caught him in a trap instead of cuddling him and put him back outside as soon as possible I probably would not have ended up with an indoor cat.

 

I would definitely have the kitten "fixed" since you definitely do not want a colony of feral cats living nearby.

[redsquirrel]

Hah, maybe it is a female thing. ;) Our cat was female.

 

My psycho feral cat was female.

[SheilaZ]

We took in a 6 month old feral cat back in 2006. She's still with us and is finally turning into a fairly lovable cat. No, she doesn't jump in our laps that often but she does come up to be petted throughout the day.

She will not tolerate strangers or risk going outside. (She is terrified of outdoors now.) She never bites or claws...even when we bathe her. She's also never detroyed anything and is very particular about using a litter box.

The funniest thing is that she has finally started playing. It's so funny because we got a second cat who taught her how to behave and how to play.

I have two children on the autism spectrum and we joke that the cat is autistic also.

 

So it can be done, but you probably won't end up with a super cuddly cat and it will take a long time.

 

We wouldn't trade our Mango though. She's such entertainment for us.

[Jeannie in NJ]

it depends on the cat. OUr oldest cat is 11 and for the first 2 years we had him he would scratch us all the time, only bit me once. AFter 2 years, he became our most gentle cat, loves to be picked up, sit with us and be petted.

 

We have another feral,a female calico and she lives upstairs. She is almost 4 and is still scared of us. Luckily we have a large year round sun room upstairs and she stays there. The hardest part is catching her for her annual vet visit.

 

Lastly we just got a new feral, also female calico and she is psycho. SHe just turned a year old. SHe rarely lets us pet her, forget about holding her, she goes completely wild. She will flip out on us for no reason. We tend to pet her when she is asleep, she is tiny and cute but we are pretty sure that she was abused at one time cause she so distrusts people. She does love all of our other cats tho. We have 8 cats total.

 

My dc are older, 14 and 16. I would never keep our psycho cat if we had younger dc. BEcause she is so very tiny, she does not hurt us very much even with scratching and biting. and she will not grow larger as she is 1 year old now.

 

our other cats are non feral but were rescue kittens, but were found with their mother at a very young age and raised in a home until they could be adopted out,. They are loving and gentle with all of us, even with the feral cats

Edited August 6, 2011 by Jeannie in NJ

[ma23peas]

Okay, then, so here's my dilemma. While we'd be open to having a cat, I don't particularly *want* a cat. But, I don't want to be mean to this cat. So, what should we do?

 

 

We bought a farm with a feral barn cat..it would look so sweet and then claw the skin off your hands, my uncle thought I was overreacting and came down with loads of blood streaming down his hand....yuck! Fast forward 3 years, he has not scratched anyone in a year and yearns to be petted...he lives in our garage/barn/back porch, he's just a fixture here..we just put food out twice a day and he fends for himself..he's been attacked 4-5x by wild animals and we've never given him shots/medicine...he just heals on his own..one wound was so large and yucky..but it healed up...he's got battle wounds but he's a good farm cat.

 

I say just keep food out...they are great mousers...ours even brought us a bat last week....they're worth having around just for the pest control! Over time, you may be surprised, they may come around.

 

My dad took in a feral cat and we knew it was schizophrenic...crazy crazy cat..but 4 years later it's a pretty good house cat..still kind of all over the place but he lets you pet him, you can't 'hold' him but he likes to be near people.

[TeaCookiesBears]

Remember the kitten that wandered up a few weeks ago?

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294895

 

Well, we're still putting food out for Smitty/Toothless, but we cannot catch more than a glimpse of him and there is absolutely no way he'll come to us, or let us come to him. I'd really like to love all over him, get him to the vet, etc., but we cannot get our hands on him. Suggestions?

 

I believe it is possible but be careful because a good Samaritan had to get rabies shot because the cat she brought to the SPCA had rabies.

 

That said my cat Boyboy (hate boy cats because one sprayed my leg before) was a small kitten I rescued from two mischievous boys in my neighborhood so, I took him to the SPCA and asked me to keep if for two week because they would put him to sleep as he was too young to be given away. 3 years latter Boyboy is still with us afraid to leave the house and it totally laid back. My weird cat even jumps into the tub with you but hates baths:D:tongue_smilie:.

[Jennifer3141]

I've tamed feral cats and they are now happy barn cats or they'll come in when the weather is REALLY bad. There's no point in even trying until the cat is spayed/neutered and dewormed. I love you cats, but tapeworms (and worse) gross me out.

 

My neighbor and I trap and spay/neuter anything we catch around the farms. We alternate and we use a country vet who helps out by keeping the wild cats a couple of days until they recover from the trauma.

 

It amazes me how much they mellow out when they are altered and have had a few days of being warm, dry, clean, and fed.

 

We have a couple of cats that have zero to no interest in being handled but they are the best hunters. And then most of the barn cats are somewhere in between the housecats and the zero interest cats. They'll tolerate petting but on their own terms. And most of them cannot be picked up. The housecats tolerate handling, baths, etc.

[AngieW in Texas]

It is possible to tame a feral cat, but it isn't necessarily possible to tame the specific feral cat that you have.

 

I've tamed a feral cat before, but I did it through her kittens. She had a litter in my backyard (first time I'd ever seen her). It took two years, but I did get her tamed to me. I could pick her up and cuddle her, but nobody else could do more than pet her. She absolutely loved and adored my dog (who loved and adored her and her kittens right back).