Cat community of Tumblr, i need your guidance
I have taken in 2 stray kittens with no prior preparation/research as i was informed i will have to take care of them on short notice (informed 10 minutes earlier).
I may have scared them too much because i was worried about the how tiny and scrawny they were and kind of force fed them milk through a baby bottle. (I don't even know how old they are)
They ran and hind in a space my hands can't reach under my cabinet and are currently still there.
They refused to come out and kept burrowing away from my reach as much as possible. Didn't eat the dry food i got them nor did they drink water.
Read some articles on how kittens need time to acclimate and are to be left at their own devices.
I tried giving them wet food (chicken) and little buggers cleaned off the bowl, and also started drinking the water but only when i am out of the room or if i pushed the bowl under the cabinet
They come out at night and keep meowing but run away as soon as they sense my eyes on them.
They came out halfway to eat the food (wet food)
But still wait till i am 6ft away to start eating. Come out when i am not in the room and walk a bit around the room
They love the wet food, have no problems coming out completely and eating even when I'm still in the middle of emptying the packets into the bowl. Currently their capacity is 85g serving between them twice a day (i feel they are eating too less, but i just leave a little extra in the bowl in case they wanna eat)
They come out when I'm in the room but only play amongst themselves, run away if i try to interact...i have to pretend i don't see them and it makes me cry that they don't wanna play with me!!!
They share a litter box (they don't mind sharing everything (i tried giving them two separate bowls but they still eat in one)
I try my best to clean out their litter box but they feel the need to come and shit in it as soon as I am done cleaning....i mean...i saw them eating immediately after i was done cleaning so that they could shit in it (crazy lil shits)
Also i clean out their space with Dettol liquid and scrub out area as well...they keep giving me curious looks but run away to hide as soon as I turn to look at them.
I think they enjoy the clean space, because they run around and seem to be playing 'fight' a lot <without me though :(((>
(1)When would they be okay with approaching me? Or will the day 1 trauma i caused them stay with them for the rest of their lives?
Because i am unable to take them to the vets since they keep runing away from me.
I may have to put them up for adoption, because my mum doesn't think we can raise them since i have to travel a bit due to work reasons and i handle all of their needs (so i want to take them to the vets to make sure they are healthy, they are very active and seems to have a decent appetite)
(2) I use Dettol liquid to clean their spaces, because the their space odour is not very pleasant.. would Dettol irritate them or cause them distress?