tring to save feral kitten (long)

15 years ago

Back to the beginning:

Early this spring, someone dumped off some kittens on my front porch when I was at work. I come home everyday at lunch. I assume wheoever did this, knows I'm an animal lover. When I saw them, of course I gathered them up. There were two hiding behind my broom. Approx. 6-8 weeks old if I had to guess.

My neighbor was coming home at the same time I found them and I was telling her what I'd found and how I couldn't just leave them there to freeze or run off and get hit. She decided to take them. She wanted a new kitten anyway and her daughter wanted one too. Pefect. Both of us wondered if there had been more that might have wondered off. 2 in a litter was pretty small. We looked around in the woods across from my house and didn't see any more.

Last week, I heard a frantic meowing from the woods directly across from my house. A cat was trying to get my attention but was afraid to come out. He looks just like he would be from the same litter as what got dropped off at my door several months before. He was starving. He wanted me to feed him. Since then, I have been providing him food and water twice a day in the small clearing across the street from my house. He is small and alone, and I know he will not make it through the winter I don't think. He waits every morning for me to bring him breakfast, bless his heart, but will not come up to me. He wants to, but he's very afraid. The closest he will come is about 10 feet from me.

My concern is that winter is coming and I don't want him/her to freeze and starve to death.

I have three small dogs and two cats of my own as it is. I'd happily take this stray in, but I don't think he will come to me. I was thinking about tring to slowly move his daily food closer to my house and maybe once the bad weather comes, leave my garage door up just a bit for him to get under and have a warm bed and food out there for him. I don't know what else to do. Winter will be here before too much longer and already I'm worried about him freezing to death and starving. (we can have bad winters in Michigan. Lots of snow pedicted this year with below average temps)

Any suggestions at all? Some people probably think I'm crazy, but I love animals and try to help all of those that I can.

If I could catch him, I'd take him to the vet and try to keep it, hoping my other cats would come around and accept him/her, and my dogs.

Thanks,

Mindy

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Comments (16)

sweetchastity
15 years ago
I think if you called one of those rescue shelters they might be able to offer some advice. There are feral cats/kittens around my college when I was enrolled and I spoke to a grounds keeper who said they manage well by themselves (I'm northwest of you in Ontario).

My gut would be try and trap him and set him up in a room in my home with places he can hide while I tend to food and litter and such and let him approach me when he's ready. But I am no expert and that is just what I would want to do. I think he would need extended time with you in closer quarters than the present area allows. That is why I suggest calling an animal shelter. He seems young enough that he could be brought into a home and domesticated if done properly but I would definitely get the counsel of one who knows how to take in wild cats and slowly introduce them to a life indoors.

There are some great people here who had advice on the skunk thread so give them time to add input and call a cat rescue shelter for advice along the way. I'm not sure if you could encourage him to live in your garage, other animals might get in if he could be prey for them. I think its all or nothing. He should be taken in and domesticated (this would probably take a lot of time and proper steps to ensure everyone's safety) or feed him and let him continue to live wild. Mind you with winter coming other animals might be drawn to the smell of his food and he could get caught in a fight. I wonder how he's been managing all this time. Perhaps he was getting food from another source and was driven off by another animal and he wandered back your way.
mazer415
15 years ago
It would be better to get a live trap. This kitty may have some diseases that you dont want your healthy pets contacting with. I suggest you get the trap, rap the cat, take it straight to the vets, get its shots bring it inside. Quarantine it in a room until labs come back or the vet okays it (it is use to being alone anyway and this way at leaast it will be inside) then when the vet gives the okay, go ahead and introduce it to everyone else. The sooner you do this the better, the longer that cat stays outside, the worse things are going to get. PS dont forget to spay and neuter everyone as soon as the time comes. Good luck
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ilovepoco
15 years ago
If you don't want to bring the cat into your home for whatever reason, rather than leave your garage door open, you might set him up with a cozy shelter outside. The following worked for me when one of my cats decided to move out in the middle of a Massachusetts winter rather than deal with a new puppy:

* A Dogloo, or some other small, solid shelter
* A microwaveable disk thingy that holds heat for 12 hours or more

I put the Dogloo out on my deck facing away from the prevailing winds (and where I could see inside to check on him) and wrapped the freshly-heated disk in an old blanket (rucked up into a cocoon) every morning and evening. The cat would come in to eat twice a day, but would then leave again. I made sure he had all the food/fuel he wanted, and he developed the most glorious winter coat that year! He was quite the snow bunny, and did quite well in his little house all winter long. By spring, the puppy had calmed down, and the cat had gotten used to her and moved back in to resume hanging out and sleeping inside again.

Susan
laurief_gw
15 years ago
A live trap is the way to go. You can borrow, rent, or purchase a live trap. Call your nearest animal control, shelters, rescues, and wildlife services. I always borrow a live trap from the local U.S. Wildlife Services when a stray or feral cat appears on my farm. Cover the trap with a blanket (all except the door end) and bait it after dark with fish-flavored cat food, warmed in the microwave to make it extra smelly. Don't feed the kitten earlier that day. You want him good and hungry to add incentive for him to enter the trap.

BEFORE you trap him, though, find a vet who will agree to examine him as soon as you have him in the trap. A lot of vets won't deal with ferals, so you need to have someone lined up before you start this process. You will take the kitten to the vet still in the trap, so this all has to be arranged ahead of time. Most likely, the vet will sedate him in the trap so that he can be safely handled, then will draw blood for testing leukemia, etc.; check and treat for parasites, fleas, and ear mites; vaccinate; determine age and gender; and even spay/neuter if the kitten's age and general physical condition permit.

