A tomcat can serve 40 queens (female cats) a year and he can smell and follow the scent of a female over 7 miles. This can happen at a very early age, before the owner has even noticed that he is mature, as young as 5 or 6 months old. In the course of such a honeymoon he can easily get lost; in the trance of his erotic pilgrimage he does not take note of his route and finds himself homeless when the romance is over. Unless his owner is persistent and lucky and finds him through advertising, Tom is doomed to live a life of misery. Nobody will adopt an unneutered tomcat or even tolerate him in the back garden because he fights other people’s pets, male and female, and marks houses and gardens with an intolerable scent.

Tail up, who is neutered?

Homeless and hungry, he will enter houses through the cat door in search of food, only to get shooed away. Fighting for his survival, he will soon look run-down and battered and his chances of finding a new home dwindle. “Mangy toms” are usually not mangy at all, they are often only neglected, undernourished and battle scarred. And now, the biggest threat of all is a newly discovered virus: the killer FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus), which is passed on during fights through biting, when the saliva of the infected cat enters the bloodstream of the other. No cat has been known to recover from it and unneutered tomcats are most likely to fall victim.

And what about “the girls”?

Did you know that one unspayed female cat can be responsible for 10,924 kittens over 6 years?

We assume a female cat, let’s call her Pandora, 1 year old in spring, starts breeding: although most cats have 3 and sometimes 4 litters a year, our calculation is based on the low rate of only 2 litters a year per mature female cat, with 4 kittens each time, 2 male and 2 female – and we do not take the death rate into account. If not spayed, the explosion pictured below can happen. Unfortunately, there are people who, for whatever reason, do not have their cat spayed and who place their unwanted kittens with like-minded people or irresponsibly in pet shops.

So next time you are tempted to let your cat have just one litter or hear someone insist it is kinder for the cat to give birth just once, remember – the “just one litter” can be the start of many, many litters. It only needs one of your cat’s great, great, great grandchildren to have Pandora’s fate…

LET’S KEEP PANDORA’S BOX FIRMLY SHUT!

©Elke de Vries – CAT 77 Fieldwork Advisor

We have established that domestic and feral cats are the same species, and indeed there can even be both domestic and feral cats in the same cat family. An abandoned cat will give birth to kittens which will grow up feral unless they are rescued soon after birth; otherwise, this is the start of a feral cat colony. It follows that the difference between domestic and feral cats is the direct result of their lifestyle and upbringing.

[See article: Feral or Domestic? That is the Question]

Whereas domestic cats are born and raised in the security of a human environment and used to being handled by people, feral kittens are born “in the wild” and hidden away by the mother. If unnoticed for several weeks they will develop their inherent wild instincts, regardless of whether the mother cat is feral or domestic. Once exposed to the outside world they will react aggressively or elusively towards anything unfamiliar – including humans. To become domesticated they have to be tamed, to be taught to live with humans without fear and finally to trust people to the extent that they can be handled as pets.

Question: how long does it take to tame a feral kitten?

Answer: this appears to depend on the following factors:

• The kitten’s age at the time of rescue
• Its previous experiences and traumas
• Time available, intelligence and commitment of the “tamer” (fosterer)

The kitten’s inherent personality – the siblings of a litter usually show varying degrees of tameness when they are first rescued. This often changes during the course of adjustment; the shyest often overtakes the others and becomes the most affectionate. It is hard to say whether this is the result of the extra attention that it inevitably receives or inherited temperament and disposition that only manifests itself when the kitten has calmed down.

THE AGE OF A KITTEN AT THE TIME OF RESCUE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR

If rescued newborn or up to 4 weeks of age feral kittens are practically as tame as their domestic born relatives. Both may spit faintly at anything unfamiliar but they can be easily held and handled. After that an undetected kitten may grow “wild” fast (even a 4-week-old can already back away from a rescuing hand or disappear into foliage or through holes in fences etc., but it is not able to run faster than a human).

A 5-week-old kitten can be quite elusive but if held closely, kept warm and cuddled intensively it usually calms down within a few days, provided it has not been chased during its rescue. Taming is made much more difficult when the kitten’s first impression of a human was a “monster” charging after it causing fear and panic which it will need time to forget. If a kitten does act aggressively it is very important to hold it as soon as possible. This is best done by picking it up from behind or lightly scruffing it and holding it close to your chest which usually calms the kitten down very quickly.

Unless they are found in an enclosed space in a safe corner where they can be instantly and swiftly picked up, feral kittens should be coaxed into a kitten trap baited with food rather than chased around. (If there is more than one animal to be trapped only a manual trap is safe, as one kitten eating can trigger an automatic trap door, which can hurt or even kill others on their way in).

