Feral Turns Mean

Hi all... long time no see... I will try to keep this short... back in May of 2009, we had a female cat "hatch" 4 kittens under our deck which were all fixed & have now been happily splitting time between our garage & house... the local ferral male cat (whom we think bred the mother), who seemed to have took to us quite nicely, has now become very food dominant & somewhat mean to the young cat/kittens (running them out of the garage, etc) & just sits inside the garage almost all day... also, this past weekend & last nite, when I have went to feed him or take his bowl he has bitten me & bitten at me & hissed... I have decided not to feed him anymore & will try to trap him but I know this will be a serious challenge & he is still pretty wary... I will also start shooing him from the garage but it's all pretty tuff as he seemd to be liking us so much... any thoughts would be appreciated...

perplexed & sad, Dave... also, he has not been fixed as I felt that him being so much older, it would not drastically change his ways... plus, we really don't want another cat to feed & take care of...

You're wrong. Neutering will calm an adult tom cat down quite a bit - to the point where he wouldn't feel as urged to attack you or other cats.

My main worry, though, is that this is a new behavior. When cats have a sudden change in behavior it can mean that the cat is ill. Since he's allowed outside and isn't neutered (or vaccinated) this can mean anything from wound from fighting with another cat to rabies.

The fact that you've been bitten in this situation is very serious. I suggest you seek medical care for those wounds though this will mean that the male cat will need to be caught and quarantined.

Thanks for your response & concern... the bite was actually more of a scratch by raking his teeth over the arm but it did draw blood... & it appears to have healed nicely... catching him will be tuff... unfortunately, we live in a rural area so animal control is limited... I don't think he's is hurt as he let me tend to him in the past when his ear was bit & he didn't try to bite me then... would he be so hungry if he had rabies cuz he's ravenous... only time he's acted aggressive to me...

Behavior depends on how ill he was.

I'm glad to read that he didn't leave puncture wounds. Those are serious.

Get a humane live trap, trap him and get him to the vet to be looked over, neutered, and vaccinated. That should help a lot - he may be a bit aggressive for a while but as the high hormones cycle out of his system and he learns he doesn't need to fight for territory, females, and food he'll get better.
Be careful and always watch his tail and ears. If a cats ears go back and their tail gets swishy, back off, it's a sign that a cat is aggravated.

He's not mean, he's just following his cat instincts.

An unneutered male will try very hard to drive away any cat that he considers a competitor, even if the other cats are fixed already. If he's trying to drive away the younger cats, its because they have come to maturity and he is threatened by them.

Shooing him away isn't going to work, as he's claimed your garage as his turf. You must get him neutered if you are going to have any luck with him.

I also lived in a rural area where animal control didn't really exist. Even if you got them out to your home, they would simply trap him and kill him. What I used to do before I bought my own humane live trap was to borrow one from animal control. They asked for a deposit which was refunded when I returned the trap.

I called my vet in advance of my trap day to see if he could fit in a neuter that day. It's really important to work with your vet because you won't be able to really set an appointment for this cat. I simply found out his surgery days and trapped on those days.

We actually just drop off trapped cats at the vet and they spay/neuter them when they can, whether it's a couple of days or the same day. They help out by providing a discount on the boarding - or not charging it at all if they're not full.

Thanks all for your thoughts... but as bad as this sounds, when we took this mama & her 4 kittens (actually 3 after one baby died in our pool in it's 1st few weeks... so sad...) in & began feeding & had them fixed ($180), we all agreed that we could not afford financially & emotional this big semi-ferral male (ie - to have him fixed)... we never intended to feed him but my son & I were too kind hearted & were unable to practically restrict him from their food as they were all being fed in the garage... we were willing to allow him to come in for a few meals a week & to get out of the weather as long as he was cooperative & nice... & this worked well all thru last fall/winter/spring/summer until this fall... & trust me... my son, wife & I spent a great deal of time trying to see if we could get him to be more friendly but he never really took to it... he would take pets well but I was never able to pick him up even after a year & a half & I never truly trusted him as he was alway a lil jumpy... so having him fixed & trying to make it work from here is not going to happen as we simply do not want to manage/work with a 5th older established ferral cat... so the real delema that we are facing is do we trap him & drop him or simply take him to the humane society... I'm not even sure if I could offer him as a barn cat due to his wild nature... I know this sounds harsh, but I cannot afford to keep him at the expense of the other 4 cats as they are a very close group & have never taken to him at all... more like tolerated when he didn't confront them... right now only 2 of the young adult girls wil go into the garage & the other 2 (mama & the young male) have to enter our house at night via our doorwall to eat & I have to shoo him away in order to feed him in fear of getting bit again & I simply cannot take this arrangement anymore as I am losing sleep from worry including worry about what to do with him too!.. thoughts would be appreciated...

very distraught... Dave...

I think that if you get rid of this male, you will experience what is called the "vacuum effect". Cats will always fill the void left by one that leaves. So if you call animal control and they take him away, another one will simply show up. So your boy is doing you a favor by keeping other cats away right now, and it is happening even if you don't see it.

I lived in a rural area for many years and cared for enough "barn cats" that were very much as you described. Never really friendly, but tolerated me because I fed them. The neutered males kept the intact males from moving in. When I moved from that house, I trapped every cat on the property that I had been caring for and moved them with me. A week after I moved, the new owner called me and asked if I had left a cat behind. She found a female with a new litter of kittens. A week later she called to complain that males were fighting outside the house and wanted to know what she should do.

So even though you may think you are saving money by getting rid of this cat, in the long run it will cost you a lot more money taking care of all the new cats that move in. Getting him fixed will calm him down, perhaps not enough for him enough to become a friendly, sociable cat, but he will continue to guard his "territory" around your home. And you sound like a caring person who would not let cats starve that do show up.

The vet that I used when I lived there worked with me when I brought in cats to be fixed. He charged me his cost, as he knew that all I was trying to do was to save these cats from inevitable death. Ask your vet for a discount on the neuter. If he/she knows why you are doing this, they might be very willing to work with you.

Or look for a low cost clinic that's used to doing feral cats as they will be more used to a cat with his behavior. Pay a few extra dollars for his shots and if you can't catch him to get future ones done, so be it.

Unfortunately, you've feed him and that he even allows you close to him to have scratched/bit you actually suggest he is not a complete feral. He could tame some with time - though you shouldn't expect him to be a cuddly social cat.

Momofmany is 100% correct. He plays guard for your area. Getting him neutered will also discourage him from bringing any more females around.


May I suggest a name for him if you don't have one yet? Your misspelling of feral keeps making me think that you're calling him Ferrell. I don't know the cat, so many that won't fit him, but it would be amusing.

thanks all... very interesting thoughts.. I had actually kind of thought he could/would serve that function in keeping away other strays but when we had a young coon living under our deck this past summer (& actually watched the coon "breaking bread" with the young ones!) I kinda gave up on that idea (j/k)... again though, the biggest thing is his behaviour towards the other cats & my lack of current trust in his behavior towards me... an example, My son came home from college this past weekend & watched him (we do have a name... big black!) literally run the one young male of the group about 100 yards into a swamp... unfortunately, this young male (& my wifes absolute favorite!) is very timid by nature & has not been in our garage (where I built them a nice large insulated box) to sleep/eat in weeks... luckily, he comes in to eat now in early evening but has to go out the doorwall at night & sleeps under the deck...

I talked to our local humane society today & they will not accept animals with this temperament... my last effort will be to call the kinda of local (50 miles away) adopta pet clinic (which is where we had the other 4 fixed since they do this at a reduced rate) to see if they know of any takers of this type of cat (please insert ideas here...)...

still just don't get his drastic change in behavior as he is in the garage now constantly even on good days which we still have quite a few left (I live in michigan)... thanks for letting me vent... the oncoming cold weather make my decision imminent... dang it I hate this... I can't even sleep this week...

Ok, quick update... I'm startin to think that he really might be sick because he is staying in the garage now constantly & is layin inside our cat box alot which he rarely did before... he is still very hungry & appears to be ok as I looked him over closely (ie - no cuts, no runny eyes, nose, fur looks fine & he seems to move ok, etc) this am but him being inside this much is very strange... any thoughts would be great...

Since he fights he could have a scabbed over bite somewhere. You wouldn't be able to see it without getting close and feeling for it. Bite wounds can kill cats, so that is serious if he's been bitten.


This is why I suggested he was ill in the first place. A skittish cat will be skittish, but a skittish cat doesn't suddenly get aggressive with the person they're used to unless something is wrong.

