This week we have three little white and blue tipped kittens and one grey kitten staying with us. They're happy and healthy, but just need to grow a little before heading out for adoption. Though we haven't given them names yet, we're still rather attached to the little guys. We have two boys and two girls. Interestingly enough, the largest of the bunch, a girl, is also the most shy – and the smallest, the other girl, is the most outgoing! It just goes to show that size isn’t an indicator of personality.
This brings up a small point on the importance of early socialization for kittens. Most kittens pass through a brief window in which they can learn to bond with humans. If they aren't exposed very much to people in the first two to eight weeks, it's possible that they may never learn to be very close to their human families. In extreme cases, with truly feral kittens, they will often become quite frightened of humans.
Of course, all of this depends to some extent upon the kitty's personality. If you have the patience of St. Francis of Assisi and your feral or semi-feral cat has an inquisitive and forgiving personality, you just might be able to win him over if you give it enough time. But that's not something you can bet on. In many cases with feral cats, or kittens who've not received sufficient human attention, they may only at best learn to tolerate people. Now this doesn't mean that they can't become much loved members of your family, it may just mean they will never become a lap kitty or a kitty you can pet too much. Nevertheless, it's always best to start early and give your kittens all the attention they can handle!
