Tough Love: Socializing Feral Kittens (Part 2 of 3)

[dragus213]

i had a feral kitten come through my open window for a few weeks at one point. he looked exactly like one of your tuxedo cats he was very friendly but very skittish in my room if i were to put him on the floor he would immediatly jump back up onto the bed then onto my shoulders, fed him and socialised him to the point he would come in jump from the bed to the desk then from the desk to my shoulders just for some pets and he would stay there we adopted him out since we had 2 cats already

[79barkingspider]

Do you purposely provide food less often to make them more approachable when food is available? Sounds like a good idea.

[LordwalgawIsBack]

8:20 GET OVER HERE!!!!!

[LordwalgawIsBack]

8.20 GET OVER HERE!!!!!

[TheAlysonA]

@MyMoppet52, I discovered the same thing with singing, but only with one song - 'My Favourite Things' . I was feeding my kittens & I found myself singing it, something to do with "whiskers on kittens" and they relaxed to me!

[79barkingspider]

@TheAlysonA Certain cats are relaxed by music, especially deeper bass tones and piano music. They generally hate high notes which make them anxious. I read one account of a cat that would try to put its paw over a high note singer's mouth! "Hey stop that!"

[redneck00035]

There are lots of feral cat in my neighborhood, been that way for years. Caught one tonight with my hand's it's about 6 weeks old. I should have put gloves on. The last time I tried to tame a feral cat, I had two house cat that help me tame him, He was so loveable after a week, with there help. This time I have dog's and they hate him.

[jdrum12]

I'm preparing to try socializing 3 kittens in my yard. What kind of food are they eating and enjoying? I've been using dry food but would like to try something more appealing.

[jonsilence]

Fascinating. I attempted to 'help' a very young feral kitten who herself was pregnant, and got a VERY bad bite that required stitches and a tetanus shot. I learned my lesson!

[SusanQ83642]

@jonsilence The very best way to handle a young, pregnant feral is to scruff them and quickly get them into a box or transport cage in order to get them home for socializing. Be with the pregnant ones as much as possible while they are having their kittens, so that you can be there to offer assistance for things like cords wrapped around necks, and breach births. They will usually trust more if you are there for them during a most scary time for them! Newborn kittens are very easy to tame ;~)

[MyMoppet52]

Great video. I am enjoying picking up your new tips! I baby talk them a lot, which you might do when camera isn't there. I am female so I have a higher voice which they seem to like. I do lots of positive vocal reinforcement and they react very positively to that in a short time. Love your work. You have a much harder time. You get your cats from crawl spaces and city places. I think that would make it much harder to work with the animals. Thank you!!!

[Shadowz480]

@MyMoppet52 I am also trying to socialize a 5 month old and your comment reminds me of something silly that I found helpful. I sit down as close as she will allow & just start singing to her. She looks at me funny, but I've found she not only tolerates it, she seems to enjoy it. I don't know any calming songs except one lullaby, so I just make up calming songs on my own. There is an old saying that music soothes a savage beast and she is certainly no savage. Give it a try!

[pierneus]

so damn cute!!!!

[MelancholyMorgan]

We rescued a few-month-old kitten from our backyard. It took weeks for us to be near her without her running off, and now she's a happy member of our family and has two kitty playmates. :D

[ylongres]

I picked up a little feral kitten this morning with my mom...It's 8:30pm, and she's sleeping on my lap. Its like she didn't spend 2 months out in the street :)

[ktyfiend]

Only problem I'd have with this is that sometimes they'd get nippy and try to bite through the food into your finger X_x

[meganpitt]

wow so much patience!!! :)

[MelnStarscream]

I love those videos. I love what you are doing, and I hope I could do the same if I get the chance.

[THISPAKIMISS]

All the feral kittens around my neighborhood are really hospitable :/

[Scaredycatisntapussy]

I got a little feral kitten who is 4 month old. It's really tough getting her used to normal sounds but shes doing really good, especially when shes motivated by wet food. This guy and his team get major karma points:)

[equarg]

The 5 year old stay ( I neutered him) no longer freaks at the sight of me and purrs when scratched on the shoulders..but wont eat wet food till I am asleep (in my room now) he ate some dry food.. but waits till at night when I am in bed to eat the wet food. But this is two weeks after I caught him. Seeing your progress makes me realize how well he is doing....

[Packo12233]

this is awsome idkwhy im watching this though

[mnur22]

May Allah bless you for the love that you have for this animals. I wish everyone think like you.

[Celestia424]

My little rescued kitty looked almost exactly like the black and white one at the dish when I found him in my parking lot! You are so kind to take so much time and effort to help these kittens!

