Advice on caring for a injured "feral"/feral-ish cart

Hello everyone :

Five days ago we trapped a stray cat who had been bitten badly by a dog.  We took her to the vet who sewed her up, cleaned the maggots out of her wounds, etc.  They told us she had to stay inside for at least 2 weeks or until she healed up from surgery. This cat does not do well outside.  The dog bite she got looked so bad in part because it was over a partially-healed older dog bite that re-opened.  Had we not trapped her, we were assured, she would have died.

We have her in a room by herself, in a combo of a medium-sized dog carrier, a small dog cage, and a large dog cage.  They all connect and she is free to move between them without getting out. She has food, soft towels, litter, etc.  We keep at least part of this cage system covered so she has her own little space to be.  Not ideal, but the best we can do for now.

We hope she can adjust to people and be an indoor cat.  Before we trapped her we were able to feed her and she sniffed my hand (very cautiously).  She is now, understandably, freaked out.  Surgery, pain, stuck inside, etc.  She's eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing.

My question is this: what can we do to ease this for her?  We are being patient, not invading her space, etc., but we need to figure out if she has any chance of being indoors, as outdoors (at least around here) looks like it would be a painful death for her.  We try to spend time in the room with her, leave the TV on some of the day, etc.  

Any advice on making her more comfortable/getting her to open up any would be appreciated. We have raised many cats and adopted out many strays but this is our first "feral."

-marc

First of all, thank you! And your set-up sounds wonderful. When you say freaked out, does she try to escape when you are not in the room? Or does she go ballistic when you enter? Either of these would be pretty normal in her situation. The fact that she has sniffed your hand at all tells me she had some socialization in her past. Ferals simply won't do that.

So there is hope. Patience is the absolute key here. It may take years before she's comfortable inside but I have a feeling she may come to appreciate the benefits once she's feeling better. A couple of ways to help her adjust: sit in the room with her and read out loud quietly. The sound of your voice should be soothing. Leaving soft music on does the same thing. Never look her in the eye - in feral language, that is a challenge. If you must look in her face, direct your eyes to her forehead or ears.

The cat in my avatar, Chester, was six months old when we brought him in. We had no clue what we were doing and so did everything wrong! He still won't let us pet him, although he blinks at us sometimes. (that's feral for "it's cool). When I see that little cat blink, it can't tell you how happy it makes me feel.

Good luck and thank you again!

Thank you for the advice and kind words.

She does not run or make a peep. Tonight we opened up the carrier to make sure she hadn't peed on the blanket, and we touched her head lightly. She just does not move, like she's paralyzed with fear. She could have easily bolted tonight but did not move.

How long do you suggest being in the room at one time with her? We want to balance visiting with her and not terrifying her.

Also, should we consider letting her out into the room? I wonder if being in narrow confines are stressing her. She'd still have the option of enterong the cage if she wished.

Ondine, just had to say Chester is gorgeous!  

Marc Leslie, great job helping this poor kitty you are awesome!   I would suggest working with her through play first - that's how I first connected with my indoor semi-feral.    Eventually I started petting her with the wand and she caught on and would rub her head on it, then that led to her wanting actual pets and not being afraid still she's not okay with being handled in any way that feels restraining.     As for confines.....I don't know.   I let my kitty out into the main apartment too soon and she bonded with my other cats more than me, it worked out okay but in hindsight I wish I'd kept her shut in the bathroom a bit longer.

You can sit in there ten minutes to a couple of hours, depending on your schedule. Always enter quietly and always go about your business calmly. If there are no places for her to hide (where you can't get to her), she should be fine out in the room. You will have to secure the door, though. She may get bold enough to bolt out when you open it, although that doesn't sound imminent.

She probably is frozen in fear when you pet her but just her letting you touch her tells me she isn't truly feral. Just be gentle and kind and she should be fine.

I like to play soft music for them as well.  I have some harp music that all my cats really like.  I have a stray in a safe room right now.  He has the room all to himself.  I pulled the bed up so that he could not get stuck under it.  Yet, I have a small cat condo that has a place for him to hide.  Rescue Remedy or other flower essences are helpful as well.  They can be placed in water or wet food.

I often go in and sit with my stray for 10 minutes or sometimes an hour.  It took him about 5 days before he wanted to play.  I scattered toys around and finally he liked the string best.  I also use some of the flower essences directly on his skin since I can touch him.  He likes the soft music alot.
 

