Advice on raising a feral kitten/cat?

[xFenrir]

About 2 months ago my boyfriend and I took in a feral kitten that was hanging around our apartment (the mom was a feral cat the people below us were caring for). He's warmed up to me greatly and will follow me around meowing at me, but just has not tolerated my boyfriend at all. Still puts his ears down and crouches when he sees him come near, and occasionally still hisses when he reaches for him. I don't think it has to do with who feeds him or anything 'cause my boyfriend's the one who does that.

Anyone here raised a feral cat that has any tips to getting them to warm up to them?

[DooLittle]

We adopted one, and he is just different. If he comes to you he is ok. If you to go to him, he freaks out. I don't know what besides a loving, trusting, home with food in his belly, could help. I think they just have a general distrust of people, and may always be squirrely. Compared to my purebred cat, personalites are night and day. I think due to the way they are raised. She grew up confident in a loving home with a full belly, and plenty of toys to play with. I think socialization from an early age, and taught to trust people from a early age by momma helps.
Sent from my ADR6350 uing Tapatalk 2

[apple2]

Just do the same thing you'd do with any animal. Keep your distance, don't try to get too close to it. When it is ready, it will approach you. Don't push it, it will take a while to domesticate a wild animal.

[Sita]

The ideal time to socialize kittens is from the time they open their eyes to a few months old. Since this window has been missed, patience and time is all you can do. It is likely that he will never be a "lovey" cat; but with time he may let your bf pet him. You can't make an animal trust you, so you'll have to wait for moments where the kitten comes near and reward with food/treats. Sometimes trust is gained by the kitten being near and nothing happens, no movement by the human or anything that would frighten him. Think about it this way; to a tiny kitten, you and your bf are scary GIANTS, and if you haven't been raised with them, you're not going to trust that those giants are never going to accidentally step on you, drop something on you, hurt you, etc. I know that if I suddenly moved in with a giant, I'd be wary of them for a very long time!

One thing I've seen to help is to try to play with the kitten with toys that allow you to keep your distance and are non-threatening, such as a laser pointer or a feather on a string tied to a slim wand. With the feather, moving it along the ground is less threatening than dangling it overhead.

Something else to try, if you're able, is to adopt a well-socialized cat or kitten. The feral one will often learn from the other one that is safe to interact with you and warm up faster. Again, he'll probably never be the type to lay with you and trust completely, but just be more socialized that he currently is.

Good luck!

[Slim]

I always laugh when some one describes a dog as a "one-owner" animal because in my experience, cats are far more prone to this type of behavior.

[ballpythonluvr]

I have a feral cat that I raised up from when he was a kitten. He used to be one bad kitty when he was just a baby. I found that having patience and working with him everyday to get him used to people really paid off. He is still very territorial and does NOT get along with other cats. He has come a long way though with trusting people and he tolerates my dog. He used to fight all the time with my other male cat who has since passed away. My cat is now nine years old and very loving. I won't lie though, he still has his moments when he will be sweet and loving one minute and then turn into a holy terror the next. He loves to play and that really helps with his pent up energy.

[Errabal]

I always laugh when some one describes a dog as a "one-owner" animal because in my experience, cats are far more prone to this type of behavior.

Dogs have owners, cats have staff. I have an Akita, a notoriously "one-owner" dog. He loves everyone that has ever walked through the door. There's no such thing as bad dogs, there's only bad owners.

Back on topic. Ultimately, the kitten will come around when and IF it wants to. Just do your normal routines. The kitten will decide how it wants to treat your BF. You can never get inside the head of a cat, if you could you'd be rich. I get so many questions from clients asking why their cat is doing this or that behavior. Ultimately the answer is...because its a cat.

Also, make sure you get it vaccinated and fixed.

[Royal Chick]

I got a kitten when I was two and she was six weeks. The only thing we knew was she was half 'barn' cat and half 'wild' cat. She had the tuffs on her ears and everything. We got her because she was notorious for running away from cars and the guy that had her mother said that she would be a great hunter.

This cat was a liviing nightmare for years. She was about fifteen pounds when she was full grown and absolutely a wild bred cat. She would bring in birds, rats, mice, lizards, frogs, rabbits... anything she could get ahold of and show us. She also hunted humans. I would be asleep and she would attack me, if someone got up at night she would scream (she couldn't meow like a house cat) and slice your ankle open like a surgical knife.

Good news for you is that your cat doesn't hunt people and seems more scared than agressive. I agree with everything that has been said so far. Cats have 'staff' and like every boss known to man they like some of their staff more than others. Maybe your kitten trusts women more than men for whatever reason maybe the mother instilled that into them from an early age, you never know.

A few tips would be maybe him giving the kitten wet food every now and then so it can learn to expect great things from him. Also, like stated above, let the kitten approach him and even then don't touch it until it make the innital touch. That way the kitten knows that any physical contact is on it's terms so it feels like it will have a little more control and in turn confidence. Laser pointers, strings, feathers, the like are great toys for feral kittens especially if they are living in apartments. It helps them revert back to instincts and they can feel more like a cat and get energy and instinctive needs expressed. Getting it fixed will help keep it from wandering around and having unwanted kittens (if it's a girl) and vaccinations will keep it healthy (I'm sure this is nothing new to you but just covering all the bases). Find out if your kitten likes low places or high places and put somewhere for it to relax accordingly. For example- A window bed would be great for a cat that likes high places and a cat bed in a carrying crate for one that likes to be low (if you use a box for a bed don't use this box for vet visits the kitten needs to know it has a place to feel secure).

Anyhoo sorry for such a long post but I hope some of this helps =) Any other questions just ask.