Taming a feral 2 year old kitty boy

Thank you so much! It does my heart so much good to see him out of the cage, he is so much happier! Yes, there is this power and also knowledge, world and life knowledge that he exudes, it is fascinating to watch him. I am sure all ferals have this way about them, I just have not experienced it up close and personal before...

Screen door buddies

I have just read this thread and am so excited for you and Sweet Pea!! He's come so far and you're doing such a great job with him!

Well, the screen door is a great idea for slow introductions. Scent swapping is usually the starting point, but when you can't pet the kitty being introduced, that makes getting rags that have been wiped all over him not really an option.... thus the screen door is a great way to go, if an option in your home.

Here's an article - but it all applies to socialized kitties - but it'll help you understand the steps involved. http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/4...cing-Cats.html

stephanietx: Thank you so much for the very nice note! We are thrilled too that he is not out there anymore. It has been a very cold winter here in OH and I would have been worried sick about him all the time. People on our street don't like cats too much and this was another BIG worry!

Laurie, thank you so much for all your thorough advice, it has been of a tremendous help! I told Sweet Pea about this wonderful site
We will wait until he is socialized and then work on the introductions.

Marina

I have a screen door installed in my bedroom doorway, for the purpose of introducing new cats to old cats. I installed it when Jennie came, because she had to live in my bedroom for two weeks as a sort of quarrantine. The other three carts and I lived and slept in my livingroom. My apartment is very tiny!

I kept the screen door installed, because 1) I never know when I will be Chosen again and 2) it is very handy for if I know someone will be coming in, like the plumber for example. I can put all the cats in my bedroom, hook the door closed, and they are safe, but can still see what is going on. (and I don't have to keep reminding the work person to shut the outside door)

The screen door sounds great and we definitely want to install it. The babies try to stick their paws under the door all the time now. Can you please give us some detail on what kind of door you had installed and how it was installed? Can you still use the bedroom door with the screen door on all the time?

We checked wire mesh doors available on the market and the one that caught our eyes is this one

http://www.petco.com/product/13655/F...scription_link

We would buy two of them and stack them on top of each other. They do not specify the cell opening but I am guessing it is somewhere between 1.5 and 2 inches so it's much bigger than that of a traditional screen door. They can stick their paws through it, do you think this would be a problem?

No changes to report with Sweet Pea yet, maybe we reached a temporray plateau for now...He seems to be very happy on his kitty tree

thank you
Marina

I bought a simple "t bar" screen door at (either home depot or lowes, forget which)

I installed it on the bedroom side of the door frame with regular flat hinges (no planing needed) I made it high enough so the top of the door frame acted as a 'stop" so there was a gap between door and floor. I attached an old adjustable window screen to the bottom, this gave a double thickness where they would be meeting each other, and covered the gap. (I had the screen because I never throw anything away)

I use a hook and eye to keep it closed, the eye part on the screen door, the hook embedded into the bedroom door itself



view from bedroom:



view from livingroom



Yes, I can close my bedroom door if needed:



only having to remove the hook part of the "hook and eye" closure I use. (as it is in the way if closing the bedroom door)



It may be more difficult these days to find the wooden doors. Everything is made of plastic lately. I hate plastic!

I've tamed three feral cats. They were so scared of people that they would run when they saw me. With ferals, you have to be patient. I wouldn't advise trapping them and plopping them down in your house. First, I would offer them food. Id' let them eat in peace and this would continue for several weeks. Once they know they will get food, they will most likely stick around. After a couple weeks, I'd sit outside and watch while they eat, talking to them softly. Everyday, I sit closer to them. Finally, when the cat is comfortable with my close presence, I'd reach out one hand and gently try to pet kitty's head. Everyday, I'd try to pet the cat and pretty soon the cat would figure out that they liked being scratched behind the ears. From there, the cat would start being very affectionate with me and slowly, I was able to pet them all over and they'd run up to me. I think the key with ferals is you have to have a proper respect for them. I've never liked when people try to turn them into house pets by trapping them in their house and forcing them to like the situation. All of our ex-ferals continued the live outside like before, and they became very trusting and would stay around the house. Taming a wild animal is a great thing, but you have to keep a proper respect. Good luck with your kitty!

Originally Posted by LoveWhiskers

The screen door sounds great and we definitely want to install it. The babies try to stick their paws under the door all the time now. Can you please give us some detail on what kind of door you had installed and how it was installed? Can you still use the bedroom door with the screen door on all the time?

We checked wire mesh doors available on the market and the one that caught our eyes is this one

http://www.petco.com/product/13655/F...scription_link

We would buy two of them and stack them on top of each other. They do not specify the cell opening but I am guessing it is somewhere between 1.5 and 2 inches so it's much bigger than that of a traditional screen door. They can stick their paws through it, do you think this would be a problem?

Click to expand...

I've used these types of gates and you do have to unhook them in order to get in and out of the doorway. It becomes a pain if you have to do it long term. But I've never seen them this tall which is very cool! I always had to stack 4 child sized gates on top of each other. And being somewhat lazy, I would remove the bottom one and crawl thru that opening rather than pulling down multiple gates.

A regular wood screen door would be less expensive and easier to go in and out of the room, but you would have to drill into the frame of your door to install it. If you don't want to damage the woodwork, then go for the gates.

I've seen wood framed screen doors for as low as $25. They are actually fairly common still, at least where I live.

Otto, many thanks for the pics , they helped a lot! Off we got tomorrow to the local hardware stores to see what we find. And yes, it has to be wood!

Momofmany, I am glad to hear you used them before. If we go this route we may reinforce the bottom gate with screen door mesh. And yes, I can see how crawling all day long under the top gate can get tiring. I am surprised that no manufacturer makes them taller. We have a store coupon from Petco valid until mid next week so that would help.

I know killerapple is ready to go with her gate

Marina

PS Sweet Pea sends eye kisses to everybody! I will post new pics of him soon.

Originally Posted by LoveWhiskers

Momofmany, I am glad to hear you used them before. If we go this route we may reinforce the bottom gate with screen door mesh.

Click to expand...

Unless you don't want them to slip their paws thru the mesh, a screen won't be necessary. The wire they use on these is stronger than screening wire.

We decided on the removable gates. Sweet Pea will have his second dose of Pyrantel wormer on the 10th and the gate will go up after that.

Tubi and Chloe who are brother and sister are literally glued to Sweet Pea's bedroom door. I am hoping seeing the rest of the clan and us petting and loving on them will make him trust us more.

He has days when he comes out and eats while we are there and then he has days whe he just stays away. The same goes for playing. So we just have to keep going on and chip away at his fear and mistrust...

I bet you can't wait to pet him - he looks sooooooo soft.

...and I take being glued to the door to be a good thing - it seems they're more curious than upset!

Laurie, you took the words out of my mouth. His coat looks like mink, Joe and I talk all the time about it. It would be soooooooo wonderful to be able to pet him, just to show him how much we love him- I don't think he knows it...

Yes, I think they would love to play. It is Leo the leader of the pack who is more nervous than anything but we will work with that.

Yeah, I really look forward to the day when you can look back and laugh with Sweat Pea about his being such a scardy cat!

Our Tuxie took - what felt like - forever. He was part of a litter we rescued - except him. We left him outside after neutering him. Deemed him unadoptable - he was soooooo mean. It took another - five months? before he headbumped DH on the foot. After that he got friendly with DH - but not other cats. That winter it ended up getting soooo cold we just couldn't leave him outside. We found a boarding facility willing to take him, though we didn't know what we were going to do with him. He ended up getting sick, so we had no choice but to bring him home. We were in the RV, so now way to separate. In a weird way, it was good he was sick, because he didn't create any trouble - and the other kitties were just curious about him. So his coming inside didn't completely disrupt the house. But he couldn't stand much in the way of pets. For a year or more all he could take was just one pet on the cheek. He let us know that was enough by gently putting his paw on the back of our hand. Over time he could slowly enjoy more and more, and he decided he liked being brushed - but again, never more than a couple of strokes. It's seven years now, and he can take all the petting we can give him. His fur is like silk.

But they can drive you nuts while you wait for them to figure out love is a wonderful thing!

What a heartwarming story, it brought tears to my eyes. Tuxie is a very, very lucky boy. I agree that getting sick was a miracle in disguise for him...For a long time I have been thinking about the way cats perceive time. It must be very different from the way we view it. They are not worried about the future. It's incredible that Tuxie went from tolerating one pet to wanting as much as you can give him, absolutely incredible...Does he have a favorite hooomin? Please give him some extra pets for me too

Taking care of Sweet Pea is a labor of love and knowing this gives me hope every day that someday he will open up his heart to us. And I know it's the same for all of us who go through similar experiences. But it is not easy that's for sure...

Tuxie loves meowmy - but he is very much Daddy's boy.

Time is funny - and you're so right! Kitties are not worried about the future. But even for us humans... 7 years ago, thinking "I wonder what it's going to be like having lived with all these rescues for seven years" - it seemed like SUCH a long time. Now that it's behind us, it seems like it's gone soooooo fast. Too fast.

Seven years is definitely a long time...Is Tuxie the black and white tuxedo in your siggie?

I have not changed yet the towel in Sweet Pea's carrier and I am thinking to rub the other babies with it and then put it back in the carrier for him. That's all the scent swaping we can do for now.

If he comes out from hiding when I am in the room, he forgets for a while about being scared and THEN he remembers, hunkers down and slowly walks away...

Marina

You can rub the other kitties with something and put it under Sweet Pea's food dish.

We have three b&w kitties... in the profile boxes at the top of my posts, Tuxie is the top left. In the siggy, Shelly is far left, Tuxie is the small box on top, next to that, and Billy is far right. In the semi-circle around Gary, we didn't have Bill then, and left-to-right the b&w kitties are Shelly then Tuxie.

Oh my God he is all cuddled up with Gary and he looks like a kitten in your avatar I also love the semicircle photo...

Right now we have our t-shirts under his food bowls but I can replace one with their scent cloth.

We have another challenge. Tonight when we went with dinner and water, I opened the door and Sweet Pea was right at the door. He looked ready to come out. I closed the door, opened it again and he was still there. He walked away when I stepped in the room. Now I am all worried he will try to come out and is tricky to watch him and the rest of the gang at the same time. I thought about using a piece of cardboard as a shield. Also what do we do if he is glued to the gate when we put it up and we can't go in the room? They all need to see each other there is no doubt about it but things got more complicated. I am all worked up now...