New Stray/Feral

Hi! I'm new here to this site, and to feral cats in general, and I just had some questions that hopefully someone can help me out with. A few days ago a small cat (probably around 4-5 months) came to our back door and we started feeding him. His tail was extremely infected and pieces of hair were missing. I don't know if someone did this to him or if he got into a fight but I decided to look up some low cost animal hospitals in the area (I'm a pretty poor college student) and I happened to find one. It took me a few days to catch him and get him into a cage and by then a piece of his tail was falling off. I would post a picture but it's really sad

We brought him in this morning and were told that his tail needed to be amputated. It was just too bad. I sat and talked it over with my mom for awhile because the whole procedure cost $489 and like I said I'm not well off at all and we already own 7 rescued cats. Needless to say I had money saved up and decided that his need was greater then mine and we went ahead and paid for his amputation, got him all of his shots and he was neutered. 

Right now I just feel a little over my head and I'm not quite sure what to do. He's in my bathroom at the moment (i was told he would like a small dark place to rest for a bit) with tons of towels on the floor to lay on, a cat bed, fresh food and water and even a toy he used to play with when we fed him on our porch. I'm just not sure what to do next. The cats we have now, two were strays outside and they just walked into our house and made themselves at home lol.

I don't know if I should leave him alone for a day or two and just slip in some water and food while he rests from his surgery or work on trying to tame him. He's been very calm throughout everything he went through today, although the vet did say he wasn't a huge fan of being picked up or touched, and when I peeked into the bathroom to see him he was just laying there cuddled up and gave me a little meow. On our porch he would eat pieces of sliced turkey out of my hand and purr but I never tried to pet him before and always gave him his space. Any help would greatly be appreciated, I've spent all night reading articles about feral cats and how hard they are to tame after they reach a certain age and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.

P.S. We named him Ty after the ty beanie baby he was trying to rip to shreds while he was playing with it outside lol.

What a great thing you did for that kitty

I wanted to point out one important thing about something you said.  Feral cats are indeed harder to tame once they reach a certain age, except in the cases that they are injured and nursed back to health.  In those cases, it's much much easier to tame, and the bond created is usually greater and deeper then any other pet you can possibly have.

I wouldn't try to approach or touch him quite yet.  If the bathroom is big enough that you can sit in there with him out of reach from him while you feed him, that would be a good way to start.  If you see he is really scared, then leave him to recover for a bit.  Each visit can be longer and longer.  And you can associate the visits with positive things like food and treats.  Depending on how he responds to that, is how you can determine your next steps.  If he comes right up and eats out of your hand again - well then your well on your way.  If he is scared of you, then you will have to ease into it slower.

But once you succeed, this will be a very special relationship.

I have a blog in my signature of the steps I took to socialize a feral kitten, it might help give you some ideas on how to tame and introduce to other cats in your house.  Start at Day 1 when she was a terrified feral animal that tried to claw through the glass window trying to get away from me - to being a full blown loveable lapcat just a few weeks later.

Thanks for taking care of this little kitty

I agree with what klag has said. It does sound to me as though your kitty may not be a real feral but a lost stray, with people in his background but who has suffered abuse or abandonment, or just getting lost, and who will have to learn to trust again. In that case you are doing the right things. Especially get him used to your voice by sitting near him, reading out loud or talking to him, and maybe leave him some music to listen to when you are not there - it has a calming effect. You are doing a wonderful thing for him.

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!! Your little Ty sounds so very sweet... I agree that I do not think he is a completely feral cat. He obviously has had some human contact at one point in his life. Thank goodness you saved him He really needed you and I am sorry he lost his tail, but he will be better now once he is healed up. I think you are doing everything right here and just spend as much time in the bathroom with Ty as you can. I will not be surprised in hearing your next update that Ty has made great strides in starting to trust you. I think Ty will be coming around quickly. It doesn't matter how old he is, each cat is different and has to be taken as such. With a truly feral cat, the older they are the harder it is to socialize them and sometimes it is just cruel. BUT... each cat is an individual and I have know quite a few "older" completely feral cat's that have become loving, loyal lap cats. I think Ty is an abandoned, reverted feral kitty and with time, he will come around quickly. Keep us posted

This article will have some great tips/suggestions as well even though I don't think Ty is a "true" feral this article has wonderful advice http://catcentric.org/behavior-and-psychology/socializing-a-feral-cat-its-all-about-trust/

Thank you all for your replies! I read the article and the blog you posted . That really helped with some more information. I started playing some music for him and right now he's passed out. I have a walk-in closet leading to my bathroom so I try to spend time with him by opening the bathroom door and doing some homework sitting in my closet. Today I took the chance of slipping one of those feather on a stick cat toys around the door (i stayed on the other side and we watched each other from the crack in the door lol) and it took a few minutes but eventually he was on his side playing with me. I slipped my phone around the corner of the door and got this picture.

 

What a great looking cat!!  He looks happy   He sure is lucky to have found you!!

