Dear Sinéad and Siouxsie:
Help! A beautiful little fluffy kitten has taken up residence in our shed. She/he can't be more than 8 weeks old and is wild as the wind. I have been feeding her/him and was able to pick it up once as it was cornered in a tire and had nowhere to go. It was fighting every minute. I held it for a bit trying to calm it, but to no avail. I put it back where I found it and left. I leave food and water which it consumes but I really would like to have it in the house where it is warm. I know I must be patient and wait for it to accept me--will it ever happen? Any ideas? I know it is too young for shots or altering yet but that will be done if I ever get it to want human friends. Thanks for any help you can give.
--Beth

Sinéad: Well, Beth, you've started out on the right paw with this kitten. You're giving him food and water so that he can stay alive. He's awfully young, though, and we wonder how he ended up at your house.

Siouxsie: Some mean people abandon kittens by the roadside if they don't want them. If that happened, your lucky little cat friend probably managed to save his life by making his way into your shed.

Sinéad: If he is only eight weeks old, he probably wasn't even fully weaned when he got separated from his mother (whether by the mother's death or by mean people's machinations).

Siouxsie: Given your description of his behavior, it sounds like maybe his mother was a feral cat or a barn cat that may have met an unfortunate fate.

Sinéad: Speaking of feral, some people confuse the meaning of feral and stray. A stray cat is one that was domesticated but somehow ended up living on the streets or in the woods. Stray cats are usually able to recover their trust in people and become re-domesticated once they're back in safe situations.

Siouxsie: A feral cat, though, is one that has either been a stray for so long that it has reverted entirely to its wild ways, or a kitten that was born to a feral mother. Feral cats are fearful of humans and hypervigilant in ways that domestic cats rarely are.

Sinéad: So, Beth, you may have a feral kitten on your hands.

Siouxsie: Kittens have a pretty narrow "window" of socialization with humans. If a kitten isn't well socialized with people between the ages of 2 and 7 weeks of age, it's unlikely that the kitten will ever become a real "people-friendly" cat.

Sinéad: Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. So don't despair of this kitten's ability to ever become a family cat.

Siouxsie: Now, what to do about getting this kitten indoors and getting it the medical care it needs . . .

Sinéad: Ordinarily we'd recommend that you take several weeks to acquaint yourself with this kitten by bringing food and sitting in the shed while he eats. You would gradually move a little bit closer every day until you are within reach of the kitten, allow the kitten to smell you and realize that you aren't going to harm him.

Siouxsie: But since it's getting cold now, you don't have the luxury of several weeks' time to leave him out in a cold shed while he learns to trust you.

Sinéad: You're going to have to get that kitten inside so he doesn't freeze to death.

JaneA: We'd recommend that you borrow or rent a humane trap (these are sold under the brand name Hav-A-Heart). They're called humane traps because when the animal springs it, a door closes behind the animal and leaves it inside a cage, rather than trapping an animal by the leg as other INhumane traps for bears, foxes, and the like, do. The hardware store in downtown Belfast has a humane trap available for rent, and we imagine that other hardware stores closer to your area might have them, too. You might call your local animal shelter and see if they know where you could borrow or rent one of these traps.

Siouxsie: You'll have to bait the trap with food. I'd try something extra-tasty like delicious canned cat food or cooked meat.

Sinéad: Make sure you check the trap every day, because you don't want to leave the kitten in the trap, exposed to the cold. If you feed the kitten at night, check the trap before you leave for work in the morning.

Siouxsie: If the kitten somehow manages to get the food without triggering the trap, put the food further back in the cage and make sure you've set the trigger properly.

JaneA: We had a feral cat running around our farm once, and he liked to socialize with our family cats. Because he was hanging out with our cats, we wanted to trap him and get him to a veterinarian for shots and neutering, so he wouldn't spread disease and spray in the barn. The humane trap worked like a gem.

Sinéad: Once you have the kitten trapped, bring him inside and isolate him inside a room of his own. This is especially important if you have other cats--not only because of your other cats' feelings about having an intruder in the house, but because you don't want to risk spreading disease if the kitten has any contagious illnesses. The kitten will also feel more secure if he only has to "defend" one small space from "intruders," rather than a whole house.

