Non-diabetic question. Tips on catching feral kitten?

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Two nights ago, I heard a kitten crying and looked out my back door and there was a kitten outside crying at the window :cry: It only looked about 6 wks old maybe????? I opened the door and it bolted, it kept coming back and crying at my cats but every time I opened the door it took off so finally after my husband was frustrated that it was late and he had work the next morning I had to stop my attempt to approach it and left some food outside for it. It must of ate all the food, or some other creature because in the morning the bowl was empty and no sign of the kitten. This freaked me out because I live in a wooded area where there are wolves and bears, odd since I live in a city area in Fl lol I do have a neighborhood about an acre behind my house and about 3 acres to the left of my house so its possible it came from there. I also do have cats that seem to pass through my backyard, and they look pretty clean and healthy so I'm assuming those are the neighbor cats. My concern is that Ive never seen any of these cats with kittens, and there was no cat in view the other night when the kitten showed up and it was there most of the night. Yesterday I filled a bowl with food again and left it out but it never showed back up, I felt better but worse at the same time because I wondered maybe it WAS a neighborhood kitten and went home, then my next thought was what if the wolf ate it???? Well about a half hour ago the kitten was sitting on my back patio again soaking wet trying to clean itself because its been pouring all morning. I figured Id be sneaky. I went out the front door and walked around back slowly, once I got into site it sat there for bout 30 seconds and bolted again into the woods (a different direction this time) I really shouldn't have another cat. I have 3 and I'm happy with that, would I turn it away NO! Would my husband be happy NO would the other cats be happy ABSOLUTELY NOT! lol. I can't stand to have it out there though, I'm so worried for it. I called my vet the other day and they have no openings for housing animals for adoption since they are full, I need to call around to some other places and see if I can find one just in case. Anyways, my question is how can I get this kitten to trust me to bring it in my house to protect it? I do not have a cage or a trap (thats what I found when I googled lol) are there any other tips/ advice? Also, this may sound like a stupid question but you can keep a feral kitten as an indoor cat can't you? I know when it comes to feral cats most catch, spay/neuter, release since most have been that way for life and are hard to tame. I'd assume with kittens that would not be the same since theyre so young and you can train them to be tame with affection? Thank you for dealing with my rambling lol

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I would try to borrow a humane trap.
I received two cats from a friend at work years ago. There were both feral cats. The younger (about a year), Izzebelle, was supposedly the daughter of Misty (more than two years). Bother were netted but not at same and then spayed. Izzy was returned to outside and Misted was given to me. Should would come up up to me occasionally and let me pet here. Applying flea meds was hard. The first time I tried to take her to the vet she bit me bad. After that I had to sedate her for vet visits. I had to say goodbye to here about two years ago, she was about 15 or so.
Izzy turned out to be a very friendly cats over time except sometimes she became spooked. A remember that about a year after she arrived she got out. She spent about a day up a tree. Then hung around the house. Finally with food inside the back door she came in and I shut the door from the outside. AFter that she never tried to go out again. I said goodbye to her early this year because of kidney failure.

 

[KPassa]

The younger the feral kitten, the easier to socialize them. I got Michelangelo at 8 weeks old. Prior to that, he had no human contact until his mom abandoned him. He still has some feral issues and is still my "Skitty-kitty," but he's only 2 years old and is still a work in progress. Some cats take less time, some cats take more time.

As to catching them, I've texted my friend who brought me Mikey to see what she does when she TNRs them if she doesn't use cages. You might also want to check around locally (a vet's office or Animal Control, maybe?) to see if anyone has a TNR cage you could borrow.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Check with the humane society or if you have one in your area, No More Homeless Pets for a trap. You may need to give them a deposit, but you will get it back when you return the trap. When you catch it, keep it in a small area while you work to socialize him/her.

Make sure you wear a good pair of leather gloves the first few times you handle him/her. Those baby teeth are very sharp. With most of the kittens I have worked with, it takes about a week of handling them before I can take the gloves off and not worry about any bites.

 

[JenM]

A 6 week old kitten (or any kitten under 6mo really) has a VERY good chance of becomming a normal cat with socialization. I did foster care for a rescue for 8 years and "specialized" in turning feral kittens into adoptable cats. I was even successful with some older kittens slightly over 6mo. That's a lot harder. If you can get them at a "mother dependent" age, they usually come around pretty quickly since you become their mother, basically.

