Taming Feral Kittens

Hi

Been reading this group for years and really enjoy it. I need some advice on
taming feral kittens. Have a pretty serious feral cat situation in my
neighborhood. I've decided to do something about it. We've started catching
the feral cats using have-a-hearts. My first goal was to catch two kittens
that I estimate to be between 8-10 weeks old. We caught them last week. My son
works for a no-kill shelter. They are willing to spay/neuter, Frontline,
deworm and prescribe antibiotics if needed to any feral cat I can catch, at no
charge. The two feral kittens, whom we named Monica and Rachel, are in my
house, both spayed with the works (deworming, Frontline and Clavamox for 2
weeks). The vet feels these kittens can be tamed with some work. I have them
in separate dog crates (very large crates) in different rooms. I have been
bitten badly a few times and it has made me leery. If I can't tame these
kittens to make them adoptable, they will have to live outside. I cannot take
in anymore cats as I am getting too close to being the crazy cat lady on the
block I have 7 cats....not to mention the ones I feed outside, many of
which have been fixed. Can you guys with your wealth of knowledge and wisdom
offer me advice on how to tame the kitties without losing an eye or finger
Today I've made progress, they allow me to pet them through the crate. They
aren't thrilled and they hiss a bit but they've made no attempt to bite today.
When they were together.........yikes, they were quite nasty. I need to get to
the point I take them out and hold them.

Thanks for any and all advice!

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and
the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the
pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all
the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring~*~

read the rescue group, time and patience is what generally works, Lee
wrote in message
...
Hi

Been reading this group for years and really enjoy it. I need some advice
on
taming feral kittens. Have a pretty serious feral cat situation in my
neighborhood. I've decided to do something about it. We've started
catching
the feral cats using have-a-hearts. My first goal was to catch two kittens
that I estimate to be between 8-10 weeks old. We caught them last week. My
son
works for a no-kill shelter. They are willing to spay/neuter, Frontline,
deworm and prescribe antibiotics if needed to any feral cat I can catch,
at no
charge. The two feral kittens, whom we named Monica and Rachel, are in my
house, both spayed with the works (deworming, Frontline and Clavamox for 2
weeks). The vet feels these kittens can be tamed with some work. I have
them
in separate dog crates (very large crates) in different rooms. I have been
bitten badly a few times and it has made me leery. If I can't tame these
kittens to make them adoptable, they will have to live outside. I cannot
take
in anymore cats as I am getting too close to being the crazy cat lady on
the
block I have 7 cats....not to mention the ones I feed outside, many of
which have been fixed. Can you guys with your wealth of knowledge and
wisdom
offer me advice on how to tame the kitties without losing an eye or finger

Today I've made progress, they allow me to pet them through the crate.
They
aren't thrilled and they hiss a bit but they've made no attempt to bite
today.
When they were together.........yikes, they were quite nasty. I need to
get to
the point I take them out and hold them.

Thanks for any and all advice!

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and
the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the
pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all
the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring~*~

This is Phil's site he is a rescuer in New jersey that runs his own shelter
it might have some very useful tips

http://www.maxshouse.com/Database_toc.htm
wrote in message
...
Hi

Been reading this group for years and really enjoy it. I need some advice
on
taming feral kittens. Have a pretty serious feral cat situation in my
neighborhood. I've decided to do something about it. We've started
catching
the feral cats using have-a-hearts. My first goal was to catch two kittens
that I estimate to be between 8-10 weeks old. We caught them last week. My
son
works for a no-kill shelter. They are willing to spay/neuter, Frontline,
deworm and prescribe antibiotics if needed to any feral cat I can catch,
at no
charge. The two feral kittens, whom we named Monica and Rachel, are in my
house, both spayed with the works (deworming, Frontline and Clavamox for 2
weeks). The vet feels these kittens can be tamed with some work. I have
them
in separate dog crates (very large crates) in different rooms. I have been
bitten badly a few times and it has made me leery. If I can't tame these
kittens to make them adoptable, they will have to live outside. I cannot
take
in anymore cats as I am getting too close to being the crazy cat lady on
the
block I have 7 cats....not to mention the ones I feed outside, many of
which have been fixed. Can you guys with your wealth of knowledge and
wisdom
offer me advice on how to tame the kitties without losing an eye or finger

Today I've made progress, they allow me to pet them through the crate.
They
aren't thrilled and they hiss a bit but they've made no attempt to bite
today.
When they were together.........yikes, they were quite nasty. I need to
get to
the point I take them out and hold them.

