Welcome any advice, here. Brought home a feral kitten from a nearby farm

[allegorical oracle]

yesterday. He is really feral. No use for humans. The farm mom took him to the vet, who estimated the kitten's age to be 6-8 weeks. The family found him first in their car's wheel well, (he escaped) then later in their tractor's engine. He's extremely small, but seems healthy.

He will have NOTHING to do with me. Have him crated, but he shrinks to the rear of the crate whenever I'm nearby.

Anybody else have a similar experience? Please give me a hand, here....

[ZDU]

1. Long leather gloves..

Put 'em on and hold him with love and kindness. Gently speak to him. He'll come around eventually...
More here:
https://www.communityconcernforcats.org/resources/taming-feral-kittens/

[2naSalit]

2. While holding...

Him, gently stroke his forehead front to back, sort of mimicking its mother licking the top of his head, that seems to help them calm down and with bonding.

[allegorical oracle]

8. Fortunately, vet clipped the kitten's toenails! :)

[Ocelot II]

3. It will take time. At first just bring him food, step away and let him eat.

Once he seems comfortable eating in your presence, start talking to him. Don't try to touch him, just keep your distance and spend time talking to him whenever you bring food. He will start to associate you with food and safety and at some point you could try offering him food from your finger. He's pretty young so he should warm up fairly soon but don't rush him. There is a lot of info on socializing kittens online but the main point is to go slow and don't push him. Also, we need photos.

[ZDU]

6. Yes! Photos please!!!

[allegorical oracle]

15. Don't hold your breath. Got my first-ever smart phone this Christmas

as a gift. Am learning that I'm severely digitally undereducated. The phone is very daunting. Am lucky to successfully answer phone calls at this point.

[allegorical oracle]

9. Appreciate the advice. Have had "farm" cats, here for the past 43 years, but

most of my foundlings have been stray (wandered away with, or without, momma kitty. They're already sweet and less afraid of people. But this little guy (I've named him "Oliver" after Oliver Twist because he's something of an orphan) is dead set against human contact. Have been quiet with him -- just food and water -- and he's eating more than drinking, so I've added a bit more water to the Fancy Feast Pate (which the farm family started him on).

[SuzyandPuffpuff]

4. Yes

1) cover crate so he doesn't feel exposed . He Will associate when he's ready ... 2) put yourself in his place. Scared. Confused. Disoriented. Everything with these guys must be SLOW and QUIET. Most important...make sure he can hide. That crate will b his safety zone so make it his. 3) sit quietly next to crate but don't force yourself on him. 4) peacock feathers are a great way to introduce soft comfortable play. Keep us posted. I worked over 3 decades with animals of all species ... I know of what I speak

[allegorical oracle]

10. Thank you for answering my post. While I'm experienced with the feline

family (had six cats at one point) -- dealing with a feral is a bit beyond my skill set.

[GiqueCee]

5. Infinite patience.

[allegorical oracle]

12. That's one trait I have. But not being able to nuzzle him is frustrating. He

resists any handling. Have stroked his face, especially along the cheeks and all over his tiny body (he's smaller than a full-grown rat) -- weighs less than 14 ounces.

[GiqueCee]

18. He'll come around...

... but it takes time to gain his trust. Once he realizes you're his friend and protector, he'll be loyal for life. Good luck!

[UpInArms]

7. When you look at him

and he’s looking back at you

Blink really slowly … it is a thing that calms them

If you just seem to be staring at them, they think that you may be aggressive

[allegorical oracle]

13. Oh I've been doing that. Am getting slow blinks from him and take some

hope from that Thanks for the reminder.

[TommieMommy]

11. A lot of patience and love. He's so afraid so it will take time to trust you.

I was feeding a stray feral cat put food out for her and stepped back. She stayed far away. Little by little she got closer to me. One day she rubbed up to my legs. Now she's my loving friendly girl who loves hugs and cuddles. Time and patience works. I always talked to her very softly too. 💙🐾🐾💙

[allegorical oracle]

14. Congratulations! Hope I can get there with Oliver. I've only had him with me for

one day -- so maybe I'm being a bit impatient.

[niyad]

20. Just a BIT!!!! DEEEEEEEP, SLOOOOOOOW breaths!

[3catwoman3]

16. He might like the Churu tubes of pate. You can clip off the end and slowly squeeze out the pate...

Last edited Tue May 12, 2026, 01:13 PM - Edit history (1)

...so he can lick it from the tube. He'd have to come closer to you but not be touched by you, so that could be a way to get him to come nearer but not too near until he feels more comfortable.

I know we will all be eagerly awaiting progress reports.

Does he have a name yet? And until your camera skills develop, tell us what color he is, please.

[allegorical oracle]

22. He is a black shorthair. I've always been partial to black kitties, altho' I've

had all types and colors (even a lilac Siamese). Began to be protective of black cats because they are sometimes subjected to cruelty at the hands of idiots out there...especially at Halloween. He does have a "bowtie" of white at the front of his neck and a stripe of white on his cute little, teensy belly.

[3catwoman3]

25. We have a brother-sister pair of Siamese mix. Fitz, the brother, is a blue point with pale blue...

...eyes, and sister Charlotte is a very, very dark seal point with almost turquoise eyes. If they'd been painted by impressionist artists, he'd be a Monet and she'd be a Van Gogh. Their mother is a tortoise shell, so they look nothing like her at all.

They are applehead Siamese, so nice round heads, not the exaggerated pointy/triangular look.

