Update and need a little advice - ferals have been inside with me

Hey everyone - last time I posted was last May - I had been taking care of a mama and her two kids on the outside for about 7 years when the building I lived in was sold.  I decided to take the already tnr'ed family inside in my new place. 

It's been 9 months (times passes so fast) they are doing well - they have the living room basically for themselves - they eat - they use the litter box - I have lot's of toys and boxes they can play in and with, but I still ? if I did the right thing.  The little girl seems restless lately - or maybe she is just coming around - while I am in the kitchen in the morning and late eve - she comes out and cries and walks around a little bit and then runs back in.  Is she trying to visit or looking for a way out? 

The son I cannot get to and brush some old fur from his back - he must be miserable - any suggestions? 

Mama just sleeps on her chair, eats, plays a lot with the balls and really is afraid of me....

thoughts and advice is appreciated....

So you took in 3 semiferales of the age of 7-10 years. You are apparently managing as well as it can be expected. They tend be be inside semiferales for years. It may take 6 years to become loving pets.

I say 6 years because I know of several such examples.  But Im sure they do OK and are reasonably happy by the sound of it.

The girl is beginning to turn around, I think.

Do you use Feliway?  Classic calm music? Harp music is best.

Good luck!

Yeah, if cats are feral for a long time, it can also take a Long time to socialize them. If they play and eat when you are around then I would say you made the right choice. :-)
For the boy, you may just have to shave him periodically in order to keep his coat proper. That's normal with a feral.

Good luck!!

Minka said:

For the boy, you may just have to shave him periodically in order to keep his coat proper. That's normal with a feral.

Good luck!!

Click to expand...

Not likely to happen if this boy is feral, the shaving or even the brushing. I can barely get clippers near my indoor cats. :lol3:

You might want to try to add a hairball formula to his food, wet food. Laxatone comes in many flavors such as catnip and tuna. Most cats love that stuff. I think you start by using it everyday for three to five days and then a couple times a week. You can also add in some fish oil such as krill or salmon oil which will help with the skin and coat. Also you can use Egg Lecithin twice a week which will help with hairballs too. 1/2 capsule sprinkled on the food. Some of us use this and it does work very well.

I think the little girl is looking for either food or trying to communicate with you!!! Offer he some special treats when she comes in mewing and walking around. I would take that as a sign that she wants something from you!! :rub: :heart3: It may be that they might never allow your touch or direct contact but that doesn't mean they are unhappy or that you did the wrong thing for them. I think sometimes we just have to accept them the way they are, appreciate the slightest progress that they make and hope that someday they will suddenly surprise us and want more. I have seen this come to pass. A feral barn cat, a female, finally after about seven years decided she wanted to live inside the barn. We let her in, of course. It was about a year later that she finally rubbed on our legs but we couldn't pet her. Finally, a few months later, we were petting her and she is now a lap cat. She is elderly and decided for herself and for her self preservation that she needed us and more importantly, wanted us. :heart2: Your doing great, hun! These kitties are very lucky to have you caring for them.

Laxatone doesn't help with knots though.. She needs help with grooming him. :nod:

And I guess I should have explained further. When I said shaved, I meant by a vet/groomer. Under anesthetic if you have to, lol.
Either way, they must be handled. They can pull at the skin and cause pain if left for too long. :nod: