Journey with Tigger the feral

So I am new to TCS. I want to share the experiences with a little feral that I could not bear to leave outside anymore. Early last summer I got a call about a mama cat with 4 babies living around a restaurant by my house. I went and looked for them and found a gorgeous little calico with the babies. The people in the businesses nearby said she was a excellent mother and they had seen her trotting across the parking lot with a mouse in her mouth to feed her babies. I set traps to TNR them. I did not get any cats and they disappeared. I could not figure out where they were and I spent lots of evenings trying to figure it out. Around labor day a woman contacted Laura Carlson..Laura has a special needs cat rescue here where I live..As it turns out Sue had been feeding this mama and babies directly next door to the restaurant. There was a dumpster with a fence around it and bushes..the cats lived there..so they really hadn't moved..just were hiding a wee bit. Sue had grown concerned for them. By then one kitten was missing and that left 3. I trapped Mama kitty, and one kitten and took them in and got them spayed at our Feral Cat Clinic. After releasing them I never saw the one kitten again. :( Even Mama kitty who had been such a good mama disappeared again. That left 2 kittens. A gorgeous tortie/torbie and a orange tabby. I fed them and made plans to trap them as well. I would watch them and the tortie was way more assertive than her brother. He never came out to eat until she did it first. I went away for a few days at Thanksgiving. Sue tells me Wednesday morn before Thanksgiving the Tortie was there. In the evening when she left work it was gone. We never saw her again..that left the orange..and at times his Mother showed up..but she would hiss at him. I felt so bad for the orange tabby...he was so shy and never did anything without his sister. When I would bring food at night he would meow at me from the bushes and one night he walked out and sat near me and sort of cried. I could not stand it..and Sue had grown attached to the mama kitty whom we had named Charm. For some weird reason Charm started coming around alot and Sue was able to start petting her. Go figure. So Sue said she was going to catch Charm. One Friday night she had a carrier and I watched as she just picked her up and dropped her in the carrier. I followed her home and we opened the carrier..Charm inspected the apartment and then got on Sue's bed! So then I knew I could not leave shy little Tigger out there. So I trapped him and took him to clinic..had him neutered and tested and dewormed and all that. I brought him home and put him in a large cage in my garage. Inside the cage was a carrier so he went in there when he was scared. I had food and a little litter box for him. After two days I could pick him up..I left him for about 2 weeks in the cage and then moved him into the house. He has had free run of the house now for about a month. He is tentative still..but he will come to me for pets sometimes. What has been fascinating for me is watching what he is scared of. He is no longer afraid of us..but he is still afraid of things. More later.

I fear the babies were eaten by coyotes or killed by raccoons. I did feel terrible as I could have sent them to this barn home..But the girl with the barn has had miserable luck..most of the cats last less than 6 months and then disappear. I decided since their Mama had been seen out there for about a year that it may be safer to leave them where they were. Now, since Charm did seem tame I think she was someone's pet who got out or she was dumped there. She did not have a microchip. It's hard when you are a trapper to figure out who is an unsocialized cat and who is truly feral. Charm loves Sue and has shown no interest in going outside.

It's really odd watching and learning about ferals. Tigger is not afraid so much of us..but things scare him..Our ceiling fans freaked him out...the automatic watering dish made that bloop sound while he was drinking and he got scared. The TV freaked him out. I have had to lower my expectations somewhat..at first I could pick him up..but I had him in the cage...and his little heart would pound. After I gave him free run of the house he really doesn't want me to pick him up..I was pushing it..and I noticed he would stay away..now I can reach down and pet him..but he does not like me to approach him when he is in this chair..I am taller than him at that point and he runs under the chair. At times when I am laying down on my bed he will be very purry and allow me to pet him. What I do noticed how he plays so much more than my other cats..and he disembowels the toy mice..lol...and he does seem so joyous and happy. We are getting lots of snow and low temps and Sue and I both are so happy we took them in. I was just going to try and foster him until I found him a home...but I love him...Just recently I was at the Humane Society..and they were having a cheap-oh cat adoption day..what they had out were all their older cats..the not as desirable ones...and I felt so bad. There are so many cats and not enough homes. So I guess little Tigger can stay..truth is I don't think he would ever make a good cat for a family with children. His sister was so beautiful and I feel so bad I didn't get to her in time.

Just wanted to give an update on my little boy..what a crack up..Last night he was on the bed and scratching around and on the covers..there was a comforter lumped up on the bed..(hubby's) and Tigger finally got into the comforter..for a few minutes. Then he came over to me and I gently put him under the covers next to my body..he purred but only stayed a few minutes. I truly think he was trying to figure out what blankets are! When he wants to really sleep and feel safe he goes under my bed or a chair in the living room. I think he likes the chair because nothing can sneak up behind him when he's in it. It's really interesting to watch him. The other night I turned the fan on in my bedroom for a few minutes and I could not figure out what he was looking at...then I realized he was staring at the fan which was rotating..so when he blew by him he was really confused. I have had lots of success with closing my hand to get him to come to me for petting. I read that fingers look like long claws to a cat. So I use my fist and once he comes close I just open my hand over his head to pet him..he can't see my fingers then..and he seems fine then. He checks everything out and I mean everything.