He's doing great. He also has a friend now, named Ralphie, a long haired, orange kitten. Someone called me and said they had a feral kitten and wanted me to take it. You know, you seldom get the real stories on animals that people want you to take. The story was that his mother abandoned him, but he was about the same age as Favio, maybe a week older. I told them, no, animals aren't like people. They don't abandon their babies....at least no mama cat is going to abandon a kitten that big....maybe she was killed. So I went to see the kitten, and he was a cute little thing, but definitely not feral. Feral kittens hiss and spit. The only thing this one did was cry all the time. So, I think the real reason she was getting rid of it, she got the kitten, and it was too young to leave it's mother and so it cried all the time, and she told me "it won't shut up". So, I figured he would be good company for Favio. I named him Ralphie....and no, he doesn't cry any more. It has been a big help to me, to have two kittens. Fav was used to being by himself and didn't cry, but he needed company to play with and Ralphie has worked out perfectly. My daughter had said she was looking for an orange kitten, so I offered Ralphie to her, but I didn't think she would take him because last I heard, they were looking at an older cat at the shelter, and anyway, he is Fav's friend, so he will be staying here with Favio.

Favio has done exceptionally well, but I admit to worrying more about him than any baby I have ever raised. He was a little slow to switch over to solid food....Ralphie helped with that. An older cat here comes in and she likes them and bathes them....so they have a "nanny". :D

I am going to try and get a better picture of Favio and will post it in a few minutes. I woke Ralpie up to take his picture...so he looks sleepy in the picture. Will try to get a better one of him soon. Anyway, they are both doing great, and Fav is so special to me. He is so cuddly because he is used to being held. He almost never is still....plays all the time. Ralphie isn't quite as affectionate as Favio, but he sleeps next to me and he loves being combed. I use a flea comb on them because their nanny is an outside cat and when she comes in, sometimes she brings a flea or two. I flea comb both of them two or three times a day. When I comb Ralphie, he "fleas" me in return....gently chewing on my arm. They are the sweetest babies and extra special to me. If anyone ever has the chance to raise an orphan, it takes a lot of dedication....they need to be fed every couple of hours starting out, but they are the most affectionate and cuddly cats you will ever have. Here is Ralphie, and I will see if I can get a better pic of Fav.

Oh, Ralphie is sweet. Are feral kittens genetically more wild or do they become standoffish because that's how their mother behaves? If you took two kittens at birth -- say one a feral kitten found in the woods and the other born to someone's sweet pet, and raised them together would the feral one still be wild? I always figured feral cats were the descendants of somebody's escaped or abandon pet. Just curious.

Awwww, how adorable he is! Boy, it sounds like you have all your bases covered for little Favio--a brother AND a nanny to show him what's what. I'm really glad to hear he's doing well, Marilyn. Sometimes I can't check in for a bit and I worried that I might have missed your post--glad to hear all is well. Maybe someday I can do what you do, if I can ever get over my skitishness around kitties, which I developed as a kid dealing with our neighbor's cat. I love them, but am a bit wary. Thanks so much for posting, Marilyn!!

(People can sure be hard-hearted, can't they? I guess I'll never get used to that. I'm so glad you took Ralphie too.)

dedtired, Ralphie wasn't feral. That was an excuse because she knew I have some cats that were feral, sent to me after they were neutered, and I guess she thought I'd be more apt to take him if he was feral.

Feral kittens will be just like any other kitten, but of course, the sooner you handle a kitten and get it socialized with people the better it will be. I have found that the feral cats that come here, once they get used to me and let me pet them a little, they are just like any of the other cats. Maybe a little bit more skittish, but they settle down a lot. Well, that is most of them. Others never let me pet them but will let me get very close to them when I feed them, and I can grab them if I have to doctor them. Sometimes the ferals love being petted so much they don't seem like they can get enough.

Yay! An update. Cool for Ralphie and Favio. Can't wait to see Favio, but Ralphie is looking pretty cute.

sjerin, I couldn't have turned down Ralphie. Even if he had been wild. It just happened to work out the best for everyone. And yes, some people are very hard hearted. But, too, she probably didn't know very much about cats, and wasn't thinking that he would be so lonely. He was such an adorable little fuzz ball. It wouldn't have been hard to find a home for him, but he was too little to be by himself. I have found that a lot of people look at animals in a one dimensional way. They think of them as things....like, objects. They don't consider that they have feelings too and feel many of the same emotions that we do. Any baby would be crying for his mama.

ohhh I am in love with them but I have a very soft spot in my heart for the orange kitties they remind me of my precious Garfield that I miss every day.

Just precious! Thank you Marilyn for being so good and kind to those little lost babies!

Thanks for the lesson, Marilyn. Your kitties are adorable, feral or not!