Advice on moving kitten outside?

[NashChic]

My mom and dad awoke one morning to a kitten meowing from inside the wall of a bedroom closet. Dad cut 3 holes in the sheetrock, finally locating and extracting a TINY black kitten. Since I'm the neighborhood "zookeeper," they called me to the rescue. Mind you, they've never seen what would be its mother or any other litter-mates. We assume they must have been in the attic and the baby somehow fell down into the wall.

Anyway, it still had its umbilical stub attached, little fur, closed eyes, etc. The best I could tell was it was under 3 days old at the time... according to info on the web. I bottle fed it for 5 weeks and the last week it's been eating solid foods and lapping formula... all the while living in my bathroom.

Now for my question...

I have 2 dogs in the house and also an exotic bird. The dogs HATE the cat and try to attack whenever they can and I imagine the cat would pose a threat to the bird in the future. We have an outside cat that is about 10 years old. I've tried to introduce them several times. Hunter (the outside cat) gets scared and runs away, then yesterday he tried to take a swat at the kitten. I really want this kitten to be an outside cat. I just can't see it working inside. I'm willing to transitions slowly and over time. Does anyone have suggestions about doing this?

Thanks so much!

 

[CityClucks]

Hunter will be mad about the kitten horning in on his territory, but he'll get over it. He'll growl and swat and hiss, and the baby kitty will probably keep going up to him...hopefully the worst Hunter will do is swat and run. Eventually it should work out - it will take time, and don't expect Hunter and New Kitty to become best buds soon, but it could happen. I suggest you just keep at it! Good luck.

 

[NashChic]

Thank you, CityClucks!

 

[Sillystunt]

my cats could care less about my chickens....lol Now the dogs worry me but cats can defend themselves pretty well. He's still small so i would be careful. He knows where the food is so he will stay close! The other cat will come around....

 

[NashChic]

Thank you! He's still so small right now - 6 weeks old. So I know I wouldn't have the heart to put him out for a while. I've been trying to take him out for a bit each day... very well supervised. He doesn't seem to like it much though

Otherwise I have to keep him confined in my bathroom. It's large and he has toys and contraptions to play with, but I feel bad that he can't roam a bit more. The shih-tzus would eat him up - seriously. They just look through the door (our bathroom door is a glass french door) and try to attack through the glass when he moves around. I'm just trying to get my game plan together for the next couple of months. He can't live in there forever... and apparently the dogs won't let him live in the house (also the bird would probably not be excited about that as he "free-ranges" in the bonus room). lol

 

[kitkatbahr]

Glad to hear you rescued the poor little thing! Good for you. Will you be getting him neutered when he is older/bigger? Please do, if at all possible. It will keep him closer to home (Tom cats are known to roam over a mile to get to a female in heat), plus, he won't fight with other unneutered males as much, if he isn't intact.

Also, while he is still so small, it is good you are watching him while outside. He, believe it or not, looks like "food" to aerial predators (hawks, eagles, owls, etc) as well as ground predators (coons WILL kill kittens!!), stray dogs, etc.

Just a thought for you, while he is transitioning...can you build a temporary enclosure outside for him? I actually have a colony of cats (11 of them live in the enclosure outside) that HAVE to live in an enclsoure now, rather than run free, like they used to do. We have neighbors that decided after 5 years of having the cats around, that they were a nusiance and started trapping them and "getting rid of them" or trying to. Thankfully, I found out in time and rescued the one they did trap and got her back before she disappeared for good. Now, just a note, ALL of these cats are spayed/neutered/shots, etc. and I paid for it out of my pocket. They are a registered feral cat colony, with the county, but, the neighbors don't care. I couldn't keep them in my yard without an enclosure, so my husband built one for me. It is covered with fencing (chainlink that we had laying around) and half of it is tarped, the other half is "outside" in the weather. So, if it rains, they can get in the covered part, or on nice days, they can lay out in the sun. I have all kinds of stuff in there for them. Cat condo, chairs to lay on, etc. A big table for their food and water. A couple of litter boxes that I clean OFTEN (especially with that many cats). They are protected from predators both four legged and two legged, and they seem to enjoy their new house. It took them a few days to get used to it, but now they don't even try to get out when I go in the gate.

Anyway, just a thought. Think of it like building a pen and covered area for your chickens, just make it for the kitten. With him being so small, you will need to make sure he can't get out of the fencing, or wait for him to get bigger to put him out there, but it would be a nice big play area that is safe for him and a transition place for him to be outside, where your other cat can see and smell him, etc. but not hurt him.

Hope all goes well. Thank you for rescuing him. Oh, by the way, a single kitten does MUCH, MUCH better when it has another that is close in age to it. Any chance of adopting another one about that age to go with it? Then they can both live in the enclosure and keep each other company. Two kittens together are hilarious!! Lots of entertainment.

Good luck!

