Stray/Feral Help!

cruiserpatches

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Hi,

I just joined this forum looking for help with a stray or feral that I have rescued named Cruiser.  Background: I previously have rescued a different stray, a Calico that is named Patches (unique, eh?).  She was already TNR'd but I acclimated her and she is now a family cat.  She is an indoor/outdoor cat and she is very fond of the people she knows and very interactive (easily handled, etc.). 

Now, on to Cruiser.  I have been caring for Cruiser as a stray/feral outdoors for about a year+, he is a young black & white.  He had be-friended Patches and I was feeding him regularly on the porch.  He is very skittery about humans.  But I got to the point where I could feed him deli turkey (delicately) by hand.  Well, about 3 weeks ago, I trapped Cruiser.  I have a Vet friend who did "the works" on him: neuter, shots, blood work, nails, Frontline, etc.  He is negative for all diseases and quite healthy.  I have kept him inside the house with the intent of making him a house cat with Patches (I am in New England and it gets pretty nasty in the winter here).  Cruiser is eating and drinking and using a litter box.  He is in a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom (where the litter box is), but he stays under the bed all day.  I can lay next to the bed and offer him food, he will eat deli turkey from my hand.  The first couple weeks, I could actually pet him and scratch him really good behind the ears and so forth.  But he is a bit less accepting of that lately, swatting at my hand and hissing.  When everyone goes to bed and it is dark and quiet, he will come out at night and investigate (I stay up much later and monitor his movements while I am quietly on the computer).  He does meow a lot and investigates the (shaded) windows a bit.  Patches has not been quite the "integrator" that I thought she might be but they get along and I actually saw Cruiser the other night resting with her on a couch in the living room together.  But he is spending his life under the bed, not quite a great life, though possibly better than out in the elements with predators.

So I am posting to you, asking for help/advice/tips on how to better integrate Cruiser into a house cat, if it is possible.  I have read about strays and ferals and he seems to be a stray that was slipping into the feral category.  Anyway, any help with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Respectfully,

Dave
 

mrblanche

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If you look through our threads here, you'll find this kind of experience often with rescues and even with newly adopted cats from a shelter.  They need to feel completely comfortable in their space before they will be very accepting of attention from humans.  Don't be discouraged; and don't be surprised the morning you wake up and find Cruise sleeping next to you on the bed.
 

StefanZ

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I do agree with Mr Blanche!   :)

Welcome to the TCS site and the Forums!

You ask surely why he at first allowed some cuddling, but later on denyed.  Perhaps because he began to feel more sure.  He knows now you are rather reliable, and thus NOW you will take a no.

He isnt not any longer forced to " please himself in" at almost any cost.

If so - so this IS a improvement.    :)

Tx for caring!

Good luck!   *vibes*
 

feralvr

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:clap: Welcome to TCS :clap::clap: Cruiser is one lucky boy to have found you!!! Thank's for the rescue of him. Here are a few tip's for making him feel safe and comfortable. Once he starts feeling safe and trusts you completely, you will see a huge change in his behavior. Can you take away the bed frame of the bed in his "safe" room? This will allow you to always be closer to him and he can't hide from you under the bed. Just put the mattress on the floor. Have some other "hiding" options such as those Kitty cubes that velcro together. Or a small kitty fleece bed - made into a cubicle. They are fairly cheap. He just needs time - and it is different for each and every cat. He does not sound like a feral cat - he was most likely a lost pet :(... Lot's of love and patience will bring him around in his own time :nod: If you keep him in his safe room for a bit - he will start to feel he has a place to call his own and will begin to feel very safe and loved.... and stick to the same schedule everyday so he can begin to count on food, your company, and attention each day the same time. Cat's love a regular schedule, especially the one's we are trying to acclimate to indoor life. :D

:clap::clap::clap: For his test's being negative :D Please keep us posted and updated on Cruiser. We are here to offer you support anytime !!!!! :hugs: ;)
 
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cruiserpatches

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Hi all, just wanted to give you an update, though it is modest.  Cruiser is a little more trusting of me, I can lay next to the bed and he will sometimes not move from just a foot away from me.  If I go to pet him, he will either take it (usually not) or move somewhere else.  His claws are coming back and he has gotten me a couple times but recently it is more of a swat than a scratch.  He is more apt to move about the room while I am laying next to the bed.  But if I move or make any attempt to get up, whoosh, right back under the bed.  The other day I did catch him pawing at the window as if to get out, kinda tears at my heartstrings.  I spoke with Alley Cat Allies and they felt I should release him (after a short re-adjustment phase).  But that is not going to happen during the winter.   I find it hard to believe that a cat indoors is worse off than outdoors in the winter, with predators.  Plus he is showing no signs of respiratory distress from stress..... so he stays indoors, my decision.  I don't think right now is a good time to remove the bed frame or block it off, it is his only hiding/quiet place for now.  Plus it is not my bed and hence not my call to make.  But I am trying to spend more quiet time in there with Patches and him.  Then he gets to roam the house at night.  Finally he is eating, drinking, and using the litter box just fine.

