Took in Semi-Feral Cat-Wondering if we're doing the right thing

Hi.  I'm new to the forum.  My husband and I took in a semi-feral (or at least that's what we think after researching the topic).  We had been feeding her for about 6 months.  She always came and sat on our carport in the back when it was her "dinner" time.  We could get about 5 feet away from her before she'd run away.  Anyway, we finally got a trap from a local shelter with the intention of trapping her, getting her shots and spayed and then releasing her.  It turned out she was already spayed and her ear was tipped.  Anyway, we decided after doing research as well as talking to a few people,  to try to keep her.  The big question that continues to run through our heads is "are we doing the right thing for her".   She currently has her own room with places to hide and 2 litter boxes both with organic potting soil in them (which she has been using).  The room is attached to our living room so she can hear and smell us, our dog, and 2 cats.  She's been with us for almost a week now.  She is eating, but only at night.  She does mew/cry at night.  We aren't sure of her age, but she is little.  We've both been going in the room in the morning and evening, bringing treats or food and then sitting in there talking for about 5 min.  We just aren't sure what we're doing.  Should we go in the room more often or stay longer with her?  How long before we see any sign that she will be ok as an inside cat?  And what is that sign?  We just want to do what's best for her and I'm pretty sure right now she's unhappy and confused.  Are there any other steps we should be taking to get her comfortable?  Any advice is GREATLY appreciated!!

Jill and Ed

I would try to spend more time in there if you can. I used to spend about 2-3 hours a day, between my husband and I, in the room with our feral kittens. I actually enjoyed it because you can see how much progress they are making and they are funny to watch.

I'm not sure how old she is but what worked for the kittens was spoon feeding them chicken and gravy baby food. We would stick the spoon near them while they were in their hiding spots and after a few days we would slowly pull the spoon a little further to us. Next thing you know they are out of hiding. Getting them to lick the baby food off your finger means you are making progress.

There are so many little signs of progress. The first time they stick their little heads out of their hiding spots, playing for the first time, purring for the first time. All of these things are good signs. I felt really bad for the kittens the first few weeks we had them because I could tell they were unhappy. Eventually you will just know that they are happy and content in their new surroundings. It's a slow process but very rewarding.

Hi Jill and Ed! This is one lucky kitty to have found your carport and a way into your lives. That also makes me happy to hear that someone in your area is TNRing feral cats since this girl was already done. Did you have her tested for FeLK/FIV when you took her to the vet? Also get her started on a de-wormer from the vet as well. You want to make sure she will get a good healthy start to her new indoor life and cover all bases.

You are doing everything right for this girl. A much safer life for her and she is lucky to have her own room too . There really is no way to tell you how long this process will take with her as it is her underlying personality that will be a big factor here as well. She has only been inside for a week and this is a whole new world for her - another planet. So she will need loads of time and even more patience on your part. Turn off the clock and just let her come around at her own pace. It could be just a few weeks or quite a few months before she is feeling safe, secure and trusting of you. Good signs are when she will eat in front of you, take treats from your hand, comes out (shows herself) when you go in the room., grooms herself or starts to play with toys. I usually will schedule feed feral kitties and bring in yummy canned food at specific feeding times during the day. In the beginning, you can leave food overnight for her. But hopefully soon, she will be interested in eating the canned food you bring to her. At first, you will have to leave and come back in 30 minutes to see if she ate. She will very soon begin to unwind and adjust to her room. Do you know of Feliway http://www.feliway.com/us You can buy this at Petsmart and I think Petco or get it online through Amazon. It is kitty pheromones and might help to relax her. I would also start to offer one of the litter boxes with Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter with the Herbal Cat Attract Additive. Just to get her used to regular kitty litter. Mix half and half of the organic potting soil in with the litter the first week. I would play soft music for her or leave a radio on for her during the day. Here is a thread with suggestions for music http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240186/i-suggest-this-dvd-for-indoor-ferals-strays Spend as much time in her room as possible. Reading a loud, working on your computer, etc. You can bring in wand kitty toys and just play with them gently by yourself to try to attract her attention in your direction.

She already knows you quite well from you caring for her outside. So she already trusts you from that standpoint and already knows you both. I am hopeful that she will start to give you sign sooner than later. Just don't give up, she sounds worth the effort. Here is an article that will also have many great suggestions for you written by a long time member here on TCS !!! http://www.catnipchronicles.com/may2012/laurie.htm

Keep us posted!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all the advice.  We've been spending time in the room with her, but she is still hiding from us.  We bring some type of treat in with us (chicken, tuna or kitty treats) and I've been gently putting the treats close to where she is hiding.  She is eating and using the litter box and the litter is now over half cat litter.  At night she mews.  We recently put a camera in her room and have seen that when she mews, she looks out the window.  Our main question is whether she is adjusting normally to being a house cat and how do we determine this?  We certainly don't want to keep her too long if she is "too feral" and she'd be happier outside.  Is there anything else we should be doing to get her more comfortable around us?  I volunteer at a local cat shelter and the director suggested that we borrow a double decker cage, put Jackie (the kitty) in there and keep her out in the main living space with everyone (me, husband, 2 cats, and our dog).  Really, any suggestions/advice is still greatly appreciated! 