Kittens of around 6 to 7 weeks old grow big and wild fast and therefore need to be handled as soon and as intensively as possible. I have found it most useful with kittens of this age to try to hold and cuddle them the very night I bring them home if at all possible. At this stage they may still be acting passively because they are utterly surprised and I use this frozen attitude to handle them before they regain their determination and defend themselves. For extra comfort and to discourage it from struggling I wrap it loosely in some woollen material and hold it against my chest. Gentle stroking from behind with my thumb up the forehead and down between the ears is especially soothing and effective (possibly as it reminds the kitten of being woken and washed by its mother). One the kitten is totally relaxed in my arms it can start little investigative walks on my lap, extending to the surface of the settee or bed, while I keep stroking it with my hands to reassure it and also to control it should it suddenly leap out of reach. We still follow it closely in the same way as it takes its first steps on the ground so that it cannot disappear into corners. After each short excursion the kitten is returned to the pen.

Kittens over 8 weeks of age are usually too fierce to be handled straight away and if they are 9 to 10 weeks or older a step-by-step taming programme will be required, unless previous feeders have gained their confidence on site by handling and stroking them. This is more likely when the mother cat is ex-domestic because she will bring them closer to humans and is more relaxed when she sees her kittens being approached.

The taming course needs to start at the earliest opportunity and even if very young feral kittens are taken in and reared with their mother, they need to be separated from her for short periods of time to be handled once they are 3 to 4 weeks old.

CONFINEMENT

A playpen provides adequate living space for a litter of kittens

It is essential that newly rescued kittens be confined in a kitten pen. (see MDC, www.mdcexports.com) If a feral kitten is old enough to walk or crawl it will most certainly disappear behind or inside furniture. Frightened of humans it will squeeze itself into the most unsuitable tiny spaces where it will remain shivering with fear. People only familiar with the reactions of domestic cats may follow it around making comforting noises but this will only result in scaring the frightened creature even more. Even tiny kittens should be kept in a playpen, hospitalisation or queen’s cage, or just a spacious cat basket, so that the optimal regular feeding, warmth and litter training can be controlled. A very young kitten out of reach behind furniture can become dehydrated within hours and its life can be at stake.

If allowed to hide away, the kitten will continue its feral lifestyle and will not settle. Contrary to the belief of some people who would rather let the kitten have its freedom (assuming it will eventually come to them as a tame pet), the kitten will not learn fast enough, will not get used to being handled and will grow into a semi-feral cat which to its owner’s disappointment will not act like a pet.

STEP BY STEP TAMING

During its taming (or learning) process the kitten has to deal with three major problems

1. The new human environment with its smells, noises and activities -

Even an initially frantic kitten will soon recognise that its playpen is a safe zone from which it can observe all the activities in the room without being directly affected and will calm down quickly.

2. Humans approaching it -

If the cage is placed at floor level in a busy area of the room the kitten will get used to seeing humans at their full “threatening” height

3. Being touched and held -

Within the safe confines of the playpen, with the kitten within easy reach, it is easier for the tamer to acclimatise the kitten to being touched and handled. Not being able to run away, the kitten will soon lose the impulse to do so.

Before we dive into step-by-step taming one important warning:

NEVER TEASE A CAT WITH YOUR HANDS!

Some people think that we tame a cat by playing with it using our hands. They imitate the cat’s fast frisky movements in front of the cat’s face and feet, provoking the cat to lash out, scratch and bite, unaware that playing, for a cat, is also part of the process of learning to hunt and kill. A woman from Ealing came to choose two kittens and immediately started to tease them in this way and tap their faces playfully. Within seconds they retaliated and scratched and bit her fiercely – something that these two kittens had never done before. I rushed to stop her and explain why she must not tease a cat with her hands. Surprised she admitted she had always “played” with her previous cat in this manner, thinking it needed this type of “fun” and now wondered if she had in fact caused it to become an aggressive cat.

HAND FEEDING IS THE KEY TO WINNING A KITTEN’S TRUST

Handfeeding

If the kittens are badly under-nourished or frantically scared and flying around the cage, we give them a few days to recover before we start the real work. Do not be tempted to release the kitten thinking you are doing it a favour.

We may even decide to place the cage in a quiet corner or in a raised position initially, which is also easier for the fosterer to observe and attend to feeding, cleaning etc.

From day one of our taming course, and for many more to come, the kitten will receive ALL its food from our fingers and only water is available between meals “for free”. We start by holding a large lump of food very still in front of the kitten, hoping it will smell it and start eating immediately. Instead, the kitten may be scared and back away or even lash out and hit the food out of our hand. In that case we make a small trail – one or two small pieces placed on the ground near the hungry kitten – leading to our hand resting flat and motionless on the ground. Usually kittens sniff their way along to the hand and eat from it within one or two minutes, otherwise we repeat. Soon we can hold the food lump in front of its face; other kittens in the pen will imitate the braver kitten and come to eat as well. In that case, use very large chunks otherwise your fingers may be eaten as well! When the kittens have lost interest we take all the food away until we start again later. The kittens very soon become used to our hands and start licking the fingers clean. After a few days they will come to the entrance of the cage to be fed and when their tails go up we know we are making progress.

