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feral at all yet and may tame immediately. Over eight weeks old, the amount of effortrequired for socialization and the uncertainty of the outcome rises significantly with eachpassing week. When the kitten reaches the twelve to sixteen week age range, it becomesincreasingly likely she will bond only to the personwho socializes her and hide and be wary of others,making her harder to adopt. Beyond sixteen weeks,most cats will remain feral at least to some degree,perhaps for the remainder of their lives.See the section in this chapter below on“Socializing feral kittens” for how to tame the littleones. For instructions on raising orphan kittens lessthan five weeks old, so-called “bottle babies,” seethe Kitten Care Handbook by Kitten Rescue(www.kittenrescue.org – click on “Cat Care”).• Friendly adult feralsphoto: Bryan KortisThere are many feral cats who come to know and trust their caretaker and will showthem affection, such as rubbing against their legs or even allowing themselves to be petor picked up. It’s hard to know, however, whether the cat will behave the same way in anew home, especially if someone unfamiliar would be adopting her. A gregarious natureis certainly a hopeful sign, but most likely she would need to go through a transitionperiod of confinement before her friendly outdoor ways resumed indoors (see the sectionon “Socializing feral teenagers & adults” later in this chapter).Many caretakers have observed how cats, after they’ve been spay/neutered, start totake more of a liking towards people. One indication a sterilized cat may have becomeadoptable is if he starts acting friendly towards strangers or does not run away or standout of arm’s reach when they approach. Bringing him indoors is probably a good idea atthat point, if it’s possible, because it can be dangerous for a cat living outdoors to be tootrusting of strangers. Veterinary care for adoptable catsThe standard veterinary care for a cat being placed as a pet in an indoor home differsfrom that of a feral who is going to be released. An adoptable cat should be thoroughlyexamined by a veterinarian and scanned for a microchip to identify a possible owner whois frantic to find her missing pet. If no owner is found, the cat should be tested for FIVand FeLV and treated as needed for fleas, worms, ear mites, upper respiratory infections,ringworm or any other conditions he may have before being introduced to a foster orpermanent home, especially if there are other cats in the household. Even if the cat gets aclean bill of health, he should not have contact with other cats in the household rightaway. Ask the veterinarian how long the new cat should be isolated from the others andwhat other precautions you should take.136