[abe]

Will Half Feral Kitten = 'Regular' Cat When Grown?

Are there any lasting effects of wildness if a feral kitten is raised in a loving household?

Would it make any difference if one of the parents was feral and either the mother or father was a domesticated cat at the time of conception?

[BlueSky]

No difference at all. I raised two.

[nonhuman]

An interesting thing about cats, is that domestic cats are basically identical genetically to their closest wild ancestors (wild cats from the middle east that are the same size as domestic cats). Cats weren't really domesticated in the same way that dogs and other animals were, they just started living among people and eventually people started caring for them. The only real difference between a wild cat and a domestic one is upbringing.

[ort888]

We have a feral cat that we have domesticated and she never really lost all of her wild habits. My wife got her when she was about 10 weeks old and she comes from multiple generations of outdoor feral cats.

She is really bad at keeping her claws in check and will steal food from anywhere she can get it. She also likes to just attack people for no reason.

It's not unbearable or anything, and I think a lot of it has to do with my wife spoiling her when she was really young. It's hard to say really.

[abe]

Originally Posted by BlueSky 

No difference at all. I raised two.

That's what I thought, too.

That's why this made me wonder.

Tamaki

Location: Ventura County, California, USA

Tamaki



This is my little Tamaki. He’s nine weeks old, half-ferel, and an adorable little ball of energy!

The Daily Kitten � Blog Archive � Tamaki

Thanks!

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by ort888 

We have a feral cat that we have domesticated and she never really lost all of her wild habits. My wife got her when she was about 10 weeks old and she comes from multiple generations of outdoor feral cats.

She is really bad at keeping her claws in check and will steal food from anywhere she can get it. She also likes to just attack people for no reason.

It's not unbearable or anything, and I think a lot of it has to do with my wife spoiling her when she was really young. It's hard to say really.

That sounds exactly like one of my cats, right down to possibly being spoiled by my gf. But she was never feral. (The cat).

[olePigeon]

Cats are random, feral or not. It's what makes them interesting.

If you have a claw problem, clip/trim the claws (start when they're a kitten so they get used to it), but DON'T declaw.

[ort888]

Clipping only does so much good.

Her problem is that she just attacks with full force without thinking about it. When most cats attack you, they are pulling their blows because they know it is play. This cat doesn't differentiate between play and attack. She will create giant gashes and attack when unprovoked. She will also just scratch the crap out of you for no reason. She likes to crawl on strangers laps, look cute and start purring. then, without any warning, will just scratch the hell out of the person.

[pinenuts]

Put it down before it kills you.

[SpaceMonkey]

Will Ferrell is half kitten?

[andi*pandi]

our two cats were rescued from the wild at 4 weeks. I have no idea of their parentage vis a vis domesticity, but I see their relatives nearby all the time so I'd guess wild on both sides.

They grew up pretty domestic, are good with the kids, and are reasonably well-trained. I took them to the vet last weekend however, and one of them reverted to wildcat status and had to be separated from her sister on the ride home. She no likey vet, and blames her sister for some reason.

[abe]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

Will Ferrell is half kitten?

Is that an example of alternate amblyopia or something??

[abe]

Originally Posted by BlueSky 

That sounds exactly like one of my cats, right down to possibly being spoiled by my gf. But she was never feral. (The cat).

[ghporter]

There is no such thing as a "regular cat." However, if you raise the kitten with love and care, he'll grow up to be as "normal" as cats get. We have one cat we adopted "on sale" from a pet store-he was in that gangly, adolescent stage and had been marked down to $10, move him or he's going to be euthanized. This guy is a great cat, but he's still wacky about food, and weird things bug him-like ceiling fans. Otherwise he's a great pet. With cats, you have to just roll with their personality.

[brassplayersrock²]

you can't take 1000s of years of living/hunting/fending for yourself outdoors genes out of a cat; or any other "domesticated" animal.

[abe]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

Will Ferrell is half kitten?

