What to Do - Abandoned Kitty

[Curtis Fox]

A number of weeks ago, we found this very little kitty meowing in our
backyard by our shed. It looks like the offspring of a wild cat we had
living under our shed last winter (Minnesota, can wild cats survive the
winters here?). Days passed and the kitty was looking very thin and weak so
we decided to feed it. We never ever saw the mother return so we believe it
has been abandoned. We have continued to feed it and the kitty now allows
us to come very close to it. My wife actually picked it up yesterday. My
concern is that this is a wild cat and would be very difficult to
domesticate. And I really hate the thought of bringing it into our home and
having to have it declawed. So our option is to continue feeding it and
keeping it outside, or call the humane society (not my wifes preference).
If we could somehow keep the cat wild and outside, but provide shelter for
the Minnesota winter, I would think this would be a reasonable solution. We
live in a suburb, not even remotely close to woods or farmland, so natural
food source is probably out of the question during the winter. The best
solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching it
to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown somewhat
attached to it.

[LauraK]

> The best
>solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching it
>to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
>opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown somewhat
>attached to it.

Why wouldn't that be possible? Especially with a very young cat, it will adapt
readily to its environment. Even an old cat will.
When my mother died, my sister had to take the cat -- who had always lived
outside and refused to go inside -- to her home in New Jersey where it had to
adapt to indoor-only life with her three cats. My mother lived near Palm
Springs, CA.
The cat, which was quite old, did fine and lived happily for several years.
Cats will respond to kindness. You can teach them to use scratching posts. Be
firm and vigilant and get lots of scratching posts. It's easier with just one.
Two sort of gang up on you. Four, I discovered, is impossible.



http://www.madmousergraphics.com
web design, print design, photography

[m. L. Briggs]

On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 11:08:40 -0500, "Curtis Fox" >
wrote:

>A number of weeks ago, we found this very little kitty meowing in our
>backyard by our shed. It looks like the offspring of a wild cat we had
>living under our shed last winter (Minnesota, can wild cats survive the
>winters here?). Days passed and the kitty was looking very thin and weak so
>we decided to feed it. We never ever saw the mother return so we believe it
>has been abandoned. We have continued to feed it and the kitty now allows
>us to come very close to it. My wife actually picked it up yesterday. My
>concern is that this is a wild cat and would be very difficult to
>domesticate. And I really hate the thought of bringing it into our home and
>having to have it declawed. So our option is to continue feeding it and
>keeping it outside, or call the humane society (not my wifes preference).
>If we could somehow keep the cat wild and outside, but provide shelter for
>the Minnesota winter, I would think this would be a reasonable solution. We
>live in a suburb, not even remotely close to woods or farmland, so natural
>food source is probably out of the question during the winter. The best
>solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching it
>to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
>opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown somewhat
>attached to it.
>
Is there a Vet in your area who could look at it and determine
whether it is s wild breed or a feral domestic breed (or combination
of the two)? tThis could help you decide. If it is truly a wild
breed, perhaps a zoo would be willing to accept it. I doubt it would
be able to live on its own in the wild. Good luck. MLB

[[email protected]]

MLB,

The cat is wild as in feral, *not* a lynx, bobcat or otherwise. And it
seems she is not so wild since she has allowed some handling. She'll
make a good pet with some love and attention (and a spay.)

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

[Sharon Talbert]

A kitten is a kitten is a kitten. I've been working with feral-born
kittens for a long time now, and I know. Please please please don't
declaw.

Visit the Campus Cats website for some pointers on socialization, but I
doubt you even need them. All you need add for a small kitten is hands-on
love.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
Seattle
www.campuscats.org

[Chris]

I just finished fostering a 'feral' kitten found at age 8-10 weeks. He was
just adopted & was as sweet & loving as could be. All my four guys were
'feral' kittens when found & are quite content to live the good life
indoors.

