An update on the wild kittens I found

[funkybutt]

Yesterday I posted about a feral cat who has delivered kittens under my back deck. There are 4 kittens who appear to be between 1 and 2 weeks old. The mom is very wild and I was afraid that she would be impossible to socialize. However, in only two visits, I've seen considerable progress. Lastnight I went out there and she ran under the house (as she always does - quickly). I placed a can of soft cat food out for her, about 2 feet from the nest. When I went back to retrieve the dish, she was not as quick to run away, although she did. This morning, I carried a dish of soft food out there and she just looked at me from near the nest for a few minutes while I talked to her. She was visibly sniffing the air. She slowly made her way under the house but not in the panicked fashion that she used to. I know she smells the food so she's beginning to associate the feedings with my presence.

I'm feeling more optimistic about this than I did yesterday. Hopefully I can socialize the kittens and put them up for adoption when they are old enough to be weened. Possibly I'll even be able to catch her and have her spayed.

I'll post pictures of the kittens soon. They are so cute!

[Mizmoon]

1. you're a good person

now if everyone would commit one act of kindness per day, minimum ...

[bertha katzenengel]

2. Well done, funkybutt!

You rock, you totally do. Can't wait to see those photos!

[LynneSin]

3. Contact these folks about your mamma cat

http://www.la-spca.org/education/feral_cats.htm

More and more, states are finding more humane ways to deal with the ferral cat population in Delaware (we have several in our state of Delaware).

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. You can get the kittens. Keep being a presence in their daily lives

and they will get used to you. At 8 weeks you can snatch them away from mama. (But you may not get mom, which may mean more litters of kittens. That's what happened to us with our wild cats.)

[amerikat]

5. As Benjamin Franklin said.........

A kitten saved is kitten earned. I was paraphrasing a bit, but you get my drift. Good job Funkybutt.

[Robeson]

6. Good for you funkybutt....

...I have two cats. One was feral when I first got her. Who says feral cats can't love humans? She was starving when I first saw her. She came around close to a house I was working on at the time. I put out food for her for about 3 weeks. Eventually, she would come up and stick around. Winter was coming on, and I knew if I didn't get her, she would die in the wild and cold. I nabbed her by the nape of the neck on one of her visits, took her to the vet, and brought her home. She became accepted by our other cat, and has been a part of our family ever since. She stays inside only, and NEVER wants to go back outside again. Thanks for what you're doing.

[newsguyatl]

7. you rock

good work!

look forward to the pictures

[Robeson]

8. kick for funkybutt!!

[REP]

9. YAY! For You And a Link

http://www.alleycat.org/

These people are all about helping feral cats, and by "help" they mean feed, spay/neuter, vaccinate, shelter and rehome when possible.

Feral cats absolutely can be tamed and socialized - I've done it many times with adults and kittens. You're approaching it in a great way - cats do love food! Good luck!

[radfringe]

10. we have feral cats at work

there are about 11 of them -- 4 of them I can actually pet, but they are afraid of other people. Working on getting them socialized and hopefully someone at work will take one or two of them at home.

meanwhile -- there was a big calico that showed up. After a couple of weeks she came up to me and allowed me to pet her. It was pretty obvious from her behavior that she was a stray or had been "dumped". One of my co-workers took her to the shelter and she was adopted a week later.

Yesterday I was finally able to round up a big long-hair yellow/white cat. This one has been skittering around on the edges of workplace for most of the winter. One of my co-workers expressed an interest in taking her/him if I could round her/him up. So hopefully he/she will be going to a new home today. It badly needs a good brushing - although from the feel of the mats I think it probably needs to be shaved down. Will let you know what happens.