Taming kittens

Question
A pregnant, starving stray started coming to my house around February so I began feeding her. She had her kittens in a hidden place that I never could find probably around the first of March by the looks of her. Three weeks ago she brought her four adorable kittens to me! Of course they wouldn't come near me. I borrowed a cat cage and sucessfully caught two of them so far (and the mama who went to the vet to be spayed)and brought them in my house yesterday. I keep them in a large cage with a litter box (that they are using) and food and water. Mama is still outside. One kitten allows me to hold her wrapped in a towel but the other is terribly afraid and frantically climbs the cage. What can I do to make these kittens adoptable? I want to catch the other two before they become too out of control. I'm guessing they are probably 3-4 months old.  

Answer
This will take some time. At 3 to 4 months old, they have not previously experienced a human handling them and they know its strange. Very young, like a few days old, they don't know any better and it becomes totally normal. This does not mean yours are too old to tame but you will need time to win their trust. First, it seems mom-cat must have been fairly friendly. She brought the kittens to you after all. Where is she? Outside, I guess he is caring for the other two kittens you haven't caught but it would be great if you could get her to the house again and that would help attract the other two kittens to come in as well. BTW, its fabulous that you got her spayed and all animal lovers appreciate that you did that. Anyway, if you can attract her, and if she is friendly to you and the kittens observe this, it will not take long for them to trust you too. That would be the fastest way. Otherwise, it will just take longer and you will need to handle them less right now, petting them rather than grabbing them up, until they start to come to you because they have learned to trust you. Do not take mom in for good though unless you get the other two kittens because without her out there they will be terrified and have serious problems getting adequate food, if at all. As far as the kittens becoming too out of control, that is not necessarily what will happen. I brought in a stray once who was a full grown adult of over one year. She had been through tough times, having a bad leg, broken teeth and more. She hissed and seemed wild but it was more fear than anything else. I kept her in a secluded, quiet part of the house. I fed her every day and talked softly to her. If she showed curiosity, I extended my hand, held very low - never above the cats head - and eventually she wandered over and rubbed on my hand. This did not mean I was free to pet or or heaven forbid pick her up. That would have gotten me bitten. But I let her go on, befriending me on her terms as she was ready to do it. Today she is still with me, a very affectionate pet. But it took time and patience and allowing her to decide when she was ready. Your kittens are much younger so the timeline will be shorter. But if you use the same plan - feed them, talk to them, let them sniff your hand and rub on you, avoid grabbing them up just yet, slowly begin to pet them but still not picking them up, and continuing until you can work up to picking them up and eventually hugging them snug. I cannot say for certain how long it will take, and each cat will respond differently, but they are definitely still young enough that you can do it and it won't take too long if you are patient with them for now. In addition, when you do adopt them out, you should be careful to whom you adopt them. If they take time to get them used to handling, and they get used to and trust you, that doesn't mean they will be Ok with all kinds of handling. With the wrong person - someone who has no experience with cats or a child who tends to grab or not undertstand how to be patient - they may react badly. They will be adoptable, but you should choose people who have had cats before, who do not have young children with no experience with cats, and you should explain to them that the kittens were foundlings and still need patience and time to bond to their new humans. Patience is the key with all animals so that they can learn to trust you and bond to you. There is no reason why you can't get these kitties calmed down, trusting of you, and happily adopted. Patience is key.