Seeking advice

First, a little background:

I volunteer for an animal shelter and regularly foster cats. In January I assisted with rescuing five kittens about 6-8 months old that had been living outside of an apartment building in the city I live in. Some tenants had been leaving food out for them so they had minimal human contact but you could not approach them. After we rescued them the plan was to get them vetted and send them to barn homes. Another shelter volunteer took them home and kept them in her heated garage while we arranged for vet work and for a place to send them. Over time, one became very friendly and was able to be tamed (he is now awaiting adoption!), three remained extremely feral, and the fifth showed signs of possibly being able to evolve into a life as a housecat.  She is now our new foster cat.

We have had her for a week and are trying to work with her. I don't want her to have to go to a barn home, but she needs to make some significant progress if she is to become a permanent housecat. She has used the litter box 100% of the time since we brought her home, so there are no problems there. She also gets along fine with our other two cats. The problem is, she remains scared to death of me and my girlfriend and rarely lets us get within a few feet of her, and if she sees us coming, she will usually go hide under the bed or another piece of furniture. What is interesting though, is if she goes under the bed and I climb under there with her, she will let me pet her for extended periods of time, and she will even purr sometimes, so it's not like she avoids me entirely, but it seems like she only feels "safe" around me when she's under the bed or somewhere similar. For instance, two nights ago I came downstairs right before going to sleep and she was in our large cat tree, I walked over slowly to approach her, and she almost let me touch her, and then she ran away.

I know that it is possible she will not be able to be fully rehabilitated and she may end up having to go to a barn, but I'm not ready to give up yet. I was hoping some other members of this site have dealt with kitties like this in the past and had advice on how to make them more comfortable around humans.

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me.

I too do alot of fostering - and have done some with feral kittens. A week isn't very long at all for her. Since you foster I'm sure you're aware of how long it can take socialized kitties to adjust to a new home - and true ferals are a totally different animal (pun intended). Even having been worked with since January - plus remember she probably didn't have as much human contact in a garage as she is having in your house - plus now she's changed humans and homes again. What you're doing is wonderful - it actually sounds like alot of progress has been made with her already - and I hope you can give her even more time! 

Socializing a kitty that's had little/no human contact for so long is generally a slow process, but it’s rewarding in the long run (just check out some of the threads here from people who’ve gone through it - One that sticks in my head is “grateful for any advice” by epidaurus).  But lots of others to check out! And don't be afraid to ask questions here - this site has helped me stay sane so often - and I'm always learning here. 

I’ll keep my advice on socializing her as short as possible - which for me is never possible And sorry if - since you already foster socialized cats - I'm explaining things you already know. Figure it's better to download it all

It's actually probably best if you can keep her from having the run of your place for awhile. She's better off in a room of her own if possible for awhile. In that room, block off as much off the spaces the kitty can wriggle into/under -- the less he can hide, the sooner he’ll be forced to bond. If it's a bedroom - it's best to take the mattress off the bed frame so she can't go under the bed and hide. It's a pain, but promise - it helps ENORMOUSLY!!! No, it’s not easy - even in a bedroom - cats can fit ANYWHERE. You can’t imagine the almost routine number of times I’d run screaming out of the room “______’s gone!!! I don’t know how but he’s gone! You HAVE to come help me find him!!!!” only to have my husband come in the room and find him simply tucked under a blanket frozen, or something equally simple. Cutting off places to hide forces them to deal with you more. Otherwise they’ll literally hide for life (although it does sound like she's moving around your place). We always actually start all of our fosters/ferals with a small plastic kitty carrier inside a large wire (great dane size) dog crate. If you don’t have a big dog crate, having a large kitty carrier in the room is great - just leave it open. If you don't have a carrier or two, you can always use boxes turned on their side.

Leave hard food & plenty of water out at all times, but treats/special yummy foods should be for only when you, “god of love & giver of all things yummy”, appear! We’ve found Gerbers (pretty sure it’s Stage 2) Chicken with Gravy (& boy does it smell yummy !) is what we’ve come to call “Kitty Crack.” We ONLY offer it from a spoon, & use it to lure them closer & closer, very very slowly. With some feral kittens it’s even resulted in them eating off the spoon AND our laps within days! Some kittens also do love tuna-but tuna alone is not enough for a diet (neither is the “kitty crack” - real cat food is needed for nutrition. But we’ve found Kitty Crack is a more sure-fire lure than canned food, etc. Then try petting while she's eating - when she gets truly into the food, you'll have better luck getting her used to your touch.