After all of the preliminary vet work has been completed, you will get to bring your new kitten home and begin the integration process. It will likely take a while - perhaps several months - but it has been my experience that ferals can learn to love family life if they are given adequate time to adjust without being pushed to integrate too quickly. I've successfully integrated two ferals into my family, and they were both intact, adult toms when they arrived. They took 4 and 4 1/2 months respectively before they were ready to integrate into the rest of the household feline population, but they're perfectly happy members of the family now.

The fact that you can get within 10' of this kitten outdoors implies a significant level of trust already. My boys wouldn't let me get within 100' of them outdoors. If you are able to "give" one of the rooms in your home to this kitten for the next few months, you should be able to integrate him into your family safely.

It's very kind of you to have taken this little one under your wing, and he will reward you for it in unimaginable ways. There is little I have done in this life that has filled me with more joy than winning the trust and love of a feral. It's by no means the easiest undertaking in the world, but it's oh so fulfilling.

Let us know how it goes with the kitten.

Laurie
Elly_NJ
15 years ago
No one here would think you are crazy.

Thank you for doing what you have done!

Elly
runsnwalken
15 years ago
I think it depends on how tame and used to people the cat is, the kindest thing to do may be to fix him to prevent more unwanted kittens and turn him loose outside. He may live a shorter life because of it but a feral cat is like a wild animal, even if you tame them up some never became good pets.

PS IMO a diet of a feral is what all cat owners should copy, rodents,birds, small mammals, if thats not possible, Innova EVO, Ziwi peak, Orijen, are good. Never feed wild prey to them though as it contains parasites, if you buy frozen feeder rodents you kick this problem on its end.

www.Rodentpro. com is a good place, Mice on ice is another.
Lily316
15 years ago
What Laurie said..Cover the live trap except for the end and microwave smelly people tuna and put in in the back so that he's the whole way in before the trap shuts. He'll be scared. Don't let him near your other animals till he's checked out. Then he should be in his own room for awhile. I raised two ferals and it took a few weeks in a small bathroom for one and then she came down and integrated in with the rest of the cats. No one could ever touch her but me, so you'll need to be with him a lot and socialize him. The other feral I saved was her sister and she had to get hit by a car for me to finally get her. She wasn't hurt but starving and got tamer than her sister. Good luck..
ggschmerl
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, with all of your suggestions, I have decided to try and trap it. I'm calling around today to see if I can find a live trap.

She came up with in about 5 feet of me this morning. It was pouring rain last night, so I think the food I left out for her went by the wayside. She was ready to eat this morning.
I'm feeding her kitten chow at the moment.

I did call my vet yesterday afternoon and spoke to them there. They will accept a feral cat, particularly one so young. I plan to take her in as soon as I can catch her.
I will get her shots, tested, and fixed, depending on her sex. My home office upstairs will become her/his new home until she/he's ready to meet the rest of the family.

I had a fight with my BF last night about it. I feel like I am doing the right thing. It feels good to me. He thinks I have too many amimals as it is and 'I can't save everything'. Our thoughts on animals is very different needless to say. It's my house, I'm doing what I want.

Wish me luck. Deep down I think this kitten wants me to save it.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Mindy
stir_fryi SE Mich
15 years ago
Good luck!
cat_mom
15 years ago
fingers are crossed!
laurief_gw
15 years ago
Good luck, Mindy! Your BF is correct in that you can't save them all. BUT, you sure can save the ones who show up and ask for help! You're doing the right and humane thing. I hope the kitten is an easy catch.

Laurie
northy
15 years ago
Fingers crossed on catching him soon!

It sounds like you two are off to a good start as he already associates you with meal time. :) It is also great news your vet is willing to see him.

"You can't save them all"... true enough. My husband used to say the same thing to me about stopping to rescue dogs/cats from traffic, dumpsters, etc. It wasn't until we adopted our puppy, who had formerly been a stray, and they really bonded that he 'got it'. Now he sees our dog in every lost dog on the street. You've got to follow your conscious.

:) Hope you get the chance to give an update on how it goes.
todancewithwolves
15 years ago
DH and I have argued over me bringing in strays. I've adjusted my words now..."honey, don't worry it's just a foster. I'll find it a new home".
acorn
15 years ago
LOL to honey don't worry it's just a foster. I'll find it a new home.
Lily316
15 years ago
Good for you and good luck..You CAN'T save them all but you can try to help the ones you meet. I have been bottle feeding a baby squirrel now for 8 days. I'm not having fun and it's just a squirrel so many love to shoot, but he is a dear little creature and I couldn't let him die w/o trying. I have raised so many homeless animals I lost count. We're wired that way, I guess and others aren't. Let us know when you get him..and don't let people tell you ferals don't make good pets. My Emma was one of my all time favorite cats, and she was as feral as they come.
petra_gw
15 years ago
Good luck with the rescue, I hope you catch him/her soon!

3 of our cats are former ferals, a mama cat who was living in the Walmart garden center, and her two kittens. We trapped them and they were wild as can be. The kittens (both about 7 months old at the time) came around quickly, the mama took longer. She was 3 or 4 at the time. We've had them for 7 years, and they are all very loving.

I agree about the wiring, Lily. And I don't care for people who aren't wired that way. :)

tring to save feral kitten (long)

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