At this stage we can introduce the next step. We only start feeding the meal as usual from our fingers and as the kitten continues its meal from the plate we stroke it very briefly down its side with the outside of our “dirty” feeding fingers. The kitten will look round alarmed only to find the familiar hand, which it will sniff and recognise, and reassured it will continue eating from the plate. This action has to be repeated many times and whenever the kitten shows surprise we show it our fingers in the food offering position, always very slowly to give it time to sniff and think. The kitten may begin to purr at this stage, however, be warned – this does not mean that it is now tame like a domestic cat, where purring indicates affection and readiness to be picked up.

A feral kitten still has a long way to go, and purring may only indicate contentment, when its tummy fills up for instance.

With or without food we use this gesture for many weeks or months to come whenever we approach the kitten in its cage, because it provokes a positive reflex in the kitten. Expecting food it raises its tail and is willing to be stroked and in time it may butt against the hand expecting to be touched, a sign of confidence in the feeder. Yet, even after many months, we still start every stroking session showing the “holding” fingers first, to keep this reflex alive and wisely teach this link to the new owner once the kitten goes to a home.

When the kitten has become tame enough to be released in to the room, this gesture – especially when holding some Coley or other tasty tit-bit – will be indispensable when wanting to attract the kitten to the feeder.

LIFTING AND HOLDING THE KITTEN

Once the kitten enjoys being stroked we gradually teach it to be lifted up. This involves touching it under the stomach and chest, a sensation that the kitten has to learn to accept gradually. While eating distracts the kitten we can stroke it with one hand firmly over its back and rest the other underneath for as long as the kitten will tolerate it. If the kitten frets we stop and start again later being careful to avoid any gripping or tickling effect.

The next step is to gently place a hand under the chest and lift it so the front feet slightly lose the feel of the ground. This needs to be repeated several times and gradually the height increased until the kitten is used to it. At that stage we place the other hand under its back legs and very briefly hold the kitten in both hands just a few inches high inside the pen. We always place it back on the ground on all fours and comfort it by stroking before its reaction of surprise turns to panic. Still inside the pen we gradually pick the kitten up higher during the next few days to get it used to feeling safe and still in our hands. Eventually we lift it out of the pen for a short moment and immediately rest it against our chest for warmth and comfort, stroking gently from behind over its head and back. The kitten’s head should be facing the open cage door so it can be put back at the slightest sign of nervousness. Trying to win over the kitten by holding onto it by force is not only bound to be unsuccessful, and possibly harmful, but totally against the spirit of our teaching which aims at gaining the kitten’s understanding and confidence – the basis of all bonding.

RELEASING THE KITTEN INTO THE ROOM

When the kitten has become tame and handleable it can finally be let out of the cage. This can be done in stages and initially when the kitten is hungry!

At first it should be kept in one room to overcome any initial nervousness. Make sure all the doors and windows are firmly shut (a kitten can squeeze through an inch gap and it can tamper with levers and prise windows open).

This must be the same room that the kitten has seen from its playpen. In order to maintain the bond between kitten and feeder we only allow the kitten to be loose in the room for limited periods of time. We can begin by feeding the kitten on the open cage door while we are stroking it as usual and then putting the food just in front of the cage. It is most important that we do not follow the kitten around or chase it as it explores the room, as this will only make it run away from us. Instead we tempt it to come to us with treats and toys; tasty food held out with the familiar feeding gesture or a toy trailed past us or onto our laps. It can be helpful to keep a small plate of attractively smelling food next to your knees to encourage the kitten to approach you. We only try to touch the kitten from the side or from behind unless it approaches us with its tail up expecting to be cuddled. During these sessions we keep a dish of food in the open playpen to entice it back inside later for another handling session.

IN ITS NEW HOME

Unless the kitten has been rescued very young and has become as tame as any domestic born kitten we take it to its new home with its playpen, its own little house where it feels safe and can be handled immediately. We teach the new owner all the tricks of the trade, including a short period of hand feeding to settle the kitten in fast. We encourage the owner to say the kitten’s name when feeding to get it used to being called, which is helpful later when the kitten is released into the room and also very much later when it goes outside.

Intelligent people understand the benefits of this approach and enjoy the challenge and the sense of achievement when the kitten has bonded with them.

The end result!

THE TIME FACTOR

Taming feral kittens is a race against time because people want to adopt kittens as young as possible. They prefer a nervous seven-week-old to a tame four month old. If the kitten is not rescued until it is ten to twelve weeks old the taming can take several weeks, if not months. Only two months later it will need neutering and if a home is not found soon after it is not regarded as a kitten any longer. There is only a slim possibility of finding homes for these youngsters and this is especially hard during the summer, with an abundance of even younger kittens, so we wait for the chance during the winter months, hoping for those rare, unselfish animal lovers to come and choose a kitten that needs special love and patience….people who seem to be like gold dust.

REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT !

It is not only important that each stage which leads to handling the kitten is repeated countless times before the next one can be attempted, but also much later, when the kitten has become practically tame, the sequence: SNIFF – TOUCH – STROKE – LIFT – HOLD should be repeated whenever you approach the cage as the basis of every interaction because it gives the kitten a sense of security and establishes a positive attitude to us humans.

