Marlow is a feral cat my wife Becky and I have been working to socialize so that he may be brought indoors to live in harmony with Sasha, our indoor cat.
The latest: Marlow likes Becky more than ever. He is however becoming more shy around me. I feed him in the morning, Becky feeds him in the evening. She puts in more time with him than I do. We feel that it is working better for only one of us to be Marlows best person at this point. Marlow follows Becky around and rubs against her constantly. When she comes in he waits at the door and calls for her to come back out. She usually complies. She's been more conservative with the petting and Marlow rarely uses his claws anymore when batting at her hands.
The issues: Marlow has gotten small wounds on his face on three seperate occasions in the last ten days. We don't think he roams much so perhaps the wounds are from defending his territory. Wednesday night Becky saw a racoon eating Marlows food and ran him off. Marlow and Sasha both saw the coon too.
I'll post another thread with racoon catching info.
It has finally been getting cool at night so we have been opening our patio door. Sasha and Marlow have been interacting through the screen for a little while each morning and most evenings. I know this isn't by the book but they are definitely getting to know each other better. They have been observing each other through the glass all summer anyway. Sasha still acts tough but I warn him that Marlow may be smaller but is battle tested. When Marlow, who has no fear of Sasha, retreats to a spot away from the door, Sasha whines using his 'I don't like this' wail.
So progress is being made I think. It is only six weeks till our average first frost date. I don't think Marlow will walk into the house on his own by then but we'll see. I am going to build a durable outdoor shelter just in case. Marlow tends to play with and tear up his temporary cardboard strutures.
The latest: Marlow likes Becky more than ever. He is however becoming more shy around me. I feed him in the morning, Becky feeds him in the evening. She puts in more time with him than I do. We feel that it is working better for only one of us to be Marlows best person at this point. Marlow follows Becky around and rubs against her constantly. When she comes in he waits at the door and calls for her to come back out. She usually complies. She's been more conservative with the petting and Marlow rarely uses his claws anymore when batting at her hands.
The issues: Marlow has gotten small wounds on his face on three seperate occasions in the last ten days. We don't think he roams much so perhaps the wounds are from defending his territory. Wednesday night Becky saw a racoon eating Marlows food and ran him off. Marlow and Sasha both saw the coon too.
I'll post another thread with racoon catching info.
It has finally been getting cool at night so we have been opening our patio door. Sasha and Marlow have been interacting through the screen for a little while each morning and most evenings. I know this isn't by the book but they are definitely getting to know each other better. They have been observing each other through the glass all summer anyway. Sasha still acts tough but I warn him that Marlow may be smaller but is battle tested. When Marlow, who has no fear of Sasha, retreats to a spot away from the door, Sasha whines using his 'I don't like this' wail.
So progress is being made I think. It is only six weeks till our average first frost date. I don't think Marlow will walk into the house on his own by then but we'll see. I am going to build a durable outdoor shelter just in case. Marlow tends to play with and tear up his temporary cardboard strutures.
