I found an hour old kitten on HOT asphalt screaming embilical cord attached although not that fond of cats I took it home and started feeding and nurturing it vet said she wouldn't make but I kept at it. 6 months later she waits at the door for me with kisses and hugs . Her 5 dog brothers love her to death .
Cats are amazing companions, but people don’t give them a chance to prove that. Thank you for saving that kitten!! And I hope you are more found of cats after this experience hahaha
I socialized an adult feral cat doing 3 things. Talking to it, petting it and feeding it. Now its a spoiled house cat that plays outside during the day and comes in at night to hang out.
I could be wrong, but doesn't that mean that at some point in its life the cat must have been tame? I've always been told that for cats there is a very small window of opportunity for taming them (up until the 10th to 12th week after birth), and after that it will never be properly tame. At most, it may simply tolerate humans at a distance. But tame cats can go feral if abandoned. Very easily in fact. The good news is that they can also be re-tamed. Could that be what happened with yours, maybe?
Good question. The vet estimates this cat to be about 4 years old when I found her. We have no idea what her past was. She is still scared of other humans besides us. She is fine with us. Outside she is always on the hunt. Will not stay in during the day and is very cautious even when indoors. She is use to the TV and music now, the dishwasher, loud heater, washer and dryer and normal noises. If somebody comes to the door, she runs. Has never bitten, scratched or hissed at us. Never vomited in the house. Always uses the litter box indoors and never jumps on the furniture or counter but likes our bed. Very clean. Odd but good cat. If only she could talk to tell us where she came from. Its the food that wins them over. Of course , you also have to be nice. She goes out but no more than 100 feet or so from the house. Far from the road. Plenty of places outside for her to hide and snoop around.
When I was younger my dad put out food everyday for the adult strays, it took months but eventually they let us near them because they knew we provided them with food. From then we took one in, and our neighbor took another! I think it's possible to make almost any feral a loving house pet if given enough time.
same here our current one is a girl whose now between 11-15 years old. we've always had ferals so i don't get people saying their unsafe or un tamable, in my experience just the opposite of what she says is what works best: stay near by when they eat but don't touch them a lot, they'll let you know when they wanna be touched, or when their ready, i had adult cats i fed for weeks eventually come over and ask for pets and then learn to play with toys and even play fetch, if you force them into being social it breaks their spirit, if you teach them your their friend they become yours as well, gentling is always better than forcing when it comes to affection with cats, we even helped an abused cat turned feral who had a collar embedded in his neck with my method
I just caught a 14 week old feral kitten about 3 days ago and I was constantly talking to her and feeding her and just yesterday I called for her to come and she came running and purring. It lifted my heart to see that she was finally comfortable being around me.
My grandmother always fed feral cats near her workplace, but one day a small, small kitten just kept circling her, meowing and even climbing her. She brought the cat home and the two of them spent almost twenty years together.
I worked at a Sonic fast food restaurant and I was closing that night. It was storming really bad and my coworker told me a kitten ran out on the patio. I walked out carefully, as I have experience with animals. My family had an animal rescue. I met eyes with the kitten and he ran under a bush. I walked over slowly and picked him up from under the bush. He instantly snuggled into my arm he was so scared. My coworker brought a box out and I put the kitten in it. He was hissing at the thunder and as well as at me. I took the box and set it in my car, which I turned on and turned the heat on so he would dry. He was emaciated and sick. I was told he wouldn't make it. That night I bought him kitten stuff like milk and a bell collar so I knew where he was (which he didn't like so I took it off), a litter box etc. and quarantined a small area in my house where he could still see me all the time and my family members. I moved my stuff I to the living room and I still sleep out there to this day and this was a year ago in June. He socialized very fast. He cuddled with me that night. Once I got him out of the storm he was very loving. He was stray. He had never been with people before. He only experienced the public and cars down the street. It amazes me how loving he was. All I can say is he's my baby and he's made it so far, although he is, actually, mentally retarded. I love him to death, and I'm very glad that I worked until close that night.
What a beautiful story and I'm so glad for you and your kitten. Glad that you love him including his mental state. My oldest Siamese kitten has a glassed over eye, we think she was abused as a young kitten because she is very scary around men and overall has a very reticent personality. We call her a ninja cat. She has trouble with dimensional vision and seems slower than our other Siamese kitten, who is younger and who we actually got for the older kitten who was so depressed about losing her own sister who was adopted separately the day before we got her. I think it is her eyesight troubles that makes her slower but I love her dearly while the little one is daddy's little girl.
Thank you for giving him a chance, you have a big, angel heart. I once had a "slow" cat, too. His name was Chaplin. He's a clumsy, silly, funny, chubby, grey tabby cat. He was a stray cat, very hissy, when I first took him in. He used to have a sister (I named her Hitler, well, they both have those funny mustache), when they were just 4 month old, I moved to my new house in 2015, she ran away and never comes back. April 1st, 2017, Chaplin suddenly gone. I still don't know what happened to him. It's like a very bad April fool's joke... I miss him so much...he used to sleep on my back every night, now my back feels cold without his big, fat, warm body...
@@thesoap_fan Thanks for your kind words. ❤ I hope so, too, but I honestly doubt it. I live in a suburban area next to a huge graveyard complex. There are dangerous animals around here, like cobra snakes, Malayan civets, big owls/eagles, wild dogs, etc, and my Chaplin was very shy (aka coward) cat who never left our yard his whole life. Also I think after 2 years he must've completely forgot his sister. I already accept that he's gone, I just miss his cuddly love very much... 😢❤
I have done pretty much exactly as you have with these two. I got my cat when my neighbor just tossed her out and stopped feeding her in the middle of winter. She was emaciated and quite feral when I got her to come in to my house and at first it was a nightmare, she would attack at random. But by just sticking with it, being persistent, feeding her by hand, frequent physical contact, and socializing her I now have my best friend little love bug. Today people don't believe she was feral and mean because she is just constantly craving attention. And I am glad, she is my little companion and I love having her. As I type this she is sitting in my lap purring and bugging me for more petting. Keep up the channel, love the videos and topics.
I bonded with my kitten through play! If food is only kind of working, playing with them with a fun toy can really loosen them up. I spent hours with her with the "bird on a Stick" until eventually she decided I was pretty cool.
I knew a kitten named Skittles. I was cool (enough) to play with, but that was about it. Eventually she just wanted the toy to play by herself with, without me in the equation. Despite trying for weeks before she was adopted, she never did warm up to me.
After my great grandpa died, we took in over twenty feral cats and kittens and socialized them. I was in charge of it and they seemed to really like when I just sit in the room and let them come to me. I also let them watch those cat videos where it shows the birds. Happy to say most of them have been adopted.
I found a feral kitten. She was maybe 7 weeks, just a tiny thing with no mama. She was caught and was shaking. :-(. Well it pretty much stopped after a chunk of meat was put in her face. It stopped for sure by the second piece. Her name was Twinkie; always a petite cutie with tiny ears. Later she looked like a powder puff with tiny ears and legs. She had a squeak of a meow. I had her fixed, shots and wore a pretty ID collar. She was so precious! She lived about 17 1/2 years. My little Twinkie with baby blue eyes! One thing I do with all cats is purr. They look either startled or annoyed. Kittens are calmed and see you like Mom. Most cats see your purring as a good thing. When I can mimick their meow, they answer me back. Try it. It's kind of cool.
I purr to kittens, too. I can also imitate the "mom trill" which mother cats use to talk to their kittens, and I find these two things are really great at calming kittens. My "feral" kitten was brought to me at about 1 week of age when some neighborhood kids saw him and his littermates crawling towards a busy street. He's 18 and a half now, and has traveled the world, beaten cancer and inspired me to start my own pet care business. :-)
Me and my wife rehab feral animals as well. When we had kittens that were too feral and too abused to accept hand-feeding, we basically fasted them overnight (only food; they ALWAYS had water) and fed them very desirable food twice a day, at the same time every day. At first, we would just stay in the room with them, waiting until they slunk across and ate. Over the course of about two weeks, that progressed to one of us sitting and holding the edge of the bowl while the kittens ate. Then hand-feeding; then normal mealtimes and treats. Then we moved on to petting, cuddling, etc. Even human adverse kittens can become loving pets after they gain trust. We adopted a kitten from that litter, and she's about the happiest and most extroverted cat you'll ever see. All her sibs were rehabbed and went to good homes, too (and two of them were adopted by the vet clinic that treated them!).