Take the little guy in. Keep him in bathroom or other small room with a
litter box & food & water (not too close to litter box) for a couple of days
& then let him loose. My little foster stayed pretty much under my bed for
a few more days, coming out only when it was quiet or dark. Within a week,
he was rolling around with the other guys & coming to eat in the kitchen
with the big guys! Three weeks later, he was sleeping on the bed, the sofa,
or any place else that struck his fancy.... I fostered him because shelter
said he was feral, would hiss at anyone who came close, etc. etc. By the
way, he had just started using scratching post so declawing not necessary.
I will tell you, however, that when we picked him up on the street he put up
quite a struggle, scratching & trying to bite to save his life! 3 1/2 weeks
later,,,, no problem. so take him in before it gets cold!
"Curtis Fox" > wrote in message
...
> A number of weeks ago, we found this very little kitty meowing in our
> backyard by our shed. It looks like the offspring of a wild cat we had
> living under our shed last winter (Minnesota, can wild cats survive the
> winters here?). Days passed and the kitty was looking very thin and weak
so
> we decided to feed it. We never ever saw the mother return so we believe
it
> has been abandoned. We have continued to feed it and the kitty now allows
> us to come very close to it. My wife actually picked it up yesterday. My
> concern is that this is a wild cat and would be very difficult to
> domesticate. And I really hate the thought of bringing it into our home
and
> having to have it declawed. So our option is to continue feeding it and
> keeping it outside, or call the humane society (not my wifes preference).
> If we could somehow keep the cat wild and outside, but provide shelter for
> the Minnesota winter, I would think this would be a reasonable solution.
We
> live in a suburb, not even remotely close to woods or farmland, so natural
> food source is probably out of the question during the winter. The best
> solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching it
> to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
> opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown somewhat
> attached to it.
>
>

[Sunflower]

"Curtis Fox" > wrote in message
...
> A number of weeks ago, we found this very little kitty meowing in our
> backyard by our shed. It looks like the offspring of a wild cat we had
> living under our shed last winter (Minnesota, can wild cats survive the
> winters here?). Days passed and the kitty was looking very thin and weak
so
> we decided to feed it. We never ever saw the mother return so we believe
it
> has been abandoned. We have continued to feed it and the kitty now allows
> us to come very close to it. My wife actually picked it up yesterday. My
> concern is that this is a wild cat and would be very difficult to
> domesticate. And I really hate the thought of bringing it into our home
and
> having to have it declawed. So our option is to continue feeding it and
> keeping it outside, or call the humane society (not my wifes preference).
> If we could somehow keep the cat wild and outside, but provide shelter for
> the Minnesota winter, I would think this would be a reasonable solution.
We
> live in a suburb, not even remotely close to woods or farmland, so natural
> food source is probably out of the question during the winter. The best
> solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching it
> to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
> opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown somewhat
> attached to it.
>

If this kitten has allowed you to handle him, he's no longer really "feral"
and is well on his way to being tame. Kittens are quite adaptible, and
there is absolutely NO reason that you cannot bring this baby into your home
and make an excellent pet of him. Declawing is NOT "mandatory" for indoor
cats. They are quite intelligent and can learn rapidly what is and isn't
acceptible to claw---if you really make an effort to train him. Don't
expect it to "just happen". Have a strategy. And, please do not cut the
little baby's toes off.

Sunflower

>

[smithandwest]

