Next Step for my Stray Grey

cbrew

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I’ve recently caught what I believe is a stray cat by my husbands office.  Prior to trapping I was able to get about 15 feet to the cat before he ran in a sewer.  The cat got to know my husbands car and at one point was waiting in the feeding area and turned his back to him for at least a minute.  When he approached to put the food down it bolted.  We know it was out in the wild for at least 3 months.  He was trapped Sunday night and brought to the vet Monday morning.  He was scared and darted all over the room but never hissed, growled or tried to bite. The vet had to trap him in a clear container and sedate him to examine.  He is about a year, no diseases but waiting for a fecal update which I am sure will find something.  I immediately had him neutered.  I was told he has no wounds, no fleas or ear mites and has a very dirty coat.  He looked well fed which tells me he had a secondary food source either by a human or mice. 

I have him contained in a room in the basement.  I have a high cat post with a sheet draped over it and it sits by a window.  I have sprayed pheromone spray and have a “Baby Bach” CD playing.  There are other places to hide, two cat boxes (which he uses) and cat toys but no string.  I’ve read I need to visit on a routine and still working that out.  I’m home quite a bit and just get the urge to go in and talk to him.  I sit at the opposite end of the room and talk for about 10 minutes.   I bring him small amounts of food and sit hoping he will come out.  I think he has gotten wise to the sound of me coming down the stairs and hides just prior to me coming in the room.  I do lightly tap on the door before I go in.  He is quiet and does not howl at night and hasn’t torn up the room.  I think these are all signs he is a stray and not a feral but not sure.

I did this once before with a stray two years ago.  After the first week I slowly put my hand on her and started petting her.  Looking back I suspect I was lucky I didn’t get bit but I didn’t use the sit back and wait approach that I read on the internet.  Even with her it took five months before she came out of the basement and now is a devoted and loving indoor house pet. 

I’m torn because I was in touch with Best Friends Animal Society for the trapping and they advised I release him back to his territory.  He lived in the woods by a major highway and many office buildings so this is not an option.  I’ve got a lot of time and patience and willing to give him a try but want to do it right. 

Like my last stray she had to be quarantined from my other cats for 6 weeks.  They missed one of the parasites on the initial test.  So I am aware about confinement and even how to socialize a new cat but need to get my new boy attached to me.  

I read some nice posts on this site and welcome feedback.

A devoted cat lover.
 

speakhandsforme

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Hi and welcome!! :wavey:

You're definitely on the right track with Grey. The only suggestion I can think of is to change the CD to harp music, which is supposed to be especially calming for stressed animals. Harp of Hope is one of the best-known ones, found here at Amazon. (I wouldn't spend $30 on it, though. :lol3:)

Good luck!!! :vibes:
 
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StefanZ

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Hi and welcome to the TCS site and our Forums!

You are doing very well, just according to the manuals.  :)

Baby Bach is surely very good, almost as good as the Harp CD...

Good you are talking to him a lot, you can sang some too, if you want and can.  Friendly noises IS in the natural language repertoire of cats. Both moms are doing it with kittens, and friendly toms courting females.

One possible alternative:  You tell you have always a little food with you. Good idea!

Another variation is you have ALL the food with you.  Ie: YOU are the food source.

It is dirty playing, and Im not sure I myself like and advocate this idea.  But it is possible and perhaps even forceful.

Last, and not least. As you have time and will, please do continue.  You will surely succeed sooner or later.

If he was visibly stressed by being inside, yes, it would be a useful option to release it.

It could still be an option if you dont have time or will, or if you had a long queue of other cats you wanted to save.  As he apparently managed all right on his own.