©Elke de Vries 2002 – CAT 77 Fieldwork Advisor

Although this story has a sad beginning, it has a wonderful ending.

Mid-August last year we were asked by another cat rescue charity to trap and neuter a little feral cat at a Casting Works about five miles away. The job was not easy as we only had a phone number of a concerned worker who fed and cared for the cat. We were told that the little one also had a paw missing. It was to be another two weeks, and with much begging and pleading on our part, before we finally got permission to go in and catch the unfortunate little mite. But nothing could have prepared us for what we found.

Fortunately, the little cat went straight into the trap. We then smelled her infected leg – and what a putrid smell it was. However, she also appeared to be about seven to eight weeks pregnant (gestation period for a cat is nine weeks), and our vet was not sure that she would survive the amputation. And even if she did, he held out little hope for the kittens.

Peggy (as she was dubbed by the nurses) came through her operation, but was extremely traumatised. She huddled in a corner of her pen on a drip and was too frightened to eat or pass anything. Three days later she gave birth to four tiny scraps, three of whom only just held on to life and one who did not make it.

In all the years of rescuing we had never seen such tiny kittens that were living. They had no hair on their tails, bellies, legs or ears, which were a bright shade of purple/red and there were patches of fur missing from their heads. They could not hold their tiny heads up, nor could they crawl. Worst of all, Peggy would have nothing to do with them. Although the vet was not optimistic about their survival, I brought them and their mum home and started the long struggle to save them.

6 September: I was still plagued with doubts and worry. If only they could get some of mum’s colostrum, which is so important for their immune system, but mum totally rejected them. It was now left to me to keep them warm and feed them every two hours.

8 September: The kittens were still with me, but the smallest two were less than 55 grams and the largest was only 60 grams. These weights were below the expected minimum weight. Then the little black female had some sort of spasm and appeared to die in my hand, but somehow I managed to revive her. Peggy had diarrhoea and was discontented, as were the kittens. I was very despondent and very tired.

11 September: The kittens were not contented nor were they thriving and I was losing hope. If they did not show some signs of improvement and weight gain soon, then I would have no choice but to have them put to sleep.

In the wee hours of the morning, I remembered that someone had donated a new kind of kitten milk, so I dug it out and started them on it. They quickly responded to the change in formula and were much more content and no longer runny. Within days they began to gain weight.

In the meantime, Peggy contented herself by tearing up the birthing box, which was still in her pen.

Peggy

15 September: The kittens were now gaining weight nicely, were a normal colour and had grown little claws. They were still on two hourly feeds, so I was getting by on three to four hours sleep a day and was exhausted – but also elated that they might make it after all.

19 September: The kittens now heard me coming and purred when sitting on my knee. Their eyes had not yet opened, but then I have had new-born kittens that were heavier than these wee guys were now. At this point, I dared to give them names. The biggest, a pure white boy, I called Fred. The white boy who had a little grey flash on his head was dubbed Bam-Bam and the little black and white girl was Pebbles.

26 September: Pebbles’ eyes finally slowly opened and they all adored being nursed. Peggy continued to chop down the birthing box – it was almost at floor level by now – and she was walking well. My cup runneth over with joy!

29 September: The kittens were now doing splendidly. Bam-Bam’s eyes had opened and they were all beginning to walk. I was also sure that Fred could hear (cats who are pure

white are often deaf). We now had Peggy neutered.

The kittens were now using their litter trays and the news just kept getting better. Adele, one of my favourite vets, asked if she could adopt Fred. Then my daughter decided to adopt Bam-Bam and Pebbles for my 17-year old twin granddaughters, who just adored them. Surely this was how it felt to win the lottery!

The kittens have now gone to their new homes and are all doing exceptionally well. They have caught up to full-term kittens and are just as naughty! Their coats are gleaming and they are such friendly babies – with absolutely no fear of people. And best of all, I have full visiting rights!

Despite the success, I hope I do not have to rear premature kittens again for a very long time; it is ten times harder than bottle feeding full-term orphans. There were many problems on the journey that I have not touched on here and many times when I was sure that I was about to lose them. It was without a doubt the hardest thing that I have ever done, rescue-wise, but also the most rewarding. Thank goodness for Royal Canin Baby Milk (it was a Godsend and I don’t think that I could have done it without this milk!).

I look at all the kittens now – knocking the stuffing out of each other – and my heart just about bursts with love for them. They (George, Dexter and Penny as they are now called) must be the three luckiest and most loved kittens in the world.

A newborn kitten is entirely dependent on its mother. The queen provides three vital requirements:

1. Warmth;

2. Food;

3. Stimulation of the bowel and bladder, and general hygiene.

The human substitute has to provide all of these to enable the kittens to survive. I will cover each in turn.