"Sunflower" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Curtis Fox" > wrote in message
> ...
> > A number of weeks ago, we found this very little kitty meowing in our
> > backyard by our shed. It looks like the offspring of a wild cat we had
> > living under our shed last winter (Minnesota, can wild cats survive the
> > winters here?). Days passed and the kitty was looking very thin and
weak
> so
> > we decided to feed it. We never ever saw the mother return so we
believe
> it
> > has been abandoned. We have continued to feed it and the kitty now
allows
> > us to come very close to it. My wife actually picked it up yesterday.
My
> > concern is that this is a wild cat and would be very difficult to
> > domesticate. And I really hate the thought of bringing it into our home
> and
> > having to have it declawed. So our option is to continue feeding it and
> > keeping it outside, or call the humane society (not my wifes
preference).
> > If we could somehow keep the cat wild and outside, but provide shelter
for
> > the Minnesota winter, I would think this would be a reasonable solution.
> We
> > live in a suburb, not even remotely close to woods or farmland, so
natural
> > food source is probably out of the question during the winter. The best
> > solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching
it
> > to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
> > opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown
somewhat
> > attached to it.
> >
>
> If this kitten has allowed you to handle him, he's no longer really
"feral"
> and is well on his way to being tame. Kittens are quite adaptible, and
> there is absolutely NO reason that you cannot bring this baby into your
home
> and make an excellent pet of him. Declawing is NOT "mandatory" for indoor
> cats. They are quite intelligent and can learn rapidly what is and isn't
> acceptible to claw---if you really make an effort to train him. Don't
> expect it to "just happen". Have a strategy. And, please do not cut the
> little baby's toes off.
>
> Sunflower

I just recently started "lurking" here, and even that only occasionally,
being a mostly dog person and rescuer until I took in a mother cat and her 3
kittens last November. We adopted out the 3 kittens but decided to keep the
scrawny teenage mother, now named "Bug", and now quite healthy (maybe overly
so!). I never even considered declawing her even though she would be an
indoor only cat, because I know what it involves and know how many declawed
cats we get at the adoption center that have behavior problems. I do
however trim the nails on her front feet. I have to catch her in the right
mood, and sometimes only get one nail or one foot at a time, but so far this
has worked for us. She still has enough nail to scratch with but not enough
to hurt anyone with. I just wanted to mention trimming as a very good
alternative to declawing, for those out there who think there is no
alternative for an indoor cat. Bug was nearly full grown when I got her and
started this, so I'm sure that starting this practice with a kitten would be
even easier and more accepted as the cat grows.

--
~ Lori
and Jack, Sasha, Rufus, Joey, and Bug
{Clean the doghouse to reply}
~ http://www.smithandwest.net/
~ PETS, Inc - http://www.petsinc.org/
~ http://petsinc.petfinder.org/

[Linda Terrell]

Keep several scratching posts around the house.
I have 2 in living room and one in the hallway.
Ideally, there should be one in each room.

LT

[Iso]

Before you decide on whether or not you HAVE TO KEEP IT... Figure out if you
really are ready to commit to domesticating this cat and caring for it the
remainder of its life. If not, then do the right thing and turn it over to
the Humane Society or another agency that can handle finding someone to
adopt it. The sooner you decide to keep it, or not to keep it, is essential
regarding how fast it generally is adopted. Remember, everyone loves
kittens; not everyone loves cats!





"m. L. Briggs" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 11:08:40 -0500, "Curtis Fox" >
> wrote:
>
> >A number of weeks ago, we found this very little kitty meowing in our
> >backyard by our shed. It looks like the offspring of a wild cat we had
> >living under our shed last winter (Minnesota, can wild cats survive the
> >winters here?). Days passed and the kitty was looking very thin and weak
so
> >we decided to feed it. We never ever saw the mother return so we believe
it
> >has been abandoned. We have continued to feed it and the kitty now
allows
> >us to come very close to it. My wife actually picked it up yesterday.
My
> >concern is that this is a wild cat and would be very difficult to
> >domesticate. And I really hate the thought of bringing it into our home
and
> >having to have it declawed. So our option is to continue feeding it and
> >keeping it outside, or call the humane society (not my wifes preference).
> >If we could somehow keep the cat wild and outside, but provide shelter
for
> >the Minnesota winter, I would think this would be a reasonable solution.
We
> >live in a suburb, not even remotely close to woods or farmland, so
natural
> >food source is probably out of the question during the winter. The best
> >solution would be to try and domesticate without declawing and teaching
it
> >to use a scratching post, but I don't think this would be possible. Any
> >opinions or advise. This is a really cute cat and we have grown somewhat
> >attached to it.
> >
> Is there a Vet in your area who could look at it and determine
> whether it is s wild breed or a feral domestic breed (or combination
> of the two)? tThis could help you decide. If it is truly a wild
> breed, perhaps a zoo would be willing to accept it. I doubt it would
> be able to live on its own in the wild. Good luck. MLB
>

[[email protected]]

>Figure out if you really are ready to
>commit to domesticating this cat and
>caring for it the remainder of its life. If not,
>then do the right thing and turn it over to
>the Humane Society or another agency
>that can handle finding someone to adopt
>it.