Leave something on with voices in her room--talk or classical radio on low 24/7....or tv turned low. And when you’re in with her-read read read and talk talk talk!!! Always in soft, sweet, (feminine-sounding - to my husband’s chagrine seems to help) almost sing song tones. And always immediately sit LOW (or lie down) -preferably on the floor for everything-eating, feeding, reading etc. The more you’re on her level the better! Cats insitincutally fear things above them - makes them feel like prey. 

I think it helps to develop a routine - coming to the door with our kittens and I’d say in a voice I’d never want other humans to hear “Babies! Where are the babies? Looking for babies!” with our feral kittens so that they know we’re coming & eventually learn it’s not to be feared. Then we’d sit on the floor or mattress (we’d taken the bedframe down so that they couldn’t hide under) as close as we could to where they were ensconced. Then we’d start talking to them (again - in embarassingly sweet voices) non-stop. We’d immediately offer the “kitty crack” (gerbers chicken). It’ll take time - our last feral litter took about a good week for any of them to even really eat in front of us. WIthin a week - one (Buffer, the orange & white one in the pic) - the alpha - decided what was on the spoon was far too tempting and started eating off of it. WIthin a few days we could lead him onto our lap while he as eating it. By week 4, he was purring and sleeping on our laps! His brothers - Pip and Izze - were FAR more skittish. It took about 2-3 weeks before they’d even consider eating off the spoon, and even though eventually they’d start eating in from of us, playing, etc. - we couldn’t touch either for well over a month. It took about 2 months before we could pick Izze up - and even longer before we could pick Pip up. And he never did love being held. 

But now - all three are in amazing “forever homes!!!” And those guys taught me that every kitten/cat is different - even within a litter - and watching the clock or calendar and trying to figure out “how long should this be taking” is a game that’s useless. Just remember that it’s a process. But in the end it can be a VERY rewarding process. I’ve always come out on the end of it feeling like I got more out of it than the kitty I’m saving!

Hope I didn’t overwhelm with advice - but I did SO much reading on feral kittens to work with these guys - so thought I’d try and make it as easy as possible for someone else struggling with this very rewarding process!

Thanks so much for your advice! We will definitely try some of the stuff you have suggested. I definitely know from previous fostering experience how it usually takes them a while to adjust, our last foster before this one for instance spent the first two or three days hiding, but this one is definitely different. I certainly was never expecting her to be completely social after a week, but I was hoping for a little more progress than I've seen so far. I'm still very hopeful it will work out in the end, though.

She is doing great.  Some of these cats will ALWAYS run and hide first and then let you pet them because they trust you.  Those that didn't run as ferals didn't live to make MORE ferals, so it's in their genes.  I have a 10-year-old that I rescued at 6 weeks when she had to be cut out of an apartment wall.  She had somehow fallen in from someplace higher.  She sleeps with me and is happy to be petted on the bed, but even after 10 years, if I approach her anywhere else, she will hide under something.  But she loves to be petted and is happy when I am horizontal.  I have other cats, so there is nothing I NEED from her.  She needs everything from me -- food, water, a clean litte rbox, shelter, and a place to stay safe.  I will gladly give her that for the rest of her life.  I have another feral who lives in my house that I cannot touch, but he will eat chicken out of my hand, and he has learned to play with a catnip banana.  He is about 5 years old and didn't become a house cat until badly injured.  (See Grey Boy's Journey photo album -- I have started the album but only with the day he was injured, May 27th last year.  I may never get to touch him when he isn't anesthetized but that's OK, I don't need anything from him.  As long as he uses the litterbox, we have no issues.  Your little girl will be fine -- she isn't hostile and miserable being inside, as some ferals are, so she doesn't need to become a barn cat.

I agree with Red Top! Your kitty has come so far already - further than alot of ferals ever come. Since she's not miserable - I don't think that barn cat life is in her future. Not as long as she has a very patient foster parent like you!

Two of my cats started life as feral cats.  With regard to one of them, I had caught him and taken him to the animal shelter because one of the board members for the shelter had assured me that they worked with feral cats and he wouldn't end up a barn cat (circumstances were such that I couldn't take him at the time).  After he had been at the shelter a week, I went and saw him and was very upset because the girls there were all terrified of him as he would lunge and hiss at them when they came near his cage.  The vet tech had told them he would always be feral.  I vowed to go see him every day and feed him some special wet food and talk to him.  When the girls at the shelter saw me interacting with him they became a little bit more willing to try with him but were still frightened and did not like him.  At about a month or so, and after he had been neutered, there was a turn around and he would let people touch him and would purr.  The vet tech who said he would never be tamed was very surprised at the change.  I was able to get him after he had been there two months because I had moved to a new home.  He was still a little skittish but got along with my other cats and fit right in.  After about a year he will still hiss if I startle him but he loves to sleep with me and have me pick him up and cuddle with him.  He will even get on my lap sometimes and is over all pretty well adjusted.  Hang in there.  The chance to see the transformation in the cat is worth every minute you put in to working on it.

