Stray feral Kitty

My husband just found this site & I read Hummys post. Sounds a lot like me. I 1st saw my feral kitty about 4 months ago. She bolted out of my feed barn & I think I was startled as much as her....months passed the little tiny kitten is now a 6-7 month old kitten. I've worked diligently at petting her & picking her up. I gained her trust enough to hold her for minutes at a time. Then we stuffed her in a cat carrier & got her spayed. I cried all night. It's been almost 2 weeks since then. We kept her in the back room for 3 days that the vet said was a must. I went in & fed her. We put a litter box in there & to our surprise she used it. Let her go & she's hung out & came back for food. She lets me pet her but not my husband. Last night I saw the feral Tom cat go after her. I don't know why he would since she is now fixed. I got scared & Ms. Kittie was petrified.  She ran & I scared Black Bart off (the tom cat). I was so scared I locked her in the back room for the night. This morning Black Bart was in the backyard again...I've seen him only 2 times in the 4 months I've been taking care of my kitty. After seeing him I walked into our back room picked up Ms. Kittie & brought her inside. She pawed at back door for a few minutes & ran into our den. I called her out from behind our couch twice but she saw my husband & ran behind couch. I can't get her to come back out. It's been 3 hours. I feel horrible. I'm scared to let her outside. I'm scared I'll never see her again if I do. I'm not sure what to do. We've had dogs our whole married life but our dog just died last week. Do you think that's part of the problem smelling dog? Will she just stay behind the couch & always hide or will she eventually come out? 

The exact answers are not easy.  But staying hide behind a couch or under a bed is quite common, they can do so several weeks too...   Make her a legal hide out, like a cat igloo or so.  Where you CAN easily come to her if necessary, but usually you do respect ther being there... 

Time is your friend, as long as you continue to work...

Have a Feliway diffuser too...  And read the other threads, you will find a lot of good ideas, and will find what questions to give us...

Tx a lot for helping this girl, and your new furry home pet.

Good luck!

(btw, it is surely a good idea if you can let neuter this tom too. Make it as a TNR if nothing else)

Thank you for rescuing her.  It would be in her best interest if you kept her inside and made her an indoor only kitty.  Yet, you need to take things slowly.  Eventually she will come out of her hiding spot.  You can tempt her with strong smelling foods such as any canned fish (salmon or tuna) or strong smelling wet cat food.  Just place some near where she is and see if after awhile she will come out.  Once she comes out, I would place her in a safe room of her own.  Allow her to adjust to inside living.  Make sure the room is safe and that she cannot get herself stuck any where.  I usually take the mattress and box springs up and put them against a wall.  Yet also provide some safe hiding places for her such as a box with a soft towel/blanket or a cat tree with a hiding box.  Make sure she has access to fresh water and food as well as a litter box.  Go in a visit her every few hours.  You can play calming music for her 24/7.  Feliway plug ins are great too.  They will help to keep her calm.  When you visit her talk calmly and quietly to her.  Give her a few toys to play with and once she settles down she might like some interactive toys such as string, wand toys, da bird or a laser pointer. 

You have done a wonderful thing in rescuing this little one.  There is so much help to be found here.  Just remember to take it slowly with her. 

Like Stefan and ShadowsRescue said, she needs time to adjust.  Cats are such creatures of routine, they need lots of time to adjust to anything new.  So on top of almost being murdered by the tomcat, she's now in a whole new place with all new smells.  No wonder she's hiding!

But she will grow used to the new place, with time and patience on your part.

I agree that keeping her inside is best, especially with the tomcat outside.  Him - I would definitely trap and neuter ASAP.  It sounds like he's established your yard as his territory, so once he's been neutered, he will keep other cats away.

I'm going to try to trap him...I don't have a clue on how to do that or where to get a trap? I will check into it! Believe me the $70 it cost to neuter him would be worth the piece of mind!  Then I could let Ms. Kittie out to play again..she so loves to run & bounce of the trees & jump on chickens. lol she is a blast to watch! She actually caught a mouse one day & played with it for about 15 minutes. I never knew mice could fly! lol

Sometimes you can borrow a trap from a rescue organization or the humane society.  Also some vets have them that can be borrowed.  You also might want to check with neighbors.  It's surprising who often has a humane trap available.  I borrowed one for a few years and then broke down and bought one.  I got mine on Amazon for about $45.  To learn about trapping check on Alley Cat Allies.  Here is a short video on trapping. http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=555  Also do a search on Youtube as there are lots of video on how to trap.  Lastly ask questions here.  We are here to help.