1) WARMTH

I’ll illustrate this with the procedure followed in a typical rescue case. Five two-day-old kittens were found in a puddle on a building site. Three were already dead, but the others, though very cold, wet and seemingly lifeless, were still breathing. Their umbilical cords were still attached and therefore a warm bath was out of the question (in any case, bathing is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS for kittens, and must be avoided under any circumstances). The priority was to get the two survivors dry and warm, so they were first rubbed thoroughly with a rough towel to stimulate the circulation. Next, a hot water bottle was prepared, wrapped in a thick layer of newspaper, placed inside an old woollen sweater and the whole laid in a box. This arrangement will maintain a suitable temperature for 2-4 hours. The kittens, now dry, were placed on top and covered with a loosely-crocheted blanket to create a perfect warm capsule, with about 2″ of the box left uncovered.

Simply putting kittens “by the fire”, as many well-meaning people do, is not good enough: the warmth has to be skin-close to imitate the mother’s body, which is normally folded right round the kittens. A queen will never deliberately leave her young kittens for more than a few moments. If you are worried that the kittens might overheat, add a further layer of newspaper over the hot water bottle, and place a folded towel in the box beside the covered hot-water bottle. Even very young kittens will instinctively crawl to an area with the right temperature.

Cold kittens are too weak to suckle and swallow, and they are unable to digest properly, so only when the kittens have started to warm up do I prepare their food.

2) FOOD

If you are taken by surprise with no pet shop or vet nearby, an eye dropper, or a cotton bud covered with muslin or cotton lawn from which the kitten can suck, will do to give a little improvised liquid food. Evaporated milk diluted with three parts of boiled, cooled water is suitable in emergency; even glucose water (1 teaspoon of glucose powder per cup of boiled water) will serve, but only as the first feed and if the kitten is desperately hungry (however, for a very weak kitten, this is the best mixture to use for the first feed). Cat food manufacturers advise us that the lactose-reduced “cat milk” sold in cartons is NOT SUITABLE for bottle-feeding kittens.

The prepared feed should be slightly below blood temperature: a drop placed on the back of the hand should feel neither warm nor cold.

The first sips should be given drop by drop to be sure everything is swallowed – you may need to stimulate swallowing by gently stroking the throat after each drop. After the first few drops a kitten will usually get an appetite and start suckling actively, but failing that you should continue with the drop method. It is essential to take things slowly and carefully, as if any food – even the smallest amount – gets into the lungs, infection and death will inevitably follow.

As soon as you can, get a proper feeder and teats, and a scientifically formulated milk substitute.

Which drinking bottle is the best?

The CATAC Standard Feeder is safe, but it is not easy for people with narrow fingers to use: I find it better to use a syringe fitted with a CATAC teat (designed especially for kittens). Start with a 1 ml syringe, using bigger ones as the kitten grows and is able to suckle harder. The hole in the teat should be just big enough to allow drops of milk to appear slowly at the end of the teat without added pressure. Ideally the kitten should suck so that the plunger moves down the barrel of the syringe without any pressure from your hand, but you may occasionally need to use the GENTLEST POSSIBLE pressure until the kitten gets the idea. Replace the syringe as soon as the plunger starts to stick – this may be necessary daily. If milk appears at the sides of the kitten’s mouth or – even worse – bubbles from the nose, then the flow is far too fast and the kitten is in serious trouble. Stop instantly, hold the kitten with the head slightly below the rest of the body, and tap its back gently with two fingers to stop it choking. Occasionally a very hungry kitten will “fight” the bottle in its anxiety and desperation: in this case gently steady its head with your fingers and guide the teat into the mouth.

Choice of food and time-table

CIMICAT is a milk powder specially formulated for kittens, and available from vets and some pet shops. It may be necessary to use a baby whisk to get a smooth mixture when making up the feed. Although CIMICAT is usually ideal and produces strong, healthy kittens, it may be too rich for some and cause diarrhoea. If this happens, switch to Lactol, which is less rich. If the kitten gets diarrhoea, the next two feeds should be rice water (drained from well-cooked white rice) to soothe the stomach, followed by a third feed of a mixture of equal quantities of Lactol and rice water, before going back to a pure milk feed to which one drop per day of Abidec Baby Vitamins may be added. This simple remedy, adapted from a method used for human babies, has effected miraculous cures, even with tiny kittens.

Patience and discipline are needed to handrear a kitten successfully, and this includes keeping the bedding and feeding equipment meticulously clean to avoid infection.

As with human babies, food must be given at short, regular intervals. The following guide has proved successful.

Days 1-21 For the first 7 days, pure milk feeds every 2-21/2 hours, day and night, intervals increasing to 21/2-3 hours (day and night) for days 7-21. Newborn kittens may take as little as 1 ml per feed, but the appetite increases rapidly. The amount taken at each feed depends entirely on the kitten’s appetite: stop feeding when the kitten stops suckling actively, and NEVER force it to take food. CIMICAT comes complete with instructions and a feeding chart, but in my experience the suggested quantities per feed are a minimum. Use the chart as a rough guide only and feed according to appetite.