The story of my indoor semi-feral kitty Patches might help some.   I initially kept her in a bathroom with no windows - I suspect if there had been a window there would have been more mewing and escape attempts.   I had her in there for about a month visiting her often and my two totally tame cats played with her under the door.   One day I just decided to let her out to have the run of the place and she quickly become best friends with one of the cats.   Her seeing that the other cats were relaxed and safe helped her relax more than anything else I did.   Now to be fair she never has fully become tame, she still bolts like lightning if I do anything she doesn't like.   But she's happy, sleeps on furniture, plays, and lets me pet her back most any time.   Patches is a reverted feral - she did grow up with people who abused her and then left her to starve and fend for herself and sadly even after years she's never fully recovered.   But all in all, I think she's glad to be here.   I still do majorly stress over not being able to give her the level of care that I would if she were easy to take to the vet though.    I hope some of that was helpful!

We rescued a real feral cat in our Fl. neighborhood a year ago this past July. We borrowed a cat trap from a local cat rescue. We immediately took her to our vet and had her checked out, spayed and micro-chipped. Sox as we named her was terrified of us but after over a year she has really responded well to us and is not longer afraid of my wife and I. We have 4 other felines and she gets along well with all of them.  She has gotten sweet on Ben, one of our cats and gets next to him with her tail up in the air and trying to rub against him.  We spent a lot of time with her and gave her her space.  Just be patient with your kitty. Sox cried for a couple of weeks after trapping her and even thought of returning her back outside but we are glad we kept her. She is very content being an "indoor" only cat. She is about 3 years old now and she does not growl or hiss and has a sweet personality. She does not wanting us to pick her up but we are able to get very close to her. I think with time she will improve.  Just give her lots of love and attention and space. We really spoil our cats and I am sure that is why Sox is doing so well as having a good temperament. By the way, we moved from Fl. in Dec. 2011 and she traveled like a champ.

Update: We obtained a double decker cat cage from the local cat shelter Jill volunteers at. The owner of the shelter suggested this approach as she has had success with socializing feral cats this way.   Before we had her in our Florida room and she would hide in a box all the time. This clearly was not working. Getting her into the cage was a challenge to say the least.  She was jumping at the sliding glass doors trying to get away.  Obviously she was stressed and scared.  Anyway, she is in the double decker cage (and has been for about 1 week) which sits still in the Florida room but the doors are opened and she has to face us in the living room.  This allows her to see us and our two cats as well as our dog. This so far has not gone too well either. Whenever we attempt to give her her food and water she hisses and growls at us.  She is not happy. We are at a point now that we are re-evaluating the situation and trying to figure out how to best socialize her.  We need some advice on 1)  how to best go about socializing her and gaining her trust and 2) advice on when to say when and release her back to the outdoors.  and 3)  if releasing her is the best option for her, how do we go about setting up shelter for her and inticing her to stay in our yard where we know she is somewhat safe (if this is possible).

Hi EdandJill, a few questions thoughts...

- how are your cats reacting to her?   do they play with their paws under the door or through the cage at all?   do you sense any friendship developing?

- does she have a hiding place in this double-decker cage?  seems important for her to have some place to relax when she needs to

- will she play at all with you?  feather toys or string?

There's a few older threads on this site about bringing feral cats indoors that I've been reading through myself.   I've been considering to try what you are doing now with a feral I've been feeding.   The Sox thread is pretty relevant.   I'm still not sure myself if I'm game for it all and admire your gumption!

We got so attached to and took in a beautiful, glossy light grey coat outside cat last summer after coming to our door and being fed several times. We named him Greyeum and took him to our lcoal APL where he got his ear clipped and got all his shots.  We gave him time to adjust to us and the two other cats.

Before taking him, I cuddled him and he seemed responsive. He did have a collar and wondered if the owners were just on vacation. But, if so, why was he not neutered. He looked under a year old and may be soon to be able to father some kitties. That prompted me to take him to APL and had his ear clipped because I was not sure if I would take him or not. When no one claimed him after a month or so, I decided to take him against my husband's wish. But I placed him as a human being in my heart.

Considering that maybe he even was born and grew up in the outside, I let him out whenever he cried as he stayed at the door. Then, knowing time for snack and time for meals, he'd meow outside of the door to let him in.

