First Feral Intake....Support Needed

Hi everyone,

Back in the beginning of Winter  2012, we had a stray cat turn up in our yard and we spotted it eating a few scraps of cake that we had thrown out for the crows. Obviously he was hungry, so we put out a bowl of food for him which he ate greedily. 

That was the beginning of a regular routine of visits to us for feeding two, maybe three times a day. We couldn't get anywhere close to him, but he would allow himself to come up onto our back deck for the daily feedings.

As the Winter of 2013 approached, we decided that as he was staying we had to build a shelter for him. We have a shed/summerhouse with a screened off porch at the front. So I built him an insulated wooden shelter and put in a cat bed and an outdoor heated cat pad. He took to it straight away and often slept in it if he wasn't on his travels around the area. We decided to allow him to live his life as he wished and just watch over him and feed him.

In January of 2014 disaster. One day he came home with his face covered in blood.  He had obviously been in a fight. We decided to give him a few days and see how he progressed. Sadly however it became obvious that he had an infection on his head, so catching him was the only option.

Luckily catch him we did and it was off to the vets for treatment and neutering as well as the usual checks and treatment for disease and worms etc.

Luckily he was disease free, but the infection turned out to be a huge abscess on his head, which the vet drained and administered antibiotics. 

Now he is at home with us and confined to our heated mud room. He has a crate with a blanket and a bed, but has the freedom to walk around the small, but safe mud room as he wishes. His abscess is healing despite the odd times he manages to scratch off the scab and he is eating well and drinking quite a bit. He uses his litter tray very well.

Now of course although he has been neutered, the scent has not left his system entirely and we don't know how long he will continue to scent.

We have a young female cat, Daisy who we adopted over a year ago. This has pretty much upset her world and she is very distracted and not so loving with us as she was. Although spayed, I am imagining that the Tom's scent still has an effect on her. Does anyone have any thoughts on this and if she will settle down again once he has stopped scenting?

Also he is a very quiet cat, but of course does not trust us. Hissing is usually the extent of his reaction if we get too close. Patience I think is the answer here. However the time will come after he has healed properly when we have to make a decision. Do we keep him in or do we let him go back into the big bad world and possibly the same fate?

Of course if we keep him he will have to co-exist with our Daisy, who must always be our priority. Any advice on how to introduce them to each other?

Any help will be gratefully received as it is very frustrating and upsetting seeing our Daisy upset, but at the same time we must do our best for our stray who we named Smokey. This is Smokey, before the incident.

First of all, thank you so much for caring for Smokey.  He is a beautiful cat and is very lucky to have found you.  It is wonderful that he's tested negative for all the nasties, especially given his life outside.

It sounds like Daisy is having a very typical reaction to a newcomer.  Cats are very territorial and up until now, the whole house was Daisy's territory.  She may not take too well, at least initially, to sharing it.  If you decide to keep Smokey inside, you will need to slowly introduce him to Daisy.  It can be a nerve racking experience but many, many cats have learned to cohabitate.

As the hormones leave Smokey's body, his smell will definitely decrease.  He will one day smell normal!

Until then, and until you decide whether he is staying inside, just leave things status quo.  You might put up a screen door to the mud room and allow them to see one another.  See what happens.  If they get upset, close the door again.

You can also try this.  Rub Daisy with the end of a towel and then feed a treat to Smokey on it.  Allow him to lay on the towel if he will.  Once his scent is on the towel, feed a treat to Daisy on it.  This allows them to associate one another's smells with something good - a treat.

I would say that Smokey is not feral, at least not born feral.  He had to have had some experience inside at some point or he would be going ballistic, not just hissing.  This is a good sign towards his eventually becoming a full-time housecat.

Daisy is a beauty, too.  (She's the cat in your avatar, right?)

Good luck and keep us posted!

Hi and welcome to TCS. Smokey is one lucky cat to have found you. I am so glad to hear that his wound is healing well and that he is now neutered as well. As for what to do when he has fully healed, that's a tough call, but it sounds to me like he will adapt to indoor life if he's using the litter tray well and hissing is the only defensive reaction. He must have had some interaction with humans at some point. I would try all the usual feral taming methods: Feliway, soft classical, especially harp music when you're not around, soft talking or reading aloud to him while on the floor if you can, progressing to play sessions with a wand toy, and offering treats by hand. It will take some time and patience as you noted, but I think most cats have the ability to adapt. As you also noted, putting him back outside does leave him open to more fights and injuries although the neutering will help. If you are willing to try to take the time to integrate him into your household, I would try to convert him into an indoor kitty.

As for Daisy, if she is used to being an only cat, any new cat will upset her. I'm not sure how much Smokey's tomcat scent makes a difference. There are really good introduction tips here. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats However, I would not do anything more than scent swapping until Smokey is more socialized and comfortable.