Sucker for a pretty face

One thing ferals (and pet cats) simply cannot resist is Gerber chicken baby food. Make sure it has no onions or other spices - just chicken. I have socialized ferals for five years and it does the trick every time. Put a dollop on a spoon and offer it to him through the bars of the crate.

The consistancy makes it difficult for them to snatch and run, so I guarantee that with a little patience, you will be able to touch him while he eats.

Good luck and bless you both!

I think you are doing a great job with Charley!!

I'm not sure about the toys in water thing, but I'm sure the more experienced will offer some great advice!

Luna covers her wet food bowl at night with whatever she can find. I even started putting my shirt under the bowl, but somehow she still finds a way to cover the plate! A few days ago she did the same with her water and dry food bowls, but hasn't since. confused:

You seem to be off to a good start with the whole bonding process!

Charley is a lucky guy to have someone like you who cares!!!

Wishing you and Charley lots of Love!

Originally Posted by MalibuStacy

Well, Charley has gone back to waiting for me to leave before eating; he held out for 45 minutes last night until I had to go make dinner for the household humans. Baby steps, I know...

This weekend will mark two weeks of keeping him in the crate. He has never shown any desire to bolt when I've opened the crate to feed him or clean his litter box, so I think he's ready for me to leave the crate door open. The room is reasonably free of inaccessible hiding places - there is a small dresser in the corner that he can hide under - so I expect he'll continue to use the carrier in the crate as his main hideout when I come into the room.

What do you suppose it means when a cat puts his toys in his water dish? He has taken his fur mousie and chime ball into his carrier, but he has put his catnip strawberry and bouncy ball in his water dish several times. At least I don't have to worry about his poster of Rita Hayworth concealing an escape tunnel.

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You have a good plan and I think leaving the crate open is just fine as long as there are not any hiding places he can crawl into and not be seen or any place you cannot get close to Charley. I am pretty sure he won't be hiding in the crate once you open up the door. Over night he will investigate the room. I bet he will hide under that dresser and that is fine as long as you know where he is. Let him think he has found a great place to stay safe but you can still sit close enough to him. Don't fret too much over the not eating in front of you. This is VERY typical behavior. Remember, steps forward, steps back and then many steps forward, etc. etc.

toys in the water!! Pipsqueak is constantly dropping his toys in the water dish!!!! Especially those foil balls and then the water turns the color of the foil, YIKES, I change the water quickly. Don't know why they put toys in the water??? But some cats do!!!! Maybe they need cleaning

I don't know what the toys in the water is either, but there are a number of cats that do it. I do remember (and I don't mean to laugh) one member who had a cat that was absolutely obsessed with pulling anything lying around into the water dish. Socks, hats, anything! You might not be able to leave much out once Charley's on the loose!

Ondine - your chicken baby food advice will probably pay off bigtime. I didn't have time to get to the store for any yesterday, so I gave Charley a can of chicken and egg dinner and he came out for it after only a few minutes of testing to see if I'd leave.

He kept an eye on me while he was eating, but he wasn't at all spooked by any movements I made, which I took as a hopeful sign.

Tonight, I'm going to put a second litter box in his room and start leaving the crate door open so he can begin to explore the space. I think I can also use the litter box to block his access to the space under the dresser where he could hide and thwart my attempt to socialize with him.

I'm so grateful to all of you for your encouragement and terrific advice. There's a lot of negativity out there to tell us that it's not worth trying to tame a feral cat that's any older than a tiny kitten. But, all I have to do is come here to find plenty of evidence that, while it's not the quickest or easiest thing in the world, it can be done and it's very worthwhile. You guys are the best.

Your the best too, for taking in Charley and being patient, loving and caring .

Good idea about another litter box in the room. But don't be surprised if he pushes his way past that litter box to get under the dresser . They are pretty crafty and can get into small spaces easily. Enjoy your next step in the socialization process - freedom in his room

That's wonderful news that Charley is coming out to eat while you are still in the room!!!

I think the two of you are going to be great pals!!!

I think I'm going to get some chicken baby food next time at grocery store!!!

I too found info saying that it was not possible to tame a feral cat once it was past the little kitten stage, but the more I kept reading, I soon found out that it was possible.

These cats are misunderstood really. Reading all the posts on this site has done wonders for me. I don't think I could do it without the support that this site has given.!! Knowing that there are other people out there who care means so much!!

Just hang in there!!!

The vet that I took Luna too also gave me encouraging advice. He simply said "Anything is possilbe". He said "Its been done many times before, just don't give up." "She may never be a lap cat, but she still could be the best kitty you ever had."

