There's a Kitten in my Birdbath!

[Up2Late]

Or there was this afternoon.
Not to worry though, there was no water in it at the time, and the kitten was just watching the birds at my bird feeder (about 3 feet away from the bird bath).

So, does anyone here know how old a kitten usually is when it goes out on it's own like this?

He/she was really small, my guess is 3 to 4 months old.

[idgiehkt]

1. they reall don't go 'out on their own'

even if they are feral they will stay around the mom and other siblings in a community. My guess is it was dumped. :(

Is it still there?

[Up2Late]

4. Nope, not right now I don't think. Last time I saw him was right before went out to...

...mow the front lawn.

I hope you are wrong about him being dumped, that would be sad, but that is how I got one of the two cats I have now. I found her in the middle of the Summer at a school that was at least a mile from any houses. She was nearly starved (approx 7 months old and just over 3 pounds) and had at least one broken toe on one of her back feet, which also had a very infected cut. I got her fixed up (and fixed) and she's still crazy about me.

But I think male cats do have to leave their mothers eventually. Sort of like how the Male cats in a Pride of Lions gets kicked out. If their social structure are anything like the bigger cats (which I think it is) the females hang together, but the males generally go off on their own.

I might be a little off on his age, (I was only able to get withing about 15 feet of him) but he does seem a little feral, which I hope is not to late to change.

I think my other cat, who I took in about 6 years ago, might be his Grand-Father or Great Grand-Father, because he has almost the exactly the same pattern of B&W markings and the same bold spirit about him.

When I moved into this house, my male cat was about 7 months old and living here already (in my back yard). He basically adopted me and is one of the best cats I've ever had.

I think he thinks he's a Dog, because he follows me around like one.

I put food out during the day, I might go check it before the Possum finds it.

Do you think I should walk around my neighborhood tomorrow and listen for kittens? :shrug:

[idgiehkt]

8. I'm not sure

my only experience is reading about feral cat communities, where cats of both genders are fed by volunteers...if there is a known food source the cats are pretty much going to stay around to take advantage of it. Also, domestic male cats don't 'leave the pack' or whatever when they get to be a certain age...I'm not sure that what you are describing is really attributable to any species but lions. Lions are unique among the big cat species because they have prides, whereas just about all the other big cat species that I can think of are solitary creatures and don't hunt together. I wish I knew more about it, but evidently he is searching for a food source/hunting grounds. I hope you adopt him. I am sure he is in contact with his family (meaning brothers and sisters) if they are in the area and if you are putting food out pretty soon they will all show up, lol.

[Up2Late]

9. I just hope he comes back, I don't spend much time out back this time a year...

...as temperatures are in the high 90s most days (I think that's about 35C for all our Canadian readers).

The food was all gone (all except one or two bits), but since the bowl was tipped over and the water was knocked over too, I think it was probably eaten by my local Possum (that's one very clumsy animal, and shockingly ugly too).

So do you know, can feral kittens (3 to 6 months old) unusually be re-domesticated?

[idgiehkt]

10. I think so

when they are young like that it is possible. Even older feral cats can develop trust with a human, but it probably varies as to the individual cat and what they've experienced as to how much trust. Good luck.

[DainBramaged]

2. Put cat food out, maybe it belongs to a neighbor and got out?

Here's a glass of kitten to tide you over

[Up2Late]

3. LOL Yes!

That hit the spot!

Here's a few kitten pics right back at cha'!

My cousin sent me an e-mail with these and about 15 other cute kittens and sleeping puppies pictures attached a few months ago. :D







The rest are in this MySpace Album that "this guy I know" created to make a slide show for his profile: <http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=221437721&albumId=467390>

NOTE: You might need to be a MySpace member to see the Album pictures, I'm not really sure.

[KT2000]

5. Oh - thanks for these

who enjoys sleeping more than a cat?

[Up2Late]

6. No problem, some photos must be shared...

...and the kitten passed out in the cat food always makes me smile.

[Up2Late]

7. kick n/t

:kick: