# Trapped 3 kittens!



## ZeroTransPat

Out of NO WHERE, 4 kittens appeared yesterday.
I manged to trap 3 out of 4 of them.
The 3 are all tiger stripped, and the 4th one is all black with a white tip on its tail.

They were treated for fleas, and worms, and got an FIV test as well. 
The vet thinks they are 3 months old at least.

Do you think I will have a problem socializing them since they're 3 months old? 
I'm mainly worried about that.

What do you guys think?


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## dt8thd

That's wonderful! Good for you for rescuing these little ones! 3 month old kittens are perfectly socializeable. Older kittens do often take a little longer to socialize, but most 3 month old kittens will start to come around a bit within a couple of weeks. If it were me, then yes, I would take them in and socialize them, though, I admittedly have resources at my disposal that aren't available to everyone. Are you still attempting to trap the 4th kitten?


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## gizmothecat

Awwwwwww kittens....post pictures...please!!

I don't think it will be hard ti socialize them. They are still young enough...but I'm surely no expert. It would be great if you could catch the 4th one


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## ZeroTransPat

Yes, I am attempting to catch the 4th one.
It doesn't come around a lot, but when its hungry, hopefully it will make its way into the trap and grab the food in there. 

I will post pictures now, one moment!


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## ZeroTransPat

Here they are!

2 females and one male.


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## gizmothecat

OMG....they are stunning!!! Beautiful. I hate to say this (I ADORE my babies) ...but every time I see rescued kittens I wish I didn't have any so I could adopt. I LOVE kittens!!! They are gorgeous!!! So jealous, thank you for helping them. I hope you get the 4th one


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## wallycat

I think they may be socialized. I would certainly try it. I would try to get the last one as well. Best case, they will socialize but even if they do not, TNR would be wonderful.


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## ZeroTransPat

Kitty-The-Cat said:


> Awwwww ... so cute! Looks like my cat when she was a kitten.
> 
> Was there any sign of a mother around? Or do you think someone dumped them in your area to get rid of them?


I know who the mother is, she is a stray we havent spayed yet.


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## threecatguy

where did the 4th go? poor little one all alone...


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## ZeroTransPat

2 are letting me hold/pet them a bit, the 3rd one is scared out of her mind.


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## ZeroTransPat

threecatguy said:


> where did the 4th go? poor little one all alone...


its around. i have a trap i set. it will come around eventually.


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## ZeroTransPat

Just caught the black cat :>


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## Greenport ferals

Great! All together again. Those little tigers are beautiful.


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## gizmothecat

Yeahs!!!! Glad you got the 4th brother or sister . When you get a second...please snap a piccy   thank you


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## gizmothecat

LowFatPat said:


> 2 are letting me hold/pet them a bit, the 3rd one is scared out of her mind.


She will come around..poor thing  I wouldn't force her...she'll see you handling the others and see its ok. I'd talk to her in cute voice... Soft and sweet I'd also meow and purr towards her and give slow blink eyes. I wish I could play with them


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## wallycat

I agree....pix of the little black one and the sister will see you handling, plus feeding her, and she will come around. She will smell your scent on the siblings. Coo at her when you bring in their food....YAY.
Are you keeping all 4 or ?? They look so pretty!!


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## ZeroTransPat

We are putting them up for adoption :> 

and the black one is male!

So its 2 males, 2 females.


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## ZeroTransPat

*Trouble with feral kitten.*

A few days ago, we caught 4 three month old kittens.

2 days later, 3 of them are starting to become more and more social.
But one is very, very feral. 
She won't stop hissing when I go to touch her, and she won't let me go near her head. 

Not only that, she often meows for no reason. 
I have to separate her from her brothers and sister because it's the only way she will come around.

Her brothers and sisters are already starting to play with each other, and become more comfortable with their environment, but this kitten is showing no progress at all. (I know it's only been 2 days, but still..)

Basically, I am worried she will never come around.
I try and sit down and pet her in her little cat tent thing, but she backs up and hisses.
I can't even pick her up without her scratching me or trying to bite me.

I am turning on the radio at night, and doing everything I think I'm supposed to do.

Does anyone have any advice?


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## sarah_anne

I would check out the following website: Taming Ferals - UrbanCatLeague
It is about taming ferals.

If it were me, I would quit trying to touch her and go back to the basics-food. Earn her trust through food. It sounds like you are able to give her her own room and that is good. Do not free feed her, but put her on a schedule, 2-3 times a day. When you go to feed her, set her food out and sit a little bit away and wait. If she eats in front of you-great. Begin to move the feeding dish closer and closer to you until it is right next to you or in your lap. Initiate touching while she is eating-she will probably hiss at first, but eventually, she will become more tolerant.

If she won't even eat in front of you, then take the food away and try again at the next feeding. Eventually her hunger will win out over her fear of you. 

