Feral kitten in garden

NeonCookies

So, after hearing a cat howling all night last night (lots of cats around our house so not necessarily a weird thing!) A kitten appeared in our garden this afternoon all alone.

At a guess, he's 4-6 weeks old and absolutely terrified of myself and my boyfriend. I doubt he's ever been around people. He hid down beside the shed, and my boyfriend sat for about half an hour coaxing with some ham (not ideal..but we had nothing suitable obviously!) which he ate ravenously but wouldn't go near my boyfriend and resisted being touched. He then disappeared but the water we left out for him was gone later. He appeared again about an hour ago by our back door. He hid behind our bins and I put out some more ham, he ran away but came back a few minutes later to eat the ham before wandering around aimlessly for a few minutes and disappearing again I've left some more water outside.

We're both animal lovers and it's killing me knowing this poor baby is outside by himself somewhere! Any advice on what we should do? Unfortunately despite growing up with cats and dogs we're both students with long hours and wouldn't be able to take on the long taming process even if we could catch him.. we're in Louth. Is there anyone we can call to help?

Edit: Forgot a picture!

aonb

Poor little kitten
OP, the best you can hope for is to just keep him fed while you see if you can TNR or rehome. This one is too young to be neutered of course, but the local TNR groups (google them) could come and trap it when its old enough if you can encourage it to stay with you. You might be lucky and its not really feral, and you can gradually get it used to you and taming could progress.

Is the shed accessible to the kitten? Leave the door held open with a brick inside and outside, and put a little saucer of water and food just inside the door. Put a shallow box with an old towel or blanket or cloth inside. Go buy a bag of kitten food - You may have yourself a new outdoors cat!

All of the shelters/rescues are just bursting at the seams with kittens/cats at the moment. I doubt if you will get anyone to take it. Are there any families about with older children/teens that might take the kittens taming on as a project for the summer? You could put a few posters up on the local shops/vets/library etc to offer it for homing (if you can get close enough to tame and catch it)

The important thing for now is to keep giving it food/water/shelter while you sort something out. Well done for making the effort - I hope it gets sorted

NeonCookies

Thanks for your reply aonb and the signpost to TNR. He (or she!!) is back this morning. I can see where he's hiding now, between some fencing and a wall. I put out more water and fed him some ham. He's now crying at me. He keeps coming outside, crying and looking at me, then running back in when I come outside again. Breaks my heart...

I'll go out and get some kitten food. An added complication is we're renting with a no pet lease although our landlord is lovely, and definitely don't have the finances at the moment to take on vets bills etc.. as I said before we adore animals and would have our own cats and dogs if circumstances allowed but we always said we'd be responsible pet owners and only get our own pets when we're stable in our own place... guess this kitty has different ideas!

sillysmiles

NeonCookies wrote: »

He's now crying at me. He keeps coming outside, crying and looking at me, then running back in when I come outside again. Breaks my heart...

I think he has taken to you!

Speedwell

4 to 8 weeks is the window of time when a feral kitten can be properly socialised. If you take good care of him during this time, he will be accustomed to human contact even if he returns to the wild later. At this age it's not a prolonged period of "taming".

aonb

Your cat is a feral /outdoors cat, that has come to you, so hopefully your lease in your rental will not be impacted in any way.

Poor little thing - try to get him used enough to you to give him a bit of shelter in the shed. At the very least by feeding him you are saving his life... even an egg scrambled in the microwave, or a bit of tinned tuna/salmon/sardines will go a long way. The ham is probably a bit salty - but definitely better than nothing!

Brownie points to you for what you are doing - too many people would ignore the poor kitten until it moves on/dies :mad: I found a tiny kitten this time 2 years ago. I had heard it crying for a couple of days, finally found it, along with its two dead siblings. Tux is with me now and has me wrapped around her paw. Was feral/wild when I found her, didnt take too long to socialize/tame. Never wanted a cat/kitten, but like yours, that kitten decided I was hers

OldNotWIse

You could try trapping him. We have a trap if you want I can PM you. afaik there is a "window" of opportunity to handle them and if that is missed, its next to impossible to get them used to being handled. A little fella appeared in our garden two years ago and he was around 8 weeks, so I think we missed that opportunity. I didn't want to bring him to a shelter because I knew he wouldn't be rehomed, he went absolutely mad when he was confined and was like a Tasmanian devil In the end, because we live in a rural area, we decided it was best for him to stay put and to be able to come and go. Managed to get him neutered and vacc'd but he cant be handled and wont tolerate anyone going within 2 feet. He has his meals with us, and has a bed in our shed and he comes and goes as he pleases. He spends most of his time in the garden and he gets on with our other furry bumpkins If he needs veterinary care we can trap him. Not ideal but the best solution. OP if your kitten is only 4 weeks I think it might be ok to get used to being handled if caught? As I said, you are welcome to the trap if you think it will help, I can drive to bring it to you.