I agree to contact local rescues and see if you can borrow a trap. If you can't get one, I would try moving the food closer and closer to the door over a couple days, then just inside the door, then enough inside the door that you can close it (maybe from outside if you have to).

Once you have it caught, you'll need to confine it to a small space. I usually used a bathroom. It works even better if it's a bathroom that actually gets used, because the kitten can see you come and go without interacting with it, which seems to help alleviate fear. Dont push - just sit in the same room with it, offer treats, etc. Let it come to you. Once you can give it some pets and scratches (which might only last a second or two at first) and it realizes how great they feel... that's when they usually turn the corner!

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Thank you everyone for the tips. I called a few vets about a tnr but no luck. The closest animal shelter is 30 minutes away, but I have come up with an idea but who knows if it will work and seems a bit cruel at the same time. I have a dog kennel outside that encloses my raised garden bed. I put a bowl of food in there towards the back hoping he will go in to eat and I can sneak out there. Ive also called around and found a local vet that has room to put it up for adoption, although it will cost me $60 because I have to have it tested first. It is more than worth the cost IMO to make sure its not eaten by a wolf and fed lol. Who knows I could get inside and my husband will change his mind, but not likely since I found a place that will take it. I have some experience with strays, but not ferals. I'm not certain which it is yet. I know theres not much of a difference, but I see strays being more human friendly lol.

Hidey was a stray kitten who was found under a hot tub and a lady took him in and found him a home...with me
Yuri...he kinda did the same thing this kitten is doing. He'd come to my door and cry at my other cats, Id open the door and he'd bolt. We did this for like 4 days, until my husband came home and heard a kitten crying....from under the hood of my car!!!! He opened the hood up, I crawled in and got him, and ran in the house before my husband could say no lol. He was so malnourished and was literally skin and bones. We thought he was 5-6 wks old, but come to find out he was about 8 just severely underfed, and covered with fleas. Luckily he adapted QUICKLY.
Hot Rod.....well thats another interesting story. My husband found him running across his work parking lot towards the main road and scooped him up. He was only about 5 wks old, and looked very odd. HUGE head (looked like Albert Einstein), short front legs, long back legs, and a short but thick tail. He reminded my husband of a hot rod car, hence the name. Come to find out the reason for his head being so huge is he had a bite on his head, maybe from a dog, but it was severely infected.....ughhhh it oozed so bad makes me cringe thinking about it. We had to keep him separated for about 1 1/2 months because the vet was worried about FeLV since we found a cat a week earlier at his work that was in BAD shape that had FeLV and had to have it put down. I didnt have my cats vaccinated since they are strictly indoors and never gave much thought to it. Although Hot Rod being away from his mother so early and no other cat contact for long hasn't really gathered the instincts of a cat. Although I think that infection affected him as well. He digs holes to use the litter box, but stands IN the hole lol, he refuses to clean his bottom, and he has trouble jumping onto anything.

 

[JenM]

That doesn't sound cruel at all. If I kept every animal I ever "rescued"... I'd need a much larger house! I find stray dogs almost monthly. Some stay with me for a couple days, but all move on. The intent was never to keep - only to help. In one case, I found a dog running down a pretty remote farm road at dusk. I've seen coyotes in those fields during daylight - and people drive like maniacs out there. I knew he'd either get hit or eaten. I scooped him up, had to have him groomed to even tell what kind of dog it was (thought he was a pug mix, but he was a lhasa apso - he was so matted he looked like he had a "thick" build). Turned out to have some SERIOUS dominance issues, so I wound up keeping him for over a year to work with him on it. Finally, he was to a point where I felt he could successfully live with the RIGHT family - which it took a lot of work to find. I knew if they didn't continue the training, he'd go right back to the biting/growling/food aggression/etc. Last I heard was a couple years after they adopted him and all was still well.

I would suggest putting a small cat carrier in the pen as well - give the little guy someplace to "hide" if he wants to. Especially if he's in there for a couple days and considers the carrier his safe place, you might just be able to walk in and shut the door to the carrier.