My kitty is about a year old now, she's not very fond of being held. I tried the "feral kitten wiggle" with her, and she near fell asleep in my arms! I guess kitties just like to be wiggled.
the wiggle is a lot similar to purring. The vibrations are extremely relaxing to kittens as it can remind them of other kittens purring or their mother. Although purring could mean some negative things. it’s mostly positive and especially familiar to them.
I saw two more techniques on "Cat Man Chris'. holding KITTENS TO YOUR CHEST TO HEAR YOUR HEARTBEAT, AND (sorry, cat on mny lap stood up aned I couldn't see, was touch typing blind, didn't realize caps were on) and pretend "licking" them with your chin, motherly.
JadeYueRyu1 Definitely! While I'm not on the spectrum as far as I know, I definitely have some sensory issues and I know those kinds of things worked well on me when I was little. :-)
natural selection?/what the fuck are you babbling about you halfassed atheist wannabe?..if natural selection were really in play us weak humans wouldve been wiped out a long time ago
Humans haven't been weak since the moment they learned to cooperate in a group. Natural selection is a fact, and it is still present to a large degree among humans. It is however also largely covert in civilised populations since the advent of the modern civilisation, modern culture where openly eliminating weak or rivaling individuals has become socially inacceptable. So the game is now mostly covert.
Thank you! I just got my first three fosters (thanks to you and Tiny kittens). They are 6weeks old and very scared. I wasn’t sure how much I should push them but I only have them for two more weeks and really want to get the ready for their forever home. This makes me feel so much better.
I always talk to them.. they listen to your tone.. and signal your intentions to sooth and protect.. they respond with mews and a rapport begins with the touching, safe cuddling ...
Carbon Ghetto Queen From another animal with HIV. During a cat fight or animal attack. However, it has to be a blood and saliva mixture in order for the cat to get it.
Folks it's FIV not HIV. FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS. HIV is HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS. Does about the same thing to both human and cat. Immunity is compromised and other virus and infections can lead to death. Had two of my guys died FIV. I'm battling HIV myself but unlike my cats I take medicine that makes the virus undetectable in my body. Care for humans is very $$$ dollar wise. Can't even imagine the cost for a cat. My heart goes out to all caring for pet needing special care. It's not easy. Good luck to all.
I'm a neonatal kitten nurse in NYC and I just found your youtube.. I've watched quite a few videos and all you advice and tips are just wonderful! It's good to see a well-educated kitten rescuer proving great info to people! I am definitely a new sub!
Awesome! I feel a strong emotional connection to any type of cat even if it is a stray. A random female cat showed up outside my window and I live on the 2nd floor me and my sister opened our window and lured her in with food. She was very friendly and wad definitely an abandonded stray as we seemd comfortable in our home. We had to gently let her out with some food since we have a aggressive male domestic shorthair who doesn't take kindly to stranger cats. I mean we took in a black furred 3 year old male rag doll 3 months ago and he is still fighting with him. Hope the beautiful girl finds a home though as it made me sad to not be able to keep her :(
Even being a foster mum I can’t imagine socialising a kitten that big! I had a whole litter of 5 firey kittens all hardly old enough to have left their mother but already as wild as an adult feral, but tough love like you said they all calmed down and were adopted in no time once they left I secretly missed every hiss and spit
We've fostered a few hundred kittens over the years, and it's been my experience that the ones who start out feral, hissy and spitty end up being some of the nicest cats. It just takes patience, love and affection, and the ability to put their needs first (not yours!) I love what you do to educate people about fostering kittens. Your videos are uplifting, informative and not at all preachy. All the best to you!
Working with feral kittens is one of my favorite parts of fostering. Yes it's difficult and can be frustrating, but rewarding and also interesting in that you see their personality develop and all. Love!!
Camille Voyage very good. I was adoptive mom when a feral birth her kitten on my yard. She once back to feed them. But then she dont come, because "her husband" cat bitten her when try to came. They was just 2 weeks old. We had to raising them. Was so cute experience.
If anyone can help a friend of mine found yesterday a kitten but since she had a dog i said i would take it. The kitten has several problems and needs medication but everytime i get close it hisses and meoows what should i do?
I took in a barn kitten who zipped under the bed before I could get it isolated. (small apartment). I set it's food and water in a place it would have to see me box was well away from these. It would feed after I went to bed. After a couple days it would come out and watch me. I would slow wink and talk to it. Just over a week after bring it home it decided to give me a check out while I was sleeping. I was woken up by my ear and side of my head receiving a bath. She was about 3 months old when I got the human hating snake and rat eater (garter snakes were a favorite) and caught in live trap (too many cats for the barn and farm to support). But in less than 2 weeks I had snuggle monster.
We had a semiferal kitten (I think he'd had human contact before, and mama "placed" him in our yard to make room for the next wave of kittens) who did much the same, but took a little longer to emerge. He warmed up to Mom first, but was very very very timid, and it took months until he was comfortable enough to really come up and snuggle.
basically thats all i did, and in a week i had a wonderful ginger boy , he was only 5 weeks old though , that's was 4 years and 11 months ago..the best boy ever.......
LOL facebaths are great and relaxing. My first episode of being woken by my first feral was a bit different. She was sniffing at my face, and as soon as I opened my eyes, she started boxing me for a few seconds before running away. Later that night she tried to suffocate me with a pillow, using her body as the pillow. We have since moved on to spooning to sleep though, so it worked out.
Good vid! Nice work you're doing. Seven years ago we got an adult male cat from the shelter. He was not used to humans, hissed when you got to close, and would lash out at you if you got even closer. He did very little else than sitting in a corner and stare at you. And now, he loves to be petted, wants to be on the bed, and asks for attention and hugs. We used all the methods as in the video, except for the wiggling. We just didn't know.
@Shallow Stream people are allowed to say they think a kitten is cute without being accused of racism. For cats, markings can make them look really cute. Plus he didn't even say that the other one wasn't. I'm pretty sure your comment was a joke though...
there was a full-grown feral male cat in our neighborhood that we eventually got tame enough that we could brush & pet him... all with food and talking to him. it took years, but we were the only people he trusted. i'd give him treats of cooked bacon in the cold winter months and we closed in the bottom of our porch & put cat beds, hay and blankets. sometimes we'd change his water 5× a day so it didn't freeze. during summer he'd let us comb the flees out of his coat & enjoyed a cool drink and a plate of tuna. we named him Morris, and he'd come running when we called him. one day he was gone without a trace :-( i called the shelter & put his pic on facebook.. we never saw him again. i miss him so much.
I just adopted a kitten who was feral for the first two months of his life. He gets fixed tomorrow and then comes home with me. I'm so nervous but I am SO ready to help this little guy become comfy and happy living with humans. Thank you for the video! I'm going to watch the rest of your channel and binge on every feral kitten socialization video I can find over the next few weeks. Keep up the amazing work!
I wish I could have watched this video 5 years ago when we adopted and rescued one of our cats. She was already around 3-4 months old and I couldn't touch her for the first 2-3months and she was constantly hiding. The only thing I knew to do was speaking to her and just sit in the same room as her for hours after school. One day she just came out of her hiding spot and since then she is the cuddliest cat I know and she loves small children. As soon as I could touch her I was touching her every second she let me, she is turning 6 in June and I'm so glad that we could save at least her.
I've socialized many feral kittens (one of my adult cats had a peculiar habit of well, cat napping them to our basement) and it can be frustrating at times, but very rewarding when the hissy little critters become lap hogging snuggle beasts. They're well worth the effort. Some of the once-feral babbins I've rescued have gone on to be the most loving, grateful companions I've ever known.
we rescued a feral kitten 4 years ago, and luckily I was working from home so it made her transition so much easier on her. I didn't realize that the kitty wiggle/bounce was an actual THING! I used it with the kitten, named Squirrel, all the time! Squirrel was so tiny when we brought her home (after vet clearance), and since we had other cats in the house, I made sure to keep her localized in one room while everyone adjusted. while I was working, she would curl up inside my hoodie and later she would curl up between my upper back and the back of the chair, LOL. I have so many funny stories about Squirrels antics while I was working...or trying to work! Can't begin to tell you how many conference calls she hung up from, my boss was ticked until I told her what was going on: one of the guys from Corporate would host a call each week, sometimes twice weekly, I would usually have the call on speaker phone with my side muted unless I needed to present, and I would otherwise take notes or IM my coworkers. As soon as squirrel would hear this guy's voice, she would come Running from wherever she was, jump on my desk and try to nuzzle the phone, purring like crazy! of course, if the screen was still active, she would manage to disconnect the call, which meant I had to dial back in and cause a disruption (no big deal to anyone, but my boss hated that it was happening frequently). I finally had to send her an email and explain/apologize to her and to the guy from corporate..."my cat is apparently in love with you, Neal..." thank goodness they both got a laugh out of it!
I’m fostering my first rescue baby. He’s 12 weeks young after mom abandoned him in my backyard. I got him neutered, tipped, vaccinated, dewormed etc....but after 24 hours, he’s the SWEETEST shy little snuggle bug. He’s quarantined from my two house cats, so it’s hard to split the time (with work and my sleep too). But I can NOT imagine releasing him back outside. Never! I’m taking my time and finding the perfect forever home for my little dude. Helping him is the best feeling ever. I literally just taught him what a water bowl is, and how to PLAY! Everything is a learning curve, and so amazing to watch the progression. Thank you Kitten Lady.
I really agree with this video! I'm trying to socialize these somewhat feral three-month-old kitties, and the more positivity the better! At first they hissed and ran away, but I found that if I sat a respectful distance away, and constantly talked to them, it sort of desensitized them. Now, one I call Percy comes up to me even, though he's not quite used to ear rubs yet!
We had a little fellow who was very free with his claws when he first came inside. He would sit on a chair and watch us, but was a little too insecure to let us get too close. The chair he usually chose was within arm's reach of my computer, so when I was gaming I kept challenging him, and he would occasionally draw a line on the back of my hand when I wasn't quite fast enough to get away with touching him. That game continued for a few weeks, but he eventually figured out that all I wanted to do was stroke him and that stroking felt... pretty nice actually. I got a shock a couple weeks later when he just simply decided (all his idea) to walk over and lie on my lap while I was playing. The change of mind can come pretty suddenly once they recognize that not only do you mean no harm, what you're trying to do actually feels pretty good.
I put a litter of young feral kits in a wire show crate set in the living room. These kits were not accepting of any human touch. Daughter and I sat on floor by the crate and ate roasted chicken, slipping bits of the chicken through the wire to the kits who were interested in the food. They learned to associate good food with people. The reluctant littermates began approaching us when they saw their more outgoing siblings getting the 'good stuff' and therefore became acclimated to humans as well. Within 3-4 days we were able to carefully handle the kits, proceeding with their socialization outside the kennel from there. Baby food meats are a good bribe also in small amounts.
Thank you so much for this video! I found a momma cat and her 4 babies living in an old box in my backyard. Last night we had a big storm and when I went out out to check on them this morning momma cat and 3 of the baby cats were gone. One cat remained so I took him to the vet (I know it's a him because one of your other videos). Lil boy is not doing very well, he is covered in fleas and has a high fever, he's also not doing great with eating, and wants nothing more than to hide. This video is so helpful, I'm trying to get him healthy so that he can be put up for adoption.
I think the thing with most people is that they think there is no teaching kittens, like they think they're "easier" than dogs and there for doesn't need any "rules", which is sad. :/
I trained my cat to sit for a treat in less than 5 minutes. I also trained every cat I ever had to not scratch my furniture. Of course there were mishaps and mistakes here and there, and I consider that the dues we pay for being able to have such magnificent friends in our homes, but overall, they can be taught to not scratch your stuff. You see them scratching and you immediately substitute whatever it is they like the most in front of them and tell them to scratch that instead. Sisal is a good bet, although some cats like certain types of carpet. It's a matter of waiting for the wrong behavior and quickly showing them the right behavior, and making sure it's something they like. They can be trained to do a lot of things, if they are interested. Edit: I grew up with dogs only, and my first cat came to me, so I learned on the job. It never occurred to me that cats were untrainable, but then again, it also never occurred to me that some people think small dogs don't need to be trained, either.
Hugo, agreed! Most people have no clue how amazing cats are, because they’re too close minded. I’ve always loved cats over dogs because they’re smart and you have to “win them over.” Dogs will love anyone.
People could learn a lot about how to treat each other and get along if everyone would just watch your channel. Thank you for being an awesome human being.
I was raised on a farm. We had kittens every spring. I used to take naps with Mama and her babies. You know what you are doing. thank you for doing it.
My hubby and I are working with an older young cat who comes for food and shelter. Slow going since she is still not letting us approach closer than about 18 inches! Mews for us then sometimes "spits" just like a kitten that is miffed. Named her Cupcake since my Mom always said you need to give the shyest ones a sweet name.
I love how you help kittens, but there are also lots and lots of old and adult cats who need help, too! I hope that there are people willing to help the old cats, too, and to love them just as much as the little babies!
Kitten Lady, you are the best!! Thank goodness for your love and kindness towards these neonates!!! Also, you do a great job with encouraging people to do the TNR!!
The Kitten Wiggle totally worked, I have a feral kitten that had to have a back leg amputated, so this little girl has been through hell already, but i wrapped her up and did the back and forth motion while petting her and she fell asleep purring up against my dog too! It really relaxed her. Thanks Hannah, you do wonderful work!
Be a volunteer at your local Animal Shelter. They're always understaffed and desperate for help: walking dogs, grooming cats, and socializing fearful animals. There's more ways to save animals than by bringing them home :-) And volunteering doesn't cost you a thing!
GSD Being a volunteer at a local Animal shelter is a good idea for someone who loves helping animals and not killing them. Like don't well its too hard for an 8-year old like me to explain
I once tried to save an abandoned ferrel kitten. Woke up one morning, it was screaming under my house. Gave it about 30-45 min. No sign of mom so I got it. Had to force fed it a week, then bottle fed it a couple more. It was younger than I though lol. It never hissed at me. Never screamed or clawed or tried to bite me. Coming up on his 4th week he didn't make it. I was devestated and haven't owned a cat since. I heard meow's for weeks after thinking there's another cat. It was horrible. His name was Pepper.
I signed up at a shelter to foster cats/kittens and last night received a long awaited call to take home some kittens. When I got there I was asked if I had ever handled feral kittens before ....no....they recommended I watch your video's. I have been watching you for some time and I am amazed at the work you do and the knowledge you share. I just finished watching "How to socialize hissy feral kittens". I am looking forward to getting these 3 beautiful babies ready for forever homes (but I will admit I love tuxedo kitties and may be a foster fail for one of them!). One is actually ,in my opinion, friendly or at least not too hissy, it has even meowed! One is very very hissy and the third is just very quite . I so want my fostering to be a huge success story and I know that by watching you I have a very good shot at that happening. Thank you so much for passing on all that you know to help others to help the kitties!
My male cat is a total nanny. When my sisters brought home their rescue kittens, he cuddled up to them & washed them happily... Unfortunately, that ended when one of the kittens tried to nurse from him... He ran so fast... XP
Great advice, provided you have the feral kittens tested for communicable diseases first. Sorry to hijack your post but I feel that it is a great idea provided the older cats and kittens have been tested. Would be sad if someone took your good advice and it backfired on them.
I had to socialize my oldest cat. He hid under my bed for a week and only snuck out at night to use his litter box. This video reminds me of his old behaviors so much. He used to hiss and spit every time I walked past the bed. I read to him and talked to him almost constantly. He finally let me pet him for the first time when I was eating a quesadilla and his curiosity about the quesadilla was greater than his fear of me. Since then he's been super lovey and bonded with me.
Gentle bouncing, as seen in the video, has a calming effect on fully grow cats as well. It has allowed me to provide care for a geriatric cat with kidney disease who otherwise may not have let me bathe and diaper her. Thank you for sharing this video for kind cat caretakers everywhere looking for helpful tips!