Days 21-28 Feeds every 3 hours: an occasional interval of 31/2 hours is possible when enriched feeds are given – this longer interval may be most convenient in the middle of the night, to allow the nurse a little more sleep. (NOTE: it is important during the first 3 weeks that kittens are not left for too long an interval, not only because they need food, but also because a kitten may wet itself, get cold and become ill). In preparation for weaning, three of the milk feeds daily can now be enriched with approximately 1 level teaspoon per kitten of powdered baby rice stirred into the warm milk (for kittens over 31/2 weeks chicken flavoured powdered food, for babies from 3 months, may be added instead): enriched feeds should be alternated with pure milk feeds. If the kitten rejects pure milk feeds after having sampled the tastier mixture, a small amount of cereal can be added to every bottle. Some kittens just under 3 weeks old may no longer be satisfied with pure milk and will still be hungry after a milk feed. If this happens, put a small amount of cereal in future feeds.

Day 28 onwards at about age 4 weeks you can start teaching the kittens to eat. This is very easy using a scientifically formulated, tinned weaning food (available from vets and some pet shops, but not sold in supermarkets). Initially this should be liquidised with plenty of the enriched feed and given using a teaspoon. Wetting the little mouth with a small amount on the finger always does the trick: as a reflex action the kitten will lick its lips and will readily continue lapping from the spoon held against its mouth. Gradually lower the spoon to the plate until the kitten is eating directly from the plate. NEVER “dip its nose in”: how would you like to start dinner by having your face pushed into the soup and inhaling it through your nose? If the kitten is not ready to start weaning (it will turn its face away or shake its head when offered the weaning food), wait one or 2 days before trying again.

The 3 enriched daytime meals should now consist of this mixture, alternating with milk feeds. Some kittens like to continue to bottle-feed for a considerable time: you should allow this, but also encourage them to eat by themselves by leaving small bowls of food, boiled water and milk feed in the pen at all times, with a larger meal prepared last thing at night. The kittens will usually be eating within 2 or 3 days, allowing their by now exhausted human nurse a longer break at night. By 6 weeks of age the weaning food can be mixed with or replaced by tinned kitten food, together with liquidised or very finely chopped chicken breast. All food should be nicely moist and mushy, and palatable vitamin tablets (obtained from your vet) should be added.

Food should be available at all times and 5 times each 24 hours anything left uneaten should be replaced with a freshly prepared meal.

At 8 weeks offer 4 freshly prepared meals daily (including the night meal); at 12 weeks 3 meals. Up to 12 weeks I include at least one meal daily of freshly cooked chicken or fish, and when asked whether that is not rather extravagant, point out that even using every trick in the book and all possible care we can never take the place of a mother cat. We should at least try our very best: after all, a good start can save a lot of trouble later.

3) TOILET FUNCTION

A mother cat washes her kittens’ bottoms before and after each feed. Her tongue stimulates the bowel and bladder to evacuate. This action of the mother must be mimicked by gentle stroking of the area using cotton wool dampened with warm, previously boiled water. KITTENS THAT ARE NOT STIMULATED TO DEFECATE WEANED WILL DIE.

When the kittens start eating solid food at about 4 weeks, they happily take to using a litter tray, which should be left in the pen near the kittens from now onwards and kept scrupulously clean. Natural grey fuller’s earth litter should be used, which is harmless if the kittens nibble it. Cats are naturally clean, and no further “training” is necessary.

Complications

Even a very experienced kitten nurse will encounter situations when a vet is needed. As well as serious diseases like cat ‘flu (“gungy” eyes and/or sneezing and coughing), complications as simple as worms MUST be treated by a vet and NOT with “over the counter” products available from shops.

Roundworms

Kittens can be born with these. The larvae of the roundworm pass through the mother’s uterus and into the liver of the unborn kitten: from there they migrate into the lungs and wriggle up the windpipe to the back of the throat, where they are swallowed and pass into the kitten’s stomach. A kitten as young as one day old may have symptoms indicating roundworms: listlessness, loss of appetite (food may be refused), slimy, runny motions (sometimes containing blood), and a bloated stomach. Generally, it will be obviously unwell, often whimpering and moving around in discomfort. A vet must be consulted and the kitten treated IMMEDIATELY.

Tapeworms

Tapeworm segments look like cucumber pips or rice grains and may be found hanging from the anus: they may sometimes be in chains. Tapeworms fasten themselves onto the intestine and can kill – undiagnosed kittens as young as 5 weeks have died from them. IF THE KITTEN SEEMS UNWELL, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN EVIDENCE OF WORMS, CONSULT A VET IMMEDIATELY. The vet can treat the kitten with an injection, but infestation may recur if the kitten is not kept free from fleas.

Fleas

These must be combed from the fur using a very fine-toothed comb (a “nit-comb”, available from pharmacists); combing must be done regularly and repeatedly. NO CHEMICALS (FLEA-SPRAYS, POWDERS, DROPS ETC) SHOULD BE USED ON KITTENS WITHOUT VETERINARY ADVICE – THEY COULD BE FATAL. Fleas eat tapeworm larvae and can re-infest the kitten.

