Taming Feral Kittens

If you have trapped a feral kitten and want to keep it, can it be domesticated? Yes, but you need patience and follow some simple rules! The younger the kitten, the better the chances of success. Please keep in mind that vets and animal shelters share the opinion that feral kittens should not be older than 8 to 10 weeks if you want to socialize them. A feral cat’s mom will do everything to teach the kittens NOT to socialize, not to trust you. The faster the kitten is removed from her protection, the better.

First make sure that you kitten gets a health check by a veterinarian and the necessary vaccinations, deworming, etc. Many feral cats carry diseases when pregnant and these diseases (such as Feline Leukemia), as well as fleas and mites, ticks, etc. will be transferred to the kittens.

After you take the kitten home, give it a room by itself with water, food and a litterbox. Prepare a cozy basket with blanket, a few toys, and leave the kitten alone. A good idea is to put a radio, tuned into a talk show station or a small TV into this room to allow it to get used to human voices. Add some worn clothing of yours, a T-shirt, a jacket, to get the kitten used to your smell. Check frequently if the kitten is o.k., but don’t let it escape!

After a few days you might want to join the kitten by staying in the room with him. Sit down next to him and just talk, or if you are bored, read a book. The kitten will realize that your smell is exactly the same as the smell from your worn clothing to which he is already used by now. After a few days you can ask some family members or friends to join you in that room. Don’t let anybody stand in front of the kitten, let them sit down, or sit on the floor. Towering over that little animal sends threatening signals. Again, make sure the kitten has no way of dashing out of the room in panic. A wild-goose chase through a house will NOT make him more comfortable and hurtful bites and scratches might lessen your enthusiasm of socializing him. Don’t pay too much attention to the kitten, just talk to each other. The kitten will soon realize that nobody intends to harm him and gain confidence. Don’t stare and don’t let anybody stare into his eyes! Cats view this as a sign of dominance and you don’t want to dominate, you want to socialize and domesticate.

Your kitten will quickly learn that you are no threat but a friend. It will eventually approach you; a special treat or an interesting toy will definitely trigger his curiosity. Play with the kitten for some time and then leave the room again. Soon your kitten will look forward to your visits and you can start introducing the new family member to other parts of your house.

Pay attention when opening doors and make certain that the kitten cannot dash out the front door. Keep it indoors all the time until it is fully domesticated, or even forever. Be patient, your efforts will be rewarded.

(About 10% of feral kittens can never be tamed. If you happen to have one of these, make sure that is spayed/neutered in time and released into a cat colony. If the cat colony is close by, chances are it will keep coming back for daily food and water, even if it prefers to NOT live with you. For some people that’s enough and acceptable. If this is not for you, just try again with another one )