These cats deserve better, and I think it is wonderful that Charley has found such a loving person to care for him.

Luna and I are sending out lots of LOVE to you and Charley!!

Alexandra,

Yes, definitely try the chicken baby food. Charley ate TWO spoonfuls for me tonight, one before he had his dinner and one after as a reward for letting me stay in the room with him while he ate. I had tried a few days ago to offer him pate-style cat food on a spoon, which he ignored, but he was powerless to resist the chicken baby food.

I stuffed a big fat pillow under the dresser and tomorrow morning after Charley gets his breakfast, I'll leave his crate door open so he can venture out into his room for the first time.

Your Luna is a lucky little girl; I love reading all your updates of her story. You're doing a great job with her, too. A few jars of chicken baby food later and I think she'll be even friendlier with you!

Chicken baby food - like a moth to a flame! LOVE IT! Aw, that is GREAT!!!!!!

(And not being spooked by your movements is one of those milestone kind of things. ).

Lots of smiles today.

Keep up the wonderful work.

How is Charley doing?? Looking for an update

Originally Posted by Feralvr

How is Charley doing?? Looking for an update

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Thanks for asking! He's still quite shy and reclusive and has come out to eat with me in the room only two or three times since the initial breakthrough. I think he got scared when he first began exploring his room and he knocked a small wooden frame off the dresser and it fell right into his secondary litterbox, probably while he was in the litterbox, too. Stupid me.

He doesn't seem to have done any further exploring since then, so I think I'll buy a bag of the fur mice that he seems to like and scatter them around the room outside his crate to see if that will tempt him to come back out and look around.

I've recently started playing an 80-minute harp music CD whenever he gets fed in the hopes that it will help him relax and be brave about having me in the room while he eats. And maybe one day the big scary monster will eventually become the nice lady who brings the tasty food and makes Charley feel good.

Awwww................ I'm sorry he got a scare! It can take a little while to recover from these things, but at least it wasn't too traumatic.

Nice to hear that Charley is doing good!!!

Once these little steps start happening more will come!! (The advice and support that comes from the people on this site is very very helpful ) But unfortunately with steps forward, you sometimes also get the steps backward. I have had this happen to me on more than one occasion. Just keep hanging in there!!!!

Luna loves playing with mice, so Charley might like to play with them as well. I just put them all over the room and by morning they are knocked all over the place. I also leave a treat as well.

Charley will be just fine, and you are doing a great thing for him. Luna has taken steps forward and then when I think the next day will be maybe the same, I won't see her again for the next 2-3 days.

Don't give up!!! Wishing you and Charley Lots of Love and Luck!!!

OH no... I know how you feel when something like that happens. I remember one day shortly after I had trapped Magilla and she was just new to her "safe" room. I went in to feed and we had already made such progress that she would walk right beside me to the spot in the room where I feed her. Well, right when I was just about to set the food down, the door bell rang , the dogs started barking and then I tripped when she startled and I almost fell on her . I couldn't believe it... I took her food from the room and left to give her a few minutes and myself time to calm down. It took her hours to eat that day and a few more days to feel safe again when I brought the food in. But she did recover and these things will happen, not much we can do about them. The more Charley begins to realize that these things won't hurt him when they happen the sooner he will get over them when they do. So even now with Magilla, if something goes haywire she is quicker to get over them.

Wow, Feralvr, that's quite a story! It's great to know that Magilla has learned to take things in stride. I'm trying to be super-patient and understanding of the stress that Charley is experiencing. I expect it will continue to be a slow process of adaptation for him.

I had to traumatize Charley even further last night - he'd miscalculated his aim and pooped on the edge of his litter box (and right on top of his fur mousie!), so I had to close him up in his carrier and take it out of the crate so I could do a thorough cleanup.

I then gave him his wet food dinner, turned down the lights and put on his music, and then I scattered a few new furry mice and chewy treats just outside the crate door. I left him alone until this morning, but there were no signs that he'd ventured out of his crate at all during the night.

So, I gave him his dry food breakfast, turned up the lights and put on his music and left for work. Both my kids are out of school today, so I hope they won't make too much noise and he can get some peace and quiet to help him relax.

I can see that one... "Kids, please don't make too much noise today, we don't want to scare the cat."

Charley's blessed with a loving, understanding, thoughtful, patient meowmy, and that and time is all it really takes.

YEAH right... Kids be quiet today, cannot upset Charley OH the things we do for our little furbabies . Actually, Charley will eventually have to get used to all of the household noises and he will . Have fun with kids today