Thank you Hannah. I’m watching a pair of feral kittens and they’re both my most challenging kittens to socialize! They’re eating from my hands and will walk around me. But the moment I really get near them they get scared, run away, or hiss. So I’ll keep at it and I’ll try wrapping them in a blanket and giving them more affection :)
this helped soon much. i got fosters a couple months ago and watched this video. they were very hissy and spitty and in a couple of weeks we got them to be great companions and ended up adopting them. I am still fostering and am so grateful that I saw this video
I didn't know much of this when I'd taken in my cat a few years back, but while she's still very shy with people she doesn't know(she recognizes voices) but I got her comfortable around me by laying her up against my chest and gently 'petting' her with cat cleaning wipes, didn't take her long to be comfortable enough around me to pounce around, though it did take her twice as long to not hide as soon as someone else entered the room, though she loves my mom, since she was the only other person who actually put an effort into subtly introducing themselfs over a long period of time(read aloud in the room, doing some small tasks like sorting the file cabinet or working in the room to familiarize the cat hidden behind the curtain to her voice, and smell)
Ask your guests to not rush toward the cat to say hello or pet him. If they come in and are totally disinterested in the cat, the cat will come around faster. You can't look at them. It's how cats act around new cats, too. They walk super slow and don't stare. Some cats will never like a lot of activity. You could try Feliway, which I thought was bull but it worked on my cats for travel and for getting to know each other. There is no way a placebo effect happened unless the cats read the box and were fooling me.
Thumbs up!!! With life long experience in handling cats of all kind, I can say you are spot on. The grey-white kitten reminds me of my girlfriends late tomcat and he used to be a feral cat, too.
You make some damn brilliant videos. Matching your advice with action - illustrating that the techniques with advice works. Sound and educating stuff. Thank heavens for people like you that care about animals.
When my family used to foster the local rescue used to just send all the ferals to my house because we were so good with them. They always seem to end up being the most affectionate. Only had one who never quite came out of it, Wilma, she ended up staying forever because she's too jumpy to rehome, but even she loves some loving on her own terms :P The first purr is always the best feeling!
I found a little feral kitten when I was 11. She actually came to me when I simply sat down a few metres away from her and simply observed her. She was never agressive or tense around neither me nor my parents. She is now almost 20 years old and I can't bear the thought of losing her to old age :´-(
The love you give is priceless and wonderful . May the love you give come back to you. Thank you for teaching everyone so many useful things. Take care .
Thank you for this! I have 3 month old sisters that are my first semi feral kittens. I've had them for a month and they have come a long way but these tips will help me socialize them faster. I can do the proper things to give them love and care from me the right way and then learn to trust their new family when they find the right fit :) your truly a life saver!
This really works! Used these tips with my first set of foster kittens. (And I gave this link to the shelter administrator to use for training people) They are now wanting to be around me all the time!! They were snuggling on my lap within 1 week from being feral! Thanks Hannah!!
this video brought tears to my eyes...tears of gratitude for your effort of rehabilitating stray kittens. how wonderful and noble your work is. i would like to be a part of it and help; where do you live? i am in north-west nj...
My Spooky boy was feral when my mother rescued him from the engine of our truck (overheated a bit, but uninjured). He was so wild that when she took him to the vet they couldn't even get him still enough for long enough to tell if he was male or female. We knew we couldn't leave him outside to get up to MORE mischief, though, so she pretty much did exactly this and held him in a towel for some time, just talking to him, and then left him for me to watch. I talked to him, and put my hand in his cat carrier for him, played with him, and sang to him. I held him in the towel some too. And within only a few weeks he pretty much became my cat. Now he's the sweetest boy you'd ever meet, though still a bit shy of strangers, especially men for some reason. And he's learned to avoid engines.
This was super helpful in helping to socialize the feral kitten I'd picked up. It's been a few months, but he's finally getting the hang of how to deal with these weird things called "humans." Thank you so much for posting this!!! Love from us and Rupert, our kitty!
I went about this differently with kittens in my neighborhood. They were too young to take away from their mother, so I fed them everyday for a couple weeks. I'd bring food and a toy and sit there while they ate. Then play with them for a while. Eventually I was able to touch them without them running away. Then one tolerated me petting him for a few seconds. I caught that one with a pet carrier and the toy. When I brought him home he was very scared. But since he was already familiar with me he ran right to me to hide. I put him on my bed and he cuddled up by my neck and started purring. Then he remembered what was going on and ran and hid in the cat tree. We just let him stay there pet him occasionally. He slept all day. By the time it was dark he was ready to come out for food and to play. It took less than 24 hours for him to be completely comfortable. Now he follows me around the house and crawls up on my chest when he wants to be pet. The other kitten, the more timid one, is taking longer. It's been 4 days and he's starting to come around now. He wasn't used to pets before bringing him home. So it took a bit longer. I know I got to them very young. But getting them used to me and being touched before catching them sped up this process so much. We tamed 2 kittens in our house in less than a week. They should be ready to be adopted soon.
thanks kitten lady. i rescued two feral kittens yesterday. they are around 12 weeks old. and boy to i have my work cut out for me because they won't let me get anywhere near them. this video gave me hope.
feral kittens are like owning cats on hard mode
BigJB21 Truth
BigJB21 are bobcats expert mode?
Just so you know this comment got like 17 k notes on tumblr
god thats you
@Expand Carp I wish I wasn't
Once the kitten realizes humans are good slaves, they'll like you.
Bums up on that one !
Larry Phischman Yep! XD
My dad always says, "Dogs have owners, and cats have staff"
Haha so true
Make YourHumanSlave Great Again
I found an hour old kitten on HOT asphalt screaming embilical cord attached although not that fond of cats I took it home and started feeding and nurturing it vet said she wouldn't make but I kept at it. 6 months later she waits at the door for me with kisses and hugs . Her 5 dog brothers love her to death .
Yay for you for saving her!
Cats are amazing companions, but people don’t give them a chance to prove that. Thank you for saving that kitten!! And I hope you are more found of cats after this experience hahaha
Thank you for giving her a change. You're an angel on Earth, Lena.
Cats don’t have an umbilical cord
@@ez-cg8zf they do when they're very small but it falls off after a while
“Something they like (food) with something they don’t like (humans)”
It’s me. I’m a feral kitten
Same
😂 me too!
O yes....me too😁
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
I'm a kitten 😸 ☺ 😌
We socialized a feral kitten many years ago. He bonded very strongly with our son. The cat is now 15 and the boy is grown-up; they are still together.
That's really sweet :)
lol. calm the fuck down miss...
Niphilim - Calm down whoa
that's lovely!
oh.. the angry dude deleted all comments.. wonderful, now i seem like the weird one..
I socialized an adult feral cat doing 3 things. Talking to it, petting it and feeding it. Now its a spoiled house cat that plays outside during the day and comes in at night to hang out.
I could be wrong, but doesn't that mean that at some point in its life the cat must have been tame? I've always been told that for cats there is a very small window of opportunity for taming them (up until the 10th to 12th week after birth), and after that it will never be properly tame. At most, it may simply tolerate humans at a distance.
But tame cats can go feral if abandoned. Very easily in fact. The good news is that they can also be re-tamed. Could that be what happened with yours, maybe?
Good question. The vet estimates this cat to be about 4 years old when I found her. We have no idea what her past was. She is still scared of other humans besides us. She is fine with us. Outside she is always on the hunt. Will not stay in during the day and is very cautious even when indoors. She is use to the TV and music now, the dishwasher, loud heater, washer and dryer and normal noises. If somebody comes to the door, she runs. Has never bitten, scratched or hissed at us. Never vomited in the house. Always uses the litter box indoors and never jumps on the furniture or counter but likes our bed. Very clean. Odd but good cat. If only she could talk to tell us where she came from. Its the food that wins them over. Of course , you also have to be nice. She goes out but no more than 100 feet or so from the house. Far from the road. Plenty of places outside for her to hide and snoop around.
When I was younger my dad put out food everyday for the adult strays, it took months but eventually they let us near them because they knew we provided them with food. From then we took one in, and our neighbor took another! I think it's possible to make almost any feral a loving house pet if given enough time.
Barbie. Some can be mean but food does the trick most of the time. Even then, some don't want to be touched.
same here our current one is a girl whose now between 11-15 years old. we've always had ferals so i don't get people saying their unsafe or un tamable, in my experience just the opposite of what she says is what works best: stay near by when they eat but don't touch them a lot, they'll let you know when they wanna be touched, or when their ready, i had adult cats i fed for weeks eventually come over and ask for pets and then learn to play with toys and even play fetch, if you force them into being social it breaks their spirit, if you teach them your their friend they become yours as well, gentling is always better than forcing when it comes to affection with cats, we even helped an abused cat turned feral who had a collar embedded in his neck with my method
All this advice can be applied to a new boyfriend btw
And girlfriends
😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😁😂😂😂
XD
LMFAO
I just caught a 14 week old feral kitten about 3 days ago and I was constantly talking to her and feeding her and just yesterday I called for her to come and she came running and purring. It lifted my heart to see that she was finally comfortable being around me.