Lice

These look like “walking dandruff”. The tiny white eggs are just visible and are firmly attached to the tips of the hairs. Lice can make a cat anaemic to the point of death, and must be dealt with immediately. Your vet will advise you on treatment. Because the eggs of lice are waterproof, a bath WILL NOT have any effect: in any case bathing a kitten is VERY DANGEROUS, and it may die of shock or contract pneumonia.

Care of the umbilical cord

The umbilical cord must be allowed to dry up and drop off naturally, and under no circumstances should it be removed. However, if the cord is very long it can become wound round a limb, cutting off the circulation: one kitten lost a paw this way. A kitten may also step on a very long cord, causing a hernia or even opening the stomach at the navel, which would be fatal. DO NOT try to cut a long cord yourself: leave it to the vet. If you notice bleeding in the navel area, seek veterinary advice IMMEDIATELY: if there is a delay before you can get to the surgery, as an emergency measure soak a cotton wool ball in boiled salt water, squeeze it almost dry and hold it GENTLY over the navel until the bleeding stops. Do NOT rub or wash the area, and see the vet as soon as possible.

Perfect pets

When bottle-feeding rescued feral kittens I have often been asked “Are they going to be wild?”. Quite the contrary: because of the continuous close physical contact with humans from an early age, handreared kittens turn out especially loving and affectionate. REMEMBER: feral and domestic cats are the same breed, and it is only the absence of contact with humans that destines a kitten to become a feral cat.

© Elke de Vries, CAT 1977 Fieldwork Adviser, 1999

(If you are handrearing kittens and need specific advice or reassurance, please email us and our fieldwork advisor will do her best to help you).

After intensive handling and taming during the rest of the summer months, we advertised for homes for Snowdon and Nevis. After refusing several unsuitable offers, we found the ideal home, Jacqueline and Malcolm living in Surrey fell in love with them. Their big airy flat on two floors was ideal, and not being able to go out the cats would not be at risk of getting skin cancer.

A few months later I received devastating news, Nevis had disappeared. He had still been on the sofa with the family watching TV at 10.30 p.m. but was soon after nowhere to be found in the flat. The top light in the second floor kitchen was flapping open and there were scratch marks on the tarmac outside, only a foot from a deep drop. A neighbour saw him around that time unharmed walking through an alleyway towards the back of the house next door. As soon as I heard about it the next day I left immediately, equipped with traps and torches. Since calling him had failed, I searched around and found a perfect hiding place; the debris in the back of a wide open garage next door.

Early one morning he was spotted catching flies in a neighbour’s front garden, but he always lay low for the rest of the day. We needed to use our imagination and trick him. I replaced the Perspex end of the trap with a fitting wire door (borrowed from a transfer basket), and used a birdcage feeder filled to the top with his favourite food, this was hooked onto the wire two inches above the ground. In order to eat Nevis would have to stretch his neck upwards and support himself with his front feet holding onto the wire. Hopefully he would then step forward onto the treadle with his back legs to trigger the trap door. It worked like lightning!

The day after... Snowdon and Nevis happily reunited

The next morning we took Nevis, still in the trap, to the vet for a thorough check up and booster vaccination under sedation. He was unharmed but dirty and dusty and had already lost weight. On his return Nevis enjoyed his home comforts and the company of his brother even more. Although the boys look identical, they have very different personalities. As if trying to live up to their names Snowdon – our little Welshman – is easy going, chatty and very accessible but Nevis wants to be conquered every time.

Pandora

How can you part with them?

I forget how many times people have said those words to me. In some ways I understand exactly why. When I started to foster, my only real concern was that indeed I would not be able to part with any of them and would end up with a house full of cats. In reality, it is not so difficult. Each cat we home is going to get the very best of care because we choose the homes very carefully. Then it becomes almost a pleasure to part with them.

I have fostered for CAT 77 for around nine years now and I would say that it has been a very rewarding experience. I think people assume it is the kittens that are the hardest to part with. Funnily enough, I find that I become more attached to the adult cats. Kittens are of course adorable little creatures (especially when hanging from my curtains or clawing their way up the furniture), but the adults are often the special ones. Most of these cats once had a home and lost it for some reason, maybe they became pregnant or had just passed that cuddly kitten phase and were no longer wanted. Many are found loitering near houses, trying to find a new family to move in with. I fostered Pandora, who had been sleeping on a pile of dead leaves in the corner of someone’s drive. She was the most beautiful well mannered Tortie you could ever wish for. There was also Kiwi who was part Burmese, rescued along with her young kittens, full of character, always chatting and so affectionate. These cats went to excellent homes where they had all the love and care they deserved.

Kiwi

Many of the kittens we look after would have died had they not been brought in to be fostered. Therefore they are very special to us and we vet prospective homes thoroughly. We also insist the kittens be neutered and vaccinated by their new owners.

In some ways fostering cats has renewed my faith in human nature. There may well be the wicked people who neglect and abandon these animals in the first place, but there are many who adopt cats from us who are kind and responsible, some even give generous donations to help us continue this work.

Of course, most of the cats we look after are ex-feral or born of wild mothers. This means that they are inherently shy and nervous of humans. Part of the fosterer’s job is to handle them and get them used to people. In their new home the kittens still hide initially and for some time after, but they can surprise you, like the time I homed two black cats with the big “… well, they will be a bit nervous at first, but just give them time” routine. They both strolled around the room as if they had lived there all their lives !

In the end, regardless of how old they are or how difficult they have been, to see our foster cats and kittens settled and happy in their new homes, and most importantly loved by their new owners makes it all worthwhile.
Fostering…. some facts

If anyone has read the article and feels inspired to foster cats, the following gives some idea of the practicalities:

Ideally you will need a separate room, this is especially useful if you have cats of your own. The room needs to be quiet and secure due to the sometimes nervous nature of feral cats and preferably without too much furniture for the cats to hide behind. You may also need a window guard, but these are very cheap and easy to fix up.
Equipment, such as feeding bowls, litter trays, scratch pole and toys are required. It may be necessary to use a play pen to confine the cats at first to settle them in. CAT 77 can supply a pen as and when required.
If required CAT 77 will reimburse all expenses for things like food, litter, flea/worm treatments and of course any vet bills that may be incurred.
You will of course have to devote some time every day to handling and playing with the cats in order to rehabilitate them (if they are feral)…. however this is perhaps the best part of the job.
You can still foster cats and work….. I do!

I hope this will encourage you to consider fostering. Good luck!

© Karen Stevenson

Attila on the fishtank - his favourite spot

When Atilla was eight months old he suddenly appeared at the front of the house, enjoying the attention of passers by; practically everyone admired him and stopped to give him a cuddle.  I was worried he could be stolen or run over by a car so I took him indoors only to find him there again the next morning, immediately after his breakfast.  Overlooking the gardens from the top window I watched while Attila disappeared in the direction of a gap in our Edwardian terrace, seventeen houses away.  When I arrived downstairs he was already rolling around on the parking lot having his tummy tickled by total strangers.  The next morning I was one step ahead; as he came trotting up the path, confident and carefree (quasi whistling a tune) and turned into the alleyway, a huge bat was waiting for him at the wrought iron gate, waving her large black wings and making terrifying noises – the best use I ever made of my jumble sale poncho.  It worked!  Attila, petrified, ran back and was not seen in the street again for over three years.

Then it started again, particularly at night.  I tried to take him indoors whenever I saw him, only to find him back in the street soon after.  Used to an open kitchen window at the back, my cats had the freedom to come and go as they pleased; neighbours and friends criticised me for my overprotective approach so I slightly relaxed my obsessive control – “Cats can look after themselves”.  Well – they can’t, because three weeks later Attila was dead.  At 3.20a.m. I heard the screeching of car wheels and a bang; Attila was killed instantly.

I was heartbroken.  Had I only persisted when he refused to come in, had I cooked some fresh fish ready to entice him, had I only, had I only…  I tried to turn back the clock.

Attila, died too young, killed at night by a car

And Nouschka?  She walked past Attila’s body when we brought him in, sniffed him briefly but was not bothered; she didn’t seem to understand.  In the following months she sometimes looked for him, or occasionally left a bird under his favourite bench.   When this stopped, I assumed she had forgotten him.  How wrong I was!

Three years later, I was missing Sahara my part Siamese feral cat and went on a systematic search, interviewing all my neighbours at their back doors accompanied by Nouschka who loved to walk with me.   A lady at the far end of the garden recognised  Nouschka who was rubbing against my leg; she came every morning through her back door, jumped on the grand piano and washed her cat and sometimes, she even brought him a bird.  I asked to see this cat; he was a big fluffy tabby similar to Attila.  Then I choked…Nouschka had found her son again.

I never really came to terms with my tragic loss and my guilt made me think hard about cats and road safety.  Being involved with rescuing and homing cats for over twenty five years afterwards was no consolation; I heard of more and more cats which died too young including some that I had homed.  A street is no safe place for a cat, especially not at night when cars speed and the cat is more daring and ventures further.  Confused by noises and flashing and blinding lights they lose their bearings.
I have found over the years that cats that are kept indoors during the hours of darkness live longer and many which are allowed to go out because they “like to hunt” or, because cats are supposed to be nocturnal, have not even survived the first year.  It is up to the owner if a cat is nocturnal or not and the willingness to provide a litter tray at all times.

When adopting a cat or kitten from CAT 1977, people have to sign a homing form with the vital promise to keep the cat in at night for all of its life, a policy which we are fortunately sharing with many other charities.

At the time of Attila’s death I wished there had been a car sticker suggesting people should slow down for animals.  Some years later I met artist Sally Mangum, who was able to fulfil my dream and designed it for our charity.

© Elke de Vries – CAT 77 Fieldwork Advisor