There are no agencies in his area (which is where I also live) that are
going to take the time to socialize a feral cat and find it a home. They
will consider it unadoptable and kill it. This is the fate of most
ferals that are handed over to "humane" societies, no matter where you
live. It's unrealistic and irresponsible to recommend that as an option.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

[Curtis Fox]

Update on the kitten. He/she now comes into the house when we open the
screen door. It will play on the carpet for a while and then bolt back
outside. It still much prefers being outside and loves to play with the
falling leaves. Then again, who wouldn't when the October temps in
Minnesota are 85 degrees. I am really tugging at whether it will accept an
indoor only environment as it really does enjoy the outdoors (bet it will
change its mind when it is 20 below out). We are going to bring it in this
weekend and see how it does. We are also scheduling a vet's appointment to
get the necessary shots. Looks like our weekend will consist of buying a
litter box and scratching post, and spending lots of affectionate time with
the kitty. Our daughter moved our recently so we have a spare bedroom that
it can have all to itself. A couple areas of concern are the playful but
painful biting the kitty does when we pet it. I'm sure this is affectionate
biting (if there is such a thing) but man, the teeth are real sharp. A loud
NO will usually stop the biting, but then...right back at it. Another very
difficult decision has to be made about declawing. I want the kitty to have
the run of the house and really hope it adopts the scratching posts. I have
talked to vets and they only say it is a personal decision. Most are
unaware of behavior problems with declawed cats, but it just seems to me
that the procedure is rather inhumane. One vet did mention that the cat may
start biting since it has lost its main means of self-defense. Rare, but it
does happen. I guess if the kitty does not adopt the scratching posts and
its scratching becomes a problem, I could keep it in a separate room, free
of anything of value, and then let it outside on occasion, and also let it
roam the house when we are there to watch it.

I hate calling kitty "it'. Need to determine the sex real soon!


"Linda Terrell" > wrote in message
...
> Keep several scratching posts around the house.
> I have 2 in living room and one in the hallway.
> Ideally, there should be one in each room.
>
> LT

[Curtis Fox]

After posting my previous message I did more research on declawing. After
reading more and more about declawing, I couldn't in good conscious do this.
I really never gave this a second thought until a poster here mentioned how
cruel and inhumane the procedure is. I have a brother and sister who have
purebred cats and they had to sign a form saying they would not mutilate
(declaw) the cats. My sister has leather furniture and her cat loved
scratching it. She now takes it to a vet and has these caps put on the
claws. I think the caps last about a month. Has anyone had any experience
with these caps or soft paws?

"Curtis Fox" > wrote in message
...
> Update on the kitten. He/she now comes into the house when we open the
> screen door. It will play on the carpet for a while and then bolt back
> outside. It still much prefers being outside and loves to play with the
> falling leaves. Then again, who wouldn't when the October temps in
> Minnesota are 85 degrees. I am really tugging at whether it will accept
an
> indoor only environment as it really does enjoy the outdoors (bet it will
> change its mind when it is 20 below out). We are going to bring it in
this
> weekend and see how it does. We are also scheduling a vet's appointment
to
> get the necessary shots. Looks like our weekend will consist of buying a
> litter box and scratching post, and spending lots of affectionate time
with
> the kitty. Our daughter moved our recently so we have a spare bedroom
that
> it can have all to itself. A couple areas of concern are the playful but
> painful biting the kitty does when we pet it. I'm sure this is
affectionate
> biting (if there is such a thing) but man, the teeth are real sharp. A
loud
> NO will usually stop the biting, but then...right back at it. Another
very
> difficult decision has to be made about declawing. I want the kitty to
have
> the run of the house and really hope it adopts the scratching posts. I
have
> talked to vets and they only say it is a personal decision. Most are
> unaware of behavior problems with declawed cats, but it just seems to me
> that the procedure is rather inhumane. One vet did mention that the cat
may
> start biting since it has lost its main means of self-defense. Rare, but
it
> does happen. I guess if the kitty does not adopt the scratching posts and
> its scratching becomes a problem, I could keep it in a separate room, free
> of anything of value, and then let it outside on occasion, and also let it
> roam the house when we are there to watch it.
>
> I hate calling kitty "it'. Need to determine the sex real soon!
>
>
> "Linda Terrell" > wrote in message
>
...
> > Keep several scratching posts around the house.
> > I have 2 in living room and one in the hallway.
> > Ideally, there should be one in each room.
> >
> > LT
>
>

