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Turning a Cat Into a Companion

Denise Flaim | Animal House

November 5, 2002

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Cats are complicated creatures, with an innate independence that makes connecting to the humans in their lives very much a matter of choice.

In feral cats - that is, cats who live outdoors and have returned to their "wild" state - this connection is tenuous at best: While they might be willing to allow humans to feed them and watch from a distance, they usually aren't willing to give - or take - much more.

As a result, kind-hearted souls who take feral cats into their homes need to be pragmatic. While feral cats can be as easily litter- trained as their tame counterparts and might make a fine companion for the other felines in the household, they may never form an attachment to humans.

With feral kittens, however, the odds are more in your favor.

Denise Flaim Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

"Age is the key," says Linda Stuurman, president of Last Hope Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation in Huntington, adding that the optimal age for taking kittens from a feral mother is five weeks - "as soon as the mother brings them out to the food source," she says. "People think the kitten should stay with the mother until they stop nursing, but sometimes they don't wean until 3 months of age."

Even at the tender age of 5 weeks, feral kittens have learned to be cautious of humans. Older kittens are more challenging: "At three or four months, you have less of a chance of socializing" the kittens, Stuurman says. And by the six-month mark, patterns have pretty much been set, and the odds of socializing are comparable to that of an adult feral cat, which is to say not good: Stuurman estimates that only about 10 percent of adult ferals become companions in the true sense of the word.

When it comes to taming a feral kitten, she advises, think small. "The big mistake people make is they release them into the house." Instead, confine the kitten to a wire crate (not a plastic carrier kennel), and put it in a relatively busy part of the house, such as the living room or kitchen. The smaller the cage, the better (within reason, of course), since the point is not to allow the kitten to retreat from his new environment.

For the first few days, just let the kitten be, so he can get comfortable with humans and their goings-on. "Don't even try to handle them" during that period, Stuurman says. "Just get them used to being confined." You can try sitting next to the cage, talking softly to the kitten. Move slowly to avoid startling him, and when you leave, keep the television or radio on to accustom him to the sound of human voices.

The next step is to get the kitten accustomed to human contact. Insert a gloved hand into the cage (Stuurman uses regular leather driving gloves, preferably ones that reach close to the elbow) and try to touch the kitten. If the kitten is totally panic-stricken, ease back to a less-intense level of contact. Progress to stroking without a glove.

Next, remove the kitten from the cage, and try to stroke him in your lap; depending on the kitten's reaction to leaving the safety of the cage, you may need to don the gloves again.

Remember that this is not an exact science, and that you need to watch and analyze the kitten's progress. In some cases, you may have to take two steps forward and one step back. You're searching for a delicate middle ground - not frightening the kitten to the point where he is terrified, but challenging his comfort zone enough for him to accept you.

Once the kitten sits comfortably on your lap and doesn't try to bolt, try releasing him in a small room with a minimal number of hiding spots - a bathroom is ideal. At this point, you might try to teach him that most motivating of equations: Human Being = Food. Place the food bowls near you so that proximity becomes a good thing. You might even offer delicious treats from your hand.

Temperaments vary from kitten to kitten, and while one might quickly determine that you are actually pretty nice, another might come to the opposite conclusion.

"There will be cases where you're not going to have any success," Stuurman warns. "It's not that you failed - it's just that no matter what you do, some of them will never tame down."

If all ends happily and your feral kitten turns into a love muffin, your work has not ended there. Be sure to take the next step and get the feral mother spayed so she doesn't produce another litter of wild ones. Groups such as Stuurman's can offer advice, lend humane traps and offer resources for low-cost spaying and neutering.

Last Hope (597 W. Jericho Tpke. in Huntington, 631- 425-1884, www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org) often has feral kittens for adoption. Stuurman notes that the group will be losing its adoption center at the end of the month; Good Samaritans need apply.