Thanks Strange... yeah, I think something is wrong... I will have to go to animal control & get a cage & remove him... what a shame... kinda wish he had just gone off on his own... wish I could just give him the shot in the garage... I know he will hate the trap & be so scared... sigh... thanks all...

saddened... Dave...

ok... this will not be popular here but I have made my decision to trap big black & attempt to relocate him... hopefully to a random roadside farm... I have made about 25 calls/emails (ie - friends, shelters, various stray/fral cat agencies) trying desperately to find a home for this old boy but at this point to no avail... & I cannot wait any longer as the weather is really starting to turn here (SE Michigan)...

so my question is what is the safe distance I need to move him to keep him from coming back to our house? I simply cannot bear to take this cat to the animal control as I know he will be put down & I am confident he has the skillset necessary to live on his own outdoors...

Any input would be greatly appreciated as this is a vary tuff decision...

Regretfully Dave...

Living on one of those roadside farms, I think this is a very poor decision. ESPECIALLY releasing him intact! Most farms have barn cats, and many people go to great lengths to ensure the health of their cats - and that includes having them spayed and neutered.

So you just want to try to hand your problem to someone else? And you think anyone will support this decision?

What's the problem with having him neutered and vaccinated and release him where you live? The hormones will start cycling out of his system, and after a couple of days/weeks, up to a month, he won't be the same aggressive male.

We had a seriously aggressive male outside - so aggressive, in fact, he managed to scare the entire feral colony away from the food, and he attacked one of the other cats. The attacked one disappeared for three days, and came back walking on three legs. We had to rush him to the vet to get his abscess treated. It took three days of having this aggressive male "off the street" as it were, for them to come back. (We trapped him and took him to the vet to be neutered and treated for whatever he needed).

Turns out he was FIV+, so we couldn't release him back outside. We ended up adopting him because we couldn't find him a home.

Turns out that without his hormones and with regular food, he's a complete love bug and not aggressive at all.



Happy to be inside:


Friends with our Billy:

And I think what Strange Wings meant was that if you trap him and get him to the vet, have him treated for whatever the problem is, and have him neutered, when you release him you'll find that he's no longer aggressive.

You are correct. I do not condone dumping animals.

catmanmew - You have been feeding this cat, providing some shelter, and have even tentatively named him. For all intent and purposes you made him your responsibility. Trap him, find someone to help you with a low cost neuter and get him vaccinated. Keep him around. If he is still a problem for you take legit routes to try to rehome him.

My husband's parents used to have a farm and there were always idiots dropping cats and dogs thinking "oh, they have a farm, they'll want them" . His parents do not like cats and aren't responsible enough for a dog.. I rescued 10 cats in 2 years that were dumped. One was a kitten that was barely 4 weeks old! Sickening.
Another was a young adult male cat that was about to be attacked by an animal that I still cannot identify... it ran somewhat similar to a weasel, yet was about the size of a badger. I can only imagine how many were chased down and eaten by coyotes.

So please, do not dump animals! Get him neutered and then see if someone will take him. People are more willing to help rehome a neutered and vaccinated cat (even to a farm).
As for him living on his on hunting skills. You're talking about a domestic cat. Even ferals in most areas survive on scavenging from trashcans and catching the rodents that human habitation attracts. That's why they domesticated in the first place.

I was in a very similar situation a few years ago. I was feeding and caring for a "big black cat" that seemed so aggressive and mean. He managed to avoid all trapping attempts and even broke through a drop trap.

We just decided to keep on feeding him and providing shelter. We then had to move locations and decided to take him to the new location. Within a week he escaped and went back to the old place! We brought him back and two days later, he escaped again and was hit by a car. Somehow by the grace of God, he survived and went back again to the old place. Now he lives with us and you cannot imagine the change in him. He is so tame and loving, probably more affectionate than any other cat in my household.

I cannot put into words how I felt when he was gone, I was so worried about him, he was in a strange place and went back home. He was very lucky, he had to cross 2 very busy roads. Not to mention whatever else he may have encountered. I was worried about bringing him into my home, but what could I do? I had fed him for 2 years and provided shelter. I felt I owed him a chance and I have never regretted that decision.

You seem to care for this cat, I hope you reconsider putting him elsewhere. He may try and come back and not be as lucky as my guy. I also agree that getting him neutered will greatly help. It is just amazing what time and patience will do along with some love and care.

Just a quick update that I found a new barn home for big black!!!

We are moving him this weekend (if I can trap him!) & just wondering if anyone here has experience with semi wild strays being relocated & how well they do/adapt to a new location... as always, any thoughts would be great...

Dave...

They need to be kept in a large dog crate for 10 - 20 days at the new location and fed on a regular schedule so they understand the new territory is "home" and where they can find food.

Will his new family get him neutered or vet care?