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Any problem with adopting a kitten from a feral or wild cat? If socialized early will the kitty be just as tame and sociable as those from domesticated, indoor cats?
I had a feral litter born in the attic of my house one time. We caught Mama and kittens and had them to ready to go to a no kill shelter. One of my neighbors fell in love with one and took it. At the time, the kittens were only 3 weeks old or so.....That little kitten turned out to be one of the most loving lap cats I had ever seen! I think the key is very early socialization.
Any problem with adopting a kitten from a feral or wild cat? If socialized early will the kitty be just as tame and sociable as those from domesticated, indoor cats?
No problem at all! You just have to adopt early enough so they are socialized with humans.
Any problem with adopting a kitten from a feral or wild cat? If socialized early will the kitty be just as tame and sociable as those from domesticated, indoor cats?
Yes lots and lots of interaction, keep it in a safe area and handle gently. My past three cats all came from feral situations as little kittens. I hand fed them and that seemed to help calm their defensive nature. Good luck.
My wife brought home a 6 week old kitten that was the sole surviver of a feral cat litter that hung around in the woods next to where she worked.
That was over 4 yrs ago.
She is one of the best cats I've ever been around and I've had animals all my life. (Over 6 decades)
The cat and my Lab/mix dog are best buddys. It's fun to see them play together.
The only thing the cat dont like is my rowdy grandchildren when they come over. She goes and hides.
I can't much blame her. Sometimes I want to do the same thing. LOL
I can't recall that I've had a cat in decades that hasn't been a feral rescue and several of them had to be bottle-fed and hand raised. With the exception of just one they all grew up to be totally wonderful, warm and loving and she was just a miserable creature period. She only mellowed out in her adage when she became totally deaf!
Of our nine cats, three are domestic and six are domesticated ferals.
Everybody has their own personality, but there are no major behavioral differences between any of them. They are all curious, affectionate, love to be petted, sit on our laps, and sleep with us at night. I wish we had gotten a bigger bed because sometimes there are four or five cats competing with each other, and with us, for space.
I have noticed one difference between the ferals and the others. The ferals don't seem to like being picked up and carried. The domestics I can pick up and carry in my arms like a baby and rub their bellies. They enjoy that a lot. If I tried that with the ferals, I would pay a painful price. Even though most of them enjoy having their bellies rubbed, they can't stand being forced to turn over. They enjoy and demand the same level of attention and affection as the others, but they want to initiate it.
I can pick up one of the domestics and sit down with him on my lap and pet him and he will purr and sleep there for hours. If I do that with one of the ferals, she will struggle to get away. But, they will come on their own and jump up and purr and sleep just like the others, but they want it to be their choice.
All this makes perfect sense when viewed in the context of survival instincts, but I wonder why it has survived in the ferals and not in the domestics when both were raised with humans from a very young age.
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