New fosterer - feral kittens.
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 1:06 pm
Hi there.
I've recently started fostering cats for a local rescue. This week they asked me to take on 3 kittens (10-12 weeks) that had been unexpectedly surrendered that day and were in need of socialising. They had been told that the kittens were skittish but not unused to humans.
This turned out to be massively incorrect.
So as a noob to the fostering game, they were let out in a small room (our previous foster is in the cat room, waiting for the new owner to collect) and immediately they ran and hid. So I'm thinking that they've had a stressful day and left them to it for a while. Later that evening I tried to at least identify the sex of the 3. I was wearing one leather work glove 'just in case'. I only managed to identify one as a male, the least aggressive of the 3. The 2nd one attacked me and bit through a nail, the 3rd wedged itself between the curtain pole and the ceiling.
So, after a bit of research online, I went back to the rescue and got a large crate (5ft × 3ft) and as soon as our other foster moves on, they will be relocated in to this. I have slso got a smaller crate or 'social box' where I can transfer them to, to try and get them used to touch.
Currently I am spending time sitting in the room with them, but they are literally shaking whenever I go in.
So my question is, as these cats have been taken from a feral colony, have I missed the window for rehabilitation? Everything I've found online seems to suggest that after 8 weeks their behaviour is pretty much set.
Also what do rescues (in general) do with untamable cats? I know it would be a generalisation, but would they usually be returned to the colony? One of them is very long haired and already matted (priority 1 to sort out) so I don't think he could be out in the wild.
Also any advice about how to go about helping these guys would be most appreciated.
Cheers
I've recently started fostering cats for a local rescue. This week they asked me to take on 3 kittens (10-12 weeks) that had been unexpectedly surrendered that day and were in need of socialising. They had been told that the kittens were skittish but not unused to humans.
This turned out to be massively incorrect.
So as a noob to the fostering game, they were let out in a small room (our previous foster is in the cat room, waiting for the new owner to collect) and immediately they ran and hid. So I'm thinking that they've had a stressful day and left them to it for a while. Later that evening I tried to at least identify the sex of the 3. I was wearing one leather work glove 'just in case'. I only managed to identify one as a male, the least aggressive of the 3. The 2nd one attacked me and bit through a nail, the 3rd wedged itself between the curtain pole and the ceiling.
So, after a bit of research online, I went back to the rescue and got a large crate (5ft × 3ft) and as soon as our other foster moves on, they will be relocated in to this. I have slso got a smaller crate or 'social box' where I can transfer them to, to try and get them used to touch.
Currently I am spending time sitting in the room with them, but they are literally shaking whenever I go in.
So my question is, as these cats have been taken from a feral colony, have I missed the window for rehabilitation? Everything I've found online seems to suggest that after 8 weeks their behaviour is pretty much set.
Also what do rescues (in general) do with untamable cats? I know it would be a generalisation, but would they usually be returned to the colony? One of them is very long haired and already matted (priority 1 to sort out) so I don't think he could be out in the wild.
Also any advice about how to go about helping these guys would be most appreciated.
Cheers