Rescued Feral Runs, Hides 9 Months Later

I rescued a feral kitten about nine months ago. I say rescued because, long story short, she hitched a ride in an engine compartment and was heard yelling in the parking lot of a local restaurant. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and helped retrieve her from the engine.

We have made great strides in gaining her trust. She gets along great with our SPCA-adopted cat and our Rottweiler. She enjoys my company, but it's always on her terms. And that's fine. She's quite comical in the right setting.

My concern: I can't approach without her getting nervous and fleeing for the basement and her favorite hiding place(s). Once in a while, she's fine. But more often than not, it ain't easy "capturing" Motor. Even if I, or my boyfriend, walk near her—with no intention of petting or picking her up—she turns into a spaz and runs.

She's always skittering away.

This especially becomes frustrating when it's time for medications (we had a collar incident this morning) or time for a vet visit, etc.

And, like I said, it's not that she doesn't fully trust me. I just don't think I'm approaching her properly.

Any suggestions one how I can approach her when it's not on her terms? Because, let's be honest, the world doesn't always operate on Motor Time.

Stealth.  (only kidding a little).  I have three former ferals who operate on their own terms.  They can all be sitting near me and if I sneeze, I don't see them for hours.  After five years inside, I have yet to touch one of them.  I've had to use a humane trap inside the house(!) to get him to the vets.

Have you tried leaving the carrier out so Motor gets used to its daily presence?  My feral, Chester loves the carrier.  He sits like a king inside it.  Made it  a lot easier last time we had to take him to the vet; I was able to just close the door on him.  Of course, now he sits with both front paws outside the carrier.  He's not stupid!

I would not blame your self or your approach.   Because they are rescues, we have no idea how they were conditioned.  They can't tell us, so we have to learn what works best with them as individuals.  Does she respond to treats?  Maybe you can find one that is simply irresistable to her and use that ONLY for medications/vets.

Also talk to your vet about medications.  I can't pill any of my cats - they're resistance and my arthritic hands make that impossible.  So we use alternatives when available - shots or powdered and liquid forms you can hide in yummy wet food.  (Of course, those don't work with the cat who refuses to touch wet food, like my Josie).  *sigh*

Just keep working with her.  Hopefully, you two will figure out the best way to gt the job done!  Good luck!

My feral, Shadow was about 5months old when I first saw him.  By 7 months, he was TNR'd and coming numerous times a day to eat.  By 9 months he was making short visits inside the house.  It took me til he was 15 months old to first touch him.  This was with daily interactions.  I found his magic pill to be baby food.  I used the Gerber's stage 1 chicken or turkey.  I found a video on Youtube that showed a man working with some feral kittens using baby food.  He called it kitty crack!!  Shadow is now 3 years old and the baby food still works its magic.  I can crush up pills and put it in the food as well as any liquids. 

I have also had really good luck using flower essences.  I use Rescue Remedy as well as numerous remedies from Spirit Essences.  They even have a remedy just for Feral Cats.  They don't work instantly, but over a period of time.  I have used them on all 3 of my ferals and the results have been incredible.  I just put drops in their food, put some in a spray bottle and mist the area or place a few drops on my hands and apply it to their fur. 

I also found a video on Youtube about socializing ferals that helped with getting them used to being touched.  With Shadow I used a long feather type wand.  He loved to play with it and I was then able to start touching him with the wand.  I always had yummy treats around too.  Once he got a taste for how the wand felt on his body, he started to really like it.  This did take 4-5 weeks.  Do a search on You tube on socializing ferals. 
 

Thank you for the thoughts and suggestions! I will definitely check out YouTube and see what it has to offer.

Motor came into my home when she about 8-10 weeks. She was skin and bones and hissed constantly. Thankfully, she's now 11lbs. and the hissing has stopped—unless she's cornered and feels threatened. And what cat (or human) wouldn't hiss in that situation?

When it's on her terms, she lets me pick her up and she doesn't mind a good brushing. She has the best purr and blurps when she plays. I fell asleep on the couch the other night, and I awoke to her curled up in the crook of my arm. There is a snuggle bunny in there somewhere!

But we just can't get past the skittering and diving under the bed or into the basement. She's a quick little bugger. It's like she knows what I need / want. They are too smart for their own good.

She used to come out if threw a crinkly ball. But she caught on to my devious ways.

I'm afraid to try treats because she's already 11lbs. And we've made great strides in her eating habits. In true feral style, she would INHALE her food and make herself sick. She finally eats like a normal cat—but she does try to "bury" her bowl when she's done. That's amusing to watch.

Perhaps I'll try catnip?