Thanks,

Dave
 

krz

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I agree with you on keeping him inside. I am going through the same situation right now, but actually with multiple cats. The progress is slow but there is progress. Every cat has his own schedule, and I think if we are patient and wait for them, it all works out.

Just give him some time, he will become a most grateful kitty one day and you will be happy with how things have worked out.
 

rafm

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 It sounds like he is coming around and I think he will be fine eventually. I agree with others that he sounds like he has been a pet in the past, however, you have no idea what that home was like. Or why he was out...lost, thrown out, whatever. So, he may have had some very negative experiences with people either in his original home or out by himself and that will cloud his judgement of you. 

You are doing the right things, just take it slowly. I agree that you shouldn't let him out right now, both due to the weather and you are in a very fragile place with the little guy....which could be destroyed by letting him back out right now. 

Good luck. Keep us posted and if you can get some pictures, we'd love to see them. 
 

StefanZ

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, I can lay next to the bed and he will sometimes not move from just a foot away from me.  If I go to pet him, he will either take it (usually not) or move somewhere else.  His claws are coming back and he has gotten me a couple times but recently it is more of a swat than a scratch.
so it is going forwards.  Swatting is the normal for cats if they need to teach their family some lessons.  It does shows he had essentially accepted you, and you ARE now part of his household!   :)

The accepting cuddling or moving away part is also very good.  My residents do also so, although we do like each other verry much, and they love my cuddles. And I think it is just great.   If they dont want, they just move away. Or even pretend to threaten, pretend to take a bite (without ever taking any bite).  Why this is so good?  When I cuddle with them, they are usually happy with it, purring etc. 

But sometimes they dont react much, just patiently laying there.   Are they just enduring whatever I do with them? Because they must as are at my mercy?   NO.  I KNOW if they dont want, they will move away, or even threaten me some...

Thus I know, even if they sometimes dont enjoy the cuddling very much, it is OK for them, they do accept it fully voluntarily.    :)
 

feralvr

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I don't agree with Alley Cat Allies on this one..... I think Cruiser will adjust to living indoor's. It is way too soon to make that decision and it has only been two week's. Sometime this can take many week's or month's before they are totally acclimated. :nod: Excellent news that he is eating, drinking and using the litter box.!!! Great job you are doing for him and I totally agree on you keeping him indoors at least for right now. It is going SO well :clap::clap::clap::clap::D
 

ondine

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I also agree that you should keep him inside. We have two who were six months old, truely feral, who have been inside for five years. Neither will let us pet them but they are happy and healthy.

Have you tried sitting in the same room as Cruiser and just reading out loud? This really helps him get used to the idea of humans being close. He will take awhile but he wil be a happier, healthier cat. God bless you for helping him!
 

smokepeachangel

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My boyfriend & I  have 2 cats of my own I take in stray cats and feed them and if they allow us to get close enough to them we take them to be "fixed" (using vouchers from the spca or the city) and find them homes. we currently have 2 kittens that we have taken in siblings one is calico we call her trouble and her brother is orange and white we call him Rambo (short for rambunctious) They have been coming around for a few months now they used to just come around eat and leave then they came around ate and came in to warm up till morning now they are in all the time (which my 2 don't care much for but they are warming up to them slowly) I love watching them grow and learn but they are now in heat so I cant wait to take them to get fixed. Giving them away is gonna be hard but four cats is impossible so I know it must eventually be done I just hope I can find someone who will take them together.
 

ritz

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I take care of a community cat colony, made up of feral, stray, and abandoned cats.  In early 2011 I moved five cats from that colony into my friend's cattery, a room in her house that she converted to keep these cats.  Three cats have been adopted into Forever Homes, one cat is available for adoption, and one cat (the most feral) is a 'work in progress'.    

Insofar as the bed situation:  does it have a bedspread?  If so, maybe you can lift one side up so Cruiser can see you enter, but is otherwise surrounded by the bedspread.  That's what I did for one of the cats I am socializing.  When he felt comfortable, he faced me, when he didn't, he literally turned his back on me.
 

smokepeachangel

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YA WE NEVER GAVE THEM UP LOL WE DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO LET THEM GO WE NOW HAVE THEM PLUS A ORANGE AND WHITE MAINE COON AND THEY GET ALONG WELL MOST OF THE TIME BUT THE COON IS OLDER SO HE GETS IRRITATED WITH THEM ROUGH HOUSING HIM SOMETIMES AND OTHER TIMES HE RUNS THEM OFF ROUGH HOUSING THEM WE TAKE IN STRAYS AND FIND THEM HOMES ALL THE TIME I HAVE TO MOMMA CATS THAT HAD BABIES ON THE SAME DAY THAT ARE NURSING ONE HERE AND ONE AT A FRIENDS I HAVE HOMES FOR MOST OF THEM I JUST NEED TO FIND HOMES FOR 2 MALES AND A CALICO MOM BUT I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME THEY WERE BORN ON MAY 12TH
 
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