Hope it works out!

Speedwell

His blue eyes are going away; I think he's 7-8 weeks now. If he's making overtures to the OP, though, it is possible he's still "in the window".

NeonCookies

aonb wrote:

Poor little thing - try to get him used enough to you to give him a bit of shelter in the shed. At the very least by feeding him you are saving his life... even an egg scrambled in the microwave, or a bit of tinned tuna/salmon/sardines will go a long way. The ham is probably a bit salty - but definitely better than nothing!

Was worried about the ham alright! My boyfriends mum's cats love it as a treat but it's definitely not suitable to live on! Good call on the egg, wasn't sure what else I could use before I get to the shop. I've scrambled one and have it cooling here, will put it out in a few minutes.

NeonCookies

Enjoying his egg! (Don't mind the dirty clothes by the door!)

Bunnyslippers

If you can catch him and bring him indoors that would help his chances of survival, then contact your local rescues and find someone who will take it, poor little thing!:(.
It's a myth cats can't be tamed after a certain period of time, I've trapped feral cats and tamed them with a bit of time and patience, the oldest was around 8yrs old and was like a tornado, took me 6 months to get him tame, which was the longest, but the average for a feral cat aged 1 and over was about 6 weeks to get them to purr and make a fuss, a bit longer for getting them used to being picked up or sitting on your lap, but definitly doable! Kittens or under a year old are pretty easy as they are naturally curious, so kittens I find after a day or two they are no different to one brought up in a house.
All of my cats were ferals, mostly big bruiser toms who wander from farm to farm, most are rather elderly now, you'd never know they were wild as they love being brushed and made a fuss of, I've neutered and tamed about forty of them over the years, it's sad so many are written off and pts as people don't have the time to put into them, I like the challenge though!;). Good luck with this little fellow I'm sure he'll find a home!:)

OldNotWIse

Bunnyslippers wrote: »

If you can catch him and bring him indoors that would help his chances of survival, then contact your local rescues and find someone who will take it, poor little thing!:(.
It's a myth cats can't be tamed after a certain period of time, I've trapped feral cats and tamed them with a bit of time and patience, the oldest was around 8yrs old and was like a tornado, took me 6 months to get him tame, which was the longest, but the average for a feral cat aged 1 and over was about 6 weeks to get them to purr and make a fuss, a bit longer for getting them used to being picked up or sitting on your lap, but definitly doable! Kittens or under a year old are pretty easy as they are naturally curious, so kittens I find after a day or two they are no different to one brought up in a house.
All of my cats were ferals, mostly big bruiser toms who wander from farm to farm, most are rather elderly now, you'd never know they were wild as they love being brushed and made a fuss of, I've neutered and tamed about forty of them over the years, it's sad so many are written off and pts as people don't have the time to put into them, I like the challenge though!;). Good luck with this little fellow I'm sure he'll find a home!:)

How? :eek:

loveisdivine

Aww his little face in the last photo!

NeonCookies

loveisdivine wrote: »

Aww his little face in the last photo!

Haha, he'd melt your heart! He's stopped crying now since he had the egg, must have finally filled his little tummy

I'll have a think about what we're going to do now.. thanks to everyone for the advice and ideas!

NeonCookies

Chapter 2 of kitten adventures... went to go to the shop to get some kitten food. Hear a faint meowing from inside my car as I'm pulling out of the driveway. He'd crawled into the engine!!! We managed to coax him out and back to the garden after about 20 minutes - neighbours now think we're mad!

We'd put boards along the bottom of our side gate last night to stop him getting out on to the road but one of them fell down. We've reinforced it now so hopefully he can't get out of the garden again! Have some good quality kitten food, and the guy in the pet shop gave me a number to try calling although he wasn't hopeful anywhere would be able to take him.

Knine

You are such a kind person for trying to help him. He is older then 4 to 6 weeks. I would guess 8 to 12 weeks. Kittens grow very fast. It seems like he has taken a shine to you.

tk123

Not even 24 hours have passed and the kitten has the OP doing his bidding cooking eggs and buying fancy food!!! Congrats on the new pet cat OP - what are you going to name him?

Bandana boy

Because of his love of the Eggs , maybe name him Humpty

NeonCookies

tk123 wrote:

Not even 24 hours have passed and the kitten has the OP doing his bidding cooking eggs and buying fancy food!!! Congrats on the new pet cat OP - what are you going to name him?

That's not the worst of it, my boyfriend is now making something for him to sleep in!

Bandana boy wrote:

Because of his love of the Eggs , maybe name him Humpty

Well, unfortunately yesterday while sitting out beside him in showers of rain for half an hour trying to entice him with ham, my boyfriend named him "General ****wit". Gorgeous name for a little kitten. I've shortened it to Wit which is actually very apt, he used his wits to survive and come find us!

