Making a feral cat part of the family

Hi Donna, Thought I would share with you our experience with a feral cat that had been roaming our neighborhood in Fl. in early 2011.  After a year or so of seeing her we felt sorry for her (thought it was a him) and began feeding her and in June I noticed she had a big tummy and I thought maybe she was ill but realized she was pregnant. We had our home up for sale and were moving to NV. after it was sold. I borrowed a trap from a cat rescue and was successful in getting her and taking her to our vet to get examined, fixed and micro-chipped. She was terrified of humans.  She recognizes our voices and lets us walk close to her without frightening her.  She survived the surgery and we kept her in our 1/2 bath with a window from July 7, 2011 until late Dec. that year when we sold our home and travelled across country. We had 4 other kitties besides Sox (formerly feral) and Sox and the others traveled so good. Here it is almost 2 years later and Sox is all around the house and mingles with our others. She does not want us touching her but she is not mean, does not growl or hiss. When we first got to NV. we kept her in the master bath that has a large closet attached and little by little she wanted to come out and explore. We are very patient with her and give her the space she needs.  She meows at us and looks for her treats. We are so glad she adapted well and is content and happy. All of our guys/gals are indoor only cats and are so very spoiled. I just wanted to let you know that it depends on the individual cat if they can be domesticated or not. I have heard stories where the cat will hide under the bed and not come out except to eat. That is not the case with our Sox. She is out and about all of the time and lays near us on the floor while watching TV.

Hi Donna,

I am going through the same thing as you! I befriended a kitten and it has taken me about a year or so for it to trust me. Now we are best friends. Great cat! Very affectionate. I have to move now and I am worried he will not adjust to my new home and town which is about 70 miles away. I will be taking him from his nature surroundings and his siblings. He freaked out when I put him in the cat carrier the first time. I couldn't bare seeing him this way and let him out. Another couple at the apartment complex said they would take him but I miss him already. I am also worried about him even though I know other people feed him as well.
 

Porkie said:

Hi Donna,

I am going through the same thing as you! I befriended a kitten and it has taken me about a year or so for it to trust me. Now we are best friends. Great cat! Very affectionate. I have to move now and I am worried he will not adjust to my new home and town which is about 70 miles away. I will be taking him from his nature surroundings and his siblings. He freaked out when I put him in the cat carrier the first time. I couldn't bare seeing him this way and let him out. Another couple at the apartment complex said they would take him but I miss him already. I am also worried about him even though I know other people feed him as well.
 

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aww.. that is so sad! i can't bare leave my kitties...  I feel for you...

I have been using double stack baby gates so they can see each other since Saturday morning Willow the new cat is taking all of this very well and seems interested in Chloe, my existing cat. Chloe just sits and watchs her through the baby gates, but when Willow comes too close, Chloe does the low growling sound. I am going to continue to take this very slow as i would never want her to hurt Willow, but is this normal and if so, will it die down? they have been looking at each other through the baby gates on and off since Saturday. They spent the most time today watching each other. Tonight, when willow approached the gate a little too close for comfort for Chloe, chloe did the growling sound and willow just made a soft cry like she was telling Chloe she wasn't a threat. I talked calmly to Chloe and she ended up walking away after a couple of minutes.

Very normal. It might take awhile, so be patient. But they are gradually getting used to each other and that's good. You can try giving them treats on their own sides of the gates. It might help them understand "good" things happen around one another. Good job!

Thank you, I will try that! I am also going to try rubbing them both with the same towel. Wish me luck!

i'm not really sure what to do. I rubbed the towel on both of them and Chloe seemed okay with it. Willow (the feral cat, which i can hardly call her feral as she is the most docile cat ever) wants to explore the rest of the house so i have started slow introductions by leaving the door open and letting her wander out on her own (about an hour or so each night). I started this about 6 days ago. The problem is that my existing cat Chloe won't let her leave the room. She keeps hissing at her and acting like a bully. she hasn't tried to hurt her or swat at her which is good, but When willow steps out of the room, chloe growls and hisses and Willow senses chloe doesn't want her around and just goes right back into the room where i keep her. Will Chloe eventually stop hissing at her or should i put Chloe in a different room for an hour and let Willow wander the rest of the house with no distractions?? I just want to do this very carefully as i don't want to put any added stress on Chloe.

