How do I catch a stray kitten?

magenta73

Hi guy's I need advice, we have 2 stray kittens in our back garden and I have fed them and their mother since they arrived, I'd say they are about 8-10 weeks old now and the mother is not really around anymore. I would like to bring them to get them their shots, but what is worrying me is that one of the kittens has an eye infection. I have spent the last 2 hours (like an idiot) chasing the one with the infection around the back garden.

I have left the food in a cat basket (carrier) and it wouldn't go in, I left the food just inside the door and it wont come near, Please has anyone any tips,:(

thanks

PCPhoto

throw a blanket over them.....or create a trap using a bedsheet to trap them in.

aujopimur

Once a cat reaches 6 weeks undomesticated its feral it will never be a pet.

babychuckles

Dear op
if you can get in touch with a local rescue centre or animal or cat charity they may be able to give you the loan of a humane kitten trap. just make sure you have a cloth or blanket to cover it when the kitten/s get in and are caught. it calms them down if they cannot see out usually.
re taming them: if you do get them caught its best to keep them indoors for a minmum of three weeks so that they get used to you, if you want them to tamed that is. (and if that works out then getting them neutered :at 5months for girls and 6 for males, is best if you do not want any more kittens)

The Sweeper

aujopimur wrote: »

Once a cat reaches 6 weeks undomesticated its feral it will never be a pet.

Ignore this.

It's total crap.

FAYESY

aujopimur wrote: »

Once a cat reaches 6 weeks undomesticated its feral it will never be a pet.

I disagree as would Hugo my ex feral boy - caught with a cat trap & is now my house pet who adores me!

Then there was Henry who died just over a week ago - he was a much older cat well over a year old - typical tom - ripped ears the works - he became a much adored house cat that was a right old purr bag! Love that man & miss him very much.

The Sweeper

But in other news, yes, see if you can get a humane trap from a shelter or from your vet. Otherwise, stop chasing. You stop chasing, they'll stop running. Sit quietly outside with a book for a while. Don't make eye contact. Place food around you. Speak softly and calming in a reassuring fashion if they appear. Turn your body slightly so you're not face-on to the cat.

It's the same reasoning behind why cats will approach the person in the room who hates cats. In cat language, aggression is square-on body shape, eye contact, direct attention. Deference is a tilted body, lack of eye contact, a position leaning away. People who dislike cats don't look at them and don't face them and will lean away from them. This posture, to the cat, means this is now the most interesting person in the room.

Rainydayz

We had a feral kitten turn up in the engine of my boyfriend's van recently. I managed to catch him but got bitten really badly (the pain was unreal!) and had to go and get a tetnas shot and put on antibiotics! Cat bits can cause really nasty infections so don't do as I did and go in with your bare hands! Use a towel to catch them in. Then what we did with this guy was we got a crate from the local shelter and are keeping him in there and handling him daily - first catching him in the towel and now we can pick him up and he is tame and purring when we come near him. I reckon he was 8 or 9 wks when we first caught him and totally wild so your guys can definitely be tamed but only if you are patient and are willing to put the time into it every day.

magenta73

Thanks guys for all the advice. I'm going to ring our local Blue Cross now to see if I can borrow a trap. I'd love to keep the 2 kittens, but I have 2 cats, Tigger since he was 3 weeks old (his mother was very ill) and Bessie a rescue cat. Bessie's very old and has a very bad temper, she loves me and the other family members but has no time for Tigger, and when I'm feeding the kittens I have to make sure the door is closed as she'll go for them. So I've made a little home for the kittens in the shed, pillows and blankets for the winter. so I hope this trap will work and then I can get them sorted!

P.S please don't think that Bessie is a nasty cat, she was just really ill treated before!:)

Mar9

I have a little cat who was about 8 weeks old when I found him. He was feral, and while he's probably a bit more independent and strong willed than your average domestic cat, he is a pet and he's endlessly amusing. The only tip I can give you would be that the kittens might be attracted by food with a strong smell, such as tuna or a slice of ham. When I first found my cat, he had gingivitis and wasn't able to smell ordinary cat food, but tuna always caught his attention! Good luck with the kittens!

wexford202

There were a couple of strays at my parents house. My mother fed them every day and used to leave the window open in the kitchen.

Eventually it could have even taken three months the feckers came into the kitchen and she caught them and got them treated.

They will meet you at the door now and rub off your legs on the way in.

They will learn not to bite the hand that feeds them.

The six week thing is nonsense. I have seen older stray cats come tame.