Befriending a Group of 10 cats

Hello
I just created this account to ask your advice on caring for/ gaining the trust of a group of ferril cats that live In a yard that neighbors mine. I take care of the neighbors sheep as well as this group of cats that has populated the property. None of these cats have ever lived in a house or been taken proper car
Of by anyone. Some of these cata have been captured and have been brought to the vet to be speyed and nutured, not all of them are though. I have been feeding them for about 3 months and hey have become accustomed to my presence and all gather in the yard when I feed them. 3 of the 10 are not afraid of me
And I have pet on a number of occasions. Of the remaining 7, 3 are somehwat comfortable with me and will eat within 5 feet of me. the remaining 4 are a bit shy to me and will eat but only when I am at least 10 feet away. Every day I feed them at about he same time and j have already made tremendous progress. Every day they grow more familiar with me and will get closer and closer. ( I am currently in the yard with them now = ) there is one in particular that I am interested in and he just so happens to be the shyest one. Over the last Month he has become familiar with me and he knows that i feed him. He has also seen me let and take care of the other cats so I know I am making progress.

I have been reading up on guides and tips for taking care of and gaining the trust of feral cats and what I got from them was this.
1) patience
2) patience
3) patience
4) give them food
5) no sudden moves
6) talk gently to them
7) sit down near the food


I feel like I am going in the right direction with the cats and am posting this just to get some more advice from people who know best. Let me know what you guys think and get back to me. Thanks!

WELCOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It always warms my heart when people come on the site with such wonderful efforts in wanting to help a colony of feral cats. :heart3: FIRST AND FOREMOST!!! Please try to get them all TNRd - trap them, get them all neutered and then return them..... and most importantly finally - commit to caring for them :rub: With you caring for them now and feeding them - the breeding will boom. You will have many kittens and we want to avoid that at all costs.

Actually, I don't have much advice to offer you :lol3:. You are already doing a great job. When a feral cat want's that connection with their caretaker, they will approach you in their own time. Rub on legs is the first sign. Do not pet the cat's at that point. Let them come to you, sniff you, rub on your legs without you reaching out to them. This is the best way - the only way. They have to come to you first. These are the cat's that would be excellent candidates for finding homes for. The feral cat's that stay far away - ten feet or more - are not ready and may never be ready for that connection. When you go to feed, just do what you are doing.... sit down, don't stare directly at the cat in the eye, read a book outloud, speak softly. Bring extra special treats with you. Irresistible treats such as Freeze-dried Chicken. Great Life makes a very reasonable and inexpensive Freeze-dried chicken treat. Much less than the other's out there. If you go to a Natural Pet Store you will find many of these types of treats. Temptation Treats are another tempting, addictive treat to the ferals. Since you already have a "connection" to a few of the cat's - the treats will help bring it to the next level. Food will be your best friend in making friends with ferals - to get them to trust you. OH - don't sit toooooo close to the food you set down. At first stay many feet away. Just put the food down and then walk away to a comfortable distance so the really shy cat's will still eat. You will know how far is far enough - when the very shy cat will eat. :nod: Each day move a foot or two closer. IF the shy cat won't eat, then you know you are moving too close for comfort. Eventually, :cross:, you will be able to sit much closer. At first, I always sit with my back facing the feeding station. They will wonder WHAT THE HECK... but eventually, they will eat and not even notice you. You will just become part of each day's meal time in a way. After they are comfortable with you sitting with facing to the side or the opposite way. Then start sitting more forward facing to the feeding area. There may be cat's that will never allow you to get any closer then ten or fifteen feet. Those cat's are not ready for that "connection" with you. The other's that will eat with you sitting two feet away, AND eventually petting them, are the ones that I would try to find homes for :heart3: :cross:

Thank you for caring..... keep updating on your progress

Thanks for the reply! 

I was reading your response and I couldnt be happier. I am doing just about everything you recomended. I do my best not to make eye contact, everyday I gradually get closer to the feeding stations and they are getting more and more comfortable with me being there. I have been using pelit food the whole time and have never even thought about using a treat for them. Maybe I will try that soon. I will be sure to keep up on the progress of the cats, thanks again! 

Yes, I think you are doing everything right.  Thank you so much for helping these cats.

I would try to get the rest of the cats taken to a vet to be spayed/neutered.  This tends to make the cats calmer.

Where do you live?

Ok thanks for the advice! I live in Windsor CA, it is in Sonoma County. 

Does anyone know how I can tell what kind of cats they are? I have been told that they might be short haired something? I am new to the cat world. 

Norcalkitty said:

Does anyone know how I can tell what kind of cats they are? I have been told that they might be short haired something? I am new to the cat world. 

Click to expand...

It was probably  DSH, Domestic short hair.   Domestic is what most cats are.  Other popular names are moggie, alley cat, roof cat in Poland, peasant cat in Sweden...

If you have good pictures, you can have them here, so we can try to take a closer look.

If you think some of them is a look alike a breed, you can have a couple of good pictures at our Breed forum.  Where they will also write up what colours and patterns your cat / cats are...

Of course, without papers or at least solid proofs, it will still be counted as a moggie, even if good look alike a breed.  But it is often nice to know it is a look alike.  

Good luck!    *vibes*

that sounds about right, thanks!