[[email protected]]

Curtis wrote:

> Update on the kitten. He/she now comes
> into the house when we open the screen
> door. It will play on the carpet for a
> while and then bolt back outside. It
> still much prefers being outside and
> loves to play with the falling leaves.
> Then again, who wouldn't when the
> October temps in Minnesota are 85
> degrees. I am really tugging at whether
> it will accept an indoor only
> environment as it really does enjoy the
> outdoors (bet it will change its mind
> when it is 20 below out).

It will adapt to indoor life just fine. Without exception, every feral I
have taken in has.

>We are going
> to bring it in this weekend and see how
> it does. We are also scheduling a vet's
> appointment to get the necessary shots.
> Looks like our weekend will consist of
> buying a litter box and scratching post,
> and spending lots of affectionate time
> with the kitty. Our daughter moved our
> recently so we have a spare bedroom that
> it can have all to itself.

One thing you should be aware of is that the cat may not know what the
litterbox is for. This is easy to remedy. Get two boxes and put dirt
from your yard in one of them. Hopefully the cat will use the reglar
litter and this won't be an issue, but if it takes a little bit to
figure it out it will use the dirt in the second box. You can start
adding regular litter to the dirt and gradually switch to just litter
over a few days time.

>A couple
> areas of concern are the playful but
> painful biting the kitty does when we
> pet it. I'm sure this is affectionate
> biting (if there is such a thing) but
> man, the teeth are real sharp. A loud NO
> will usually stop the biting, but
> then...right back at it.

Don't pet the kitty if it bites. It wouldn't hurt to run over to
Menard's and buy a pair of their welding gloves to wear until you can
redirect the cat's biting to something else(they are blue suede and cost
about $5) Get a small stuffed animal and let kitty bite that or distract
it with a feather wand or something similar. This is how young cats play
and since ths one doesn't have another cat to roughhouse with you are
the next best thing. Don't react to the cat with anything negative, just
redirect it's attention to an appropriate item.

>Another very
> difficult decision has to be made about
> declawing. I want the kitty to have the
> run of the house and really hope it
> adopts the scratching posts.

Kitty will. Get the cat used to having its claws trimmed. Keeping them
short pretty much eliminates any damage they can do. Make sure to choose
scratching posts it likes. Cardbard scratchers are heap popular and it
would be wise for you to get the cat a floor to ceiling cat tree too.
You can see a picture of one as well as an excellent scratching post
available at Petsmart here:
http://community.webtv.net/zuzu22/scratch
Placement of the posts are important and should be close to where kitty
spends a lot of time. The entryway to a room where kitty spends a lot of
time is another good place for a post. I have one right by the doorway
to my bedroom and the first thing the cats do when they come in is
scratch it. :-)
I have never had any of my ferals even look sideways at the furniture.
They use the cat trees and posts exclusively for all their scratching.

>I have
> talked to vets and they only say it is a
> personal decision. Most are unaware of
> behavior problems with declawed cats,
> but it just seems to me that the
> procedure is rather inhumane.

It *is* inhumane and that is why it is considered animal cruelty and
banned or illegal in most of the world. Most American vets that do this
horrific thing to cats are more interested in making money off of the
procedure rather than educating clients on how to train their cats,
which is VERY easy. Give the cat something *of its own* with a surface
that it likes to scratch, place it in a good location and you won't have
any problems.