Thanks for any and all advice!

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and
the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the
pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all
the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring~*~

wrote:
Hi

Been reading this group for years and really enjoy it. I need some advice on
taming feral kittens. Have a pretty serious feral cat situation in my
neighborhood. I've decided to do something about it. We've started catching
the feral cats using have-a-hearts. My first goal was to catch two kittens
that I estimate to be between 8-10 weeks old. We caught them last week. My son
works for a no-kill shelter. They are willing to spay/neuter, Frontline,
deworm and prescribe antibiotics if needed to any feral cat I can catch, at no
charge. The two feral kittens, whom we named Monica and Rachel, are in my
house, both spayed with the works (deworming, Frontline and Clavamox for 2
weeks). The vet feels these kittens can be tamed with some work. I have them
in separate dog crates (very large crates) in different rooms. I have been
bitten badly a few times and it has made me leery. If I can't tame these
kittens to make them adoptable, they will have to live outside. I cannot take
in anymore cats as I am getting too close to being the crazy cat lady on the
block I have 7 cats....not to mention the ones I feed outside, many of
which have been fixed. Can you guys with your wealth of knowledge and wisdom
offer me advice on how to tame the kitties without losing an eye or finger
Today I've made progress, they allow me to pet them through the crate. They
aren't thrilled and they hiss a bit but they've made no attempt to bite today.
When they were together.........yikes, they were quite nasty. I need to get to
the point I take them out and hold them.

Thanks for any and all advice!

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and
the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the
pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all
the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring~*~



Lots and lots of patience is what worked with my ex-feral, Shadow.

--
Adrian (Owned by Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Adrian" wrote in message
news
wrote:
Hi

Been reading this group for years and really enjoy it. I need some advice
on
taming feral kittens. Have a pretty serious feral cat situation in my
neighborhood. I've decided to do something about it. We've started
catching
the feral cats using have-a-hearts. My first goal was to catch two
kittens
that I estimate to be between 8-10 weeks old. We caught them last week.
My son
works for a no-kill shelter. They are willing to spay/neuter, Frontline,
deworm and prescribe antibiotics if needed to any feral cat I can catch,
at no
charge. The two feral kittens, whom we named Monica and Rachel, are in my
house, both spayed with the works (deworming, Frontline and Clavamox for
2
weeks). The vet feels these kittens can be tamed with some work. I have
them
in separate dog crates (very large crates) in different rooms. I have
been
bitten badly a few times and it has made me leery. If I can't tame these
kittens to make them adoptable, they will have to live outside. I cannot
take
in anymore cats as I am getting too close to being the crazy cat lady on
the
block I have 7 cats....not to mention the ones I feed outside, many of
which have been fixed. Can you guys with your wealth of knowledge and
wisdom
offer me advice on how to tame the kitties without losing an eye or
finger
Today I've made progress, they allow me to pet them through the crate.
They
aren't thrilled and they hiss a bit but they've made no attempt to bite
today.
When they were together.........yikes, they were quite nasty. I need to
get to
the point I take them out and hold them. Thanks for any and all advice!

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and the
hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the pleasures I
would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all the richer because
of the memories of this I was enduring~*~
Lots and lots of patience is what worked with my ex-feral, Shadow.

And for Boyfriend. I would not describe him as ex-feral, but he was lost
and well on the way to being a feral cat.
It does take a lot of patience, though. It's worth it.
Lots of luck, Jackie

Tweed

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:02:25 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

::And for Boyfriend. I would not describe him as ex-feral, but he was lost
::and well on the way to being a feral cat.
::It does take a lot of patience, though. It's worth it.
::Lots of luck, Jackie

Thanks for the links! I will be reading everything. Sorry if I posted in the
wrong group.