[TheRandomClub2009]

I just got a feral cat today I believe its about a month or less but shes seems to be very afriad...it took a while to cath her when she zoomed out of the cat carrier...i just want to know..what else am i able to calm her down with?

[MikroBadass]

@TheRandomClub2009 cat nip... you can play with her.... try and make an effort to sleep in her presence that way she'll realize you are friend and not foe

[xsilentguy23x]

i did catch kitten 11 week old and she very angry with me ..then few hour i play toys myself then she start want play learn fast along with me...I was like age 10

[Dymanska]

This video helped my 3mth, now 5 mth old to become a loving friendly kitten. Before this video he would not let me near him. He would hiss if I tried to pat him and would go ballistic if I picked him up. I mean he was FERAL. Now he jumps onto my lap and loves when I pat him and he is getting along well with my dog now! I can't believe the transformation! Thanks manyca. I'm off to the vet soon to get him neutered.

[emeraldvenus]

The guy in the video is so patient, caring & kind. We need more people in the world like him.

My daughter trapped 3 cats this past year & found good homes for them. Now we've discovered 2 more hanging around our house. My daughter has been feeding them. She'll try & trap them & hopefully find homes for them. So sad. It's a never ending problem. All ignorant pet owners should be held accountable. Their stupidity is cruel & unfair to these sweet animals.

[Portis1Luv]

I remember when my sister brought home a feral kitten in the 3rd grade. It just sat in the corner and hissed at anyone who would come within 5 ft. Wish we had Youtube back in the 40s. LOL

[wujulie]

These videos are incredibly educational!

[habyss]

Too much baby food will make my cat cough and hack as if he's going to vomit. My suggestion is to give them very little even though they want to keep eating more.

[imker2000]

What are you feeding the kittens?

[Neblana]

baby food

[twocentsCanada]

I've read that you have to make sure there are no onions or garlic in the baby food. If we can't find such baby food, could we use canned food like Wellness for cats?

[dina211]

Please Everyone SPAY/NEUTER your PETS. There are so many unwanted animals dying each day at shelters.

[cynsheis]

Nice set of Videos!..Thanks for sharing

[psychobuilding]

Wanted to rescue dumped neighborhood cats who were becoming feral; emailed numerous groups, but only Mike of Urban cat League responded.Though I have not rescued nor socialized near his #s, it's helped me rescue 22 in 3 yrs. Some feralish, most friendly & scared. His advice, "tough love" section I use all the time to get them to come to me, it just takes less time with the dumped who would no longer make it on the street.

Now socializing 3 kittens and w/out this video couldn't do it.

[nsav8]

@psychobuilding Good for you. I, too, am working to rescue feral kittens. It is such a difficult task because no one ever calls you back. Finally, some kind woman with a cat rescue called me back. She is letting me borrow her traps (I hate to spend money on traps when I have to pay to have them spayed, shots, etc...). I have found it takes a lot of rejection and time, but it is worth it!!

[funnyhaha07]

Thank you for this video, we are socializing a feral cat that was much older than these kittens, I guess he might have been 6 mos. old when we found him, he is alot smaller than his mother but not as young as those kittens. And I can't believe how loving he is becoming! I think its because I have always let him go by his own pace. Now he wants to come inside the house. But I need to take him to the vet first.

[oEthnicCleansingo]

im a bit ify on you taking care of the cats.i mean dont get me wrong,its a wonderful thing on what you're doing.but how long will you stay w/ them til you get tired of them.i mean alot of humans stay they're gonna stay "commited" but ive known ppl who wanted to do other things in life and left the animal world.i just hope you stay commited til the day you die.

[archurban]

that's right. you don't need more than one cat or dog in your home. I am busy, don't have time to take care of it. so one is better enough

[haizahaiza]

I admit I wouldn't be patient enough but would strangle them to death as I would get frustrated.

[iqwaxzi]

This is very inspiring - thank you for sharing this vid Manyca.

[mtp0202]

We have a real serious issue with feral cats here in Australia. I know it is not the cats fault being dumped by irresponsible owners, but we get them put down rather than neutered and then released into the wild.

[RallyHome]

What mtp says is true why criticize the truth?

[snowangl989]

you are so good at that!

[humanedomain]

YAY!!!!! wonderful wonderful videos!!!!

God Bless you for all you do and posting online!

[theredguy387]

I like to have a kitten

[xoxoilybaby]

if you live in ohio i got 4 kittens!

[felinerescue]

Great video!

[catclaud]

See all parts of this and help kitties near your home and in shelters!!! It's worth it!

[theonlyzdog]

@catclaud

would love to, but none in my area. small plant,clean area, a bit off to the side.

[747er6]

Good as the other video