My Feral

I need your advice and ideas. I've been feeding a b&w tuxedo feral that comes to my back patio to eat every night.

He is VERY AFRAID and very feral. I've been feeding him for at least 2 years and have named him Oreo. He has never let me touch him and just in the last couple of months has sniffed my hand twice. That was a big step. He has come in the LR a couple of times when I've left the door open but dashes outside almost immediately.

I was out of town for 10 days and had my catsitter be sure to leave food for him. When I saw him again last night it appears that something may be wrong with one of his eyes. I can't tell for sure if it's bad lighting (dark outside and porch light) or if one of his eyes really does have a film (?) over his eye. I don't think it was like that before but I'm not positive.

It's unlikely I can trap him yet - trying and not getting him the first time would probably make him go away forever. I already have 4 cats in my house and really can't keep a 5th one. We don't have a no-kill shelter within 3 hours of my town and there is a HUGE overpopulation of cats here. I would like to take him for his shots and to see if something is wrong with his eye. He would not easily become an indoor kitty or a pet.

What more can I do to get him to trust me? I feed him tuna juice every night and snacks and Feline Greenies almost every night also. He knows his name. I wonder if he'll ever trust me. Any thoughts or input?

You can call vets near you, and describe you situation. People that do TNR usually set traps out, call a vet and make a early morn appt for the very NEXT DAY, and if the cat isn't caught over night, they just call and cancel the appt. You could do this, is he neutered? If not I would get it done while he is at the vets and under (they will have to put him under to touch him)

You could do this and they can look at his eye, and neuter him. Just make it clear to the vet that the cat is FERAL, mot many-but a few wont touch em.


***Note, it is very rare for a cat to make the trap go off without being INSIDE of the trap. So I am 99% sure that if you skip feeding him tonight, and put a trap, erm WONDERFUL PLAY CAVE full of yummy treats, (tuna works WONDERS, and NIP does too, some swear by KFC-nothing wrong with trying all three at once, LOL, the cat will think he died and went to heaven!) he will be waiting in it for you in the morning.

I think you should call and make him a vet appt. Get a live trap, put food in it, and you'll catch him. I seriously have like 20 feral cats that I have been getting fixed. You wouldn't believe how crazy these cats were..but I spend A LOT of time with them everyday. I feed them all like 3 times a day (yes, it's expensive. It hurts to have such a big heart hahaha). I've been taking care of them for a little over a year. I've turned 4 (I wish I could let more live with me, but my mom won't let me.. ahh) ferals into loving house cats. I've brought them in while they were feral, they hated me at first, but now they are happy they have a home and have made such amazing pets. Don't let the whole feral cat thing scare you, he just needs some TLC. haha. Oh, and if you trap him, I highly doubt he'll be mad at you. I've trapped my feral cats to take them to get neutered, and let them stay in my house over night, and they seriously acted like I was killing them. But it actually made our bond a lot stronger. They trust me more than before I trapped them! I don't think a no kill shelter will take your feral, I'm not sure, but the one near me won't. I love taking care of ferals, it's so rewarding.