Also, put one of your dirty shirts in her room so she gets used to your smell.


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## ZeroTransPat

I don't think she is THAT feral. 
She is just scared. 

I brought her into the bathroom with me, and had some one on one confrontation. 
She freaked out for awhile, but I somehow got her in the bath tub with a blanket to lay on, and she relaxed a bit, and I slowly started petting her.

30min later, she was in my arms, falling asleep.

She doesn't hiss at me nearly as much now, but she still meows.
I think she wants to be with her brothers and sisters. 
I'm not gonna put her in there until she stops hissing 100%, like the other ones.


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## librarychick

Use gloves, catch her as gently as possible a few times a day and cuddle her like you just described. With kittens you can push their boundaries more than with adults because they adapt so quickly. IMO you should take advantage of that. 

I would put her with her siblings though. Kittens need their siblings at that age to learn kitty manners and them being more comfortable with you may encourage her.


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## ZeroTransPat

Here's Lumos! 

We named him after the spell from harry potter because his tail has a white tip, plus, it's like the male equivalent to "Luna".

Here are the other 3. 

I think it's pretty obvious which one the male is.


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## kittylover92

Hi LowFatPaw

I rescued a feral kitten (now my Tilly) who was about 8 weeks old. She is now almost 6 months old. When we brought her home, she did everything in her power to stay as far away from us as possible. I live in a quiet apartment with my oh and no other pets, so there was nothing obvious there to cause her fear. She hissed at us if we looked at her or approached her and ran away, she also bit me when I did try to touch her a couple of times. She cried all night. The first thing we did was to bring another kitten home of similar age and they were immediately best friends and she was able to see me stroking and interacting the other kitten, and that I wasn't a threat. It took about 2 months for her to come out of hiding, she still bolted if we walked past her or anything though. One day I found a toy that she liked and suddenly I was able to get her coming a bit closer to me! 

After 3 months, Tilly let us stroke her for the first time! It was after a trip to the vets and she was in her carrier. I put my hand in and she let me stroke her! She even purred for the first time ever!! It was incredible. We'd tried this approach before and she'd literally bitten our hands off. Then we picked her up and out of the carrier and she tolerated it. 

4 months on, we're still taking things slow, but we can stroke her if we approach slowly and she sleeps right near us without worrying. Just seeing her walk around with her tail up high is amazing for us, as she dragged her tail and hissed for so many months. 

Anyway, I don't know how much time you can give this kitten but I think it's entirely possible that he/she could come around. I honestly thought we had no hope with Tilly, but things are looking up for her  

P.S. Tilly was from feral parents and had NO contact with humans whatsoever before she came to me.


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## ZeroTransPat

She isn't that bad, once you hold her and pet her long enough, she comes around and relaxes.


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## ZeroTransPat

*Semi-feral kitten help*

I'm gonna quickly sum it all up : 

Caught 4 kittens last weeks, they're 3 months old.

3 are progressing well, 1 is progressing a lot slower. 
She hisses when I go near her, and growls, and even meows in fear.
She HAS progressed, but as I said, its been very slow. 
(She doesn't scratch anymore, just hisses)

I've isolated her from the rest of them. 
Any advice on how to get her to be friendlier? 
I am worried she will never be socialized and never be adopted, and I already have 3 cats.


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## Carmel

a


LowFatPat said:


> I don't think she is THAT feral.
> She is just scared.
> 
> ...
> 
> I think she wants to be with her brothers and sisters.
> I'm not gonna put her in there until she stops hissing 100%, like the other ones.





librarychick said:


> I would put her with her siblings though. Kittens need their siblings at that age to learn kitty manners and them being more comfortable with you may encourage her.





LowFatPat said:


> Any advice on how to get her to be friendlier?


You already had fantastic advice from Becky. She is confused and more scared without her littermates you said so yourself that's she's not that feral, just scared. Cats pick up on behavior from other cats. If the other kittens are friendly, she will slowly (or quickly) see that good things are happening to them when they're around you getting scratches and treats.

Even when Jasper had become a pretty tame cat he continued to hiss for about 3 months straight whenever I opened the garage door, like on reflex. You may be waiting a long time if you're holding out for something like that.


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## feralkit

I feel for you as my feral babies were pretty easy, even the ones that were found at 8 to 10 weeks. Though, I think temperament has alot to do with it.

What I did was keep them in a room and make no move to touch. When they meowed, I would simply go in and sit there (with food if it was time and they didn't just eat), not even trying to get close. I found that the meowing was for attention. They were lonely and wanted another cat. It seems that the ones I had would eventually take attention from a human rather than stay lonely.

