Hi there,

That's great that you are helping this cat.

You are not depriving him of his natural status. He is still young and
you can work with him. We've taken in several ferals and all live inside
with us.

The main group of 3 siblings were about 10 weeks old. They were very
skittish with us and hissed if we got near. We kept them in the bathroom
for several weeks so that we could have easy access to them. I spent
hours in there with them, talking to them and giving them treats. I also
used the toys on the end of the string to get them to play. Kittens have
a hard time resisting playing!

I think the key is to spend lots of non-threatening time with them and
let them know you're a good guy. If the cat runs from you and you let it
alone, it will always be afraid of you. It's best if you spend lots of
time with him now while he's very young.

He may always be a little more skittish than regular cats but they can
really come around. Our cats get more easily frightened at noises or
other people, but around the house they lounge on the sofa and in the
middle of the floor like regular cats.

The one we took in at 6 months old is different -- she's much more
afraid of everything, but she likes me. :) I think at 8 weeks old you
have a great chance of having a fairly normal house cat.

Good luck!

Rhonda

(PS -- remember food and toys work wonders!)

How long have they been in the house together?  My eldest cat (13yrs)
lost her elder sister two years ago, and unfortunately discovered the
dead body before any of us did.  She was so freaked out that she ran
away for about five weeks and came home having lost five pounds.  She
is still not over it.  Finally last week, I took her in to vet only to
discover that now that she is recovering she is also severely
hyperthyroid and so we started meds twice a day and slowly she is
getting back to her old self again.  The same day I went to pick up the
new meds, at the crack of dawn, I was waiting for the vet to open, and
I saw an assistant come out and set up a fun little cage that turned
out to be for an eight week old kitten someone had brought in off the
road.  They had had it for a small while, de-fleaed, de-wormed,
de-mited it, so I promptly took him home, feeling very, very ambivalent
about the success of introducing a new kitten to my poor old kitty at
home who had enough to contend with.  Normally, when I get a second
cat, I do it when the first one is 18 months old, best time for good
adjustment, I read.

Well much to my surprise, only five days later, she is still growling
at him if he is foolish enough to get too close (and yes, he *is*
foolish enough....little punk knows no fear and actually stalks
*her*!!) and she'll swipe and yowl but won't pursue.  Moreover, she has
already forgiven me and I suspect she was very lonely without her
sister whom she had never been without in her whole little life.  The
little kitten, meanwhile, has adjusted better to her than to me.  But
daily, I see a difference.

The big trick is.....to never put your hands out towards the kitten. He
scats immediately into holes I never knew we had in this house.  But if
I sit and tickle the furniture, he pounces now and plays even with my
fingers.  As soon as they turn towards him, he's gone.  Toys,
especially on string, are the best because they make the hands even one
more remove from proximity.  This little kitten will not let me pick
him up unless I hunt and catch him, but he will chase me all over the
house if I mind my own business, and now, he jumps up on the bed, and
onto my chest and is generally turning out quite friendly as long as I
keep my hands to myself.

However, the big caveat to that is this....if I can catch him, and turn
him over on his back and start rubbing his belly, OMG what a suck, he
will fall asleep within five seconds purring like a freight train.  I
swear it is like gas anesthesia, it is so reproducible.  Once you do
get him in your hands, explore and find his purrrrrrogenous zones, and
that might help.

---tension

you are not depriving him of anything.  You are giving him a chance at a
wonderful life in a loving home.  He has gone through a lot of changes, and
is a little leery of things.  Work with him and you can turn that around.

When I have fosters who are feral, I have them in an isolated space (ok I
have a cage, but that probably isn't an option for you) and just sit near
them.  Then I make sure they know that I am responsible for the food they
get.  They don't get fed with out some sort of pat or acknowledgment that I
am there providing food.  Sometimes when your little one is hungry, you can
try hand feeding him.  Get yummy irresistible stuff and hold him while
offering it. If holding isn't an option, start with making him take it out
of your hand, then when he is a little more comfortable doing that, make him
come closer to get it, then maybe climb up on to your lap or on your leg to
get it.

sitting on the floor, getting down to their level is a huge motivater for
cats to come investigate you.

Toys on poles with strings are another big help in getting cats to forget
how nervous they are and to engage them in play.

He might be a little young, but try catnip.  He might react.  It will wind
him up, but he will experience a calm afterwards that might help in bonding.

Cats in the wild have so much fighting for do for EVERYTHING, for territory,
for food, for companionship.. Cats indoors are given the world.