Feral kitten in my house. HELP!

FranticFrummie ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 8:43 am

On Thursday, my dog woke me up in the middle of the night, barking her head off. I tried to shush her, and went back to sleep. The next morning she started barking again, at a space under my kitchen counter. At first I thought "Oh no, it's probably a rat." I got out my flashlight, and it turns out to be a tiny black kitten.

I tried to scruff the kitty, but it wiggled out of my hands and ran into the dining room. It's pooping in the corners, hiding under the furniture, and not the least bit afraid of my vacuum cleaner. I'm killing by back, crawling under furniture.

It's crying for it's mother, but I can't get it out of the house!

I've told my dog to "leave it", so she won't do anything, but I think the kitten smells the dog and won't move. I tried to spray some air freshener (to cover the poop smell) and to hide my dog's scent.

Nothing doing.

I've fed it and given it water, it's meowing all day, and it WON'T LEAVE!

(BTW, Finallyamommy, this cat looks exactly like Lucky. wondering

)

amother

Razzmatazz

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 9:28 am

if it's been this long, I might let the dog try again, depending on the dog and your objective. some might just pick it up for you so you aren't killing your back. the dog might be able to shoo it out for you too. or your dog might "mother" your new grandkitten until it us grown 😉

Elfrida ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 10:53 am

Give it a litter box. They know how to use them.

I had one who moved in on me last einter. Give it a handful of food in a dark corner, and an old towel or blanket to cuddle with. It will eat when you aren't looking. Take time and don't push it. Eventually it will come and look at you, and watch you wiggling your fingers, and one day it will cautiously climb onto your lap.

BH Yom Yom ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 12:08 pm

Aww poor kitty! He or she is probably so scared and confused. I agree with the posters who say to keep putting out food and water and put a small blanket or towel for kitty to cuddle with, and a litter box. Hopefully Kitty will get used to you and your dog and will eventually come out. Maybe Nessiya will adopt Kitty. 😻

↑ FranticFrummie ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 12:51 pm

I really can't handle another pet right now, and this kitten really wants it's mama.

I won't call the iryah, they are up to their eyeballs in unwanted kittens. It doesn't usually end well. Sad

I gave him a little pan of litter, some wet food, and some water. I'm not a monster! I could never let a tiny kitten starve. This cat is so little, it can slide into a 2 inch gap under the china cabinet.

Nessiyah is a sight hound. She will chase anything that moves, but the second it stands still she loses all interest. You can throw the ball for her and she'll chase it, but then she'll just look at it laying on the grass and say "Well, now what? I think it's dead!"

↑ BH Yom Yom ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 12:58 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

I really can't handle another pet right now, and this kitten really wants it's mama.

I won't call the iryah, they are up to their eyeballs in unwanted kittens. It doesn't usually end well. Sad

Poor baby. Are there any veterinarians or rescue groups around who might be able to help take care of the kitten? Is the mama cat by any chance hiding somewhere in your building? They don’t usually go too far by themselves at such a young age. Ballpark idea of how old the kitten is?

Love that about Nessiyah and the ball! LOL

↑ FranticFrummie ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 3:37 pm

BH Yom Yom wrote:

I'm not sure about age, but my guess is that he's just old enough to start exploring away from mom for a little while, and he just got himself lost and separated from the family. He came in my door to get away from the heat, most likely.

So he's in the house somewhere, and every now and then I hear a meow. I've been doing "bedikas kitten" with a flashlight, but I can't find him. (I have a LOT of stuff that I have been sorting, so there's a lot of clutter to hide in.) If he crawls into the back of my closet, I'll probably never see him again. It's a black hole.

Every time I think I've got him, and I can shoo him towards the open door, he doubles back and darts under another piece of furniture. Nessiyah has completely gotten bored with the kitten, and can't be bothered.

If he keeps me up tonight I am NOT going to be happy.

amother

Snowdrop ↓

Sun, Jul 11 2021, 4:01 pm

If you keep putting food in a corner, wouldn't he just stay hidden? Can you put the food in a central spot where you could easily scoop him up? Kitty won't want to go hungry for long, he'll have to come out eventually.

↑ FranticFrummie ↓

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 7:35 am

amother [ Arcticblue ] wrote:

Sounds like you're scaring him. Try leaving him alone with a door open, and he'll probably find his own way out.

I just wanted to skootch him towards the door.

I was gone all day with the door open, and he's still here.

At night I sleep with the door open several inches, and he's still here.

At this point, I'm air conditioning half of Israel. My bill is going to be insane.

I'm hoping to get a humane trap from someone, and I'll put a warm blanket and some food in there for him. If I don't feed him for a day or two, he'll probably make a beeline for the canned food. In the meantime, at least he has water and a litter box (which he is not using. Mad

)

amother

↑ Arcticblue

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 8:56 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

I just wanted to skootch him towards the door.

I was gone all day with the door open, and he's still here.

At night I sleep with the door open several inches, and he's still here.

So...maybe he wants to stay!

You might not feel ready for another pet - but maybe he disagrees with you. He might not have a mother.

↑ FranticFrummie ↓

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 8:59 am

amother [ Arcticblue ] wrote:

So...maybe he wants to stay!

You might not feel ready for another pet - but maybe he disagrees with you. He might not have a mother.

If he would actually use the litterbox, and stop crying at night, I would consider it.

Right now I'm like that bubbe who's not up to taking care of the new grandchild full time!

↑ BH Yom Yom ↓

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 9:54 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

If he would actually use the litterbox, and stop crying at night, I would consider it.

Right now I'm like that bubbe who's not up to taking care of the new grandchild full time!

He is probably terrified. Are you able to get Feliway or another cat-calming product and spray it around the room to help him relax? Does he have a soft towel or blanket to snuggle on?

I would also caution you not to stop feeding him, maybe feed him less so that he is motivated to go into the trap that you’ll get, but kittens need to eat constantly to survive.

Poor kitty. 😿

↑ FranticFrummie ↓

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 10:28 am

BH Yom Yom wrote:

He's already raided Nessiyah's food bowl!

I can't find Feliway in Israel, I've tried. I have catnip, but cats generally don't respond to it until they are several months old, and some cats don't even have the receptors for catnip.

He's yowling his head off right now. Sad