Anyone have success once the "doors are open" and how long did it take for the hissing/growling to subside??

Thanks so much!

It sounds like everything is going normally. It may takes months for them to get used to one another and they may never be best buds. Keep doing what you're doing. If they come to blows, toss a towel over one of them and then get Willow back to her safe room. We humans can be a little impatient. Hang in there!

Sounds like everything is going like it should.  I was wondering if you and your friend are still feeding the remaining two cats in the wooded area?  Are they fixed and have shelter?  Do they show signs of becoming friendly also?

thank you, I'm glad it is still normal behavior. Yes, my coworker and I feed the other 2 cats two times a day. They are very friendly with us, they let us pet them and they come out when we call them, they are very fearful of other people though. One of them is older than the other, not sure if they are related, I think one may be the dad. The grey one, male (named lil dude) was the first one we saw almost 2 years ago. about a year later, there were suddenly two small babies, about 8 weeks ago. Someone came and took one of them and left behind Milton (that's what we named him). He is soooooo attached to lil dude. If lil dude doesn't come out right away when we go feed them, he meows a lot and sometimes won't eat without him. They love each other so much, I've never seen two cats, especially feral that feel that way about each other. They have both been neutered. Milton, the younger one also has a condition, I can't recall the name, but he kept getting UTI's. We took him to the vet and had a culture done. The bacteria wasn't there, so he is on anti inflammatory meds for the rest of his life, so we give him that too.

I would love to find a home for them, but they definitely come as a package deal and they really enjoy being outdoors. I wish I knew someone that could take them, but for now, we do our best to keep them fed and happy.

Hi, Donna! I am going through a similar experience. I have rescued a 1 year old semi-feral cat that I've named Neko. I keep her in a spare bedroom. For the first few days my 2 year old cat, Milo hissed and yowled a lot. It hasn't even been a week and I am seeing progress in my Milo. The biggest is that he doesn't hiss or yowl at her anymore. I was so relieved and proud of him.

My suggestions would be to use the "scent swapping" with their feedings. I lay a towel that has both of their scents rubbed on each end under the "safe room" door, reverse it and feed them their wet food on it. I've also intiated interactive play with the both of them. I found this to especially help with Milo doing rapid-fire batting at Neko's paws. Everything is still done with the door closed at this point.

I'm really heeding everyone's advice of the "slow and steady" is the key to making a smoothe transition for their sakes. I don't really think about what's going to happen when and all that stuff anymore. I'm just taking it day by day.

Look forward to hearing about your Chloe's progress. Hang in there! You're definitely not alone! Keep in touch!

We are in very similar situations but sounds like your situation is going a little smoother than mine. My semi feral is sweet as can be as well and like your situation, it's the existing cat that is not happy with the new kitty. My existing cat (chloe) doesn't like wet food so it's hard for me to do the "towel swap while eating". nothing really tempts her that much. not even tuna or catnip, so i'm still at the "opening the door" for an hour a night phase and Willow the new cat comes out and chloe just sits there and growls and or hisse at her so Willow has only ventured so far. she hasn't tried to swat at her or hurt her though which is good. It's been 3 1/2 weeks since we took her in and 1 week since we started opening the doors. I have heard that it could take up to 3 months or so for the hissing/growling to stop. It's just exhausting. I really want this to work out!

Keep me updated on your situation!

I just brought home a semi-feral cat/kitten that lived at the store where I worked.  The store manager wanted her "gone."  A customer trapped the cat for me and had her spayed and checked by the vet.  I have a spare bedroom in the trailer where I live, and so I brought her there.  She hid under the bed for three days, but began to eat after the first day home.  I fed her the same food the cashiers would bring to her at the store, and she seems fine with that.   Surprisingly enough, she uses the litter box just fine---I really thought that would be an issue, but it was not.  It's been eight days now and she will briefly jump up on my lap.  Likes to be petted, but will only let me hold her for about a minute at a time.  I have three small dogs, but that introduction will wait a month or two more.  I am proceeding slowly, but I am really happy how well she is doing in such a short time.