A week is not long at all, especially for a feral that is 6-8 months old. It sounds as though your feral has made incredible progress in just a week--using the litter box, co-existing with your other cats, and allowing you to pet her at all! If you sent her to a barn, I think she would be re-traumatized, so I hope you will be patient and reconsider that decision!

This has been my experience with feral timelines for adjusting to indoor life, and maybe it will help you to see that it's unrealistic to expect your kitty to fully adjust in one week, but that it's worth the wait!

Mia: 10 months old when I took her in. Stayed in room with baby gate by herself for first month. Had occasional BM accidents outside the litter box for about 4 months. It's taken 6 months for her to venture all over the house and learn to co-exist with the other 3 cats, one of whom is her brother from another litter. She lets me pet her sometimes and loves to play with me and the wand toy, but is still very fearful.

Harry: 3-4 months old when I took him in. Cried non-stop for 36 hours and wouldn't eat or drink. Allowed me to hold him and started to eat and use litter box after 36 hours. Kept him in room by himself for 2-3 weeks, during which time he would still cry for his parents by the window each morning at dawn for a few hours. Fully adjusted to house, me, other cats, and being indoors after 5 weeks.

Prissy: 4 1/2 months old and pregnant when my neighbor had her spayed and took her inside. 10 months later, she still stays in one room and doesn't interact with the other cats. It took 4 months before my neighbor could pet her, and she still can't pick her up. She is very loyal to her owner, though, and snuggles with her in bed at nite. She is my neighbor's favorite cat.

Angel Boy: 5 years old, a stray who had become semi-feral after being abandoned and homeless for a year. Fed him on the porch for one week, opened my door, and in he walked and stayed inside with me until he passed away a few years ago. One of my indoor cats hated him and they fought constantly for a year. They became fully adjusted to each other after 2 years.

Muffin: 2 years old when I trapped him and took him inside my house and put him in a room by himself. I made a huge mistake by not taking him directly to the vet to get neutered! After 72 hours of him crying, scaling the walls and ceilings and going completely nuts, I released him back outside. I've not yet been able to re-trap him to get him neutered. He has brought his offspring  to me to care for, and my neighbor and I have trapped, fixed, and adopted all of them. This is a true feral who trusts me and interacts with me every day and has allowed me to care for him for two and a half years, but he will not come inside and will not let me pet him. I accept him for who he is, and he is my favorite cat.

We have two former ferals, eight years old.  The male will allow about ten seconds of head scratching before he runs and hides.  The female has just discovered she likes being brushed and will pester us until we get out her brush.  Then she fusses at us while we are brushing her but will not let us stop!

Your kitty may never be a lap cat but she can learn to be a house cat.  Please keep up the good work!

I have 7 cats, ranging in age of 7 months to 20 years old. Sally who is now 8 y/o was 10 months when we adopted her from Morris Animal Refuge. She had just given birth and had lived her life on the streets of Philadelphia. A feral cat for sure. She only spent about a week or so under the bed, only coming out during the night when we were out or asleep. She was using the liter boxes, eating and drinking her water and food. At that time we only had 1 other cat, Frankie, a 28 lbs handsome tabby. On the day we took Sally home from the Refuge our first stop was to our vet for her first set of shots, a full exam and blood work. So with no fleas or worms detected, I'm a believer of immediate introductions, when we arrived to Sally's forever home, Sally's carrier was opened, right in the middle of the living room floor.

The 5 F's was going to happen with Frankie, who was excited to see who or what was in the carrier, we just didn't know how bad or in what order it was going to happen. Sally was going to fight, flee, freeze, forage or be friendly. Sally chose freeze first, then forage, that's when she found the liter boxes and food area, then she chose friendly, flee and finally fight which came about a month later and was only play fighting. She got herself comfortable under one of the guest room beds and called it her spot for about 10 days. I didn't mind, as far as I was concerned she made friends with Frankie which to me, was the most important after liter boxing.

Fast forward to today, Sally had to live through some tough times as her pal Frankie died at 6 years old from a heart attack, 3 weeks later, in came 2 kittens arrive, then another kitten, then in moved a friend with 3 cats, etc etc. Sally was and has been awesome and I believe it's because we made it happen on her terms. Does she revert back to her feral days sometimes, absolutely. When I changed liter from Tidy Cat to Swheat Scoop, she decided she was going to pee in our shower stall, never poo just pee, so in came the Comfort spray and Sally went back to her liter boxes. In came another cat or new liter boxes , Sally started peeing in corners of the basement, so I buy Natures Miracle by the gallons and Sally's protest landed her right back into her liter boxes again. 7 cats, 8 liter boxes. Wherever she peed, it got hosed downed and cleaned and a liter box placed in that corner.