With Smokey, I trapped him for the neighbor. He was kept in a room, but they actually tried handling him, even tried to give him a bath because he had diarrhea. When I went to check on him, I heard him crying in there, they warned me not to get close because he was aggressive. I went in and sat a few feet away. He was crying away and on the window sill, back to the closet to hide, on the windowsill again, so on. My 6 year old daughter came in (against my orders) and went to the window, he came out and head bumped her a few minutes later, but jumped back and gave some hisses when she tried to pick him up. I knew then that he would be her buddy. When hands were off, he would "pet" us. lol We just waited it out and took it slow. I took him back to my place because the guy didn't want to deal with the diarrhea. I really wasn't looking to have a cat. After I got him treated, Smokey was ours. After around 2 years, he still sometimes gets annoyed and hides from Estelle when she tries to pick him up and he is not in the mood (who wouldn't?). As soon as she is asleep, he goes to lick her and cuddle. Haha!

Gremlin was a little different, but is more of a cuddler. I got her to come to a crate with food inside by making purring meow sounds that I have heard from friendly(to cats) feral males and moms. She responded to the sounds but was afraid of the sight of humans.

She was so malnourished and sickly that she didn't have much energy for aggression. She was kept in the bathroom. I had estimated about 36 to 72 hours before she would approach one of us for more than food. She would come close for food, but quickly hide behind the toilet or in her crate with any sudden moves or sounds. It turns out that she came to my husband to touch him while he was on the pot within 12 hours. She had a little attitude after getting treated for her problems as she started to feel better. It has been less than 2 months and she won't leave me alone when I am in bed with the laptop.


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## ZeroTransPat

*Should I keep scared cat with more social, friendly cat?*

Basically, one kitten out of the litter of 4 I rescued is scared, and hissing. 
I was told to keep her separated from her siblings and have her rely on me for food so she won't be so scared, but that doesn't seem to be working.. 

When I put her with her friendliest sibling, they play together, and have fun.
When she is alone, she just sits in a cardboard box in her cage, hissing at me if I get near her. 

She doesn't scratch, or bite, and if petted long enough in the box on your lap, she will begin to purr. 

Should I continue to separate her from her siblings, or should I keep the friendliest one with her, so she can pick up on his positive behavior?


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## Kytkattin

No, keep her with her siblings. She needs to know how to be a cat and get along with other cats. She already relies on you for food, and will associate you with food. You should continue to temporarily separate her and hold her in your lap like you have been. Maybe bring an extra special treat for those sessions, like some chicken or tuna (careful with the tuna though, it's addicting!). Maybe you can kind of feed them all in your lap during dinner time? Try to not just force pet her when your separate her. Bring out some toys, make her play. If she doesn't seem interested in playing, bring in a sibling that is, and maybe she will mimic that.


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## ZeroTransPat

She is still making no progress  

I'm so confused!
Some people are telling me to keep her with her siblings, others are telling me to separate her! 

I'm honestly considering just TNRing her, because it's just so crazy!


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## gizmothecat

What is TNR ing her mean?


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## gizmothecat

Wait..what did I miss? Why is she seperated from her littermates??? She needs them at this age to socialize and know how to be a kitty...show her how you act with the other kittens and how they react towards you. She is scared and needs to be shown it is ok...she won't learn that alone


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## Greenport ferals

Please put her back with her littermates. They are making more progress, and she will learn from them. Patience, patience. It's been less than 3 weeks!


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## Yuki'sMum

Awww poor baby sounds terrified. I agree with the advice above. Put her back with her litter mates and they will model friendly behavior for her. 


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## ZeroTransPat

I have her with one of her littermates, the most social one!


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## gizmothecat

but why are you seperating them.....they should all be together  they will think they are being punished....they NEED their siblings.


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## librarychick

Keep all of them together. Twice a day go in and play with all of them using a wand toy. After that use gloves and handle the wilder one, pet her gently and give her scratches. You can speak softly while you cuddle her, but sit on the floor and face her away from you on your lap. Lastly, feed tgem wet food when you're there, sit near the plate and read out loud as they eat, but sit with your back to the plate.

If you're diligent she should come around.

The only time you should separate ferals is if its a litter with a feral mother. Then you need to separate them once the kits are 6 weeks to spay the mother and prevent her from teaching the kittens to fear people. A litter should always be kept together until they're 8-12 weeks and adoptable.TBH I'd adopt the wilder kitten out with a littermate to a kid free home.


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## Carmel

No one here has told you to separate them, we've told you it's counterproductive. Please keep them all together until you're finding homes for them, you can still have one on one time with this kitten but there's no need to have any of them apart from each other. The less social one should either stay longer with you or should be adopted out with one of the littermates.


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## ZeroTransPat

Okay, thanks guys! 
I've been keeping her with her brothers and sisters, and went to pet her, and she didn't hiss! 

She seems happier, and calmer with them


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## ZeroTransPat

The last kitten (Happy) was adopted 4 days ago


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## pkbshrew

Well done!


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## howsefrau32

That is great news!! Good job saving them and finding them homes, that is just great


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