Ms Doubtfire1

love ,love love this.Thank you so much for caring for him!!! If you can,get some de worming tabs at the vet, mash them to powder and put through his food..he needs that.

MrShine

Op's aforementioned bf here. I sat outside with him for about an hour. He was fairly curious, slowly sneaking forward and sniffing my hands and feet. After a while he was comfortable enough to start playing near me.

We've put together a box for him to sleep/hide in with a towel for warmth. Hopefully we can make some progress in the next couple of days.

Here's a little video of him: https://youtu.be/4h0UpMi1lgc

OldNotWIse

This thread is therapy!

Ms Doubtfire1

ooooooooo. I'd say he's about 10 weeks old, i see no sign of bad eyes or any infections >healthy little kitten< >melts into a puddle< :p

Junkyard Tom

You could name him 'General FW Egbert' and then you can shorten it to Bertie.

aonb

This is great :):)
Its such a cute little kitten
Looks like you are very well on the way to getting it used to you
The food will definitely help!
If you get a few bits to play with - bits of string/twine/ribbon - little balls of newspaper - long grass stalk with a seed head attached! The more you play with and interact with, the more it will trust you/relax

I would work for sure on getting it into the shed - for a bit of shelter/warmth at night - put a bed in there - colds/runny eyes etc are a kittens big enemy. I would also try to get a wormer of some sort (crushed in a bit of scrambled egg or fish)

NeonCookies

Thanks all for the lovely replies.

He pranced down the garden earlier after having a good meal of the new kitten food. Disappeared into the hedge at the end. It's a very dense hedge but unfortunately there's no wall behind the hedge but it doesn't back on to a road at least. We thought he might be gone for good but he appeared half an hour ago and went straight to his little area for some more food, so looks like we've been well and truly adopted!

We have a lovely warm box in a sheltered spot for him with only a small hole to get in so that hopefully the bigger cats around won't get to him. We really can't leave our shed open because it has the washing machine and lots of the landlords tools inside... will have to have a think about it.

Will try get some worming tablets tomorrow. Is there anything like that we can get for fleas? Or are there only collars / spot ons that you need to touch him to administer? Don't know if he has them but would rather be preventative.

MrShine

Another little update. Earlier General Fw was crying loudly over and over and I thought I could hear another cat meowing in the distance, but it was so faint I wasn't sure. About ten minutes ago another cat appeared, and from how comfortable they are together it looks like he's been found by his mum. He's playing all over the garden now, and she won't leave his side. I'll post a pic, it's bad quality 'cause of how dark it is.

frillyleaf

I wonder would it be a good idea to call your local vet and ask for advice on what to do here? I'm not sure of survival rate of feral cats but would imagine they have a better life with veterinary care etc. Maybe they may give you worming tablets to crush into food you're feeding it if it continues to hang around? I have a cat that was over 12 weeks when I got her and she's not very affectionate ( unless she's hungry 😂) she's mainly an outdoor cat that sleeps in the shed and comes and goes as she pleases

Ms Doubtfire1

looks like Mum indeed. Think it's time for TNR (trap neuter return) or you'll be overrun with kit-kats before you know it.Check your local rescues, many will run a TNR program, and it's really important to get mum spayed.Now there's 2, putting de-worming tab in the food is no longer an option as they are based on weight...yip, nearest rescue and than you're the proud ' adoptive parent' of 2 beautiful semi feral (who knows for how long) cats..xxx

Bunnyslippers

That's great he's eating well and he's getting used to you!:). If you can't catch him to get him indoors then a shed will do, somewhere he can get away from other cats as older toms will kill kittens, feral kittens have pretty low chances of survival so anything to help him will give him more of a chance of reaching adulthood, but getting him indoors and tame will be his best chance for finding a future home if you decide not to keep him.

Oldbutwise - I borrowed a humane cat trap from my local vet and just set it up in the barn and waited!:p. Although one cat was very sick and I caught him in a fishing net, he wasn't too pleased either!!:D

kathleen37

You are good. And as far as your tenancy goes, I'm sure you'll be ok as they are outside "visitor" cats.

A box for them (I'm sure Mum may hang around once she realises food is on offer) a bit off the ground would be great. We have various different type boxes for our outdoors cats - card board for in sheds but plastic storage boxes - with doors cut out using a soldering iron, or wooden boxes for outside proper. Layer the boxes with lots of newspaper and then you can use old towels inside. You just need to make sure the inside doesn't get damp at all. In the really cold weather, I put hay or straw in the boxes as they can really snuggle and get warm in that

taytobreath

I only saw this thread now, your very good op and your bf. I watched the video, keep doing what u are doing ye are nearly there, dont try to catch him with your hands because the kitten will panic and tear the hands off you. Patience and some food is the way to a kittens heart. Food (ham) in your hand and make him eat the food from your hand.

kathleen37

Yes - my experience of taming ferals is that first contact should be while they are eating. And slowly slowly as teeth and claws are quick!!!