Keep us posted for sure!

I had a few other questions when I went in to feed him this morning he eats his food at rapid fire pace. Is this because I'm not feeding him enough or because while being outside he was never sure where his next meal would come from? I started off with half a can of wet food but I thought maybe since he's so small and skinny he might need some more so I put out a can in the morning and one at night. Also, I went to scoop the litter box and noticed he had a lot of diarrhea too. Should I be concerned? Is this from his rapid eating or the antibiotics he's on? I'm not sure if the vet dewormed him either but he's going back to have his sutures removed in a week and a half so I thought I'd have them do it then.

Onto the good news. Today we played for an hour with his fishing pole toy. He still gets a little nervous if I'm to close but he seems to LOVE to play. He was rolling around, attacking the pole upside down and not even missing his tail lol. He let me feed him some turkey from my hand and he's got an even louder purr then any of my other cats. He seemed like a really happy kitty today.

after we played for an hour:


going up to sniff the camera. i think he likes having his picture taken haha.



after he ate his treats lol.

I have noticed that outdoor ferals eat alot..they gobble their food. We took in a little feral boy about 5 months old. He has tamed down quite nicely. He used to be quite a garbage gut at first..well it took a few months and he has slowed his eating down. I think it does have something to do with his being afraid of not having food..Did you have him checked for worms? You are awesome to have taken in this little guy. You changed his life.

TY!!! You are just a gorgeous little boy :love: Aw, hun, I am not surprised to hear he has diarrhea. Could be a multitude of issues. The food you are feeding. If the diarrhea keeps up, you can go and pick up some Hill's W/D from the vet - canned. This will help firm up the stools right away. Also, he most likely has worms and needs to be dewormed 2 - 3 weeks apart. I am sure he is very hungry and that is why he is eating so fast. Try to give him four small meals a day - about 1 1/2 ounce each time. What are you feeding him? AW, he is really lucky that he found his way to your back yard :rub: :heart3: :hugs;

I'm feeding him canned friskies. I try to find flavors that have meat as the first ingredient but it's so hard to find something thats good and affordable (since we have 8 little mouths to feed now). My mom and I thought about making our own food but we're a little nervous about it. I want to have him dewormed when we take him back to get the sutures removed just so he doesn't have any more stress with leaving and everything. I found out he cam from a little of 4 other cats and got separated somehow. Some other people around my neighborhood had been feeding him and just stopped recently. That was probably how he ended up at my back door.

Today was a really fantastic day though I brought him his food in this morning and he licked some off my fingers. Then he came right up to me and stuck his head in the can that was in front of me lol. I used the fishing pole toy to pet him on the back and he started purring right away. Then I had read somewhere to keep my hand kind of in a fist and not open so I placed it on my knee and he came up to sniff it. At that point I didn't even think i was breathing lol. I just didn't want to move anything. Out of nowhere he gave my hand a little bump and ran his face over it. Before I knew it he was letting me pet him! After just 3 days! He started licking my hand, rolling upside down and rubbing against my knee. He was loving it, especially under his chin. He almost seemed thankful with all his kisses <3 

Then later tonight I had some friends over and we were sitting in my room with the closet door open so he could check stuff out. To my surprise he laid down right outside the closet and joined our circle lol. He was even playing with my friends. Of course if we moved a little to fast he'd run back him but he'd be out a few seconds later to lay back down and watch us. We'd pass the fishing pole toy around and take turns playing with him. He was so playful and peaceful looking. He's the sweetest thing ever. Never even hissed once and he's so curious.

When do you guys think I can begin introducing him to my other cats? He kind of met them already because our cats play around on our back porch and he walked up to them. They just let him walk by and didn't really do anything. I just hate leaving him in the closet it's a fairly big walk in closet that leads to my bathroom but he sleeps right by the door and meows sometimes. I'd let him out by my other cat (Harry) sleeps with me. Harry is a complete gentlemen and I've raised him ever since his mother gave birth. I actually got to witness it They see each other through my closet door everyday and Ty gets super excited when he sees him on the other side. He'll give a playful meow and we'll play with Harry whose on the other side. I'd just really love if these guys became best friends lol.

WONDERFUL UPDATE on Ty AW, he is totally a love bug and you have found yourself a wonderful, well adjusted little kitty. I can't believe he even joined in the circle with your friends. He truly WANTS to be loved. Did you happen to have him tested for FeLK/FIV? Because, is not, I would have that done before you let him meet any of your other cats. I would also check his stool for parasites because if your other cats use Ty's litter box then they could all get worms and you will have to worm all of them I would make sure his stool is negative and the other tests are done too. I really do think that Ty will fit in perfectly with your other cats too. He really sounds quite sweet :rub:

You have made amazing progress with your kitty!

I have a similar story with a feral that had to have his tail amputated ($550) and I have him inside now socializing him.

If you care to read our story here it is:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/242011/sadies-story

Your kitty is so sweet and he is definitely snuggling right into your heart!!