Cat and Kitten

The Black Oil

There's a cat and her kitten who spend a fair bit of time in our garden. The kitten seems fairly independent and is probably 6-8 weeks old at this stage. They play around a bit, chasing each other, the kitten grabbing the mother's tail, etc. No idea if it's a boy or a girl. Anyway, we've noticed that there's been a couple of times when the mother gives the kitten a fair bit of a clatter/swipe...seemingly out of the blue. Is this normal, is she just preparing it for the big bad world? The kitten is fairly nervous of humans, but the mother isn't as jumpy because she's used to us visiting the shed and we've put a box in there for both of them.

anniehoo

Yeh its perfectly normal. The mammy will put manners on him Hand reared kittens can grow up to be little terrors as they dont learn the "cat social skills" at a young age so they end up being little brats. Shes just letting him know if hes outta line thats all.

Are you going to keep the kitten? This is the perfect age to try and tame him. It might take awhile but you'll get there.

The Black Oil

Thanks!

Nah, we won't be keeping it. We've an old dog and he's not too fond of cats, plus we've never let the cats in the house. The kitten's not much for heights at the moment, can't get up to the oil tank or roof of the shed yet. Once he doesn't start drilling for oil like Eddie Izzard used to say. :pac:

Mink

The Black Oil wrote: »

Thanks!

Nah, we won't be keeping it. We've an old dog and he's not too fond of cats, plus we've never let the cats in the house. The kitten's not much for heights at the moment, can't get up to the oil tank or roof of the shed yet. Once he doesn't start drilling for oil like Eddie Izzard used to say. :pac:

lol, I saw that Eddie Izzard show where he goes on about that!

My kitten (about 11 weeks, had her since she was 8 weeks, stray) is a total brat but seems to be getting a little better. My 6yr old cat gives her a clatter when she gets out of line. I was nervous the first time I saw her swiping but no harm done & the kitten came straight back for more devilment!
The kitten really has no social skills at all & really annoys my older cat. Sometimes she drives us mad jumping around on the bed late at night & we have to put her in another room with sh1t box, food, water, toys etc & "tuck her in" - other people refer to this as "crating".

I strongly suggest catching them & bringing them to the ISPCA to be neutered as the mother will have up to two litters of kittens a year!

joyce2009

Mink wrote: »

lol, I saw that Eddie Izzard show where he goes on about that!

My kitten (about 11 weeks, had her since she was 8 weeks, stray) is a total brat but seems to be getting a little better. My 6yr old cat gives her a clatter when she gets out of line. I was nervous the first time I saw her swiping but no harm done & the kitten came straight back for more devilment!
The kitten really has no social skills at all & really annoys my older cat. Sometimes she drives us mad jumping around on the bed late at night & we have to put her in another room with sh1t box, food, water, toys etc & "tuck her in" - other people refer to this as "crating".

I strongly suggest catching them & bringing them to the ISPCA to be neutered as the mother will have up to two litters of kittens a year!

totally agree get them as soon as you can and bring them where they will be rehomed,,a life in the wild is a hard one

The Black Oil

The mother had two kittens before...maybe 2 years ago now and our neighbours wanted them. They were born under our rose bush and had been hanging around our place. I haven't seen that pair since the neighbours took them in. So, in some sense the mother cat belongs to next door, I think.

One time the kitten was attempting to jump over our pond to get under the shed and hide, didn't make it and landed in the water.

LordDorington

The Black Oil wrote: »

There's a cat and her kitten who spend a fair bit of time in our garden. The kitten seems fairly independent and is probably 6-8 weeks old at this stage. They play around a bit, chasing each other, the kitten grabbing the mother's tail, etc. No idea if it's a boy or a girl. Anyway, we've noticed that there's been a couple of times when the mother gives the kitten a fair bit of a clatter/swipe...seemingly out of the blue. Is this normal, is she just preparing it for the big bad world? The kitten is fairly nervous of humans, but the mother isn't as jumpy because she's used to us visiting the shed and we've put a box in there for both of them.

Hi its perfectly normal There are no laws against corporal punsihment in the feline world ha ha.

LordDorington

joyce2009 wrote: »

totally agree get them as soon as you can and bring them where they will be rehomed,,a life in the wild is a hard one

Exactly. There are some vets who will neuter for free if you are bringing in strays. Its an incentive to bring in strays and at neuter then release again to at least cut down on the stray problem.

The Black Oil

I'm not sure. Even if we caught the mother the kitten might feel lonely and worry if she wasn't around for a few days, but I understand the problem with strays. The mother hisses a bit when you get close, not viciously and even when the kitten isn't around. She didn't always do this, I suppose she's just being protective.

LordDorington

The Black Oil wrote: »

I'm not sure. Even if we caught the mother the kitten might feel lonely and worry if she wasn't around for a few days, but I understand the problem with strays. The mother hisses a bit when you get close, not viciously and even when the kitten isn't around. She didn't always do this, I suppose she's just being protective.

It sounds like she may be slightly feral. The best chance the kittens will have is if they are removed from her after the 8 week mark, and domesticted. Life for a feral cat is tough - scavenging for food, road accidents, being in heat, being gang raped by toms and having litter after litter not to mention horrible diseases such as FIV and flu.

Two of our lads come from a feral mother and they have settled in nicely now.

The Black Oil

The kitten seems slightly less afraid now, but still runs away if you open the back door or a kitchen window. I was giving some ham to them this morning and the kitten was much sharper at getting it than the mother, like lightning! It doesn't seem to be able to jump as much, can't get up onto the bench without using something else to start with, rather than simply jumping up from the grass. The mother still throws around a few slaps.