Please Welcome Ghost

Ghost, as we are calling her, is one lucky kitty. She just doesn't know it yet.

The story starts Sunday, Oct. 9. We had unpacked at a cabin in a state part. My spouse forgot her pillow, so we were driving to a nearby town to get one. Across the highway zips a tortie kitty. I tried to stop, but there was an ominous thump.

We went back to check on her, expecting to find her dead. She was breathing but not moving, so we wrapped her up in a blanket and headed to the nearby town. It was 6 PM on a Sunday...I was just hoping a vet would be willing to come in to euthanize her, so she wasn't suffering.

Well, we got to town about 15 minutes later, and I pulled into a convenience store to borrow a phone book. As soon as I parked, she came out of her stupor and tried to get out of the car. She eventually settled in the back window.

She obviously wasn't on death's door, so we drove her down to the nearest emergency clinic, an hour away. She was scared, but could be touched and handled. Amazingly, she had nothing broken. She had a cut lip and possibly some head trauma. We left her there overnight just in case.

Next day, we cleaned up a basement room for her. We had some fun the first few days (she found a few interesting places to hide). But she's eating and using the litterbox just fine. She is obviously still scared, but will let us touch her.

She's been with us a week now. She's negative for FeLV and FIV. Our regular vet was going to spay her, but she is running a fever. She got the 2-week antibiotic shot, since medicating her wouldn't be conducive to building trust. We'll try again with the spay in two or three weeks. I suspect that the trauma and stress lead to an opportunistic infection.

I installed a webcam in the room, so we can check on her. When we aren't there, she does move around and appears calm. This morning she spent a few minutes watching out the window. She hides when we come in, but gobbles up the food shortly afterward.

I've read a lot on socializing ferals. We are trying to spend time in her room, talking to her, and just getting her used to our presence. We will give her all the time she needs to trust us.

I'm open to advice from those of you more experienced in this. I've had cats for 25 years, but have never had to tame one. Given that she is scared but not terrified (hunched up but not shaking, for example) and is not aggressive at all, we suspect she was dumped a few months ago. She's about a year old, and may have had a litter (already weaned). Poor girl.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice, and the good thoughts I know y'all will send our way.

Awwwww, I'm so sorry you hit her! Your heart must have skipped a few beats! But major, major kudos to you and your spouse for doing the right thing! Obviously you were already cat lovers - but still, thank you for rescuing this little girl!

The very best things to do that will help her come along are:

1) Have a regular routine for feeding, treats, and cleaning her water dish(es) and litter box(es). This above and beyond everything else will help her feel secure. Knock on her door lightly before entering, and talk to her softly, telling her what you're doing, why, and that you just want her to be safe and happy.

You probably already know this, but the main thing in socializing is basically earning their trust. You're just there to see to her needs. Once they "get" that, the big scary monster isn't as big and scary any longer.

And not being truly feral (meaning she was a pet at some point, but reverted to feral ways for her protection), she should come around pretty quickly (if she wasn't abused).

2) Get a t-shirt you're willing to give up from each of you really good and sweaty. Put one where she likes to sleep, and put one under her food dish. Maybe each get another one good and sweaty, and leave treats out for her on alternating t-shirts when you leave the room. This will help her associate your scent with "good" things.

Those, IMO, are the two most important things. The routine and the scent will help her feel secure and associate you with things she likes and feeling safe (and knowing that she has food!).

Everything else just helps. You can try a Feliway plug-in to help her feel less stressed. You can try adding a few drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy (flower essences) to her water dish daily when you clean and refill it.

Otherwise just spend as much time as you can in her room, just doing stuff and ignoring her. Sing, write, sew, read a book or magazines loud, work on a laptop, iron, stretch, nap (nothing less threatening than a sleeping human!) - and do as much of it as possible at floor level. The lower you are, the less threatening you are.

I know she lets you touch her, but you might want to try not touching her. You might want to try giving her a week or two and see what happens. Don't reach out at her, and see if she'll come to you. If you do reach out, do it when sitting, or crouched. Be smaller.

But it's best to let her get curious - and just keep reading or whatever, and let her come check you out.

You can entice her with treats. Gerber's meat babyfood on a spoon is also often a good "lure."

Avoid direct eye contact - this is viewed as aggressive. Look at her forehead, or over the top of her head. You can also "look" at her with closed eyes - or do the very slow, deliberate "blink" in her direction. This is a sign of trust.

Does she like to play? Have you tried a wand toy? We rescued a 3-year old feral feral cat last year. The first time I moved the wand toy for him, he went FLYING to the farthest corner of the room. Start by just lying the toy on the floor, and making it wiggle a little bit, like a hurt animal. See if she shows any interest. If not, leave it for now. It took Chum several weeks of just watching the toy before he finally worked up the nerve to hit it with his paw as it wiggled past him (no more flying around in the air LOL). After a few days of that, he decided it wasn't something that was going to hurt him - and was actually something fun to do. Now he's completely a play hog. (Just make sure to remove the wand toys from the room when you leave, unless there's a closet or something down there to keep them in. Cats that lived outside have a higher tendency to eat the strings on those toys).

Do you have other cats to which you'll have to introduce her?

Oh - and welcome to TCS!

Thanks for the tips. I agree with not touching her for now. It's my spouse I have to get onboard with that We are using a feather wand to softly stroke her on occasion, rather than our hands.

We do have cats - 8 before poor Ghost. I definitely need the crazy cat lady T-shirt. We were down to 6 (lost 2 older and one 10 year old last year), then decided to get a kitten...and came home with two from the shelter.

Introductions to the other cats are fairly well down the road. Though once we know Ghost is over her infection and the kitten recovers from her spay (tomorrow), I think bringing the kitten (Spice) in might be a good thing. Hopefully seeing Spice play will help her know that it's OK. And if she did have kittens in the past, she might warm up to Spice.

Seeing her move around on the webcam is helping. It shows me that she'd not constantly terrified, just not yet ready to trust us. I know that will come with time.

Hitting Ghost was a horrible feeling. I think it is a miracle that she came out of it so well. She will have a good life now. We'll make sure of that.

Welcome to the crazy cat lady club. We have 8 inside-only kitties (all feral rescues, all of them other than first two special needs), and a TNR colony of - well - probably 10 outside. 4 are regulars. They usually disperse during summer and regroup in winter. We'll know for sure how many are still with us in a few months.

So you already know how to introduce cats!

Do keep us posted on her progress, please!

I second the wand toy. Before he met his buddy Kramer, the wand toy was about the only thing that would bring Boots, the little feral baby I adopted in August, out from the toilet where he was hiding from me. He was so scared of me at first, but the wand toy was just too much for him to ignore.

What a miracle little Ghost is !!!!!!! and what wonderful people you are to give her a forever home. Yes, hitting Ghost was a horrible thing, BUT look what has come out of it now..... All I can say, is thank goodness it was you who hit her and not someone else. You have a HUGE loving heart and stopped to save her and get her help. Just an amazing story. Please keep us posted on Ghost and mega vibes coming that she continues to improve and SHE WILL

Originally Posted by Feralvr

What a miracle little Ghost is !!!!!!!

and what wonderful people you are to give her a forever home.

Yes, hitting Ghost was a horrible thing, BUT look what has come out of it now..... All I can say, is thank goodness it was you who hit her and not someone else. You have a HUGE loving heart and stopped to save her and get her help. Just an amazing story. Please keep us posted on Ghost and mega vibes coming that she continues to improve and SHE WILL

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