>One vet
> did mention that the cat may start
> biting since it has lost its main means
> of self-defense. Rare, but it does
> happen.

It's NOT rare. Ask anyone who has worked as a vet tech or in a shelter
for any length of time. Behavior problems are generally not reported to
vets because the majority of people that declaw are ignorant as to what
the procedure is and don't understand that the declawing is the reason
Fluffly starts biting because she has no other defense or refuses to use
the litterbox because she has suffered excruciating pain and it hurts
her poor little mutilated paws to dig in the litter.

>I guess if the kitty does not
> adopt the scratching posts and its
> scratching becomes a problem, I could
> keep it in a separate room, free of
> anything of value, and then let it
> outside on occasion, and also let it
> roam the house when we are there to
> watch it.

I really doubt that will be an issue. :-)

> I hate calling kitty "it'. Need to
> determine the sex real soon!

Especially if it's a girl as you will have a pregnant cat on your hands
very soon if she is not spayed and left outside. :-(

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

[LauraK]

> I guess if the kitty does not adopt the scratching posts and
>> its scratching becomes a problem, I could keep it in a separate room, free
>> of anything of value, and then let it outside on occasion, and also let it
>> roam the house when we are there to watch it.

Offer the kitten a variety of "legal" scratching surfaces and praise it
lavishly when it uses them. A couple of my cats have loved the corrugated paper
scratchers. Another one ripped the top off of three tunnels. These are carpeted
"pipes" with a solid base. She could really get a good grip on those.
Others have loved a cheap scratching post I got at a grocery store. I've got
tree trunks, sisal, etc.
Just because the kitten doesn't use one post doesn't mean it can't be trained
to scratch in appropriate places.
You also need to cover with heavy plastic areas that are too tempting to
resist, at least at the start. A taut upholstered front of the arm on my couch
is much too tempting to mine. I gave away a set of fully upholstered
parsons-type dining room chairs after the cats ripped them up. I saw chair,
they saw the world's greatest scratching post. I've had stray cats run into my
house, scratch on those chairs and then run out again.
More dining room chairs with wooden legs and backs and upholstered seats are a
better choice for households shared with cats.


http://www.madmousergraphics.com
web design, print design, photography

[m. L. Briggs]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 16:18:06 GMT, "Curtis Fox" >
wrote:

>ast about a month. Has anyone had any experience
>with these caps or soft paws?
Yes, I've had two sets of Soft Paws for TuTu. She never tried to
scratc the furniture -- I have several scratching things for her --
plus the carpet (which I am going to replace anyway as soon as I can
get the energy to shop). She no longer tries to scratch me (in play).
If I see an inkling that she is thinking that way I say loudly "NO
CLAWS" and she stops. I don't know if I will go for a third set or
not. They lasted about 3 months each and she spent a lot of time
trying to bite them off.

A squirt bottle is a good teaching tool. Good luck. MLB

[Kalyahna]

> wrote in message
...
> There are no agencies in his area (which is where I also live) that are
> going to take the time to socialize a feral cat and find it a home. They
> will consider it unadoptable and kill it. This is the fate of most
> ferals that are handed over to "humane" societies, no matter where you
> live. It's unrealistic and irresponsible to recommend that as an option.
>
> Megan

I'm glad you qualified the statement with "most," Megan. I work at the Dane
County HS in southern WI. We have a feral program that practices alter and
release where the cats can't be rehabilitated and moved into foster homes.
Somewhere around 200 cats were saved last year with that program. I realize
it doesn't exist everywhere, but are there no foster homes that would be
willing to work with what amounts to an undersocialized kitten?

[[email protected]]

>I'm glad you qualified the statement with
>"most," Megan. I work at the Dane County
>HS in southern WI. We have a feral
>program that practices alter and release
>where the cats can't be rehabilitated and
>moved into foster homes. Somewhere
>around 200 cats were saved last year with
>that program.

