First Time Feral Mom needs advice

I recently took in a female cat from a kind lady who rescued and spayed my beautiful feral girl. She had her surgery about 2 1/2 weeks ago, so she has only had close human contact since then. I brought her to my house last Wed. She is contained in a room which she seems to like. She is fully litter trained. I have one of my sweatshirts in her bed with her. I engage her everyday for increasing periods. I am beginning to learn her "cues" when she has had enough petting or human interaction. Sometimes my husband or I will just sit near her. Funny girl will often bump us if we "ignore" her. Because she can bite for vairous reasons, I was wondering JUST HOW LONG to keep her confined. I have a small child and another cat. Neither has had access to her at all (although my house is not real quite and "CC" (Cookies & Cream) def hears my daughter's voice.

Basically, I am asking when I should start the introduction process to the rest of the house. I will wait to the biting stops, but I am concerned that it is a learned behavior that may continue for a while each time she is stressed. I certainly DO NOT want CC to harm my young SN daughter. (I must admit too that we questioned whether we were the right family for her, but I feel with lots of love and time, she will be a great pet.(

first off, thank you for what you are doing for her!

i would say that she definitely needs some more time confined just due to the fact that you have a small child. i assume that the biting is not very hard? how old is your child? one of the ferals that i socialized still, after 2 1/2 years, "nips". no aggression, it is just that she never was taught at a young age that hands are not toys. nonetheless, her nips could certainly be a problem for a small child.

also, you really want to do a proper introduction between her and your other cat as you don't need to put any additional stress on either of them.

Thank you for responding. My daughter is 5 years old but has some physical and developmental delays. I knew it was a big stressor for the house, taking in this kitty, but I just couldn't turn my back on her. I have a LOT of patience, so I can give her all the time she needs. Tomorrow is only the 1 week mark. Just wondering whether I should increase MY interaction time with her. Often difficulty to be in there with her too long unless my daughter is sleeping or at school. Just trying to be consistent and earn trust with our new CC.

I should mention that it was reported to me that at the time of her spaying, she was probably days away from giving birth to kittens. Another thing for this girl to be "mad as he**" about!

I certainly to not want my first kitty boy, Pierce stressed. He has irritable bowel and I certainly don't want him to have a flare up. He was a rescue also 8 years ago, but not feral to my knowledge. Certainly much tamer when we got him. He LOVED our since deceased "old girl". Bonded with her instantly...like she was Mama Kitty. He too was a nipper for a LONG time.

BTW: Day one our new addition drew blood on my hand. Bit all three adults in our home. (I since told my 22 yr old son not to attempt to engage her at all.) I now enter her room with heavy gloves on. (and long pants and sleeves, and shoes/slippers--she has even grabbed my feet, but not really biting) Each day is getting better. She did bite me three time yest, only one of the "bits" seemed aggressive. The other two was like "holding" my hand. Almost like she was trying to tell me she had enough petting. Each time she would bite, she would bump me and sit VERY close again within minutes. Testing me? She also tries to look me in the eyes OFTEN, I usually avert my eyes or look past her.

spending more, as much as possible, time with her is exactly what you need to do given the complexities of your situation. i would also recommend having your husband do the same, regardless of you being there or not. this will certainly help CC become more comfortable with people as well as her new living situation.

try reading through some of the threads about people socializing feral cats. no two situations are exactly alike, but you will more than likely find some useful hints/tips that will benefit you and CC.

I realize that all cats need to be introduced slowly...but in the feral socialization world...How should I manage the introduction of our new addition to our current cat? The vet whom I called for advice was very vague but said I should wait at least one month?

Welcome to our Forums!   Tx for what you are doing!

I shall ask a mod to move this thread into the Ferales and Rescues, as there is the whole bunch of people who are doing exactly what you are trying to do.

Good luck!

chinamom09 said:

I realize that all cats need to be introduced slowly...but in the feral socialization world...How should I manage the introduction of our new addition to our current cat? The vet whom I called for advice was very vague but said I should wait at least one month?

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i would say that waiting at least one month is a good idea. i suppose that there is no real definitive answer as all cats are different and so is how they react to things.

follow all of the "introduction protocol" and from there use your best judgement.

About when to start introduce the cats... Nay, I wouldnt say a whole month is necessary.

Some time is suitable because usually you do want to have a quarantine period.

It is also good your new addition has time to land, to feel she is home now even if still semiferal, withough any immediate dangers or so.

But  semi-ferales has usually easier to adapt to home cats than say, home raised bought cats.

No 100%, but as a rule of thumb.

Usually they are submissive to residents and want to please themselves in.

I would say, waiting too long may be contraproductive.  If they feel really in home, they dont have any real need to please themselves in. They may instead compete for their share in the territory...

So, let the health issues be cleared, the quarantine over, be sure shehe has landed somewhat, and go on with the next step, the introduction to the residents....