When cats are born in the wilde, is it possible to raise them to be a house cat?

United States
March 25, 2009 10:42am CST
I got a kitten that was born in the wild and the mother left him so i decided to take him in and bottle feed him. He is now around a year old and he still acts like he is in the wild. I want to keep him but he doesnt seem to want to calm down. He hisses and bites alot. Will this change or no?
1 person likes this
8 responses
• Philippines
25 Mar 09
This will change depending on how you'll raise the cat. The best advice for me is to hit him whenever he bites or do something that's harmful. This way he'd easily remember that he'll get this punishment whenever he/she do that thus he wont do it again.
• Israel
4 Apr 09
Hitting animals is abuse.
• Philippines
5 Apr 09
Abuse? How come? Horse racers lashes their horse every time they race.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
4 Apr 09
I've raised literally about 100 motherless kittens. Most turn out to be sweet house cats. A few were on the wild side for quite a while. It's just their personality. As long as they are house pets, they calm down eventually. 1 year is still young. They are teens at that age. Picture a 16 year old boy and think how wild he can be when the adults aren't watching. Your cat should calm down in a year or two. If he bites it's usually because he is over stimulated. Some cats get overstimulated easier than others. Just stop the play session and calmly walk away. It's like a short time out to give him time to calm down. You need to find out what causes him to bite. Some cats don't like certain parts of their body petted. If you know what parts he doesn't like touched, you can avoid them.
@ElicBxn (63594)
• United States
26 Mar 09
I have 3 cats that are, what I call, semi-feral. Only one I think was actually born to a feral mother, and she doesn't like us to touch her, the other two are more tame, but still not real friendly - well, Gizmo decides he wants pets and demands them, but we know his mother wasn't feral even tho he and his siblings were born after she was dumped. (We are in touch with the person who adopted the mom and the 2 people that adopted his sibs.) I would not expect him to become a loving, cuddly cat, he probably prefers to be left alone, but he doesn't know how to fend for himself, so now that you've taken him in, you are responsible for him. First, is he fixed? This will help a bit if he isn't. Is he kept inside only? This makes him more dependent on you for his food and entertainment, also helping make him look more to you for company. My biggest problem with my semi-ferals is that I have other cats they interact with, so they don't need me for companionship.
@uicbear (1900)
• United States
25 Mar 09
Have ou had him neutered? Sometimes this helps calming them down. I actually took in two little stray kittens. I had contact with them from when they were born and when it start getting cool out I just took them in. They were two of the most domesticated cats I had ever seen, and neither of them really had any desire to even try and leave the house. I don't think exposure is the problem since you actually had to bottle feed him. Some of it can be dealt with training. I'm no expert, but you probably could find some suggestiond on the internet. Good luck.
@augaug (11)
• Hong Kong
27 Mar 09
your cat just a year old its normal you can see the change when it 3-4years old
@MimiGL (1)
• United States
27 Mar 09
You have a feral kitten, born to a wild feral mother. There are colonies all over the country that continue to bred liters. Pet organizations are in the process of catching humanely, having them spayed/neutered, vacinate and keep them over night and releasing them back to their habitat. These animals still need attention, such as food and some type of shelter. Your kitten can be a companion, however, you need to have it altered and give it love and affection. Just remember where you found it and understand why it acts as it does. Bless you for be such a kind animal lover. Good luck! Pet Lover
@moneymommy (3418)
• United States
25 Mar 09
When I kitten loses its mother at an early age they dont learn how to get along. I had a kitten like that and he was bottle fed. He would attack people and other animals, bite, scratch, growl and he was just down right scary. So we had to give him away to someone who knew how to handle a cat like that.
@tontunan (254)
• Philippines
25 Mar 09
I think you should return him to his original home. he came from a wild environment so you should not be doubtful why he acts like a wild one. He would be happy to be with other wild animals and live in his original home. And also he is harmful to human too. Wild animals' behaviors are unlike with the domestic animals. Domestic animals are man's friends while wild animals consider man as their enemy.