Need some help with feral kitties.

[rubberducky]

It`s 11 degrees here. Love, love,love my ferals. Can I give them some chicken boullion(hot)? I`m so worried about them. Is there anything special I can do for them?Can I give grown kitties milk? Tuna, chicken?? Need some help here, but I do not want to cause any harm to my feral kitties. I offered shelter to a couple of them in my walk-out basement. They were too scared. I have an electric blanket in a shelter I made for them, but I`m very worried about them in this extreme cold snap.They aren`t eating like they usually do, just hiding out in thier shelter. Sorry, to bug you guys, but you`ve been so great in giving me previous advice. Thought I`d ask once again!

[suninvited]

1. No milk !

I am not sure about the boullion, but the tuna and chicken should be find.

If they can get into the shelter when you are not around, they might. I hope you can find a way to keep them warm !

[rubberducky]

2. Thanks. Why no milk?

[suninvited]

3. It will upset their stomachs , and probably

give them diarreah....you know, I think this is the first time I have ever tried to spell that word, I think I got somewhat close.

[rubberducky]

6. You did PERFECT!! Thanks!

I took them out some home made chicken soup(hot). And they were ravinous! Ifeel so damn bad for them. Try to get them through this really bad cold spell. I`m trying!! Never realized how much these little critters meant to me until now. My little critters and I are soooooo looking forward to spring!

[BobMorr]

4. Feral Cats

I have about 14 ferals that I take care of. I give them dry food. The kittens get a high protien dry food. I give them fresh clean water each day. The need a heated shelter if possible with preferably 2 entrances. Mine live in a heated greenhouse. The wind chill was 25 below zero the last 2 days here. With two entrances they're more likely to enter a heated shelter.

[rubberducky]

9. I put an electic blanket in Big box. Kitties have been hiding in there.

It`s sssoooo sad to see them out in this bitter cold. But I watched a special on "the homeless" here in MI a couple of nights ago. MY HEART BREAKS.

[MagickMuffin]

5. Dupe, my other post is better

same post with the exception of another question...

[MagickMuffin]

7. I was fortunate to tame 3 feral kitties this summer

They are the sweetest little babies. I had to rent them my studio/laundry room this past winter, not that it gets extremely cold here in N. Texas, but I couldn't tell for sure if the girls were coming into heat. They just got spayed last week.

I wouldn't give them bouillon, or the cow's milk. I read that it isn't good for them, goats milk would be better for them.
Tuna and chicken would be an excellent for protein.


Have you had any contact with them at all, besides just feeding them?

Is there a way you could leave your door cracked enough for them to come in?

Could you coax them in with food?

How old are they?


If none of the above suggestions work, perhaps you could create a make shift house. We had an old 3 drawer night stand that was on our deck, we took out the drawers and added a thick blanket for my babies. They used it quite until I decided they needed to be inside until we could get them fixed.

I wish you the best of luck with your feral friends. Thank you for trying to care for them:loveya:

[suninvited]

14. Thats quite a job taming feral kittens.

My step mother did it once, but it took months of patience.

As a Floridian transplanted to North Texas recently you cant convince me it doesnt get extremely cold here !!!

[MagickMuffin]

17. Well Texas has it's moments of extreme weather, but nothing like up in the Northern States

I've lived here all my life, so we do get an occasional snow, but we usually get sleet and freezing rain.

My feral babies were only about 3 months old when I attempted to pet them. I managed to pick up the runt, Kagome, but she freaked. Their mama took them away from me for about 2-3 weeks. I felt so bad. Then she returned with them, and they were starving. Again I felt so bad. Kagome was the kitty who suffered the most.

I would sit on the deck while I fed them. Inuyasha and Kagome would come as close to me, but Sango was the least trusting. I never gave up on her, and would hold out the food in my hand, until I could coax her close enough for me to grab her. After grabbing her I would place her on my lap, while petting her.

But I never let them starve again, except for the times I couldn't feed them after 10 PM for their surgeries.

Now my lil kittie babies love giving me nose rubs. It's so cute. They're like little European kitties. They rub their noses to my nose all the way up one side and then they do the same thing to the other side. They also give me love bites on my nose. They have never used their claws on me, they will paw me but never claw me.


Can you tell I :loveya: my sweet little feral babies???

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. You made an outdoor shelter with an electric blanket?

You deserve a heart!

:thumbsup:

(I'll have to get back to you on that heart, I just screwed up and gave it to ME instead. LOL)

[zanne]

10. We have a few Kitty Houses outside...

We made them out of 2 inch thick styrofoam (glued together). Then we put a few old coats on the bottom and attached a 40-watt light bulb on the inside (with a bulb safety guard). Even in extremely cold weather, the light bulb, along with the cats' body heat, warms up the little houses to about 40 degrees.

If you like, I can look for the website I got the idea from.

[rubberducky]

15. What a wonderful idea!! If you have a link, please post.

Kitties are very wary of me! I really try to show them that I would never hurt them, but they still aren`t quite sure. I feed my racoons, possums, dear, but my kitties are very dear to me, I just don`t know what will hurt them, physically.They will let me pet them, but, they are very skittish.

[zanne]

11. We have a few Kitty Houses outside...

We made them out of 2 inch thick styrofoam (glued together). Then we put a few old coats on the bottom and attached a 40-watt light bulb on the inside (with a bulb safety guard). Even in extremely cold weather, the light bulb, along with the cats' body heat, warms up the little houses to about 40 degrees.

If you like, I can look for the website I got the idea from.

[suninvited]

12. And rubberducky deserves one, too for taking care of

these babies !

[TrogL]

13. Don't give them milk

Makes my cats sick.

My half-assed-feral has been out in -45 windchill with no ill effects.

If they get the electric blanket wet it's gonna short out.

[rubberducky]

16. I just washed thier electric blanket this week-end before this extreme cold set in.

They had a minor "fit" when I took out thier blanket, but they are hunkered down now(in thier clean blanket!).

[bertha katzenengel]

18. Heated water bowl (in the dog section) and heated kennel pads (on ebay)

Kennel pads w/ the "buy now" option" much less expensive than at the store.

Just feed regular kibble.

They're hiding out because they're conserving. That's my guess.

:loveya:

[applegrove]

19. Chicken bouillon is too salty. Just give them a bag of dry cat food. They'll know

what to do with it. Then leave them alone. I think the stress on feral kittens is terrible. We had one once and he hit under the furniture for the first few months he was so scared. The only time he was happy with us was when we let him go up to the cottage and roam free. Then he'd come and visit and be happy to be around us.

Some feral cats never get over their fear of humans.

[Inchworm]

20. No milk and keep em out of the wind

Along with all whats been said. Thanks for caring for them.

Consider getting them spayed/neutered too. You may end up with 30 running around by spring.

:thumbsup: