I Have A Question About My Ferrell Kitty

bonnie pimental

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I Just Adopted A 6 Month Old Ferrell Female, She Was Rescued From The Street @ 5 Months & Brought To The Kitty Shelter. I Adopted Her On 12/8. The First Day She Hid But By The Second Day She Started Coming Out. Now She Will Slowly Come Up (sometimes) & Rub Against You Or Let You Pet Her. I Should Say We Have Her In Our Spare Room. My Question Is This, According To Everything I've Been Reading On Ferrells They Usually Take Much Longer To Warm Up The Slightest Bit, So I Would Like To Know When It Would Be Ok To Let Her Into The Rest Of The House W/ Us?
 

ldg

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Thank you for rescuing this kitty.


Seems like your little girl is warming up very quickly! I wouldn't erase her progress by moving too soon, though. I'd give it some more time.

I don't know what you've read on ferels, but here are a few links to things you may not have seen yet:

http://straypetadvocacy.org/html/soc...feral_cat.html
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=118850

Because you don't have another cat (or cats) to worry about, you can concentrate on getting her used to you and her new home. If you aren't already familiar with this, there are a few things you can do to help her be even more comfortable.

Get a t-shirt good and sweaty. Put it under her food dish. Get another one good and sweaty. Set it out daily with treats on it. This will help her associate you with good things.


I'd give it at least another week before leaving the door open - then let the choice be hers to make. I wouldn't move her food, water or litter box - though you may want to add another litterbox and another food and water dish somewhere in the house for her to discover.

But a feral that is comfortable in her territory isn't necessarily comfortable out of it - and increasing her territory too soon may cause her to hide and shy away again.

Laurie
 

katie=^..^=

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I envy you to fun and excitement of getting to know your little cat.

The previous poster had some good ideas and I second the one of letting her stay in the room a little longer -- a least a week to ten days.

Congratulations on your adoption and thank you for making a home for her.
 

ooomisseooo

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How ironic. I just adopted a little female from the local SPCA shelter. I really had no idea she was a feral "pre-teen) (she's 5 1/2 months old) until I began researching her antics online.
I guess I sorta made a mistake because instead of keeping her confined to one room she is out to roam my whole condo.
It's been a day now and thank goodness she is beginning to warm up to my presence. Sadly, when I quietly approach her she flinches like she may have been abused or something.
 

ironheadheyward

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Some cats acclamate themselves more quickly than others. It all depends on whether or not they've been around people. This seems like a friendly cat that is quite content with being around people. If they're not used to being around people, they tend to take a little longer to acclamate themselves.
For the first 3-4 weeks I'd say, you should allow all contact with the cat to be on its own terms. It should then accept you as its new master.
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by IronHeadHeyward

It should then accept you as its new master.
Or its new Mom/Dad, if you prefer this approach.
 
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