Hi all

I'm currently fostering a very feral 3 month old kitten for the shelter I work for. I've had him for 9 days now. The first night he escaped from his crate (through the tiniest gap ever) and was loose in my living room till Sunday afternoon. I eventually managed to shut him back in the crate when he went in there for some food. Since then he pretty much sleeps most of the time and has regular chats from me and stroking etc. He is still pretty frightened but has definitely improved, although he won't let me pick him up yet and hates it when I pick him up by the scruff. I'm trying to do that once/twice a day at the moment.

Today he is going pretty mental in his crate, and I feel really guilty and worried. He's meowing loudly and throwing himself around/climbing up and gnawing at the bars. I'm sure he's really bored and I'm trying to keep him stimulated by playing with a toy (not that he likes that much). He just seems very stressed today, like he's had enough of being shut in the crate, can't say I blame him.

I can't let him out because I know he'll just disappear for days again and we'll get no work done, but I feel so bad watching him throwing himself about. He's going back to the shelter on Wednesday because I'm going on holiday so he'll have a proper unit then. Any advice of how I can make him happier during his last few days here?

Do you have a spare room you can use rather than a crate?

Also look into getting a feliway diffuser or theres a new one....i think its called pet remedy. Might help him feel at ease?

I do have to wonder why the rescue allowed you to foster him only to take him back again on wednesday? More stress for the little mite. Have they not given you any advice? xx

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Unfortunately I have a flat which is open plan - the only room I can shut the door to is my bedroom (which is too small to have him in) and my living room which is where he was loose before and he just disappeared under the tv cabinet for two days. I have got a feliway diffuser which I have had plugged in since Monday.

By the time I take him back I'll have had him on foster for nearly 2 weeks, and I think they believe 2 weeks in a home where he can be around humans all the time is better than 2 weeks in the shelter where they just don't have the same amount of time to spend with him - they've got hundreds of other cats/kittens to attend to and not enough staff. They are very good at giving advice but due to it being Sunday I don't think the person I need to speak to will be working today.

I would maybe phone up and find out.

I noticed you worked at the shelter. Maybe you can try and track down another foster home for him? Any good that you may have done in the last 2 weeks will surely be undone by putting him back in the shelter. I also fear that he may now associate people with being stuck in a crate and scruffed twice a day - obviously something he is not comfortable with.

I guess it is finding what works best for him. This may not be what works on the next cat, or the last cat, but each cats needs are different.

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This is in no way meant as disrespect towards you but I dont think your domestic set up is ideal.Keeping a feral kitten shut in a crate is not IMO really going to help to socialise him,he needs more room.If he had a safe room where he can behave more normally, learn to relax in your company,approach you on his terms and interact with you if he felt comfortable then I think there would be more chance that he would respond.If it is not going to be possible for you to do this then I think the best thing is for the rescue to find a foster carer able to provide a more interactive environment.It is good of you to try to help as I know shelters are full and desperate for any assistance they can get.

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I am only following the instructions given to me by the shelter, they have supplied me with everything including the crate. I do agree that it isn't great that he can't have more freedom and approach me on his own terms but trust me, if left to his own devices this cat would never approach a human on his own terms. At least now I can approach him, open his cage and stroke him without him trying to attack me, which is what he did to the staff when he was in the shelter. This is not the first feral foster I have done either, and each one has had the same treatment and has been kept in a crate, and all became happy, affectionate young cats after a week or so in my care, and have now been successfully rehomed.

should a kitten be kept in a crate???

If you can approach him in his crate and stroke him without him attacking you,what will be your next step if you cant give him any more freedom.I can see that a crate has its place but not 24/7.How will he gain enough confidence to approach/feel comfortable around humans if he isnt given any freedom of choice,I really dont see this as a great arrangement,but it is only my opinion.

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OK well as far as advice on how the kitten shall be socialised I will continue to listen to what the shelter tells me to do as they are the trained professionals. All I wanted was to know other ways of keeping him entertained whilst he is in the crate for the last couple of days, not whether he should be in the crate or not. The shelter told me to keep him in the crate until I take him back to them, they will then socialise him further once he is more used to humans being around and touching him, which is what I have already achieved.

each cat is different. If this approach was suiting him he wouldn't be as distressed as he obviously is.

I'm sure you have the right intentions but this cat seems distressed and he will barely be used to where he is before being unsettled again. What makes a trained professional? What training do people running rescues have anyway?

There are people here with years and years of looking after problem and feral cats. If you don't want advice then don't ask for it to be honest. I don't want to put off new posters or seem like a harsh person at all but why ask for advice and then dismiss it?