That's good to hear. Too bad there aren't more of them. :-(

>I realize it doesn't exist everywhere, but
>are there no foster homes that would be
>willing to work with what amounts to an
>undersocialized kitten?

Everybody is full. There is no room at the inn. And when space opens
socialized cats are the first to fill them because those are the ones
that can be adopted out the quickest so more can be rescued. We had a
terrible kitten season this year because of a mild winter with not a
whole lot of snow and the shelters and animal control were/are
overflowing. The smaller rescues took out as many as they could, but it
didn't make a dent. The flow didn't stop and mothers and entire litters
of kittens have been euthanized regularly non stop.

When you're dealing with this kind of situation, rescues can ill afford
to give space to a cat that may take weeks/months to socialize and
sacrifice *several* cats as a result of not being able to take them, and
many rescues have no resources/experienced people to do this in the
first place. I have a friend that runs a rescue and took a feral into
her program that she herself had trapped. It's been a year and a half
and he is *still* in a foster home, now waiting to be adopted, filling a
space that possibly 20 or more cats could have used. I'm glad he's
there, alive and doing well and don't begrudge him that for a moment. He
deserves to have a happy life as all cats, feral or not, do.

I'm just illustrating the bigger picture, the philosophy of which most
rescues is to save as many lives as they can. Nobody likes or wants to
see cats and dogs rot away at animal control, then be killed because
there is nowhere for them to go. It sucks that rescues are unable at
this time to do more in the area of socializing ferals, but it's,
unfortunately, reality.

I don't ever promote relying on rescues to take care of someone's stray
cat problem anyway. With the vast resources available on the net and in
newsgroups such as this, I would rather see someone that has found an
undersocialized kitten take the responsibility for socializing it and
finding it a home themselves. That relieves the rescues of an extra and
unnecessary burden and the people that take the responsibility for the
cat will have done a really good thing. It's win-win. :-)

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

[Cheryl]

In ,
Kalyahna > composed with style:

I realize it doesn't exist everywhere,
> but are there no foster homes that would be willing to work with
> what amounts to an undersocialized kitten?

It depends on the time of year. I have a semi-socialized young cat
who when I trapped her it was along with a bunch of older cats who I
intented to trap, neuter, release. At the time that I trapped her,
she was too young to release but none of the groups around here would
take her so I had the moral decision to either release her or have her
vaccinated for FeLV and pray for her health and keep her. I have a
FeLV+ cat, and another who also has to be vaccinated yearly (the
positive cat became positive at 10 years of age from a transfusion).
If I had turned her "over" to the shelter she would have been killed.
She is solid black and there are too many black cats here and no one
wants black cats for some reason.

If she wasn't trapped in May, but maybe in November, a feral group may
have taken her.

[[email protected]]

Cheryl wrote:
>I forgot to say that she was totally feral
>when I trapped her.

You also forgot to say that after several months of great work on your
part she now worships your feet. :-)
(And never ever scratches the furniture!)

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

[Cheryl]

In ,
> composed with style:
> Cheryl wrote:

>> I forgot to say that she was totally feral
>> when I trapped her.
>
> You also forgot to say that after several months of great work on
> your part she now worships your feet. :-)
> (And never ever scratches the furniture!)
>
lol She does love my feet. I don't get that other than the fact that
they are on the floor with her. She has learned very well what the
appropriate scratching material is. I dunno but maybe Shadow and
Shamrocks scents on the scratching posts, cat tree and scratching pads
has taught her those are the places to scratch, but I'm truely amazed
at her ability to learn and start to trust. She follows me everywhere
and I think the bond we're forming is what we both needed. She is
upsetting Shadow sometimes (like tonight, I have NO idea what happened
but all 3 had fat tails and it took a while to calm Shadow down) but
Shadow is a cat who has never stuck up for himself in the 8 years he's
been with me and now he's putting fear in her to leave him alone. :)
I don't like it but I tend to baby him since he's sick. He surprises
me at times at just how strong he really is.

[Kalyahna]

> wrote in message
...
> We had a
> terrible kitten season this year because of a mild winter with not a
> whole lot of snow and the shelters and animal control were/are
> overflowing.

