Greyball

The story of greyball the feral.

Greyball is a large feral / outdoor living unowned (that I can tell) male
intact grey tom.

Greyball has been coming by for food on and off since I moved into
my place 4 years now.

Lately (3 wks) he has begun to COME INSIDE the petdoor! Shock to me.



He seems to come to eat, and has "followed" inside my little female
Frogita (former feral). Now, Frogita has been seen nose touching
with him, so I assume they are "friendly". He does not attack my
other male cat Goose, but does chase Goose some - so I think
Goose has decided to let him come in the house at "off hours".

I am wondering now, if this will keep up till winter - will he start to want to be "inside" if its cold and wet outside?

Also, how can I catch or trap him? I am begining to think it would be a kindness to get his neuter spay done, and to also have treated for
parasites (Ivermectin shot) and ear mites/fleas (Revolution/Frontline/Advantage) while he's passed out getting done. This would stop him wandering to mate, and might make him amenable to being a house cat. OTH, I can also simply let him be in the outdoor Rubbermaid shelter I've made - he seems to use it...sometimes. I need to make one with 2 doors however...

If anyone has had a similar experience please comment! Heretofore, I never expected him to tame this way or come inside...

Ah, how lovely!

As for catching him - even if you can't somehow manage to convince him to become a housecat, you are right - you should get him neutered! Are there any organisations in your area that could possibly help you out/give you advice? I know some people on here have connections or information, so maybe they could provide that for you (I am in Ireland, so alas, not so much help!). I think this is probably a good way to go about it - find an organisation that potentially could provide you with traps and maybe even low-cost neutering.

Other than that, you might already be on to something - getting him to come in the house is a good portion of the battle! With our kittens (who were feral when we took them in ) we had been inviting them in the house with food for about 2 months before we permanently took them in (we would have taken them in sooner, but we had to go back to the US for the holidays). They got used to the house, so it was relatively easy to lure them into carriers with toys/food when we needed to get them fixed. Cats like to explore new things - even ferals - so if you make it attractive to him he will probably check it out, giving you time to close the door and then pack him off.

Good luck! And keep us updated!

Well, not so sure there are no fights - heard one in wee hrs. Think it was mostly protest snarls... not real fight. Stopped quickly. Goose has been "away" roaming, and is now hanging in here more - perhaps he's noticed
Greyball coming by in/out and has been "surprised" by him a time or two.

Or Frogita coming in/out surprised Greyball doing same, LOL.

At any rate, he hasn't been in with my being able to spot for
a while now. I've been leaving food out side, as enticement.

I am bringing back inside, and I think he is "learning" that food
is just inside the pet door, so if he's hungry for a meal, he
can come inside to eat. Or if I see him, I bring food out to him.

I think if he keeps being brave, and the others don't beat the heck
out of him, he will become braver about coming in over time.
If he knows there is food here, he will come to eat.

My hope was he'd come when it was very cold outside, love
the warmth and just sit at the pet door entrance and "rest"
(we would not disturb if we knew he was just inside the
entrance "resting"). Let's hope he his learning this...

I do want to trap, I have a trap I can bait with food -
hopefully I don't catch myself a raccon! Or possum.
Or neighbors cats. I will start work on it as soon
as I've time. Before winter anyway.

I'll keep everyone posted. Greyball is NOT a lap
kitty LOL. And my 2 former ferals Frogita and Goose,
are not great except with me... but Grey does deserve
a place to rest and get better...