What To Do If You Find A Feral Cat
Whether it found its way into your yard or you frequently spot a particular homeless cat lurking around your neighborhood, if you somehow find yourself in the company of a feral cat, there are some steps you can take to ensure both your safety, as well as the kittys. Keep in mind that because these cats have never had the pleasure of bonding with a human in any meaningful way, they often consider all people as large predators and are generally not afraid to act accordingly by biting, hissing, or even scratching or otherwise attacking you.
You should also never approach a cat that seems sick, even though you likely want to do everything in your power to help the poor kitty. If a feral cat has randomly shown up at your back door, theres a decent chance he or she has rabies, and its far safer to call local animal control and avoid the risk of being bitten or scratched and requiring medical attention.
Above all, its important that anyone who considers taming a feral cat should know that it will likely take several weeksor even longer, if youve found a particularly skittish kittyso patience is of utmost importance.
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Use Calming Signals With Your Body Language
What Do I Do If I Find Young Kittens Who Have A Mother
Ask your neighbors and put up fliers to determine if this is a cat who has a home or if this is a stray cat. If this is a stray cat you want to catch the mother cat and her kittens. Kittens benefit from their mother’s milk and attention. Keep them together in a confined area with a box or other shelter inside this area where the mom cat can hide . The kittens will come out to see you and the mom cat will hide in the box/carrier. Handle the kittens daily to get them used to people and then put them back with mom. If you have them confined and you can’t touch the kittens because the mother cat is protecting them, then remove the kittens from her at 5 weeks of age and begin taming them. Read more about taming/socializing kittens.
The most important thing you can do is get the mother spayed so she doesnt get pregnant again. She can be spayed safely while still nursing her kittens and she can also get pregnant while nursing her kittens, so dont wait too long to have the surgery done.
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Bringing A Feral Cat Into Your Home
How To Protect Yourself When Approaching A Wild Kitten
A wild kitten that is not used to being around people can cause you harm if you are not careful. Make sure to wear gloves and protective clothes to keep yourself safe.
In many cases to get control, you will have to pick up the wild kitten by grasping the fur on the back of its neck. Make sure to do it gently without pinching and once you have pulled the kitten up, support its back legs with your free hand.
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S To How To Tame A Wild Cat
These six steps on how to tame a wild cat can help you change that scared neighborhood cat into a furry friend!
Overlooking an animal that you want to socialize with may look like meaningless advice however, as stated by Becky Robinson, leader and creator of Alley Cat Allies, ignoring a wild kitty will rage its interest and force it to make the initial move.
In addition, cats are creatures that try to find pleasure and kindness. If they are familiar with humans, then they need that consideration. Waiting for your cat to approach you and then giving a positive contact, will indicate it you are a trustworthy person.
What If Im Not Making Good Progress After 2
Some kittens will socialize very quickly. Others will take much more time and patience on your part. If you have more than one kitten from a litter, it is sometimes necessary to separate them.
This is difficult to do because our natural tendency is to want to keep them together. However, sibling kittens will bond with one another and what we want them to do is bond with a human. If the taming down process is not coming along within the first 2-3 weeks then it may be time to consider separating the kittens. If feral kittens are not progressing socially and are not separated, there is a chance that they will not tame down .
Remember that separation is temporary and the kittens can be reunited once they are socialized.Sometimes, feral kittens dont tame down.It is important to be realistic and understand that you kitten may be older than you first thought, or more feral.
When we get kittens in, often times they are sick and underweight, making us think they are younger than they actually are. Sick kittens are usually easier to handle, and in some cases the better they feel the more feral they become.
A plan needs to be in place if the kittens dont tame down . . .Return to their Colony?Relocation?
Good rules of thumb Dont try to push it if they are too old.Dont overwhelm a foster with too many kittens at once.Insist that guidelines be followed.
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Let The Cat Initiate Contact
When attempting to deal with a semi-feral cat, youre best off leaving the cat alone. It might seem counterintuitive to ignore a cat that you want to take home, but if you dont offer the cat attention, its more likely to be interested in you. In that case, it will initiate contact by reaching out or possibly being vocal toward you, indicating that you can continue the interaction.
Slowly Introduce Him To Other People
If you are taming the feral cat for adoption, you need to make sure that he is socialized with other people besides you. Hence, you should start allowing one person at a time to spend moments with him.
Just like what you did with him, these people should start feeding him with a dish and eventually with their fingers.
Eventually, he will be accustomed to their voices, scents, and actions. So, when the time comes, they can easily get comfortable with their new fur parents.
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Is Taming A Feral Cat Possible
Some believe a feral cat cannot be tamed. Depending on a number of factors, including the cat’s age, personality, and experiences in the wild, socialization is possible. It will take much time and patience. The older the cat, the more difficult it will be. Some cats may never become comfortable with human interaction, even after several months. Other cats may bond only with the human who socialized them, making them unsuitable for adoption elsewhere. There is a much greater chance of success taming a stray that has reverted to feral behavior than a cat that never had human contact, especially if its past interactions with humans were positive.
The Kitten Socialization Window
Socialization, or the process of becoming friendly to humans, is most successfully achieved during the first 12 weeks of a kittens life. If youve encountered a feral kitten, one of the first things to do is to determine the kittens age and make sure that shes within the age range where socialization will be successful.