Also put in some Feliway plug ins.

And leave something that smells of you next to the food bowl, so he associates good things with you.

I'd leave her confined now until her wounds have healed.  A cat I fostered for a while kept on trying to climb the blinds.

And give yourself a big pat on the back for taking care of this precious being.

You have got good comments.

My contribution will be to reminder, as you are helping her when she is severely sick, and she knows it, NOW you have an excellent chance for successfull socialization.

The window of easy socialization, wide open when they are 2-8 weeks, does open again in such circumstances, when they are sick and gets help.

Tx and congrats from me too!

Good luck!

Marc, you are doing a wonderful, worthwhile thing, but hopefully you know that anyway.

The most comprehensive advice I've found about taming ferals is on the amazing Cat77 people's website:

http://www.cat77.org.uk/cat-care/taming-feral-kittens/

Although it refers to kittens, from your description it sounds like your cat may have been previously domesticated + I think that fact might balance out her lack of kitten-hood.

I wish you the very best of luck (+ patience).

Thank you all so much for the advice and kind words!    Below is a picture of "Bernice".  We are going to try to find her a home through Facebook and friends, so wish me luck.  She still seems terrified of us, but I am hoping that she will adapt as she feels better.  Her wounds are still quite raw.

I did try reading to her last night, and it was the first time she picked her head up and looked at me without also looking terrified.  It was pretty cool.  

The big question now is leave in carrier v/s let out.  We open the carrier twice a day to check the towel she sleeps on for poop or pee.  When we do, she could easily stand up and walk out, and she makes no move.  This makes me think she would not be a terror in the room by herself, but I like the advice of letting her wounds heal.

Any other advice is welcome and will be tried.  

The other debate (please weigh in) is if we are doing the right thing.  Does she just belong outside?  Would she be happier?  I would usually say "Yes" for a cat who does ok outside overall, but the vet thinks she's been bitten by a dog at least 3 times in our dense urban neighborhood.  We feel sometimes like we're trying to change her nature, like putting a wild animal in a zoo and causing too much stress.  I know she could warm up to us or other humans, but maybe not.  At this point we are hoping for a best case scenario that she will become someones barn cat who is a good cat owner.

I greatly appreciate the encouragement; I did not know i needed it, but i really did.  Thank you all.

Ask yourself this: will she be more traumatized by changing her living arrangements (to an inside home or barn where she is safe, fed and protected) or will she be more traumatized by letting her go back into a world where she's been attacked at least three times.

You are doing the absolute correct thing. I would keep her confined to the crate for a few more days. She doesn't seem to mind it and is quite possibly feeling secure in the smaller space. Plus, she needs to heal a bit more before starting the next phase of her life!

That's the side we're on now - that this is better. It's so hard with animals to always know what's best. Thanks for your input.

Progress today. She pooped where she sleeps (as she's done before) in the small "room" on the right. However instead of stayng there she moved to the far end of the "room" on the left (the big one). Its the first time we've seen her move!

Hurray!  That is progress.  Is she sitting in the litterbox or pooping in the crate?  If she isn't using the litterbox, I might suggest putting leaves or a thin layer of dirt on the litter.  It is probably closer to what she's used to using outside.

There is also a product, Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract, that I swear by.  It smells in a way that helps them understand "this is where to potty."  They also have a kitten attract that never fails to get the kits to use the litterbox.  It's expensive but you only need a small amount.  Replenish it as needed.

I do like that set-up.  It's good you have everything covered, too.  Gives her a sense of privacy and security.

She has been pooping on the towel where she sleeps in room #1. Today she moved over to room #3 and was laying next to the litter box so I hope she figures that out. We did put dirt in there and poop from when she pooped on the towel. We will try some of that cat attract stuff this weekend. Thanks!

Has she been peeing in the litter box? She may need another box for poop. Ferals and cats that have lived outside often use to different places for pee and poop. Might be worth thinking about...

We got that cat attract litter and changed location of the litterbox and it seems to be working. Bernice is coming out of her shell slowly, and her vet check-up went great. Thank you all for the advice And support! It was so valuable!

Wonderful news! Glad you didn't get sticker shock from the price, though. . That's why I use it sparingly.

Well, the price was shocking but it beats Bernice pooping on one of our bath towels!