Kathy

 

[NashChic]

Thank you, Kathy! The enclosure is such a great idea. We've been trying to come up with something we could use to make something that would be like a playpen for him when we are going to be outside. The weather is nice and we're spending a lot of time out there in the yard, with the chicks, etc. I hate for him to be cooped up in the house

We have a really big fenced yard, but the fence is iron and he could easily slip through the bars, so we'll have to rig something to give him a play area. I've wondered how he would do in the run with the chicks. They're a little bigger than he is. I know he couldn't hurt them, but they might hurt him. But I'd like to start making those introductions now while they're all young (cat and chicks) and can grow up together.

He will definitely be neutered in the near future. Everyone around here is, except the stray cats that come and eat. Some get friendly enough to pet, but catching is another story

You have my admiration for the work, time, and expense you've put in to the feral colony you care for. That takes tremendous effort!

I have considered getting him a friend. I read that lone kittens tend to be biters, but thankfully we haven't had that problem. This is the sweetest kitten I have EVER had. Every time I pick him up he just stretches out in my hands and purrs like crazy. He's very playful but not excessively wild like other kittens I've had. If the opportunity comes up, we probably wouldn't hesitate to add another companion. I don't think we'll seek one out though unless he starts to display some behavioral problems. I feel overwhelmed sometimes as it is

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to respond. All advice is eagerly welcomed

 

[kitkatbahr]

Hi Nashchic,

Thanks for the compliments! I appreciate that. Some people don't realize all the work it is, but to me, it is worth it.

I am glad to hear that he is such a sweet kitty. The best time to introduce a companion for him is when they are young, like he is. Once they get bigger, then it becomes a territorial thing, and they may not bond together as they would when babies. Do you have a Craigslist.com in your area? Lots of times there are free kittens on there. Or, in the local paper, signs on telephone poles, petfinder.com, bulletin boards at local vet's offices, etc. And, of course the local pounds. You would be horrified to know how many of these babies get put to sleep every day because there are not enough people to adopt them. There are sooooo many kittens that need homes right now. Poor things. I am up to my eyeballs with cats, or I would be taking more every day, if there was any way that I could! LOL

As for introducing him to the chicks, yes, it is a great idea, but definitely watch them together. They can peck him in the eye. As you said, they would probably hurt him before he would hurt them. But, if you do it right, and slowly, then it would be great if he got along with them and they with him! He might even be a "watch cat" when he gets bigger!

Enjoy him. He sounds like a real sweet little baby. THanks again for rescuing him!

Kathy

Edited to add: As for how much more work it is, it probably won't be much at all. Two kittens together entertain each other incredibly well (and they are hilarious too!!). If they have each other, you won't be "needed" so much to entertain him all the time. Although, you will still want to spend time with them both to get them nice and tame, used to people, etc. But, if they are together, even in an enclosure, they will do much better with two kittens than one alone, who will probably cry and cry until you go play with him. When I raised orphan kittens, I always tried to get a second kitten to go with the orphan if at all possible. They do so much better socially when raised with their own kind. Just like ducks! You should always have more than one, so they don't get lonely and too dependent on the person to entertain them. I don't know if chickens are that way too, cause I don't have any, but probably the same thing. Two is better than one by itself. Good luck with the baby!

 

[NancyDz]

When I introduced a kitten to my other cats, I would put it in large cage on my porch. At first only during the day, putting it back in the bathroom at night. Then all night too. That way my other cats would get used to the kitten and the kitten would get an idea of the routine of the other animals . I have a large screened in porch so after a couple weeks in the large cage, then I would let it have the run of the porch for a week or so, then let them out. A slow transition is best so they get comfortable.


Good luck!


Nancy

 

[Akane]

Cats will throw huge fits about new animals on their territory. They'll hiss, spit, growl, and repeatedly swat at any new animal. It's usually more noise than anything though. In a few weeks most settle down.

One thing about outdoor cats is that if they aren't raised that way as a kitten the risk of injury or death goes up greatly. We don't name any barn kittens until 2years old. The odds of them dying even though we live back from the road is probably better than 50%. Everytime I've known someone to take a cat raised indoors and let it out they die. They get killed by wildlife if you live in the middle of nowhere (ours were eaten by coyotes when we moved from town) or they get hit on the road if you live closer to a town. If you want to make a cat live outdoors be prepared to lose it until it learns (or doesn't) how to avoid danger. You really can't prepare them for it. They either have common sense or they don't and they have to experience what's dangerous before they know to avoid it. If you want a safe outdoor cat you should build a cat yard.

http://www.catfencein.com/

http://www.purrfectfence.com/

http://www.feralcat.com/fence.html

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...C6&q=cat enclosures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

For a little kitten temporarily I built a pen using shelving panels and zip/cable ties sold at most targets and some hardware stores or walmarts across the US. It's great for taming ferals since they stay in the room you're in and can see and interact with you without getting in trouble or lost in the house. This also allows any pets in the house to see the cat and get used to it without being able to harm it or be harmed by it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/cats/Squeak/DSC00571.jpg

Laying on top of the pen
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/cats/Squeak/DSC00663.jpg

It's very hard to build a pen out of those panels that's big enough for keeping a full grown cat long term so something else would have to be used eventually.