Taming a wild kitten
Definitely part Siamese but the eyes are too light-coloured and the head shape is wrong for it to be a pedigreed cat so it's unlikely to be microchipped and have a traceable owner
On Friday night, I was at work and this little kitten wandered into the shop just before closing. It was scared and I couldn't catch it so I locked it inside when I left to prevent it from wandering off elsewhere. I thought it could have gotten lost during the New Year fireworks mayhem. Next morning, I went in with food, hoping that it would be easier to approach now that it was hungry and I had some bait but, no dice, it ran off and hid and I left as the shop had to open for business. The person on duty promised to prevent it from leaving and try and catch it and to my surprise, she did.
It was sent to the cat shelter around the corner and I went to see it when I arrived for my shift and the shelter-owner said it was odd that the kitten is terrified and behaves like a feral cat although it is obviously used to humans or it would not have come into the shop. She also said that it can't be homed as it is and after the last fiasco of the cat that went there that died, I told her that I would take the kitten so I collected it today.
If this is a feral kitten, it's probably too late for it to be easily tamed, the kitten seems about 8 weeks old and the window period for easy success is 5-6 weeks. After that, results are mixed.
It may be that this kitty was a pet that got lost and traumatised but will improve, I'll have to wait and see.
Every kitten needs a box. I use fine sawdust for litter trays and I added a little from the other cats' trays. The smell will help the kitten understand what it needs to do
Either way, the process is the same: an enclosed space to contain the cat and prevent it from hiding away while it becomes used to me and stops the other cats in the household from harassing it. It also needs to feel safe so although I will feed it and change the litter box, I will not attempt to touch it yet. Once it has stopped hissing and spitting, we'll try some games with string and feathers on the end of a stick. If it relaxes enough for that, it's time to try touching. Then, the thing to do is offer tasty treats to eat from my hands and if that works, I can progress to touching while feeding treats. Once a cat will accept touch, you can generally start letting it out to play and normal relationships can be built.
I'll post progress updates. Even if it doesn't tame up much, it will have a good live on my place where it can go outside and hunt and lead a relatively natural life in nature. I have a couple of other semi-wild cats who live happily that way.
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The kitten is beautiful!
I, once in my childhood, had a Siamese cat.
I don’t remember how he got to me, I remember that he was definitely not a kitten.
I could not cope with him, maybe because I myself was still a child.
The cat was harmful. In addition, he climbed curtains, which he rendered unusable.
My parents gave cat to someone, as they were not going to endure his "rudeness"
I cried and took myself a normal cute kitten :-)))
I hope that you will be fine with him, and you will cope!
He will have trees to climb and mice to hunt so I think he will not be bored enough to be a nuisance but I am wondering how he will turn out.
Yes, he will have a wonderful life, for which he will not need to "earn" :-)))
But as a thank you, want to them to be tame and affectionate.
The cat is plenty young enough to be tamed. I had to trap 5 of Scary Mary's kittens when they were as old as this one. Each have their own time to be tamed. One took 2 1/2 days the others took over 5 months... All you need is a lot of patience.. This little guy you got ts a real beauty... Good Luck ...Mom.... :-)
That gives me hope, because this kitten is plenty wild
I had my kittens in a cage at first but that didn't work with Mickey. At first he was unusually calm that he went berserk. Had to let him out before he hurt himself. Best thing is a small room with little places to hide. I used my front closed in porch. Also with cats it would be nice if he had another cat his age to socialize with. Cats brought up by themselves have problems socializing with other cats and people when they grow up....
Yes, I have a room that I am clearing so that he can be let out of the cage to exercise and play. Unfortunately, there are no others his age but some of my other cats are pretty playful and they should be able to socialise soon. Even if he doesn't tame up completely, as long as he lives in the house, I don't mind, I have others like that
Think positive ...HE/SHE WILL TAME.. I almost gave up on mine, Now the five kittens are 2 years old and very well adjusted. Give me absolutely no trouble ...
I can see that :)
I have one that was untouchable for 5 years that I tamed within a month of her coming to me so I know it can be done. I'm just hoping that it doesn't need to be confined for too long
this.
(it took years (!) to tame ours...well, maybe "taming" is not the right word. let's say - it took years to soften her character)
Some are real knuckleheads :-)
To tame Scary Mary herself was a big achievement :)
I really didn't tame her... she's ok with people, but will never accept another cat ...
Que suerte la del gatito, por haberte encontrado. se que le irá bien. Saludos. Por cierto es hermoso, aunque tenga su raza mezclada.
How lucky that of the kitten, for having found you. I know he will do well. Greetings. By the way it is beautiful, although it has its mixed race.
He is a very pretty kitten, I just hope for a less scared kitten :)
Lo lograrás, con amor lo lograrás. Estoy segura.
You will achieve it, with love you will achieve it. I'm sure.
I have an old stray or feral (not sure which) that comes and goes, like yours :>) He hasn't let me pet him for about six years that I've given him free access to my home with food and water!?!?!? Another one of my visitors recently passed away after ten years of having a history with him, which I think is a long time for a homeless cat. Well semi-homeless as long as there are people like you to help them out :>)
I have a house full of ex-feral cats :) Yes, if ferals are fed regularly, they do quite well
:>) Keep the good work up. I've helped many in the past who have come and gone too. Right now, there are about four new strays visiting my backyard. One took up residency on my back porch and peeks through the pet-door sometimes. He might be sneaking in at various times when I'm not in the back room...???
I am pretty sure he does
Haha...I just caught him in the back room, sitting there, staring up at me. He strolled out the pet door, even though I tried to convince him that he hadn't done anything wrong by sneaking in.
Hahaha, as they do
I'll need to take a shot of him, now curled up comfortably upon a chair in the back room... Seems he's feeling safe here.
Yes, show us!
I wish you the best with that beautiful creature 💗
Thank you, Barbara
Very cute kitten, just not much scared. I really hope that make friends with this creature.
I'm sure things will improve with time
Cute! My goddaughter has a rag doll cat with that colouring.
When I was a student, we found a young feral kitten in our backyard in winter. It hissed and spat until it figured out that inside was warm and it went crazy when we fed it some canned shrimp. You could tell that besides its mother's milk, it had lived on dried twigs. With proper nutrition, the scraggly grey kitten became a little black kitten.
I'm glad the outcome was good. I'm still trying to figure out what is the right food to bribe this little one with. Oddly enough, it's not in poor condition and not that keen on all the foods that worked so well with my other ferals
A very beautiful kitten! Hope she will get used to you soon! What’s the name?
I haven't thought of a name yet, don't even know if it is male or female