I'm going to leave them be. Two other people are feedign them, as I found food in the bowl I hid, and an empty cat food can in the dumpster. Found those the same day I found the kitten -- I think other people spotted them before me. Plus the mother is way too accepting and nice, so I think people who come out to smoke on their break from a nearby business, are bringing them scrapes. When the kittens become trusting, I suspect one-by-one they'll get adopted. Otherwise the whole area would have been infested with cats for years.
Kittens that aren't handled by humans within the first three weeks will be feral and never learn to be trusting.
That's not always true. A shop I worked at had a cat that started out in a feral colony, but he was found by someone when he was around 2-3 months old. Best cat ever.
Agreed. It is preferable to handle kittens at a very young age, but it is not impossible to domesticate them later in life. My grandparents did it with a feral female who we fed in the winter. After her third litter of kittens (that we knew of) they trapped her, spayed her and eventually made her a good indoor/outdoor pet.
That's a book line, in real life the opposite is true. I speak from experience with multiple kittens born in the outdoors. You just give them good consistantly, some attention even if they don't reciprocate, and that and living at a business where people coem and go, they simply pick learn to trust people and hang out with them like friends. Sometiems it's months, other times it may be a year. Expect longer for adults.
Two kittens now. I think there may be three. Thankfully someone at the business has decided to feed them hard food for at least a month. I don't think they're eating it though. They certainly woofled down the soft food. Got to pet the mother a second time.
Most of these photos are just "Awe!" I needed a cat-fix. We lost one back in February, and the last one just a few days ago. For the first time in thirty years, we have no cats at our house.
Pepsi Millie Pepsi Millie Lovely moggies. Want almost nothing to do with me, but at least they like the fiance!
Mine has done that more than once, Auntie. It'seems a gigantic box to him. He only stopped when he figured out it was wet in there.
Kitty night. Mother kitty heard me working, came to me. Got to pet her for probably five minutes. She's enjoying it, and rubbing up against me. Meanwhile, unknown to me, her kittens (now three) are watching me from a distance. Another cat that I've seen before, but never even got near, was there today. I don't check cat genitalia when I see them, but I'd say it was a he. It's odd he never came before, as even though he's a little skittish, he's friendly and likes to be pet. Garbage kitty was there, too. Somebody threw out cans out chicken in water, the kind that doesn't need to be cooked, so they're having some feasts.
OK, my Junior isn't THAT chunky. He's only about 19 lbs and about 3 - 3 1/2 feet. Sampson is a GIANT!