Neonatal kittens should be handled at least twice a day to help them become comfortable with humans.
0-5 weeks: Dependent Kittens
Kittens under 5 weeks of age will be dependent on mama for nursing. You can foster a feral mama with her babies, and any interactions you have with the kittens during the first five weeks of life will greatly increase their level of socialization. Feral kittens raised with a feral mama should be handled at least 1-2 times daily for monitoring and light socialization. Orphaned kittens under 5 weeks old will receive plenty of hands-on care through bottle feeding and will generally become socialized within hours to days.
Use mealtime to help weaning kittens gradually accept humans!
5-12 weeks: Transitional Kittens
Older kittens may have a better outcome through TNR.
12+ Weeks: Independent Kittens
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How To Tame A Wild Kitten
Your kittens wildness could be a good thing! Wild animals are smart, quick, and efficient. Here are some tips for harnessing that wild energy and making sure it doesnt get out of hand. Make sure they have plenty of space to run around. Wild animals are used to roaming large distances, so give them lots of room to play!
Be cautious of their natural instincts. Wild animals can be territorial, possessive, and very protective of their young. If you have other pets, dont leave your kitten alone with them until youre sure theyre friendly. Make sure you feed them an appropriate amount. Wild animals are used to hunting for their own food, and might not know how much they should eat when you feed them.
Dont let them out of the house until theyve been spayed or neutered. Wild animals are used to finding mates and reproducing in the wild. Keeping them inside is good for their health as well as your homes cleanliness!
Treat Foods Find Out What Their Kitty Crack Is
When youre working with them, use something extra special, extra yummy, rather than their staple food. Its extra specialness will encourage them to stretch their comfort zone and push through their fear barriers.
In America, Gerber meat baby food is very popular with cats. In Australia, our baby food is mainly vegetables, so not suitable for cats.
Australian scaredy cat tamers have had success with:
- Hills a/d tinned food
- fresh liver, especially if warm
Follow these steps to socialise your kitty.
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Tame The Kitty Not Their Dietary Needsfeed Them Untamed
Untamed is the best wet food for feral kittens because it contains delicious human-grade whole meat. Ferals have heightened predatory instincts, and the aromatic scent of our steamed gravies and jellies appeals to their primal senses, making it easier for you to be the trustworthy human who brings good food.
Untamed helps bruised and battered kitties recuperatewith:
Fussy cats all over the UK have opened their hearts to our delicacies made with chicken, liver, tuna, duck, salmon, sardines, mackerel, ham, and shrimp. Your in-training feral kitty will chill upon tasting our delicious flavours after a life of surviving on junk scrapstake our TRY NOW quiz to order the taster pack!
True survivors are possessive of good food. Lets not call it a feral trait, hooman.
Image Untamed
Wild Ones And Mild Onesuntamed Works For All
Untamed products are suitable for every kittywhether a weaning kitten or an elderly cat. With adequate serving sizes, you can use our meals to:
- Next-day deliveries
- Hassle-free modification or cancellation of orders
When your kitty is ready for regular wet food, choose our monthly cat food subscription to get tailor-made meal boxes delivered to your door every month. We keep our operations eco-friendly and ethical
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Feral Kittendevelopment Health And Eating Habits
Most feral kittens are rescued in shabby health. They are usually underdeveloped and underweight and often suffer from flea infestation and intestinal worms. Before you start the taming process, have your rescue kitty checked by a vet to get a clear idea of their medical situation.
Once the vet clears the kitty, help them develop steadily with suitable cat food products. A good strategy is to use both wet and dry food during the containment stage:
Once your kitty moves to the handling stage, switch them to a regular wet-food diet. Dry food contributes to unhealthy eating habits in feral kittens because theyve been deprived for so long. Besides, a kibble diet is typically rich in carbs and can increase the risk of developing:
Bring the taste of the wild to their mealsuse Untamed to score some feral trust points!
Image Untamed
Before You Move Forward Consider
1. Time: Do you have the time it takes to socialize kittens? You will have to commit to caring for them one-on-one for at least a couple of hours each day, for a period of a few weeks to a month or longer. If the kittens are neonatal, they will require even more specialized care, including round-the clock bottle-feeding. Make sure you know ahead of time what a project like this will require from you: time, love, patience and endurance!
2. Adoption Expertise and Connections: After socializing the kittens, they will need adoptive homes. Do you have the networkfriends, acquaintances, organizations to help you find those homes? Finding and screening homes for kittens takes work. Consider the paperwork requiredadoption fees, forms, and contractsas well as your ability to get the kittens neutered before adoption when deciding whether to socialize them or not.
3. Feral Cat FOCUS recommends early-age spay/neuter. A kitten can be spayed/neutered at approximately three months old as long as it weighs 2.5 pounds .
4. Kitten Age: If kittens are trapped at two-three months of age they can be spayed or neutered and returned to their colony. If you do not have the time to devote to socializing kittens, please keep them with their colony. These kittens should be neutered, vaccinated, and returned to their outdoor home.
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Brief And Periodic Handling:
After the initial confinement, you need to understand the right way to handle the kitten. To do this, you need to predict whether or not the feral kitten is in a good mood. This will help you avoid any bites or scratches.
Keeping all these pointers in mind, start slow and gradually increase the handling and contact. This will help them get acquainted with the human touch without it being too overwhelming.