Expert: Dear Tabbi - 7/17/2009

Question
My female cat had kittens 9 weeks ago, two were homed but I kept one. Trouble is she/the kitten, hates to be touched petted or picked up by me or my partner. She is healthy, so no physical problems to prevent us touching her. I have three male cats all neutered and much older who ignore the kitten and mum is still very playful with her. She just shuns any form of human contact. Is this a phase or are we going to be left with an anti social cat, it won't make any difference to the way we treat her but it would be lovely to be able to hold her as well as being practical for vet visits etc.

Answer
Helen,

It sounds as if the the kitten's father was a feral cat. The kitten will have an inbred and inherited distrust of humans, though they do trust other animals and will bond to them. They can be lovable but do NOT like to be petted very long, if at all, or held. I have 3 ferals 'kittens' (2 years old now) that I've had since their birth and they are still that way. They are also spooky and hide at any strange noises, but they can be loving. A feral cat is not like a domesticated cat and will not behave like one.

You need to work with the kitten as much as possible now. The older the kitten gets the harder it will be to socialize it. Ideally kittens need to be handled 5 minutes a day until they are at least 7 weeks old. It's personality will probably remain the same but you can help develop it's trust so you can handle the cat easily if you need to. Food is a great bribe! Use tuna or tinned sardines in oil for a kitty treat.

Tabbi