Question:
I have been taking care of a feral mother cat and her five kittens. I am trying to get them accustomed to humans so they will be adoptable at some point in the future, and I am slowly making progress.I feed them 1 pound of moist and 2 pounds of dry cat food every day. Am I feeding them enough? I am unable to determine their weight because they won't let me pick them up or touch them.
M.G., Shelton, CT Mar 27, 2005
Answer:
It seems you are feeding this family of cats plenty of food, but since the kittens won't let you touch them, you have a problem. They will get more wild and unapproachable the older they become, turning into feral cats. If their mother is skittish, they are even more likely to "revert" to wild behavior. So it is imperative that you capture them and get them used to human contact as soon as possible, otherwise they will never be adaptable.The socialization process entails preventing skittish cats from running away and hiding so that they become habituated to the presence of a human caretaker, and learn to trust and respond to food reward and grooming and petting. Having a healthy, vaccinated and easygoing adult cat to serve as a bridge between them and you (or whomever is rehabilitating the unsocialized kittens for adoption after they are neutered) is worth a try. Because the stress of surgery challenges the immune system, vaccinate the kittens at least two weeks prior to having them neutered rather than havi
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