How to Tame a Feral Kitten

[PositivelyWeird]

Instructions Unclear, I've been tamed by the kitten.

[snidecommenter]

I adopted a 'fearful' cat that was a 'fear biter'. I will never forget the day he gave me his belly.
Now he gets up on the table and demands belly rubs. It is wonderful.

[Max-mmgt]

Instructions Unclear, I now have an obsessive little creature following me around everywhere, and meowing all the time.

[AcidAroma]

Rule #1: Communication! Always talk to your kitten so they learn to grow attached to your voice

[thethemperoroftheholybri]

Day one: "I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TOUCH ME!"

Day fifty: "here's my belly"

[charlafox]

My old dog tamed the wild kitten… It hated everyone but my old German shepherd.. but when Dakota passed away.. The cat got lonely. And she started to befriend us too. She’s a good cat now

[chadcat]

Gaining a kitty's trust is the most special feeling ever

[baz]

I wish kittens understood how cute and friendshaped they are.

[scurvyelephant]

Very different w/ an adult feral, just FYI, important for those that don’t know.💜🐱

Also generally good to be patient and let them settle and feel safe vs forcing things too fast. They learn to trust when not threatened.

[bornonthebattlefront]

I caught a feral kitten
Spicy Russian blue

But literally 13 hours after I caught him

He was on my chest, purring himself to sleep

He has never spent another night anywhere else since

Edit-
He sat outside, under my truck for 3 nights crying

I couldn’t catch him the 1st two nights, and on the 3rd, it was because of my GF’s help and us being up at 3am that I actually caught him

We have a lot of cats around my neighborhood, but he was alone, and the only Russian blue I’ve seen then, and since, and he was quite young
only about 6 weeks old
If that
So with the construction next door going on (an apartment complex was being built literally 50 ft away), and neighbors knowing nothing about him

I kept him
I didn’t even want to at the start
But my landlady, my girlfriend and my friends insisted

I’m glad I did

If for nothing else, he’s the key to a great many memories
Then again, he’s been an amazing pet, and has created memories in his own right

(Thank you Raquel my beloved, for helping me catch him, and even though we didn’t work out, I’ll always love you and Koshka forever)

[brianschuerch]

then they become obsessed and insist on sleeping on your face at night

[FatalisCataclysm]

Fun fact: slow blinking is a cats way of basically smiling at you

[billybobb]

Also, once caught, try to stay low to their level. The size difference is what really scares them.

[j_]

Gaining a feral cat's trust is like an S class mission for me. lmao

[DPoB]

Last time i had a feral kitty i just sat next to the food bowl, and let the kitty eat. It sniffed my hand, and rubbed against it. It helps when you have it shut in a room where it cant hide under anything, but have some stuff if it crawl inside. Like a cat tree. After about an hour the kitty got hungry enough to try to eat. Watched me almost the whole time, and i just sat there watching videos on youtube. The kitty ended up being with me for several years before i found its forever home.

[CosVixen]

Once any cat trusts you enough to show their belly, then they truly love you. Thats where all of their vital organs are and they know it, they are very protective of their bellies.

[Itsjustme-Justme]

Don't try to pet its head as long as the kitten is extremely scared. Give it a chance to sniff your hand. Only pretators come from above.

[stevebigansky]

that's what happens when they have no human contact for the first 6 weeks- patience and love are the cure

[mikowizo]

Instructions unclear: My dog won't stop waggling his tail now

[joebaumgart]

I had a feral kitten once. Turned out to be a Canadian Lynx. We had him for 26 years. He was a sweet boy. His name was Wayne after The Great One, Wayne Gretsky. We weren't supposed to have him. We didn't have permits, but we loved him and he loved us. He was 40 lbs at one point.