I wish the entire CZcams was as peaceful, enlightening, and beautiful as this video.
agreeeeee
.
Yeah. I always come to the kitten lady when I need my faith in humans restored!
My grandmother always fed feral cats near her workplace, but one day a small, small kitten just kept circling her, meowing and even climbing her. She brought the cat home and the two of them spent almost twenty years together.
He asked her to marry him. Your grandma accepted.
I worked at a Sonic fast food restaurant and I was closing that night. It was storming really bad and my coworker told me a kitten ran out on the patio. I walked out carefully, as I have experience with animals. My family had an animal rescue. I met eyes with the kitten and he ran under a bush. I walked over slowly and picked him up from under the bush. He instantly snuggled into my arm he was so scared. My coworker brought a box out and I put the kitten in it. He was hissing at the thunder and as well as at me. I took the box and set it in my car, which I turned on and turned the heat on so he would dry. He was emaciated and sick. I was told he wouldn't make it. That night I bought him kitten stuff like milk and a bell collar so I knew where he was (which he didn't like so I took it off), a litter box etc. and quarantined a small area in my house where he could still see me all the time and my family members. I moved my stuff I to the living room and I still sleep out there to this day and this was a year ago in June. He socialized very fast. He cuddled with me that night. Once I got him out of the storm he was very loving. He was stray. He had never been with people before. He only experienced the public and cars down the street. It amazes me how loving he was. All I can say is he's my baby and he's made it so far, although he is, actually, mentally retarded. I love him to death, and I'm very glad that I worked until close that night.
What a beautiful story and I'm so glad for you and your kitten. Glad that you love him including his mental state. My oldest Siamese kitten has a glassed over eye, we think she was abused as a young kitten because she is very scary around men and overall has a very reticent personality. We call her a ninja cat. She has trouble with dimensional vision and seems slower than our other Siamese kitten, who is younger and who we actually got for the older kitten who was so depressed about losing her own sister who was adopted separately the day before we got her. I think it is her eyesight troubles that makes her slower but I love her dearly while the little one is daddy's little girl.
Thank you for giving him a chance, you have a big, angel heart.
I once had a "slow" cat, too. His name was Chaplin. He's a clumsy, silly, funny, chubby, grey tabby cat. He was a stray cat, very hissy, when I first took him in. He used to have a sister (I named her Hitler, well, they both have those funny mustache), when they were just 4 month old, I moved to my new house in 2015, she ran away and never comes back. April 1st, 2017, Chaplin suddenly gone. I still don't know what happened to him. It's like a very bad April fool's joke... I miss him so much...he used to sleep on my back every night, now my back feels cold without his big, fat, warm body...
God bless you
*Lady Voldemort* I hope he comes back soon. I also hope that he's in a good place. Maybe he went out to find his sister?
@@thesoap_fan
Thanks for your kind words. ❤ I hope so, too, but I honestly doubt it. I live in a suburban area next to a huge graveyard complex. There are dangerous animals around here, like cobra snakes, Malayan civets, big owls/eagles, wild dogs, etc, and my Chaplin was very shy (aka coward) cat who never left our yard his whole life. Also I think after 2 years he must've completely forgot his sister. I already accept that he's gone, I just miss his cuddly love very much... 😢❤
I have done pretty much exactly as you have with these two. I got my cat when my neighbor just tossed her out and stopped feeding her in the middle of winter. She was emaciated and quite feral when I got her to come in to my house and at first it was a nightmare, she would attack at random. But by just sticking with it, being persistent, feeding her by hand, frequent physical contact, and socializing her I now have my best friend little love bug.
Today people don't believe she was feral and mean because she is just constantly craving attention. And I am glad, she is my little companion and I love having her. As I type this she is sitting in my lap purring and bugging me for more petting.
Keep up the channel, love the videos and topics.
I bonded with my kitten through play! If food is only kind of working, playing with them with a fun toy can really loosen them up. I spent hours with her with the "bird on a Stick" until eventually she decided I was pretty cool.
Emily Rachel Gilley why does it sound like this happened on sims pets lol
I knew a kitten named Skittles. I was cool (enough) to play with, but that was about it. Eventually she just wanted the toy to play by herself with, without me in the equation. Despite trying for weeks before she was adopted, she never did warm up to me.
to add further to that u can have other strangers visiting try playing with her using a toy too so she becomes super socialized to humans
Emily Rachel Gilley I also bonded with my baby through playing, she's super social now!
LOL and great job!
how to turn one of nature's most successful predators into the best lazy lap warmers :)
lol
After my great grandpa died, we took in over twenty feral cats and kittens and socialized them. I was in charge of it and they seemed to really like when I just sit in the room and let them come to me. I also let them watch those cat videos where it shows the birds. Happy to say most of them have been adopted.
"Invite over lots of friends." Game over for me. Feral cat life.
He got so chill during the wiggle.
I found a feral kitten. She was maybe 7 weeks, just a tiny thing with no mama. She was caught and was shaking. :-(. Well it pretty much stopped after a chunk of meat was put in her face. It stopped for sure by the second piece. Her name was Twinkie; always a petite cutie with tiny ears. Later she looked like a powder puff with tiny ears and legs. She had a squeak of a meow. I had her fixed, shots and wore a pretty ID collar. She was so precious! She lived about 17 1/2 years. My little Twinkie with baby blue eyes!
One thing I do with all cats is purr. They look either startled or annoyed. Kittens are calmed and see you like Mom. Most cats see your purring as a good thing. When I can mimick their meow, they answer me back. Try it. It's kind of cool.
I purr to kittens, too. I can also imitate the "mom trill" which mother cats use to talk to their kittens, and I find these two things are really great at calming kittens. My "feral" kitten was brought to me at about 1 week of age when some neighborhood kids saw him and his littermates crawling towards a busy street. He's 18 and a half now, and has traveled the world, beaten cancer and inspired me to start my own pet care business. :-)
That's one old @$$ cat! i have 2 cats, they are both 16+? my parents adopted one of them and the other they found under their car
So what does the "Mom trill" sound like :o?
For the mama-cat noise: "Mom talks to kittens" videos on CZcams.
It is one of the sweetest sounds on this planet
Me and my wife rehab feral animals as well. When we had kittens that were too feral and too abused to accept hand-feeding, we basically fasted them overnight (only food; they ALWAYS had water) and fed them very desirable food twice a day, at the same time every day. At first, we would just stay in the room with them, waiting until they slunk across and ate. Over the course of about two weeks, that progressed to one of us sitting and holding the edge of the bowl while the kittens ate. Then hand-feeding; then normal mealtimes and treats. Then we moved on to petting, cuddling, etc.
Even human adverse kittens can become loving pets after they gain trust. We adopted a kitten from that litter, and she's about the happiest and most extroverted cat you'll ever see. All her sibs were rehabbed and went to good homes, too (and two of them were adopted by the vet clinic that treated them!).
My kitty is about a year old now, she's not very fond of being held. I tried the "feral kitten wiggle" with her, and she near fell asleep in my arms!
I guess kitties just like to be wiggled.
the wiggle is a lot similar to purring. The vibrations are extremely relaxing to kittens as it can remind them of other kittens purring or their mother. Although purring could mean some negative things. it’s mostly positive and especially familiar to them.
I saw two more techniques on "Cat Man Chris'. holding KITTENS TO YOUR CHEST TO HEAR YOUR HEARTBEAT, AND (sorry, cat on mny lap stood up aned I couldn't see, was touch typing blind, didn't realize caps were on) and pretend "licking" them with your chin, motherly.
Whats the feral kitten wiggle
@@sarahbotticello3482 it's in the video, when she was wiggling the kitten lmao
The "feral kitten wiggle" isn't crazy at all. In fact, my ridiculously social adult kitty loves it. :-D
Human babies seem to like that wiggling motion, too, LOL!
DarlingNikki2 I'm no good with babies, but I've definitely seen it done! ;-)
It also works especially well with children who have spectrum disorders. Rocking motions, gentle bouncing, swings etc. are all rather effective.
