Feral Cat

Hello Everyone,

Our cat, Nisi (the one that I thought hated us and brought us the wonderful gift of ringworm) is growing into his new house nicely. He loves to play with toys and our persian kitty, Ralphie, and his ringworm is almost gone.

Even though Nisi has become a little more brave, and sits out in the living room when we're there also (previously, he would hide whenever we were home, and he still hides when we have company) he still hates to be held or petted or tries to run away whenever one of us tries to cuddle him. He only sits near us when Ralphie does, and will only come onto the bed when Ralphie does.

Even weirder, Nisi doesn' t cover his poo in the litter box. He goes in, but then just leaves it laying there for everyone to see. I've decided in my own mind that he's a former feral. Can this be helped?

We got him around 12 weeks old from a shelter, and we're having him neutered at the end of the month. How can I make the cat, assuming he is a former feral, love and trust us?

Thanks,
Stacey

Stacey it just takes time. Basically in a nutshell, ignoring him would be the quickest way for him to trust you. Not forcing him to be a lap cat, accept pets until he decides he wants it. If you look in the feral forum you will find stories from members who have been dealing with ferals and what you describe is typical behavior from a cat who has been shown that humans are not to be trusted. If a kitten is not exposed to humans in the 2 to 12 week old stage of their lives, they have a hard time in accepting us, even when we love them and want the best.

Originally posted by StaceyEG
Even weirder, Nisi doesn' t cover his poo in the litter box. He goes in, but then just leaves it laying there for everyone to see. I've decided in my own mind that he's a former feral. Can this be helped?

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There are better people to help you with the other issues, and I can just add that it will take time. However, I have had my kitties not cover their business (and step in it) especially when they were little. If I was there when they finished, when they were watching, I would cover their business for them (with a scoop). Now they're consistently cover #2, but sometimes will leave #1 uncovered. I'll take that over spraying any day.

Zoey rarely covers her poop *stinky*