Ferile Kitten

valpuk

Hi everyone

We have taken in a ginger kitten.

It is very young - approx 8/9 weeks old

It has come along way from the way he was a few days ago but he is very wild.

He has taken very well to me but seems to hate my fella.

We have wanted a little kitten so we really wanna keep this little fella.

Has anyone any history with dealing with a wild kitten and approx how long should i expect it to take for him to calm down fully.

When he plays with me he purrs and purrs and purrs but then sometimes he'll just lose it and start hissing and tryin to attack me.

Narsil

Hi!
Well done on caring for this little furball!
Well we've had our little monsters for over a month and a half now and we kept them in a seperate room until them became tame to handle, pick up etc and then introduced them slowly to our cat. He loves them but sometimes plays too rough! Seperate rooms and supervised out times is a must until they get used to each other
It took about 2 weeks for them to be really easy to handle and maybe 3 weeks to be let out into the house with our cat. Take it really slow and let them smell and hear each other through the door.Giving them treats together and playing helped our ones.
Don't give up and take it all slowly!
Good luck!

Mink

I rescued a completely feral kitten in LA when I lived there. It had been stuck up in an office attic building for about 2 weeks ay least. I've no idea how it survived.

It was 7 mths old & we had to keep it in our room & it wouldn't come near us at all, absolutely terrified. I never saw it from one end of the week to the next. Then when it went into heat, it used to yowl for ages throughout the night.

I got it neutered & the yowling stopped & it gradually started to creep out now & then. I remember the day it first snuck up on me & rubbed against my leg . Then it got better & better each week until finally she cuddled up in the bed with us & was very affectionate.

All in all it took 4-5 months for a completely wild kitten gotten at 7mths old. What a project. We then passed her onto a new owner when we left & she took to him almost straight away.

So, it could take as long as 5 months for really feral cases & a much shorter time for semi-tame kittens. The younger they are, the shorter the time it will take.

Sigma Force

Good on you for taking on this little guy.
Don't worry give it time and he will settle, although do keep in mind some cats settle quickly others take months and some even take years and some never loose that slightly wild streak but sure it adds character. Just let him come to you and others in his own time.
If you think he's going to hiss or get cross just move away and avoid crowding him. Food is a great way to bribe a cat or kitten so get your fella to start feeding him, giving him treats of bits of chicken (mind the fingers use a spoon perhaps). Playing at a distance with the kitten should help using one of those fishing rod type cat toys or a shoe lace or whatever.

He's only a baby and you'd be suprised how they change over time, one of our cats was very nervous, hated anyone near her it took her a long time to come around she had made friends with one of our other cats so she stuck around. It actually took her years to settle in and it wasn't until later on in her life that she really became chilled but was never as chilled as the others but to the point where she would enjoy a cuddle and relax around the house.
She had to have a big op. and spent 10 days confined to my room where to my suprise she would sleep beside my head. Once she had recovered she went back to being more independant again.
From being very wild to a chilled out house cat took many years though.

It depends on the cat too though, not sure if this is true of ginger cats in general but I do find ginger male cats tend to be extra chilled out and lazy real lap cats perhaps this is just a coincidence but in time you never know he's still very young and there's no reason why he shouldn't come round with a bit of tlc, space when he needs it and food bribery.

Cats sometimes take longer than some animals to come around so do give it lots of time it's well worth it in the end, perhaps eventually giving him a little kitten friend to play with one that's really chilled out will help him relax more around you.