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by ort888 

She is really bad at keeping her claws in check and will steal food from anywhere she can get it. She also likes to just attack people for no reason.

My youngest cat does that and she's not feral, just Bengal.

My oldest is half-feral (feral father/bengal mother) and is better behaved.

[eric55]

I'm new here but what do cats have to do with the forum?

[nonhuman]

All cats are Mac users.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock² 

you can't take 1000s of years of living/hunting/fending for yourself outdoors genes out of a cat; or any other "domesticated" animal.

Any cat around people, whether "feral" or not, is a domestic cat gone "less domestic." Probably not more than three or four generations separated from being a house cat. REAL wild cats are very different, and do not "domesticate."

[hart]

What a cutey!

he looks pretty young and I'd say you've got a good shot at getting a nice cat out of him. A lot of hands-on time should be very useful. Pet him, hold him, get him used to handling.

Since I'm tipping over into the Crazy Cat Lady Cat-egory with 7 cats, several of whom have feral or unknown origins I've seen the range of possible outcomes. I have a genuine street cat who was dumped in a box at the vet and he is super fine with being touched, never bites but basically could take me or leave me. Then I have a cat who came from the Brooklyn city shelter and it shows. You really gotta respect it when he doesn't want to snuggle or you'll be sorry. But he is desperate for love most of the time. I also have three kittens of unknown Maine woods origins who are all sweet as can be. YOu just never know.

Sometimes the crazy cats, the ones who never pull their claws or give warning bites are as domestic as you can get. It's more about handling than anything else, altho some cats ARE just crazy (my mother has one of those.) ghporter is right about the feral/domestic thing.

Respect his space, pay attention to his signals and give him lots of love time.

Friskies is running an ad campaign about adopting homeless cats right now for which the central point is to adopt one homeless cat. If everyone who had a single cat got one more it would create a huge dent in the homeless population. The same for dogs. I always feel a bit sad when I see someone with a purebred puppy when there are so many great dogs who really NEED a home and who don't cost $1000. Adopt an animal and give the extra money to the shelter for heavens sakes.

I've been in a lot of shelters over the last few years and apparently because many of them have gone "no kill" they're filled to overflowing and shelters just have to turn animals away. One shelter I went to had cages of cats stacked up in the halls and restrooms they were so overloaded. "Kill" shelters (like the Brooklyn, NY city shelter) have to euthanize huge numbers of these animals as a result. And apparently warmer winters results in more "crops" of kittens in a given year. I ended up essentially getting "free" cats with my annual contributions to a couple of shelters and foster agencies.

Anyway, enough polemic. Too much coffee too early I think.

[hart]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

All cats are Mac users.

That, I believe, requires evidential pictures.

I should point out that the Lounge IS the place for cats. After all, that's their main activity.







Funny, googling "macs and cats" does actual produce a fine crop of result. Sorry, I'm wandering OT>

[imitchellg5]

I thought the title said Will Ferrel= "Regular Cat" when grown. Oops.
To be on topic, my first and only cat was quite the wild guy when he was a kitten and never ever settled down. He eventually got on the bad end of a fight with a coyote.

[Dale Sorel]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

An interesting thing about cats, is that domestic cats are basically identical genetically to their closest wild ancestors (wild cats from the middle east that are the same size as domestic cats). Cats weren't really domesticated in the same way that dogs and other animals were, they just started living among people and eventually people started caring for them. The only real difference between a wild cat and a domestic one is upbringing.

NIce post... oh and cats rock

[vexborg]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

My youngest cat does that and she's not feral, just Bengal.

My oldest is half-feral (feral father/bengal mother) and is better behaved.

Hmmm... It must something todo with the Bengal breed, our does the same.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by abe 

Will Half Feral Kitten = 'Regular' Cat When Grown?

Are there any lasting effects of wildness if a feral kitten is raised in a loving household?

No problem at all Abe. All cats are basically feral.

[shifuimam]

This is completely OT, but everytime I see this subject line on the main lounge page, the first thing I see is "Will Ferrel", not "Will Half Feral..."