Baz, is it time for the final step?

We have had Baz (on the left) with us for seven weeks now. First we had him in a big cage and Ginger (above) was very aggressive towards him. Then we gave him the freedom of the dining room. Next we moved him to a bedroom and I have been spending time, and sleeping in with him for the last month. For the past week we have given him the run of the house.

The situation at the moment is that Baz will come much closer to us, he often sleeps on my legs in bed. He will come when called for sweeties. We can't touch him, this may be the best we can hope for as he was nearly two when we brought him home. He desperately wants to play with Fred and Ginger. Ginger is not very interested now and more or less ignores him. Fred is still a bit scared but has realized that Baz will always back down in a (mild) confrontation, or will run if chased. It makes us sad that our original two are not very friendly but there is no longer any real aggression.

So my question is, can I risk letting him outside yet? He is desperate to go out and it is difficult to keep him in especially as it is really hot here in Spain at present. I have been scattering his used litter (minus lumps!) around the garden for a couple of weeks. His original 'home' was with a group of ferals around a rubbish bin area in our village which is about a kilometre from our house. I am terrified that he might return there, even more so since I saw this week that one of his main friends who already had an injured eye, has lost the other one completely. This is very common among these cats.

So, should I risk letting him out yet, or should I leave it a little longer?

Is there anything else I can do to get him to return to our house?

Thank you for reading this, I will really appreciate advice.

Do you have a cage or other enclosure you could put him in, and set it in the yard? While being inside for several weeks is a good idea to get the cat accustomed to thinking of your place as home, I think he should at least be familiar with the yard before you let him loose. I'd let him scope out the yard from his cage for a few hours every day for a week or so, then hopefully he'll recognize it as his.

If he's tame enough, maybe you could walk him around the yard on a harness and leash instead of using a cage/carrier.

When my feral Grey Boy had recovered from his injury well enough to have both legs unbandaged, he had been in the house nearly 7 weeks.  He wanted to go out and I finally let him just by leaving the door open a crack so he could make his own way out.  At first he found one of his old hiding places (I called it his Man Cave) and he slept there for awhile.  As it got colder, he moved into a warm soft cat bed area I had prepared on the front porch.  I fed him on the porch and also had food in his old room, the hallway that opened oto the back porch.  After about another 6 weeks or so, one night he just ran into the back hallway/his room and climbed up on what used to be his bed.  It turned out a huge storm came trough tht night and stayed for 3 days.  He must have known.  Since then he has learned that he can come in because he will be allowed out again.  That was a breakthrough for him.It's possible that your feral may stay close to your house since the food is there, and fresh water.  Since Grey Boy was neutered on the same day they first cleaned up and bandaged his legs, he had plenty of time to get rid of his excess testosterone, so he was no longer driven by male urges to go in search of females.  He has not left the yard (a fenced acre, but the cats can climb the fence if they so choose).  I still can't touch him but he will eat chicken out of my hand, and now he plays with toys and rolls around on his back in the house sometimes.  He is a fat happy cat now.  But until I let him out again, he was always hostile, feeling like a prisoner I guess.  Now he knows he is free to come and go, and he's happy.  Still feral but part of the gang.  A feral cat who has a real home.  Baz may be exactly the same way.

Let him out at 6 am, three hours ago. Will let you know what happens. Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

Sorry to say that I have now seen him back in the car park by the bins which is where he came from. It's about a kilometre from our house. Have to accept that is where he wants to be. At least he's been neutered which should help keep him out of fights. And I can keep feeding him there.

Maybe once he's poked around his old territory he'll decide to come back to your house. You never really know with ferals.

I wish...