Luring a kitten

What about Credilo? Is that a flea med you can feed?

I know of a rescue that uses warm mayo. It isn’t toxic if the kitten licks it, it makes their coat easy to comb, the fleas are suffocated. I like saying that, “the fleas are suffocated”. Does that make me cruel? :slightly_smiling_face:

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is there a TNR program in your area? They are usually kitten catching superheroes.

Trappers who I have talked to about bait for traps swear by hanging a Kentucky Fried Chicken piece in the back of the trap. It might be worth a try. Good luck; we had a kitten dropped off here years ago, that cried for several days. That kitten did survive, leaving food out for it, but I think it was likely around 12 weeks old.

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She is getting more used to me. She comes to the back door when I call. And she (looks like a she when she heads back down the steps) comes up the steps when I go inside and she eats. So she is learning that I bring food when I meow to her even though she is not confident if I am outside with her. I can’t leave food out because of the green blow flies, ants and yellow jackets and I think it is better for her to associate me with the food. I have no idea how old she is and I am unsure of her weight. She is mostly fluff. After she ate last night she stayed and played with the hay string so I am sure she is feeling better. And she is not crying as much. I do think if you trapped her right now she might be a spitting demon. If I can get a better picture of her maybe somebody can estimate her age.

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You are making huge strides. I hope you catch the poor little critter soon.

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Is there a water source too? Can you drop catch her?

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She has a water bowl next to her food dish. Even though I have been feeding her wet cat food she is also drinking water from the bowl. I don’t think she is confident with me enough to grab her. She is safe here. Fed multiple times a day. Water. Shelter. No coyotes anywhere around my house or pasture. No wandering dogs. I have diamond mesh fence that goes to the ground around this 15 acres. A dog could dig in but it is hard. I have had a few but after being shot at they do not come back. So except for fleas and other parasites she is not in any danger and she has not left after she found out she was getting fed here. So I am just going to have to wait her out.

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I looked at a picture chart and I estimate this kitten to be between 4 to 6 weeks old. And most likely to be under a pound. Revolution Plus has small cat/kitten dose at 2.8 to 5 pounds so it is unlikely I can dose it anytime soon. Probably could not get a Capstar down her and I don’t know how old they have to be for that either. I cannot imagine grabbing it and giving it a bath. I might not survive.

When I meow to her she comes up to the back steps. She does not trust me outside of the door but seems to like me to be on the other side of the glass. She came out of her tree when I called and she came up and played with the hay string for a while. She kept trying to cover up her food. I guess she was trying to save it for later so nobody else could eat it. Finally she ate and went back to her tree. She ate four meals today so I was not alarmed when she did not want the food at first. She did look in the cat house so maybe she will start sleeping in there.

The other cats are not thrilled.

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Well they all came from somewhere too. Might be figuring that there’ll be less for them, so maybe if kitten gets fed we all get good food? I dunno, we’ve had plenty show up here but generally they mugged us, yelling at the top of their lungs how hungry they were and could they stay here?

Good luck with little floof!

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Are you still only feeding in the trap and she’s managing to get in and out without setting it off? From the most recent posts it sounds like you may have abandoned the idea. Personally, having trapped close to 100 I’d strongly recommend pushing forward with only feeding in a trap. The extra 5-10 days it may take you to get her to the point of a lucky grab (and the massive trust break if you miss that may take days longer to recover from) is that much longer she’s vulnerable to predators. She now knows to expect food. If food goes in and you hold firm she’s smart enough to figure out how to get to the food. I’ve trapped as young as 4 weeks very successfully by holding firm to food only in the trap.

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She may be too little to set off the trap. I’ve done this with the ferals that have shown up at the various properties I’ve lived at: I just sat on the porch far away at first, then inching closer and closer as they became more comfortable. Sometimes if they were jumpy I would wait til their backs were turned and grab them. I’d rather grab them than throw a towel over them as they could get out from under the towel before I could get a secure hold. After they figured I wasn’t out to harm them and would in fact, get their faces stuffed even more, they were ok.

I hope you can get your hands on her soon. My feeling is that even though you are feeding her, she may not be getting enough nutrition to catch up from the days she was not eating. Kittens burn incredible amounts of calories just growing.

Is there any way you could set up the trap so that you spring it and not her in case she is too light to set it off?

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I am thinking 4-6 weeks old, maybe closer to 6. I am feeding her all she wants to eat 4 to 5 times a day. I just can’t leave food out all the time because of insects. She does not seem interested in dry food so I got some Fancy Feast kitten food which she seems to like. I don’t think I would have been able to catch her at first because she did not seem interested in canned or dry food. My guess is that she never had any cat food, just mom’s milk. I don’t think mom is alive or around here because she was crying and crying the first two days and mom would have made an appearance at some point around feeding time.

This morning I went out the back door and she did not retreat when I was standing there outside close to her. She loves to play there with the hay string and around the cat house. So she is spending less and less time in her tree. I feel like she will let me touch her soon.

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She looks closer to 6 weeks. Try sitting down on the ground with your legs stretched out and play with the hay string with her. Arm’s length at first, then as she gets more and more focused on trying to catch the string gradually flick it towards your legs and away again. She will eventually end up on your legs (and initially horrified) but just ignore her and keep the string moving. Once she realizes nothing happens when she touches you she’ll get comfortable playing on and around you. Usually pretty easy from there to sneak a quick stroke down her back and start to get her used to being touched.

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She’s a beauty. Congrats on your new kitty.

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Oh my heart. I couldn’t bear to have her out in the wilderness vulnerable to predation for one more second. I’d be grabbing her and hauling her in. :broken_heart:

I once caught a kitten about that age with – believe or it not – a fishing net. :joy:

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She’s a doll!

Since she likes to play with the string, maybe you could get one of those toys on a long stick and use that to engage her?

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A rescue that I help has a fishing net. And the woman is good! She doesn’t flip it over them unless they’re cornered and can’t escape the net, but they’re far enough away you can’t just grab. She lays it on the ground and and puts food in the middle. She sits at the edge of the handle and as soon as they step to the center WHAM, she’s got the net flipped. Pretty impressive cat catching skills!

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That’s exactly how I caught mine. He was PISSED. Turned into the best little house cat ever though.

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That is one beautiful kitten.
I’d put food out so I could get behind it when it is eating-
Quickly grab from behind.
They usually hiss and spit once.
The sooner the better.

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She’s adorable. I mean - that little face. :heart_eyes_cat:

Try grabbing her and scruffing her. Scruffing is how mom carries them and they calm right down.
Worked on all the other kittens I caught but Baler because his mom could have cared less about her kittens since she was irresponsible teen mom…

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