Oldfogey: sounds like your kitty is not a true feral - a cat who has had no contact with humans. Yours was most likely socialized at some point, so she will be a happy house cat soon enough. It might take her awhile but bless you for helping her!

The new kitty is doing GREAT, it's my existing cat that is giving me all the troubles. She is still having a hard time accepting her. I'm still trying to be patient and hopefully she will get sick of constantly growling/hissing at the newcomer willow. Willow is very persistent though. even though chloe hisses hat her and eventually makes willow run back to her "safe room", she keeps coming back out. Eventually she will wear Chloe out where she won't care as much. at least that's my hope!!

Oldfogey, I am so happy the new kitty is adapting so well!! Thank you for saving her!

UPDATE:Chloe seems to be getting more aggressive so i am going to take a step back and put the baby gates up when we are home for a few nights. Last night she wouldn't even let Willow try to leave her "safe room" and chloe even chased her all the way into her safe room and cornered her. It was scary.

I am also going to stop at the holistic pet store on my way home and make a combination of the flower essence of Holly and vine to try to help chloe through your aggression.I am heartbroken. I cried last night and prayed that I wouldn't have to give Willow up. I have really bonded with her. It's been one month so far.  has anyone had any luck with the flower essence and is there any hope?   I'm really sad

Ladybug: I'm sorry to hear that. Just give it more time. Hopefully Chloe will come around.

Update on Neko: It's almost been 2 weeks since Neko has been indoors and it's been going great. Milo hasn't had any negative reactions since those first initial ones. Still doing scent swapping and feedings on each side of door. I was thinking of moving onto the next step of cracking the door of the "safe room" and letting them sniff nose-to-nose. I'm hoping my patience will pay off. Will update hopefully with GOOD news. Hope everyone is doing well. Have a good Memorial weekend!

ladybug4746 said:

UPDATE:Chloe seems to be getting more aggressive so i am going to take a step back and put the baby gates up when we are home for a few nights. Last night she wouldn't even let Willow try to leave her "safe room" and chloe even chased her all the way into her safe room and cornered her. It was scary.

I am also going to stop at the holistic pet store on my way home and make a combination of the flower essence of Holly and vine to try to help chloe through your aggression.I am heartbroken. I cried last night and prayed that I wouldn't have to give Willow up. I have really bonded with her. It's been one month so far.  has anyone had any luck with the flower essence and is there any hope?

  I'm really sad

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This is totally normal, even a month in. Chloe hasn't been around other kitties in a long time, and will need time to adjust.  Based on what you've said, it isn't super likely that they will ever be best buds, but they should be able to live in coexistence eventually.  Also, what you interpret as Chloe being a bully is quite possibly really just her trying to show Willow she is the Alpha. 

Finally, there is a possibility that you may have to start the introduction process over.  Don't be discouraged by this- just keep on.  Leave Willow in her own room for a week, with no contact.  Then reintroduce the scents of each to the other.  During the next 'introduction' I might try leaving Willow in the safe room in a carrier and allowing Chloe in.  This might help Chloe feel less territorial/like Willow is intruding on her territory.  You may have to do this a few times with Willow in the carrier.

Good luck.

Ladybug

Hi! I just wanted to update you on my cats, Neko and Milo. I finally let them meet face-to-face today and it went smoothly. I kept her in her safe room for 4 weeks total. I am so relieved. Once I opened the door they sniffed noses and started playing instantly. No hissing or growling. I was pleasantly surprised.

I've read your previous posts and I'm sorry to hear it's not going as well on your end. I would advise to start over and really take things slow. I really feel time was on our side and I believe it'll help Chloe get accustomed to Willow better. Hoping to hear good news from you soon. Keep up the good work. Take care.