That's true for us as well, and we were adopting out more dogs than cats.
We've been taking dogs and small animals (rabbits, hamsters, guineas, etc)
from other shelters to help them out.

We have that feral program, but it only holds so many cats at a time. The
assistant animal director has gotten to the point that she introduces feral
to feral to save cages, but she has a good enough heart that I was able to
talk her into holding off euth of a trio of hissy/shy kittens, the oldest of
which was maybe 3 months. Eventually she called the head of the feral
program and explained our need for cage space (because if it comes down to
it, it's the ferals that go first unless there are
non-feral-but-highly-aggressives), she came in, and I explained about the
kittens. She took all three. It's one of those things that my boss wasn't
terribly happy about (because it tied up extra cages for a couple of days),
but how do I face myself and go back to work if I don't make every effort to
save cats that just need some extra time?

While I'm at it, Megan... do you have any advice on my situation? I took a
terrified little grey tabby in June, and it's only in the last few weeks
that she'll come over in the early morning and make happy paws on me. I
still can't approach her once I'm up and around. The problem is she has
chronic conjunctivitis, and it's getting worse, so she has to go back on
terramycin. The difficulty is that the only time I can reliably get the cat
without chasing her around for half an hour is in the morning, but I don't
want her to start associating me with medication and ruining what trust has
been built so far. My only other option is putting her in the bathroom for
two weeks. Any idea how best to positively socialize her and still get the
medication going? She does like treats; she'll come out to sniff and eat
them, but as soon as I touch her, she bolts.

[[email protected]]

Kalyahna wrote:

> While I'm at it, Megan... do you have
> any advice on my situation? I took a
> terrified little grey tabby in June, and
> it's only in the last few weeks that
> she'll come over in the early morning
> and make happy paws on me. I still can't
> approach her once I'm up and around. The
> problem is she has chronic
> conjunctivitis, and it's getting worse,
> so she has to go back on terramycin. The
> difficulty is that the only time I can
> reliably get the cat without chasing her
> around for half an hour is in the
> morning, but I don't want her to start
> associating me with medication and
> ruining what trust has been built so
> far. My only other option is putting her
> in the bathroom for two weeks. Any idea
> how best to positively socialize her and
> still get the medication going? She does
> like treats; she'll come out to sniff
> and eat them, but as soon as I touch
> her, she bolts.

Actually, putting her in the bathroom is the best way to accomplish both
goals.
I always recommend starting ferals out in a small space which generally
consists of a large cage or small bathroom. This is the best way to get
a cat used to you coming close to it without it having an opportunity to
get far away and teaches them that when you do get your hands on them
they live to tell about it ;-)

I would put this cat in the bathroom and then make a concerted effort to
make medication times become a positive thing by following the
administration of the meds with really good things that she loves such
as treats. There are many cats that know that when it's med time they
get yummies and are more than happy to endure a moment of inconvenience
for a tasty reward. Since this will be a new thing for her, I'd bring
out the heavy artillery and use prime treats like tuna and chicken or
similar.

If you are feeling guilty about keeping her in the bathroom, don't. Two
weeks out of a lifetime is nothing, especially when the reason is to
help her. If you do want to bring her out, get a walking jacket (a
regular harness is not appropriate for a feral and these are much better
anyway) and get her used to wearing one.
http://www.hdw-inc.com/walkingjackets.htm I use these when I first start
bringing a feral I am socializing out of the cage and start integrating
them into the household. They have more freedom than a cage, but I have
them on a leash so they can't run away and they learn with time that,
whether I'm sitting or moving around, I'm not a threat outside of the
cage either.

While using this method does not guarantee they will become lapcats, I
have found that when I do have to pick them up it's not a half hour
ordeal and I usually can get them fairly quickly if I move slowly and
gently. The key is to never give them the freedom of large spaces until
you can make reasonable progress handling and moving around them on a
regular basis. The above would be a good exercise for you to work on
with the cat for a few weeks while she's getting meds. HTH.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray