So Upset

The only advice I can give you is time. Feral cats take time to adjust. Don't worry, you keep feeding him, you'll keep his trust. Keep doing what you are doing... stay there while he eats so he knows you won't hurt him; he'll eventually trust you. It's worked for me many times. Just keep doing what you're doing...

Good luck!

Okie

He very well may not associate something in the apartment with the food. In other words, he came, he got food, and in some subsequent exploring he got scared, but he managed to escape safely, so maybe it wasn't so bad. At least, that's how their thinking seems to run.

Don't be surprised if he's there ready to be fed as usual.

My thinking exactly! You may want to look up diggerled's threads in this forum (that's the username on TSC. In advanced search settings you can search for threads by specific users in specific forums) .... he and his wife have quit a bit of experience befriending a ferally stray (and if this kitty ventured inside, that's what you've got) and those threads I think you'll find invaluable with your kitty.

Are you just offering dry food, or wet, too? I have one that acted very skittish and un-trusting until I opened a can of cat food in front of her one day. After that she came to me and even asked for petting.

I always suggest wet food because if a cat isn't used to getting it (strays aren't) that's a real treat to them, and makes a great bribe.

I am so happy to hear that you are willing to rescue this boy and give him a home. Just keep offering him food, and wet food is a great treat for him. If he already has ventured into your apartment, you should be able to gain his trust in no time. It just takes patience on your part, you have to sort of let him lead the way.

Don't give up on him and you will gain such reward for helping him.

So nice of you to take care of him! Definitely stick around!! Maybe get some pics of him for us!!

Oh good, he came back! I figured he would. Do you feed him at the same time every night? My outside strays and ferals know exactly when breakfast time and dinner time is.

It'll happen. Sit on your porch when he's eating and try and do it while he's chowing down. That's how I got most of mine to let me pet them. Don't know what it is about eating. If it doesn't work then just be patient. Let him get used to your presence. Try getting him to take food from your hand. (if he's food aggressive though, growls when he eats, then that tactic won't work) You could also spoon feed him baby food (meat, and check ingredients to make sure there is no garlic or onion of any kind). You'll get there.

Hi Walter, I'm new here too. My thread is 'assimilating a stray'.

Mine (Little One) started coming around about 11 years ago. She was very mistrustful but hungry, so I started to feed her. I'd sit with her and talk to her while she ate. Eventually I was able to pet her while she was eating (but only then). It progressed from there to total trust and tummy rubs. So just be patient and consistent - I agree with the same feeding time, kitties like rituals - and you'll be eating out of her/his paw in no time.

Hi Walter,
You have a soft heart like I do for kitties especially for the lost and hungry. Once you start feeding the kittie you will have a friend for life. A food source is a powerful thing and once established the bond is hard to break on both parties.

If you live in an appartment complex it's highly likely someone has moved and left their pet. It happens especially when money is tight.

If the cat is comming inside already just open your door and call for him and he should come inside to eat it might take time though. A cat in an strange place will usually keep one eye on the exit to safety. If you have a screen door just shut that at first, the air will still come in the screen and that should keep him calmer. In time he will just stay inside with you. Don't keep him inside for the first few times for he will only tolerate the door closed for a short time until he feels safe in your appt.

Don't leave food out over night. You will attract other wild animals such as raccoon.

Good for you for having a soft heart and making this guy your friend, he will pay you back 100 fold.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kitty came back! Boy do we know that feeling of relief!

You've already gotten all kinds of advice. If you need any help searching, I can post links to diggerled's threads for you - just let me know.

Do you already have an indoor kitty? diggerled and his wife did, so that may help you with that too. But if you don't, then that makes the process of bringing kitty inside a LOT easier.

One thing to put in the back of your mind.... don't know where you live, but it's getting warm around here, so mating season can start any time now - and probably has. This little guy or girl may not already be spayed or neutered.

There are ways to trap him/her and get kitty to the vet..... from there, it's up to you, but you may just want to bring kitty inside. There are a lot of reasons to make cats indoors only, but it really depends upon your feelings about it (hopefully well informed about what a happy life even kitties that were only outdoor can have inside) - and the kitty. Some just won't settle for it. But this sounds like a scared stray, and may have lived only indoors before.

Anyway.... if you want help on how to get kitty to vet to get flea/internal parasite treatment and to be spayed/neutered.... and then you want to release kitty indoors instead of outdoors, we have LOTS of help to walk you through that.

Well, when they're friendly to us, we place a crate outside and have them eat near it and us for a few days. Then we get a strong smelling wet cat food, and place it in the crate. Kitty goes in to eat - shut the door, take kitty to vet. It helps to have a vet lined up first - ours lets us drop the kitty in the crate off, and they see kitty when they can fit him/her in, and call us to let us know what kind of shape the cat is in, what needs to be done &etc.

The vet needs to know you want to adopt the cat - so it needs to be treated for fleas and parasites. Our vet uses Revolution. It is a topical treatment that kills parasites, inside and out. If it's a male, they can tell whether he's been neutered or not. If it's a female, they can shave her belly to see if there's a spay scar (this usually works. We had one with a scar that was so jagged, the vet was sure it wasn't a spay scar - they went ahead with the spay, only to find out it WAS, in fact, a spay scar. She must have run away while healing up after the surgery. ).

Then it's best just to have a room ready for kitty! Here's a good article on it: http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/18/Br...New-Cat/1.html

....and this article is located where there are a lot more articles of interest! Here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/Cats/Cat_Care.html

Having him confined to one room is especially important since he seems to be semi feral. It will be much less stressful for him to have a small room rather then the run of the entire house. Then you can visit him in the room often, and he'll get used to your presence and trust you much sooner. My MIL in took one of my really sweet feral born. She kept her in her bedroom and pretty much the two of them just lived in the bedroom together. My MIL did everything in there, watched tv, ate dinner, read, took her computer in there. Took about a month or two and Maggie showed her she was ready to see the rest of the house.

Hi Walter,
From what I’m hearing you have a real sweet kitty. My gosh, your little ginger kitty already came into your appt. with a sign on his back saying, “please adopt me”. If a cat comes from a familiar environment, the outdoors, into a strange environment, your appt., he already took the first step in saying, I’m ready, Please feed and love me.

If he came into your appt. by himself with no hisses or growl, I’m reading stray, not semi feral. To me a semi feral(somewhat fearful of humans) will hiss, spit, and or growl. I’m not hearing that from you.

Don’t get me wrong, there is excellent advice above and I respect their thinking, they’ve done it many times. What I’m hearing from you, trapping preferred as a last resort. This is my philosophy as well. But if your cat is very fearful of you, has a tendency to hiss, spit, or growl when scared then the trapping option should probably be the way to go. It’s going to be up to your kitty. Every cat will act differently.

My scared stray, Tiger, took four month to get ready to come into the house. I fed him on the back porch and eventually to inside the house where he got tame enough to just put him in a carrier and off to the vet. I didn’t want to stress him so I took my time to become friends. Never once did he hiss, spit, or growl, he was super friendly but very scarred. When I walked on the deck he was in the bushes. I had to crawl to him or he would run to the edge of the deck. I got to pet him while he ate then he started to eat inside and I spent periods sleeping at his side just inside the house. That’s when we bonded. From then on he didn’t want to go outside especially during bad weather. Thinking back I shouldn’t have tried the pet him at that time, it’s always best to have the kitty come to you not the other way around. They will start to rub on you or head butt as a sign that their ready.

If trapping is for you JUST a last option, here are my recommendations:
I would just feed him twice a day because this will probably be your routine when he stays inside. I always like to mix canned food with dry food. It smells good and they like it. I always bought fancy feast, chicken flavor. Come meal time I would open the door and call to him. Once you set up a feeding time routine he will be waiting. Kneel down just inside the door and place the food outside the door while the door is propped open. Feed him this way for a couple days so he gets used to the routine, which is very important to a stray cat. Routine everything is key. Also talk to him during this process.

Once he is used to getting fed that way then try placing the food just inside the door and back away some so he wont be too scared. Prop the door open enough so he isn’t too crowded. He will always be very aware of his environment and an escape route to safety. Remember that he is a survivor. Any quick move on your part or even a slight door closing he will bolt out the door at first. Give him time to adjust eating inside with the door open. Every day move the food bowl a foot further inside preferably on a mat. The mat serves as a temporary safe and comfortable spot. Eventually close the opening of the door ½ foot each day until he feel safe to eat with the door closed. If he stops eating right away after the door is closed or he just turns around without eating and wants to go outside, talk to him for a moment and tell him it ok. Then open the door and let him out. Keep talking to him. If he hasn’t eaten much he might come back in. If he stays outside and doesn’t look like he wants to come in, pick up the bowl and place it outside and let him finish the food outside with the door open. Continue the process the next meal. It’s very important to talk to your kitty when you first invite him in to eat through the entire process until he is ready to go out and then wish him goodbye and have a nice day. After awhile he will get used to your voice and respond to it right away.

Once he gets to the point where he wants to stay inside after eating, stay with him by the mat. Don’t try to touch him let him come to you. You will know and you might want to encourage him to rub the back of your hand just by placing it half way between the two of you. What I use to do was lay next to Tiger and fall asleep for ½ to 1-hour at a time and he would do the same right next to me. That’s bonding time. No need to talk then just relax and breath calmly. He will sense your calmness and see you as less threatening. Oh, put a water bowl by the food as well.

As mentioned above get a separate room to place your kitty in at night unless your prefer him to free roam. We always kept the cats in the main laundry room at night and free roan during the day.

One thing that I feel is VERY important for your kitty’s safety is get yourself a hammer, tip all your furniture on it’s side and feel for sharp staples sticking out. Tap those in with a hammer. Your cat can get some mean scratches or even an eye injury from those sharp staples sticking out. During construction of your furniture they never check to see if the staples go in straight and pose a safety threat. I also duct tape all sharp edges under the furniture as well. Also duct tape any rips in the protective cloth underneath the furniture. If there is just a small hole in there they will climb in there and possibly get into trouble.

If your cat wants to go out in the beginning after a short time I would let him out to de-stress a little bit even if it’s over night. After a few days just keep him in. He will probably hide under the furniture for a couple weeks until he settles in. Be sure to block the back of the washer and especially the dryer. That’s where my cat wanted to go every night when locked in the laundry room.

Well, good luck and can’t wait to see a pic of your sweet Ginger kitty. Have you named him yet? Or did I name him already?

A cat will very seldom stay away from a food source. So you are ok as far as him coming back.

I'm trying to read between the line here. You say he came to eat when you already had the door wedged open. "When I went to say hello". Does this mean that while he was eating you crawled on all fours to him to say hello? Usually a cat that feels uncomfortable eating outside your door, while it is wedged open, will sometimes get scared away by any movement you might make. This is common, it's his suvival instinct kicking in. So next time open the door, wedge the door open, set the food outside, try reaching as far as you can without scaring him if he is around and just stay there and don't move especially if he starts to eat. This is something very new to him and any movement might scare him away. If your voice scares him away then don't say anything for a few days. Some cats need to take one step at a time and the sight of the open door and talking at the same time might be too much for him to handle. If he refuses to eat with the door open then keep it closed for a few days till he get back to eating again without fear. Is this your front door where there isn't any glass at the bottom? It's a little harder to get him to eat with a solid door. Otherwise the door could be closed and he could still see you.

Walter, of course, with a nice name like that i'd think he would be proud to walk through your front door.

Keep us updated and we will walk you thru the process. You are doing fine, just be patient and in know time he will surprise you.

Figured Walter would be back to his food source. These cats are very smart, wary, but smart. Sometimes it's hard to read these guys, but I think you are doing quit well. It won't be long and he will be coming inside again. Have patience. You will have your minor setbacks but there learning experiences and you will get a better understanding how your kitty is thinking that much more. Good luck.

Yes you are obsessed. But that's a good thing. Talk about me, I spent 7-months straight feeding my feral Tabby last summer every day before his Oct. capture. He only ate just after sunset. So just before that time I would tell my wife, "Cat Patrol" close all the blinds, curtains etc. I used to drive her nuts. Fortunately she love cats too.

Yes I think they set up a routine to eat and probably sit in the bushes a wait for you. They are very good at hiding. I don't think I would feed him more than three times a day, two times would probably be better.

Keep us updated, you have a very interesting story to tell of Walter's progress.

You want to drive Walter nuts...put a few treats on top of his food sometimes. He might come knocking at the door for more.