[Laurelin]

17. I raised 4 feral kittens

They were 12-14 weeks old when I got them, technically outside the window of socializing. I found homes for 2 and kept 2 foster fails. They're all really social and affectionate, but it was difficult.

Chicken baby food is a secret weapon. Put some on a spoon and hold it away from your body. Once your kitten will eat that, gradually bring it closer to your body, until it's willing to climb in your lap. Take your time and sit quietly, maybe even avoiding eye contact in the beginning.

Good luck! At 6 weeks old your kitten should be able to learn to love people.

[allegorical oracle]

24. Ooh I'll try the baby food. Thank you. Agree with your quietness advice. I've

learned to be quiet with all animals I'm around. Raised two horses to dressage level, which required extreme gentle quietness. It took me years, but nothing teaches like a success or two.

Also agree with the eye contact point you made. We don't realize how eye contact can mean friend or foe. I know that's the case with horses. Also, with horses, a gentle blow in the nostrils can signal friendship (horses greet each other with a gentle nose blow).

[Laurelin]

33. Fun!

I used to train horses too, but only to do elementary stuff, like let me on their backs up to basic dressage and little jumps. I miss having a horse....

[3catwoman3]

34. Check the labels to make sure it is single ingredient baby meat.

Some of the "dinner" multi-ingredient flavors can have onion powder - not safe for kitties.

[niyad]

19. Sending love and hugs from my furbaby and me to you and Oliver.

Patience. And, keep your voice pitched low and gentle. Cats' hearing is acute.

[Jirel]

21. Don't keep him crated.

He needs normalcy in the home. I have met, courted, and had wonderful feral (ex-feral?) friends for decades. Let him explore and understand that there are comfortable places to sleep, good things to eat, and these weird big predators who mean him no harm. Oh, they provide the good things to eat? That’s cool… maybe. Give him things to do, like play with a feather on a string. That can be too irresistible and urge, and suddenly they are playing around the big predator… but the fun thing only happens when the big predator is around… huh.

Feral kittens must be courted. They come around. One that young will come around quickly if rapidly integrated into family life. Give them stuff they like, with sniffing of the fingers. Then with a little pet.

You may well have a snuggler in just a week or two.

[allegorical oracle]

23. Oh you're encouraging :) I have him in my second bathroom, a tiled floor with a

rug. He has his water, toys, and his open crate is there with a soft blanket in case he wants to go into it. I'm feeding him there, too. Judging from his origins -- he likes hidey holes, so I figured his crate might afford him a private place to sleep.

[cksmithy]

28. That's good, but he needs to explore places and smells.

He needs to smell and check out his new home. From personal experience of adopting an adult cat who was fully socialized, cats need time to adjust on their own terms to their new situation. All of our cats, at some point in time figured out their own hidey holes; closet corner, big shoes, a small hole underneath the couch or bed. (You can just imagine 2 adults and 2 kids searching the house for a missing cat, when we are pretty sure they haven't escaped.) We have also adopted feral kittens and feral adults cats, Let them get used to us, it's always on their terms. Cats are very independent and each one has their own very unique personality.

[applegrove]

26. Put him on the other side of a ckosed door. Play with him

though the space at the bottom of the closed door with cat toys. Then with your fingers. For a few days. He will be dying to get out to full on play. That is what I did to acclimatize two cats with each other. Maybe that will work.

[Catlady123]

27. My feral kitten

Lived under my couch for a little over 3 months! I have other cats though, so she was scared of them.
I put books under the couch legs to make the couch higher and slid a litter box under the couch for her. Put her food and water on a tray and slid it under the couch, kind of like a prison!
She always sits on my lap now and is sweet as can be.

[gay texan]

29. 6-8 weeks

The kitten will come around to humans. Hold him and feed him tuna. He will soften up

[fierywoman]

30. You might check out "tiny kittens" on youtube -- a group in Vancouver who deals with feral kittens/cats.

[Blue Owl]

31. Time & patience

Just like most others have commented — that is really the key!

[chowmama]

32. There are stages. So many stages.

And all of them take patience, gentleness and time. Celebrate (quietly) every one.

You've gotten to the slow blink stage in only a day - that's a significant step. It'll be a while before he's completely able to feel safe with you and comfortable in his new environment, but a truly fearful cat doesn't dare close their eyes around others. He'll still spook and skitter at every move, but will slowly learn which are to be expected and may offer good things.

It's going to be hard for him to adjust; he had no one to teach him how to interact with humans, and he probably wasn't with the litter long enough to even be socialized with other cats. He'll get just as frustrated as you will. But he'll be slowly tempted to interact with you because you're there. You'll learn each other's way of communicating.

Assuming the environment is safe and escape-proof, let him choose to wander or stay in the kennel. He may even hide for a day or two and come out at night for the food, water and litter box. He'll reappear. He may still prefer a high perch for safety and will probably always need a quiet hidey-hole when there's noise. (We've got water pipe repair on the block today, and Fast Eddie is currently vanished into the...something. He's never completely recovered from his parking lot dumpster beginnings. He'll be out and complaining to the heavens soon enough. Probably around dinnertime, assuming they've gone. Otherwise, we'll be eating late. The other two are dealing better, but they were never ferals.)

A big step will be when he's secure enough to sleep out in the open; that could be a while, but he may start keeping you company from a distance fairly soon. Windows with a view of birds and squirrels are very appealing, if the traffic noise isn't too loud.

Anyway, a first step in a day is really encouraging. Once he stops believing every moment is a fight for his life, he may be less feral than expected. Just - lots of love, even from a distance, really good gooshy food and treats on the regular, and soft quiet places to lay. Don't push (but nudge) and give it time.