A little update, today...we are able to hold both kitties. While they still
hiss a little, there are no attempts to bite us. They like their necks
stroked

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and
the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the
pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all
the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring~*~

wrote in message
...
Hi

Been reading this group for years and really enjoy it. I need some advice
on
taming feral kittens. Have a pretty serious feral cat situation in my
neighborhood. I've decided to do something about it. We've started
catching
the feral cats using have-a-hearts. My first goal was to catch two kittens
that I estimate to be between 8-10 weeks old. We caught them last week. My
son
works for a no-kill shelter. They are willing to spay/neuter, Frontline,
deworm and prescribe antibiotics if needed to any feral cat I can catch,
at no
charge. The two feral kittens, whom we named Monica and Rachel, are in my
house, both spayed with the works (deworming, Frontline and Clavamox for 2
weeks). The vet feels these kittens can be tamed with some work. I have
them
in separate dog crates (very large crates) in different rooms. I have been
bitten badly a few times and it has made me leery. If I can't tame these
kittens to make them adoptable, they will have to live outside. I cannot
take
in anymore cats as I am getting too close to being the crazy cat lady on
the
block I have 7 cats....not to mention the ones I feed outside, many of
which have been fixed. Can you guys with your wealth of knowledge and
wisdom
offer me advice on how to tame the kitties without losing an eye or finger

Today I've made progress, they allow me to pet them through the crate.
They
aren't thrilled and they hiss a bit but they've made no attempt to bite
today.
When they were together.........yikes, they were quite nasty. I need to
get to
the point I take them out and hold them.

Thanks for any and all advice!


Hmm, I forgot to say that the only experience of feral kittens I have is
when I found a litter under the hedge in my paddock some years ago.
They were old enough to be hiss-spitty but not too old to scoop up, so I
did, and managed to catch momma too.
I did not have cats then,
so I took them to a no-kill shelter. One of the kittens went to a farm that
I knew and he had a great home.
Momma got spayed and put back. (I knew who she belonged to.)
I don't know what happened to the other three babies, but I am sure they
were rehomed successfully.
I don't know what the cut-off point is on taming feral kittens. These were
maybe 6/7 weeks, never seen a human before. It was pure luck I found
them.

Tweed

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:02:25 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

::And for Boyfriend. I would not describe him as ex-feral, but he was
lost
::and well on the way to being a feral cat.
::It does take a lot of patience, though. It's worth it.
::Lots of luck, Jackie

Thanks for the links! I will be reading everything. Sorry if I posted in
the
wrong group.

I didn't send you any links, just my experience, which you can ignore if it
does not fit your situation.
Tweed

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:27:56 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:02:25 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

::And for Boyfriend. I would not describe him as ex-feral, but he was lost
::and well on the way to being a feral cat.
::It does take a lot of patience, though. It's worth it.
::Lots of luck, Jackie

Thanks for the links! I will be reading everything. Sorry if I posted in the
wrong group.

A little update, today...we are able to hold both kitties. While they still
hiss a little, there are no attempts to bite us. They like their necks
stroked


Get the cheapest, smelliest canned Mackeral you can find and rub some
on your hands before petting the cats.

not the wrong group at all, there is lots of experience here, just that the
rescue group has people that rescue/tame and rehome all the time, i am glad
you are making progress, Lee
wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:02:25 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

::And for Boyfriend. I would not describe him as ex-feral, but he was
lost
::and well on the way to being a feral cat.
::It does take a lot of patience, though. It's worth it.
::Lots of luck, Jackie

Thanks for the links! I will be reading everything. Sorry if I posted in
the
wrong group.

A little update, today...we are able to hold both kitties. While they
still
hiss a little, there are no attempts to bite us. They like their necks
stroked

Jackie
~*~The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and
the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the
pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all
the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring~*~