For a few weeks we let him stay in a room as the oldest cat Jagger would chase him and make him mind. I showed him his own bathroom and he used it. Then, I took his litter box in the basement where the other two's are. Looked like Jagger the oldest cat didn't want to let him go to the basement. And so I talked to the cats. I tried to encouraged them by rubbing their jeads against one another as I tell them to get along. But, I still thought it was cruel not to let him out as the outside is more of his home. Until one evening, when he came in for his meal, he wouldn't take his solid food. We just guessed he hurt his mouth and to give it time to ehal, we gave him canned food for every meal, to the other two's jealousy. After two days, we decided to take him to the vet, and indeed he had fever staying out in the cold in his first winter. After three days of taking antibiotics, he was now slowly in his normal eating and determined not to let him out anymore. In the meantime, I went to APL to lok at a female cat to replace him and also to find him a home where he will only be the only cat. That's when I came to find out about feral.--NOW WE THINK GREYEUM IS FERAL. He is not responsive to the other cats' licking and showing him affection. They feel offended by his "rejection" of them. Now, we know. As we have been training him to lick --putting some wet food on our hand---we think that we need to train him some more. We are cuddling all of them by turns to avoid jealousy. he has sniffed back some. But for some reason, he's so kiddish of the oldest cat, as if he has too much respect to his elder. I KNOW WE NEED TO DO MORE, PATIENTLY.....

Hi Ed and Jill,

I was just wondering how you were getting on with the feral cat? I took in about a 3-4 months feral, had her in a cage for a while and she only started to come round when I introduced her to my cat. 

She sleeps on my feet every night but she still won't let me touch her, she is still scared of me. I let her out for the first time yesterday and it was only luck she came back in or she would be still out there. 

Can you update us on how you are getting on.

Christine

Sorry for the late update but we decided to release the feral cat back in January. She stays on our property and I still feed her everyday. In fact, now there is another stray cat that hangs around much of the time as well. I say stray because this cat is friendly and will let me pick him up. When I have food the feral cat will get within a foot or so of me. Maybe she sees how I pick up the stray cat, I do not know. I do not think she will ever be a house cat but we can take care of her this way. I built a feral cat shelter for her for the upcoming colder weather.

On another not we just adopted a FIV cat from a local shelter that was in a feral cat colony. She is getting along great with our other stray FIV cat we adopted 3 years ago and our 19 year old cat.

Ed

Thanks for the update.  It's nice to know she's OK and still coming to you.  Even though she's not inside, she is being cared for and that's the most important thing.  Thank you for helping all of them!

I am a new member. I have been feeding a cat for around 4 months. Another new stray showed up recently and started hanging out with pretty. It might be my fault but if i show any attention to this new cat, pretty gets upset and guards the territory. I'm afraid this new cat will starve. Pretty won't let me come close to pet her. Winter is around the corner and they catch cats for barns. I am deciding if i should just leave things the way they are.

Is it possible to trap one of the cats and take it to the vet to have checked and try to make it an indoor kitty?  That way there will be no competition between the two.

I thk I. Have a ferel kitten or just poor socialization at best. I diidnt want to make any mistakes because I wanted him. I saw him online. When I got to home the kitten was already in carrier...I know not good but stayed around, and watched the interaction of his mama cat and liter it was 6 of them. All seems very shy, and ran off. I knew I had lots of work to do. I went to pet mart and picked up supplies liter box, food, and a few toys. I had. Read online about "atrract" to make them want to use liter box after afew days of not using liter box. I've had him in my room, and hears my husband, and coming and going. I closed off other room like bathroom, and other bedrooms. He can has always had roaming rights to kitchen,, living, and my bedroom. I never tried interupt his roaming, so if he wanted to hide that was okay. Just knowing he was eating, dringking, and using liter was good for me. I talk to him all the time, he comes out to see me, but I still kant touch him. Lastnite was the first time he played with his toy.....hooray he comes out to see me, but keeps his distance. I so much want to touch him ahhhhh.... but I say to my self in do time. Amen, amen. But I do have a question.????? When its time to go to vet how do I get him into the carrier, and will have to start all over with the trust thing again? Wow.......

Buckwheat:  Going to the vet is upsetting to most cats.  Some of mine don't talk to me for days afterwards.  They recuperate fine, so don't worry too much about it.  It sounds like he's doing OK.

I have to bribe mine into the carrier and when that doesn't work, I usually end up scruffing them and putting them into it.  They don't like it but if they have to go to the vet's, its the best thing.

But I kant catch him...wha do I do, he doesnt let me touch, he run&hides.is he ferel?

No, he isn't feral, he's scared.  Start feeding him in a big carrier.  Once he gets used to eating in it, you can close the door on him when it's time to take him to see the vet. He will not be happy but it will get him to the vet.

In the meantime, please don't try to catch him or hold him or even approach him.  Let him take the lead.  When he is ready, you will be able to touch and pet him.  But don't force him - it will only scare him more. 

Thank you so much the feeding a carrier sounds prefect, and not approaching him to toch him I agree will scare him. He is so well behaved, and so beautiful...thanks sooo much for the info. Should cover the carrier with a blanket or just leave it open. I haven't gotten him a carrier yet, his a big kitty do you have pix that you can send to me which kind to buy. I hope I'm not bothering you with no many question, but love buckwheat( my husband named him), and I so much want to keep him, and I want him to happy. He eats a full cup of daily, and if I give him more its just there to the next feeding. Is he eating enough? And he drinks his water also. I clean liter box everyday hez a good kitty thz again.

How do I post Buck's pix using my fone I've tried everything. Do you have any suggestions?