But he is young, you want and have time - the victory will be yours, you and the greys.   :)

Good luck!    *vibes*
 

krz

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I think it is great of you to try and socialize him. I would have kept him inside too. All cats are different, but with time and patience, I am sure he will come around. There are always others on this site going through the same situation, it is so nice to have encouragement and support.
 

speakhandsforme

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Baby Bach is surely very good, almost as good as the Harp CD...
Yes! Let me rephrase myself. The Bach CD is probably already helping, but the Harp CD might help even more. That's all I meant. You're not doing anything wrong with the Bach CD. :lol3:
 

ziggy'smom

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Grey is a lucky boy! You're doing very well. It's hard to tell if he's feral or just a scared, unsocialized stray. I've had strays act just like him and then turn out to be tame cats. I had a foster a few years ago that I thought was feral at first. She hid in the rafters in our basement for three weeks and I thought she was a lost cause. But eventually she came out and after a couple of weeks I could touch her, then pet her, then hold her. She turned out to be a real cuddler, not a least bit feral. She was adopted by a great family.

If I were to guess I would guess that he is not a true feral and if that's the case he should come around. But if he doesn't do you have a plan B? If he turns out to be feral and can't be socialized, which is often the case with adult ferals, can you still keep him or do you have somewhere else to put him? It's just something to consider.

For now though I think you're doing great and I'm sure you'll make some progress in time. Once you're sure that he's healthy you may want to introduce him to your cat. In the case with the cat that hid in the rafters and others former stray fosters I've had they've become more comfortable once they've been introduced to some other cats.
 
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cbrew

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Thank you so much to those who have posted.  I really appreciate the support.  I've done this before but still have so much to learn!

Well,  Grey still won't come out of hiding.  I was a bit assertive and peaked under the sheet last night.  He was sitting in the middle part of the cat post which has a ledge so from the floor where I sat I saw just the tops of his ears.  I tried a feather toy and could tell he watched it by his ears moving.  I didn't do it long because I know I'm suppose to wait for him to come to me.  I try to remember he's scared and I'm the threat.  I'm just alittle anxious.  Should I continue to sit back and wait?

He is quite wily and will wait for me to leave to come out and eat.  I'll put canned food out for him, come upstairs to get supplies and go back down in less than 5 minutes and all the food will be gone.  I might try the trick StefanZ suggested where I dont leave the canned food and take it with me.  I've experimenting with different treats to see if the smell would bring him out.  But then if he doesn't come out I leave the tuna.  We have ruled out fresh backed chicken and salmon as options.  Funny how they can get picky so fast!

The vet confirmed he has roundworm and told the Profender he got will take care of it.  I'll do a retest in three weeks.  So it will be awhile before I can introduce him to our other three cats.  My last stray, Muddie Pie, is quite affectionate and follows me like a puppy dog.  She even meows for me while I'm in the basement with Grey.  She is four and still very playful.  Do you think it's too soon to start introducing a towel with her smell?  She will be the first one to go down and socialize to Grey. 

Someone asked my long term plan.  My other cats I trapped as feral kittens.  Two passed away from cancer one at 13 one at 16. Of the four one never quite came around.  He is 15 now and hides from strangers. He had aggressive issues with another one of my cats and we have had numerous urination poblems around the house all of which I worked through.  I can't image a cat who wouldn't come around or a problem I couldn't work through.  I believe in the animals quality of life so as long as I perceive Grey is happy and sure there is peace with my other cats I will keep him.  I believe a pet is a life time commitment.  I've never dealt with a truely wild feral so if I can't socialize him I will need to research.  I tried the trap and release once with one of my ferals Mom and never saw the cat again.  I feel I failed at that attempt.  One step at a time. 
 

krz

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You are doing a great job and he is lucky to have found you. I do what you do and always second guess myself. But he is safe, warm and fed. And you did that for him. He will come around, every cat is different. He is just scared. One of the older kittens that I brought in has been here since mid December and is just letting me pet him. He is huge compared to the others but such a scared boy. He hid under the bed for weeks, but he would watch everything I did. He wouldn't even eat until I left the room. In the last two weeks he has been greeting me, coming out to eat while I am in the room, and now he is discovering how nice it feels to be petted.