JadeYueRyu1 Definitely! While I'm not on the spectrum as far as I know, I definitely have some sensory issues and I know those kinds of things worked well on me when I was little. :-)
It's why some babies loved to be rocked. Rocking is good for the soul, whether kitten or human.
i thank the Lord for creating cats. they are irresistable to my senses
I agree! 🙏😻
Absolutely.
You should thank natural selection for producing cats.
natural selection?/what the fuck are you babbling about you halfassed atheist wannabe?..if natural selection were really in play us weak humans wouldve been wiped out a long time ago
Humans haven't been weak since the moment they learned to cooperate in a group. Natural selection is a fact, and it is still present to a large degree among humans. It is however also largely covert in civilised populations since the advent of the modern civilisation, modern culture where openly eliminating weak or rivaling individuals has become socially inacceptable. So the game is now mostly covert.
Thank you! I just got my first three fosters (thanks to you and Tiny kittens). They are 6weeks old and very scared. I wasn’t sure how much I should push them but I only have them for two more weeks and really want to get the ready for their forever home. This makes me feel so much better.
I always talk to them.. they listen to your tone.. and signal your intentions to sooth and protect.. they respond with mews and a rapport begins with the touching, safe cuddling ...
That black kitten is sooooo cute!
Jo Gordon say yes to black cats.
Megan Murphy I did 10 years ago when I took in a starving stray black cat with HIV! Never regretted it. He's a sweet, loving boy!
Jo Gordon 😲 how does a cat get HIV !?
Carbon Ghetto Queen From another animal with HIV. During a cat fight or animal attack. However, it has to be a blood and saliva mixture in order for the cat to get it.
Folks it's FIV not HIV. FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS. HIV is HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS. Does about the same thing to both human and cat. Immunity is compromised and other virus and infections can lead to death. Had two of my guys died FIV. I'm battling HIV myself but unlike my cats I take medicine that makes the virus undetectable in my body. Care for humans is very $$$ dollar wise. Can't even imagine the cost for a cat. My heart goes out to all caring for pet needing special care. It's not easy. Good luck to all.
I'm a neonatal kitten nurse in NYC and I just found your youtube.. I've watched quite a few videos and all you advice and tips are just wonderful! It's good to see a well-educated kitten rescuer proving great info to people! I am definitely a new sub!
Cerena Leigh a kitten nurse, you are living the life
It's an amazing and adorable job, but it can be incredibly sad.
Awesome! I feel a strong emotional connection to any type of cat even if it is a stray. A random female cat showed up outside my window and I live on the 2nd floor me and my sister opened our window and lured her in with food. She was very friendly and wad definitely an abandonded stray as we seemd comfortable in our home. We had to gently let her out with some food since we have a aggressive male domestic shorthair who doesn't take kindly to stranger cats. I mean we took in a black furred 3 year old male rag doll 3 months ago and he is still fighting with him. Hope the beautiful girl finds a home though as it made me sad to not be able to keep her :(
you got me wanting to change careers
So are you working to become a professional 'cat lady' in the future ?
Even being a foster mum I can’t imagine socialising a kitten that big! I had a whole litter of 5 firey kittens all hardly old enough to have left their mother but already as wild as an adult feral, but tough love like you said they all calmed down and were adopted in no time once they left I secretly missed every hiss and spit
We've fostered a few hundred kittens over the years, and it's been my experience that the ones who start out feral, hissy and spitty end up being some of the nicest cats. It just takes patience, love and affection, and the ability to put their needs first (not yours!) I love what you do to educate people about fostering kittens. Your videos are uplifting, informative and not at all preachy. All the best to you!
Working with feral kittens is one of my favorite parts of fostering. Yes it's difficult and can be frustrating, but rewarding and also interesting in that you see their personality develop and all. Love!!
Camille Voyage very good. I was adoptive mom when a feral birth her kitten on my yard. She once back to feed them. But then she dont come, because "her husband" cat bitten her when try to came. They was just 2 weeks old. We had to raising them. Was so cute experience.
Camille I'm glad your enjoying working with feral kitties!
If anyone can help a friend of mine found yesterday a kitten but since she had a dog i said i would take it. The kitten has several problems and needs medication but everytime i get close it hisses and meoows what should i do?
I took in a barn kitten who zipped under the bed before I could get it isolated. (small apartment). I set it's food and water in a place it would have to see me box was well away from these. It would feed after I went to bed. After a couple days it would come out and watch me. I would slow wink and talk to it. Just over a week after bring it home it decided to give me a check out while I was sleeping. I was woken up by my ear and side of my head receiving a bath. She was about 3 months old when I got the human hating snake and rat eater (garter snakes were a favorite) and caught in live trap (too many cats for the barn and farm to support). But in less than 2 weeks I had snuggle monster.
We had a semiferal kitten (I think he'd had human contact before, and mama "placed" him in our yard to make room for the next wave of kittens) who did much the same, but took a little longer to emerge. He warmed up to Mom first, but was very very very timid, and it took months until he was comfortable enough to really come up and snuggle.
basically thats all i did, and in a week i had a wonderful ginger boy , he was only 5 weeks old though , that's was 4 years and 11 months ago..the best boy ever.......
LOL facebaths are great and relaxing. My first episode of being woken by my first feral was a bit different. She was sniffing at my face, and as soon as I opened my eyes, she started boxing me for a few seconds before running away. Later that night she tried to suffocate me with a pillow, using her body as the pillow. We have since moved on to spooning to sleep though, so it worked out.
Snugglemonster!
3:32 after he hissed at her 😭 "oh no what have i done this is the human the cuddles me and gives me food ive ruined it"
:/
Good vid! Nice work you're doing. Seven years ago we got an adult male cat from the shelter. He was not used to humans, hissed when you got to close, and would lash out at you if you got even closer. He did very little else than sitting in a corner and stare at you. And now, he loves to be petted, wants to be on the bed, and asks for attention and hugs. We used all the methods as in the video, except for the wiggling. We just didn't know.
I once socialized feral ghouls so this is easy peasy for me..
works great with a fatman
Instructions not clear: I accidentally lost an arm.
Step 1: have no companions
Step 2: find ghoul
Step 3: shoot out legs
And now you have your own immobile passive pet, perfectly fine to hang out with.
Did you use the feral mask?
No she used the feral arms.
awww the white-grey one is so cute :)
And the black one isn't right cause you are so racist.
@Shallow Stream people are allowed to say they think a kitten is cute without being accused of racism. For cats, markings can make them look really cute. Plus he didn't even say that the other one wasn't. I'm pretty sure your comment was a joke though...
there was a full-grown feral male cat in our neighborhood that we eventually got tame enough that we could brush & pet him... all with food and talking to him. it took years, but we were the only people he trusted. i'd give him treats of cooked bacon in the cold winter months and we closed in the bottom of our porch & put cat beds, hay and blankets. sometimes we'd change his water 5× a day so it didn't freeze. during summer he'd let us comb the flees out of his coat & enjoyed a cool drink and a plate of tuna. we named him Morris, and he'd come running when we called him. one day he was gone without a trace :-( i called the shelter & put his pic on facebook.. we never saw him again. i miss him so much.
I just adopted a kitten who was feral for the first two months of his life. He gets fixed tomorrow and then comes home with me. I'm so nervous but I am SO ready to help this little guy become comfy and happy living with humans. Thank you for the video! I'm going to watch the rest of your channel and binge on every feral kitten socialization video I can find over the next few weeks. Keep up the amazing work!
I wish I could have watched this video 5 years ago when we adopted and rescued one of our cats. She was already around 3-4 months old and I couldn't touch her for the first 2-3months and she was constantly hiding. The only thing I knew to do was speaking to her and just sit in the same room as her for hours after school. One day she just came out of her hiding spot and since then she is the cuddliest cat I know and she loves small children. As soon as I could touch her I was touching her every second she let me, she is turning 6 in June and I'm so glad that we could save at least her.
I've socialized many feral kittens (one of my adult cats had a peculiar habit of well, cat napping them to our basement) and it can be frustrating at times, but very rewarding when the hissy little critters become lap hogging snuggle beasts. They're well worth the effort. Some of the once-feral babbins I've rescued have gone on to be the most loving, grateful companions I've ever known.
Love this! Having socialized 3 feral kittens in the past year I know how important patience is with these sweet babies. Thank you for all you do!
