"Mike the Brewer" <mike_tech@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:WQeWj.30$gJ.16@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "Robert Bodling" <robertbodling@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:481dcf8b$0$30213$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>I was out in my back yard last night cutting down the overgrown tall
grass
>>and weeds and found a couple new born kittens (looks to be a month or so
>>old, old enough to run and scamper around) hidding in the tall grass and
>>managed to rescue one of them that had tried to escape and got caught in
>>the 2"x3" (or so) wire we have around the base of our fence (due to the
>>fact that we used to have a dog in the yard trying to escape). The
kitten
>>is real fisty and as my son calls it, "a kitten from hell, a demonic
cat"
>>(hisses and lashes at every movement around it [presently caged in a cat
>>carrier]). Some told me last night that when a human handles the kitten,
>>the mother cat will abandon it and let it wonder around and die. Would
>>this young kitten return to it's family and be welcomed it we let it
back
>>out in the yard this evening after we managed to finish mowing the tall
>>grass down and cleaning up the back yard?
>>
>> Secondly, if this kiten was born in the wild, can it be house trained
and
>> would it be tame enough to live inside with humans?
>
> I would like to tell my own story here:
> A female cat which appeared to be wild came around and I started putting
> food down for it. It came at regular times to feed but would run off at
> the first sign of a human. It had three kittens in the grass and I
> observed them until it took them under next door's shed. However it left
> the female kitten and did not return by dusk, so I took this in and
reared
> it successfully , feeding it with an eye-dropper and Lactol milk powder
> mixed with water.
> I am told I was very lucky to succeed, gently "topping and tailing "
> regularly using a damp sponge. After about 3 weeks it's eyes opened and
> eventually she grew into lovely, but small, longhaired cat and lived for
> about 13 years.
> As for the two tom kittens, I saw them running around after about five
or
> six weeks. I took a cardboard box which I sealed and cut out a hole just
> enough for them to get through, put some cat food in and placed it on
the
> garden. I watched from a distance and when the kittens had both entered
I
> sneaked up and put my hand over the hole and brought them indoors.
> They would not come out for three days but tempted by food just outside
> the box and the presence of the female kitten who was now running
around,
> they eventually became tame and domesticated. I had the two toms
neutered
> and they too grew into fine cats...very loving and responsive to humans.
> Endnote: There were two more tom kittens the following year and after
> catching and domesticating those I was able to find homes for them
> locally. The mother was around for several years and in that time I
> managed to get to the stage when she she would eat from a bowl while I
> held it out, but that as far as it went....as soon as I lifted my thumb
on
> the edge of the bowl she would spit and back off.......At least I was
able
> to give her a source of food......which was all she needed.
>
Male ferals are probably easier to tame, since they don't have kittens to
protect.....We were able to tame ours in about four years by feeding it
and
petting it and/or bru****ng it while it ate, providing that we approached
it
on our hands and knees, and didn't stand up.....but it did take a great
deal
of patience......Now, he sleeps on our bed and seldom leaves the
house......
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