Siouxsie: The kitten's room should contain a litterbox, food and water dishes, toys (these don't have to be expensive--a ball of tin foil, a rolled-up sock, a soccer ball, a box and a paper bag to hide in, or an old hacky-sack will work fine), a bed, something that's OK for him to scratch on (either a scratching post or some firewood or something), and some places where the kitten can "hide" if he feels the need. Make sure the food and water dishes are not near the litterbox--we cats don't like "pooping where we eat."

Sinéad: There's no guarantee that the kitten actually knows how to use a litterbox, but it's possible his mother taught him how before they got separated. And make sure you get unscented kitty litter. We cats hate litter that stinks of flowers and perfumes!

Siouxsie: You're going to want to get this kitten to a veterinarian for a checkup as soon as possible. It may be easiest to do this while the kitten is still in the trap. But if you can't, just make sure you get him there as soon as you can. Bring a stool sample with you so the vet can see if he has worms and get rid of them if he does.

Sinéad: The vet will also want to do blood tests to see if the kitten is positive for feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus antibodies. If your kitten tests positive for either of these conditions, you'll have to take special care with him to keep him healthy as long as possible.

Siouxsie: After you have the kitten in "his room," you can take the same steps to get acquainted with the kitten as you would have in the shed.

Sinéad: The key to getting this kitten to trust you is to be slow and quiet in your movements. Expect to spend a lot of time just sitting in the room, talking in a low and comforting voice, or just being silent.

Siouxsie: Don't make direct eye contact. In wild cats, direct eye contact is viewed as threatening behavior.

Sinéad: Patience is very important. If you make a move to touch this kitten too soon, you could set back the process by weeks.

Siouxsie: And when you do finally touch him, do so very gently, on his back. If you try to pet his head or reach for his face, he will be threatened and run away. Soon enough, if you're gentle and careful, you'll probably find that the kitten trusts you enough to sit in your lap, and maybe even curl up and purr.

Sinéad: Make sure you communicate mentally and with your feelings, too. Cats are very sensitive to such things. If you open your heart and project love, comfort and feelings of "I'm safe," you may help your kitten friend become a lap cat in no time.

Siouxsie: If you're frustrated with how long the process is taking, make really sure to let those feelings go before you interact with the kitten. It's understandable, but the kitten's going to feel that, too, and it may make him afraid.

Sinéad: When you have the kitten in the trap, you should be able to tell what sex it is. By eight weeks, you should be able to see a boy kitten's testicles--so, if you don't see Family Jewels, you've got a girl kitty on your hands. If it's hard to tell for whatever reason (too much fur in the way, for example), I'm sure your vet will gladly clue you in when you take the kitten for a checkup.

Siouxsie: We think it's very important that you give this kitten a name if you're planning to rescue him. A name will form an emotional connection between you and the kitten, and it will also help him to know when you're calling his name and speaking to him.

Sinéad: If you have other cats in your household, you should talk to them and tell them what's going on. They deserve to know, and if you tell them ahead of time and ask them for their help in getting this kitten used to living in a house with people, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results. We do communicate with other cats, and we share a lot of information that most humans aren't aware of.

Siouxsie: If you have a dog, tell the dog, too, and ask him to be nice to the kitten and not frighten it too much.

JaneA: This all may sound very daunting. It's actually not as hard as it may seem at first glance. But if you're really intimidated by the prospect of all this activity, please call your local animal control officer or humane society and ask them to get this kitten to a safe place. A kitten that young really won't make it through the winter without some help from people.

Sinéad: We certainly won't hold it against you if you feel you don't have the time or ability to take on the task of taming a wild kitten. You've been an angel in this kitten's life already by providing him with food and water and letting him live in your shed.

Siouxsie: And by caring enough to want to rescue and rehabilitate him, too! That's more than a lot of people would do, and we really appreciate that.

Sinéad: We wish there were more people like you in the world!

Siouxsie: We hope we've been of some help to you, Beth, and good luck with your wild kitten. Please let us know how everything works out; we'd love to hear from you.

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail Sinéad and Siouxsie at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the advice in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.