2:50 - Kitten snuggling party sounds like the best idea ever.
we rescued a feral kitten 4 years ago, and luckily I was working from home so it made her transition so much easier on her. I didn't realize that the kitty wiggle/bounce was an actual THING! I used it with the kitten, named Squirrel, all the time! Squirrel was so tiny when we brought her home (after vet clearance), and since we had other cats in the house, I made sure to keep her localized in one room while everyone adjusted. while I was working, she would curl up inside my hoodie and later she would curl up between my upper back and the back of the chair, LOL. I have so many funny stories about Squirrels antics while I was working...or trying to work! Can't begin to tell you how many conference calls she hung up from, my boss was ticked until I told her what was going on: one of the guys from Corporate would host a call each week, sometimes twice weekly, I would usually have the call on speaker phone with my side muted unless I needed to present, and I would otherwise take notes or IM my coworkers. As soon as squirrel would hear this guy's voice, she would come Running from wherever she was, jump on my desk and try to nuzzle the phone, purring like crazy! of course, if the screen was still active, she would manage to disconnect the call, which meant I had to dial back in and cause a disruption (no big deal to anyone, but my boss hated that it was happening frequently). I finally had to send her an email and explain/apologize to her and to the guy from corporate..."my cat is apparently in love with you, Neal..." thank goodness they both got a laugh out of it!
two beautiful kittens, hope they have a great life
I’m fostering my first rescue baby. He’s 12 weeks young after mom abandoned him in my backyard. I got him neutered, tipped, vaccinated, dewormed etc....but after 24 hours, he’s the SWEETEST shy little snuggle bug. He’s quarantined from my two house cats, so it’s hard to split the time (with work and my sleep too). But I can NOT imagine releasing him back outside. Never! I’m taking my time and finding the perfect forever home for my little dude. Helping him is the best feeling ever. I literally just taught him what a water bowl is, and how to PLAY! Everything is a learning curve, and so amazing to watch the progression. Thank you Kitten Lady.
I really agree with this video! I'm trying to socialize these somewhat feral three-month-old kitties, and the more positivity the better! At first they hissed and ran away, but I found that if I sat a respectful distance away, and constantly talked to them, it sort of desensitized them. Now, one I call Percy comes up to me even, though he's not quite used to ear rubs yet!
We had a little fellow who was very free with his claws when he first came inside. He would sit on a chair and watch us, but was a little too insecure to let us get too close. The chair he usually chose was within arm's reach of my computer, so when I was gaming I kept challenging him, and he would occasionally draw a line on the back of my hand when I wasn't quite fast enough to get away with touching him.
That game continued for a few weeks, but he eventually figured out that all I wanted to do was stroke him and that stroking felt... pretty nice actually. I got a shock a couple weeks later when he just simply decided (all his idea) to walk over and lie on my lap while I was playing. The change of mind can come pretty suddenly once they recognize that not only do you mean no harm, what you're trying to do actually feels pretty good.
I put a litter of young feral kits in a wire show crate set in the living room. These kits were not accepting of any human touch. Daughter and I sat on floor by the crate and ate roasted chicken, slipping bits of the chicken through the wire to the kits who were interested in the food. They learned to associate good food with people. The reluctant littermates began approaching us when they saw their more outgoing siblings getting the 'good stuff' and therefore became acclimated to humans as well. Within 3-4 days we were able to carefully handle the kits, proceeding with their socialization outside the kennel from there.
Baby food meats are a good bribe also in small amounts.
The Feral Cat Wiggle works!!! I'm fostering 3 semi-feral kittens right now and I got my first purr through the wiggle!!! :D
How old are they?
Thank you so much for this video! I found a momma cat and her 4 babies living in an old box in my backyard. Last night we had a big storm and when I went out out to check on them this morning momma cat and 3 of the baby cats were gone. One cat remained so I took him to the vet (I know it's a him because one of your other videos). Lil boy is not doing very well, he is covered in fleas and has a high fever, he's also not doing great with eating, and wants nothing more than to hide. This video is so helpful, I'm trying to get him healthy so that he can be put up for adoption.
you are a wonderful kitty mom 💜 thank you for all you do!
I think the thing with most people is that they think there is no teaching kittens, like they think they're "easier" than dogs and there for doesn't need any "rules", which is sad. :/
I trained my cat to sit for a treat in less than 5 minutes. I also trained every cat I ever had to not scratch my furniture. Of course there were mishaps and mistakes here and there, and I consider that the dues we pay for being able to have such magnificent friends in our homes, but overall, they can be taught to not scratch your stuff. You see them scratching and you immediately substitute whatever it is they like the most in front of them and tell them to scratch that instead. Sisal is a good bet, although some cats like certain types of carpet. It's a matter of waiting for the wrong behavior and quickly showing them the right behavior, and making sure it's something they like. They can be trained to do a lot of things, if they are interested.
Edit: I grew up with dogs only, and my first cat came to me, so I learned on the job. It never occurred to me that cats were untrainable, but then again, it also never occurred to me that some people think small dogs don't need to be trained, either.
Hugo, agreed! Most people have no clue how amazing cats are, because they’re too close minded. I’ve always loved cats over dogs because they’re smart and you have to “win them over.” Dogs will love anyone.
People could learn a lot about how to treat each other and get along if everyone would just watch your channel. Thank you for being an awesome human being.
I was raised on a farm. We had kittens every spring. I used to take naps with Mama and her babies. You know what you are doing. thank you for doing it.
My hubby and I are working with an older young cat who comes for food and shelter. Slow going since she is still not letting us approach closer than about 18 inches! Mews for us then sometimes "spits" just like a kitten that is miffed. Named her Cupcake since my Mom always said you need to give the shyest ones a sweet name.
I love how you help kittens, but there are also lots and lots of old and adult cats who need help, too! I hope that there are people willing to help the old cats, too, and to love them just as much as the little babies!
Kitten Lady, you are the best!! Thank goodness for your love and kindness towards these neonates!!! Also, you do a great job with encouraging people to do the TNR!!
The Kitten Wiggle totally worked, I have a feral kitten that had to have a back leg amputated, so this little girl has been through hell already, but i wrapped her up and did the back and forth motion while petting her and she fell asleep purring up against my dog too! It really relaxed her. Thanks Hannah, you do wonderful work!
A black cat named Guppy? Is that a Binding Of Isaac reference?
Fastskull i hope. would totally make it way more awesome. xD
I heard Gumpy.... LOL
I've always told myself that I would have a cat named Guppy, Tammy, or Cricket one day :)
Minjja no.
i think cricket is a dog
I love to watch your videos. I can't afford to have a pet, but your videos make me wish I could.
Be a volunteer at your local Animal Shelter. They're always understaffed and desperate for help: walking dogs, grooming cats, and socializing fearful animals. There's more ways to save animals than by bringing them home :-) And volunteering doesn't cost you a thing!
GSD Being a volunteer at a local Animal shelter is a good idea for someone who loves helping animals and not killing them. Like don't well its too hard for an 8-year old like me to explain
I once tried to save an abandoned ferrel kitten. Woke up one morning, it was screaming under my house. Gave it about 30-45 min. No sign of mom so I got it. Had to force fed it a week, then bottle fed it a couple more. It was younger than I though lol. It never hissed at me. Never screamed or clawed or tried to bite me. Coming up on his 4th week he didn't make it. I was devestated and haven't owned a cat since. I heard meow's for weeks after thinking there's another cat. It was horrible. His name was Pepper.
I signed up at a shelter to foster cats/kittens and last night received a long awaited call to take home some kittens. When I got there I was asked if I had ever handled feral kittens before ....no....they recommended I watch your video's. I have been watching you for some time and I am amazed at the work you do and the knowledge you share. I just finished watching "How to socialize hissy feral kittens". I am looking forward to getting these 3 beautiful babies ready for forever homes (but I will admit I love tuxedo kitties and may be a foster fail for one of them!). One is actually ,in my opinion, friendly or at least not too hissy, it has even meowed! One is very very hissy and the third is just very quite . I so want my fostering to be a huge success story and I know that by watching you I have a very good shot at that happening. Thank you so much for passing on all that you know to help others to help the kitties!
those kitties are so cute. man they are literally babies. I want em
I always relied on my adult cats to civilize the feral kittens
Nothing wrong with that, if the adults are good at it. ;)
My male cat is a total nanny. When my sisters brought home their rescue kittens, he cuddled up to them & washed them happily... Unfortunately, that ended when one of the kittens tried to nurse from him... He ran so fast... XP
VU IBG Lol!!!😂😂😂
Great advice, provided you have the feral kittens tested for communicable diseases first. Sorry to hijack your post but I feel that it is a great idea provided the older cats and kittens have been tested. Would be sad if someone took your good advice and it backfired on them.