Sally thinks she is the Alpha cat of the house, always bossing around her younger brothers who are 2, 3 and 4 but it usually takes on suplex by one of them an Sally runs to play with the kitten.

Sally was my first feral but not my last, Ryan age 2 was also a feral kitten, as was Virgil at age 1 1/2 when adopted was also a feral. But they all are now domesticated house cats that sleep with us every night on the bed or under the covers. Meet and greet company, and when fighting, it's only play wrestling. And I believe it was because I let them
do what they wanted when coming to their forever home.

My sweet Sally.

Hi everyone, just a quick update.  We've now had Tori for 2.5 weeks.  She's making some slow, but encouraging, progress.  She will allow me to pet her more and seems to enjoy it, but she seems to have places in the house where she's the most comfortable.  She will be out and about sometimes, but if I try to approach her when she's not in one of her "spots" she will often run when I get too close.  She does seem more comfortable around my girlfriend than she is around me.  She now has full house access (keeping her alone seemed to stress her out, and she seems to enjoy being around our other kitties).  At least she's not hiding under the bed or the futon anymore, so that's progress.  I'm really hopeful for her right now, even though she still has a long way to go before she could be adopted. I know she's unlikely to ever be the friendliest, most cuddly kitty ever, but I'm hoping with some more TLC she will be more accepting and comfortable living in close proximity with humans.

That's great news! Any chance that you could adopt her? Ferals tend to bond deeply with their caregiver and have a harder time than domestic cats adjusting to change. It sounds as though she's made your home her home!

  What a great thread!!!! Red Top Rescue...thank you. The whole idea that " I don't need anything from my cats" is starting to make complete sense to me. As long as they use the litter boxes and are healthy and seemingly content then I'm ok. Guess l'm learning to accept them on their own terms.

  A little bit about me.....this is my first post (been lurking for a couple of months) and I'm relatively new as a "cat person". I've had dogs my whole life and had myself convinced I didn't really like cats. About a year ago I reluctantly received Dexter (a rescued feral/abandoned pet) as a Xmas "gift" from my sister who is a cat person. He's been great. It took him a week to adjust to the new surroundings and within the month he started to "rule" the household and now I'm turning into a cat person....go figure.

 Since then, and this is what brought me to "The Cat Site", I TNR'd 5 cats that are part of a colony that inhabit the truck/warehouse terminal that I work out of. This was this past October....about 6 months ago. 3 of them I released and they seemed to have survived the winter. The other 2 (Sandy and Junior, who I suspect are siblings) I wound up keeping...... and not really by choice. My intention was to release them back into where they came from. But Sandy had (and still does have) a respiratory problem and the vet had her on antibiotics for 2 weeks until he felt she was strong to spay. What I thought would a 2 or 3 day stay on my sun porch in a dog cage turned into a month.

  Plan B was to release was to release them onto my property which is about 3 acres with a barn on it. BTW Dexter loves it here....he's outside 4 or 5 hrs every day and shows up at the backdoor when wants his warm bed and food. Also...him and the new guys are getting along real well. They went from hissing howling at one another to sleeping together. I got tired of the hissing and aggressive posturing and opened the cage and the door leading to the house. It took another month to go thru the fight, flee, freeze and become best friends process.  The poster who talked about the "five F's" was dead on. 

  Plan B got scrapped when a friend suggested that Sandy and Junior might be better off as house cats and I just couldn't put them outside in the weather. I'm in New Jersey and winters are usually mild but this year's been brutal. So now, 6 months later,  Sandy and Junior seemed to have become housecats as opposed to Dexter who is a total lapcat. They still have their "safe places" but they spend most of the day out in the open either sleeping or playing.....they love their wand toys. At night!!!! I don't want to know what goes on ....it sounds like a cattle stampede. They won't let me touch them ....I gave up trying a couple months ago. But  they do "tolerate" me being in the same room and follow me around from a safe distance. And when I'm working at my desk they keep me company. I've come to see this as real progress. These guys may never become lapcats (that was My Expectation/Need) but they've become part of the family. 

  My problem, and any input or experiences would be real welcome, is what - if anything - to do when the warm weather rolls around. Dexter is in and out of the house but Sandy and Junior show no interest in following him out into "the wild". And I hope it stays that way. I'd hate to see them bolt outside and somehow get lost.not know where home is.

  Anyhow....sorry for the longwinded post. I just wanted to introduce myself and say how much I'm enjoying this site and how helpful it's been.