How To Socialize Semi Feral Kittens
Socializing a feral kitten could be one of the most rewarding things a human being can do. However, this is not an easy task. It is a slow process, and it will require patience and knowledge about how to socialize a feral kitten from your side. A feral kitten is a cat that was born in the wilderness.
How to socialize semi feral kittens. Kittens as young as eight weeks if weighing 2 pounds can safely be spayed or neutered. – Tested for FeLV and FIV if the kitty is older than six months (until that age if kitty’s mom was FeLV or FIV positive, they can carry the antibodies the test checks without being infected, registering a false positive). Animal rescue experts typically classify stray cats into three categories: socialized, semi-feral, and feral. Socialized cats are fully domesticated and comfortable around humans, while feral cats have had little to no human contact and are basically wild animals. Semi-feral cats fall somewhere in between. They tend to avoid being touched, but … A few semi-feral cats visit my garden and one day a kitten came along with them. I'm guessing he looks about 14 weeks old. I attracted him in with some food and he got into a laundry basket that was near the door and settled down. I didn't trap him but let him out when he wanted to go. He...
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to tame semi-feral and feral cats after 4 – 6 months of age, but it is not impossible. Ignore the Cat When trying to socialize a semi-feral cat who quite obviously enjoys hiding from you, this might seem counterintuitive. So I made it my mission to trap her and let her have her kittens at my house, socialize the kittens, spay mama, let her go back on my neighbor's property, and find homes for the kittens. First, I tried the simple way of trapping, the Havahart trap. We’re talking about cats who hid from and avoided people, cats who might be considered feral by some. The socialization process you’re about to learn was born out of necessity. There were around 800 cats at the Great Kitty Rescue and Best Friends staff were determined to socialize as many of them as possible, so the kitties could get rid of.
A feral kitten has never had previous exposure or very little exposure to humans and has likely engaged in minimal contact with humans. Their mind does not see a human in any one way that we can relate to. Seeing a human is routine for us, but to them, we might as well be a 20 foot alien. A feral kitten will often avoid contact with humans and will usually decide to hide, hiss, or bite out of. A feral cat is a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors. A feral cat is not likely to ever become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors. Kittens born to feral cats can be socialized at an early age and adopted into homes. Feral cats are either totally feral (no human contact or only negative human contact), semi-feral (some positive human contact), or converted feral (abandoned house cat that becomes semi-feral). Totally feral cats will be the most difficult to tame and socialize, and converted feral cats will be the easiest.
It is very important that they socialize with other humans. Feral cats tend to bond with one human so they best adjust to a new home if they are socialized with other humans before being adopted out. Placement. Kittens can be adopted out at 8 weeks or so if tamed and socialized to humans. In fact, we do kittens a disservice when we don't actively attempt to socialize them, says Shawn Simons, the founder of Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats, based in Los Angeles, California. And don't let the name fool you. It is a nonprofit with a serious mission: to rescue feral street kittens and turn them into beloved pets. When handling feral kittens you may see this too, especially if you’re looking to trap them and socialize them. Some of them may not be inclined to socializing. If that’s the case, that’s a sign that it may be a bit more feral than you expected, and in that case, it might be best to return them to the colony.
Semi-feral cats have a harder time finding good forever homes—but this doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the effort; to the contrary. While it can seem like a battle (one that sometimes threatens to verge on stalemate or out and out loss), there are a few key things you can do to make your new cat’s transition to a happy domestic life easier. Semi-feral (as opposed to fully feral) means a cat has been socialized to some extent but remains largely untrusting and skittish. Welcoming a semi-feral cat into your home and family will require extra work and patience. Here are 8 tips to make the transition easier on both of you. MetroWest Humane Society takes this philosophy even further in that we have always felt that semi-feral cats also deserve a second chance, and if TNR (trap-neuter-return) is not an option, then we have been willing to house, socialize, and hopefully find homes for the many semi-feral cats we have living at our shelter.
Semi-feral cats fall somewhere in between. They tend to avoid being touched, but may vocalize when around humans or even make eye contact. Although it is a slow, difficult process, taming a semi-feral cat is possible. These 6 steps will help you turn that frightened neighborhood kitty into a new furry friend! Socializing feral and semi-feral cats is not as difficult as many are led to believe. So many assume that it is an arduous, time consuming process, there are very few who are willing to try. In fact, it is neither. It can be a lengthy process, but lengthy does not equal time consuming. Cats have a solitary nature and, if they are unaccustomed to human contact, they can be very distrustful. If you've recently adopted a cat from a shelter, or if you have found a feral kitten or adult cat that you want to make part of the family, you may have to tame them.. Taming a feral cat can be a long process and requires a lot of patience. If the cat is not used to people, you should be.