MmeDefarge (Expose NYC Meth Labs) good strategy!
I had to socialize my oldest cat. He hid under my bed for a week and only snuck out at night to use his litter box. This video reminds me of his old behaviors so much. He used to hiss and spit every time I walked past the bed. I read to him and talked to him almost constantly. He finally let me pet him for the first time when I was eating a quesadilla and his curiosity about the quesadilla was greater than his fear of me. Since then he's been super lovey and bonded with me.
"invite over lots of friends" well gee must be NICE to have SO MANY FRIENDS! why do you think we're hanging with CATS?! (kidding)
Gentle bouncing, as seen in the video, has a calming effect on fully grow cats as well. It has allowed me to provide care for a geriatric cat with kidney disease who otherwise may not have let me bathe and diaper her. Thank you for sharing this video for kind cat caretakers everywhere looking for helpful tips!
Thank you Hannah. I’m watching a pair of feral kittens and they’re both my most challenging kittens to socialize! They’re eating from my hands and will walk around me. But the moment I really get near them they get scared, run away, or hiss. So I’ll keep at it and I’ll try wrapping them in a blanket and giving them more affection :)
Are they friendly now?
this helped soon much. i got fosters a couple months ago and watched this video. they were very hissy and spitty and in a couple of weeks we got them to be great companions and ended up adopting them. I am still fostering and am so grateful that I saw this video
I didn't know much of this when I'd taken in my cat a few years back, but while she's still very shy with people she doesn't know(she recognizes voices) but I got her comfortable around me by laying her up against my chest and gently 'petting' her with cat cleaning wipes, didn't take her long to be comfortable enough around me to pounce around, though it did take her twice as long to not hide as soon as someone else entered the room, though she loves my mom, since she was the only other person who actually put an effort into subtly introducing themselfs over a long period of time(read aloud in the room, doing some small tasks like sorting the file cabinet or working in the room to familiarize the cat hidden behind the curtain to her voice, and smell)
I'm gonna try this with my shy kitten. hes not feral but he hates guests :( the feeding solution and visible hiding spot are great suggestions
Ask your guests to not rush toward the cat to say hello or pet him. If they come in and are totally disinterested in the cat, the cat will come around faster. You can't look at them. It's how cats act around new cats, too. They walk super slow and don't stare. Some cats will never like a lot of activity. You could try Feliway, which I thought was bull but it worked on my cats for travel and for getting to know each other. There is no way a placebo effect happened unless the cats read the box and were fooling me.
lol when you rocked the kitten the eyes made me laugh so much!
Yeah, he was definitely going into The Zone with that wiggling!
Bass went into another dimension during the kitten wiggle 😄❤️❤️👍🏻
Me and my parents found two 1 month old feral kittens, this helped us a lot, and now they socialize so good! Thanks for this video, very helpful.
I got feral kittens 4 years ago and they are so loving now.
Thumbs up!!!
With life long experience in handling cats of all kind, I can say you are spot on. The grey-white kitten reminds me of my girlfriends late tomcat and he used to be a feral cat, too.
A kitten snuggle party sounds like the best social event ever!
The eyes rolling to the back of the head during the Feral Kitten wiggle was too much XD hahaha how cute
You make some damn brilliant videos. Matching your advice with action - illustrating that the techniques with advice works. Sound and educating stuff. Thank heavens for people like you that care about animals.
The 6 wk old feral that found my home yesterday always makes like I'm scary when I enter the room , then after 5 mins she's okay with me .
When my family used to foster the local rescue used to just send all the ferals to my house because we were so good with them. They always seem to end up being the most affectionate. Only had one who never quite came out of it, Wilma, she ended up staying forever because she's too jumpy to rehome, but even she loves some loving on her own terms :P The first purr is always the best feeling!
I found a little feral kitten when I was 11. She actually came to me when I simply sat down a few metres away from her and simply observed her. She was never agressive or tense around neither me nor my parents. She is now almost 20 years old and I can't bear the thought of losing her to old age :´-(
The kitten at the beginning is me when all the Oreos are gone..
Awwww cats are the cutest and most lovable creatures
The love you give is priceless and wonderful . May the love you give come back to you. Thank you for teaching everyone so many useful things. Take care .
Thank you for this! I have 3 month old sisters that are my first semi feral kittens. I've had them for a month and they have come a long way but these tips will help me socialize them faster. I can do the proper things to give them love and care from me the right way and then learn to trust their new family when they find the right fit :) your truly a life saver!
KITTEN: meeeooooow
HUMAN: wiggles them
KITTEN: oooo, dat stuf nice.
Exceptional presentation in an educational, fun to watch video. Great work you are doing.
This really works! Used these tips with my first set of foster kittens. (And I gave this link to the shelter administrator to use for training people) They are now wanting to be around me all the time!! They were snuggling on my lap within 1 week from being feral! Thanks Hannah!!
I did not know I was naturally a great cat owner. I do all these thing for years before even watching your videos.
he seems very aware of the camera
this video brought tears to my eyes...tears of gratitude for your effort of rehabilitating stray kittens. how wonderful and noble your work is. i would like to be a part of it and help; where do you live? i am in north-west nj...
That is so sweet! You clearly love kittens, and animals in general, so much, it's really touching.
My Spooky boy was feral when my mother rescued him from the engine of our truck (overheated a bit, but uninjured). He was so wild that when she took him to the vet they couldn't even get him still enough for long enough to tell if he was male or female. We knew we couldn't leave him outside to get up to MORE mischief, though, so she pretty much did exactly this and held him in a towel for some time, just talking to him, and then left him for me to watch. I talked to him, and put my hand in his cat carrier for him, played with him, and sang to him. I held him in the towel some too. And within only a few weeks he pretty much became my cat. Now he's the sweetest boy you'd ever meet, though still a bit shy of strangers, especially men for some reason. And he's learned to avoid engines.
I do same ting but you are wonderful maa sha Allah GOD BLESS you
Muslim?
@@runwithscizzors3904 what if she is ? Does it matter?
@@mozzinator How tf did u get offended over a 1 word question?
@@michaelrobson7005 I think its pretty clear who's getting offended here
Holy shit! Best of both worlds! Beautiful tatts on a beautiful woman and a kitten. Can't go wrong with that!
This was super helpful in helping to socialize the feral kitten I'd picked up. It's been a few months, but he's finally getting the hang of how to deal with these weird things called "humans." Thank you so much for posting this!!! Love from us and Rupert, our kitty!
i think i socialized my kitten without realizing, great video! now she's a pampered baby
I just trapped a four-month old feral. Do you have much experience taming a kitten this old? Do you do anything different?
Would of been great is CZcams recommended this while I was trying to socialize ferral fosters! Lol. Do love this video anyway 😇
I went about this differently with kittens in my neighborhood. They were too young to take away from their mother, so I fed them everyday for a couple weeks. I'd bring food and a toy and sit there while they ate. Then play with them for a while. Eventually I was able to touch them without them running away. Then one tolerated me petting him for a few seconds.
I caught that one with a pet carrier and the toy. When I brought him home he was very scared. But since he was already familiar with me he ran right to me to hide. I put him on my bed and he cuddled up by my neck and started purring. Then he remembered what was going on and ran and hid in the cat tree. We just let him stay there pet him occasionally. He slept all day. By the time it was dark he was ready to come out for food and to play. It took less than 24 hours for him to be completely comfortable. Now he follows me around the house and crawls up on my chest when he wants to be pet.
The other kitten, the more timid one, is taking longer. It's been 4 days and he's starting to come around now. He wasn't used to pets before bringing him home. So it took a bit longer.
I know I got to them very young. But getting them used to me and being touched before catching them sped up this process so much. We tamed 2 kittens in our house in less than a week. They should be ready to be adopted soon.
thanks kitten lady. i rescued two feral kittens yesterday. they are around 12 weeks old. and boy to i have my work cut out for me because they won't let me get anywhere near them. this video gave me hope.