It is hard to say when to start introductions, but feral cats usually like other cats and sometimes the house cats can "show" them life inside is a good thing.
 

feralvr

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AWWWWW :hugs: WELCOME !!!!!!!!!!!! :clap::clap::clap::clap: You are truly a cat champion to the core :heart3: Grey is one lucky kitty that is for sure. It is WAY too soon to know if and when this kitty will come around. It will take much time and much patience on your part as I think you already know. You are doing everything just fine here. I would spend as much time in that room as you can. Every day change out a slept in T-shirt that you have worn to bed - place that where Grey is sleeping/hiding. This will help to associate your scent with safety. At this point - you need to keep food in that room all the time. He sounds extremely frightened and probably won't eat in your presence these first days. IF he does - that is a huge step in the right direction. Bring in the stinky wet canned food and place the bowl near where he is hiding. Then just move away and spend time on your computer, reading, or watching TV if there is a TV in that room. A TV will help too associate the cat with human voices. YEP - I think this cat really has no clue what a human is :sniffle:.... Poor baby. I think what you are doing is incredible for him and giving him a chance at an indoor life. It is very possible that in time, much much time, he will begin to trust you and accept you and maybe only you. It is hard to really say at this point - because they are all so different in their personalities and how quickly they want to have that connection with a human.

The Profender is an excellent dewormer. It says it works in one dosage. I am not convinced of this though :lol3: I usually give another spot-on treatment in three weeks time. THEN check the stool in three weeks. I think Grey will be in that room for sometime anyway before you even attempt to introduce him to your other cats.

It IS very hard on our hearts when they do not want to accept human companionship. But this is a possibility down the road - too soon to evaluate. I also have had cats that were re-released and I never saw them again :( :shame: Very hard - but you have to think this way about it - at least that cat cannot breed and add more feral cats into the population. You saved many kitten's lives by trapping and getting this kitty neutered. :hugs::hugs:

I wish you the BEST with this kitty. I really, really DO hope that Grey will, in time, begin to accept your presence and trust you. :cross: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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cbrew

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Another success story!  I know everyone on this forum strives for this so I had to share. 

Well,  I've got to think I might have some formula.  Grey cat who is now called Finn was in my basement about 5 weeks with no contact and little sightings.  I talked to him everyday; sometimes 10 minutes a day and sometimes for hours.  We then went on a week vacation and the cat sitter had no interaction as well.  Well day two of my return I tried bringing him a can of tuna and put my finger up so he had to touch it and he rubbed on it.  The next day he looked like he wanted to come to me so I went to him and was I in for a treat.  Finn purred and head butted me, rolled on his back and gave me soft paws to the face many times.  He is an absolute Lover Boy and can not get enough pets.  I've even been able to pick him up a little.  I had this same success with my last stray I caught in a business park.  She had bonded with me in the basement but still very scared and shy and wouldn't come out of the basement.  Then we went away for a week and she came flying out of that basement and never went back unless I go down there.  I've got to think there is something to the withdraw and return.  Maybe its something readers could try.

So I'm still looking for a little advice.  My boy is still very scared.  It's been a week now of the intense pets and he's coming out of his hiding area for me in the room but I think he needs to bond better with me in the room.  My daughter comes down and he hides.  I've got the clothes in the room with her smell and my husbands and there are also the other cats.  So who gets introduced first?  My stray I mention above follows me quite often and meows outside the door.  I've let her in before and Finn would watch me pet her and purr but that was weeks ago.  My daughter now comes in and reads to Finn.  I think he needs to learn her voice.  I think he should feel really confident with everyone before I let him out.  Also, all clear of roundworm!
 

sadiecat

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Another success story!  I know everyone on this forum strives for this so I had to share. 

 Finn purred and head butted me, rolled on his back and gave me soft paws to the face many times.  He is an absolute Lover Boy and can not get enough pets.  I've even been able to pick him up a little. 
That is so heartwarmingly absolutely fantastic!!

I am so happy for you guys:)

What is that saying? something like, distance makes the heart grow fonder...
 
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