Older feral cat taming, opinion needed!

I have had good success in the past with socializing feral kittens, however I haven't ever tried with one this big. I am asking a very important opinion and need yours. 

I can do one of the following:

A) Socialize the cat in the cage picture below

or 

B)Allow the cat to free roam the upstairs that I am renting from my mom. This upstairs that I am renting is about 1000 sq foot and is separated from the downstairs with a door that only I and my mom have the key to. 

Only thing that worries me is the cat hiding under the bed, but I guess it isn't bad to have a "Safe spot" for the cat. 

Pics:

Cage -


Room-


Thoughts?

Hi there,

In answer to your question, both. Cage first then allowing out and about.

The cage is a nice size for him, and easier to get him into a carrier for vetting/neutering.

Set the cage up so he has a nice bed, opposite a litter box, which you want close to the door so he doesn't try to escape.

Water dish is best if it's the kind that attached to the cage itself, as well as food.

Depending on how feral this guy is, he might be spilling the dishes.

You will want to cover half of the cage (the bed side) with a sheet, this will help him feel less intimidated and vulnerable. He has no idea what is going on and where he is.

Allow him 3 days to begin eating. He will hold out.

Once he does eat well for a couple days, take the food away.

You will be withholding food, and forcing him to gain trust with you and get familiar with you through his hunger. This is the best way to a cat's heart

You will be talking often to him, in a soft, non threatening voice, always.

You can have soft music playing always.

You will be offering him irresistible food in your hand, always have your hand lower than his chin, never up over his face as if you were to pet his head, he will feel threatened.

He will resist eating from your hand, over and over, but eventually, he will come to your hand, don't put it right in front of him, well maybe until he eats some the first time, then make him come towards you.

Once he is eating from your hand okay, you can set a small amt of food in his dish for him, but only what he will eat in a short period, as you will continue to offer your hand with food for a while and don't want him to think he will have the dish of food always.

When this is accomplished, you will begin to touch him with your other hand when he goes to eat from your hand. He will back off, then the food is pulled back, he must be forced into submission for food, and this will teach him he can trust you.

See how this goes, and we will take it from there.

Once he has gotten routine about trusting you, you can let him out, but it should be at least a couple/few weeks minimum.

Just know that when he is let out, he is going to hide like crazy, it will slow the progress way down again, but he will remember he has gained at least a little f=trust with you.

The hiding will be constant, it will likely take months for him to begin coming out in fromnt of you, although he will explore during the night when he is sure you are not around, and will do this after just a couple nights out.

Having another cat (seen in pic) is a good thing in aiding to his adjusting.

In time, I mean could be a looong time, he will come out and hang around with you there, but it might be a year, impossible to know at this point, just depends whether he has EVER had people exposure or not at all, ever.

He will always be shy and disappear if company comes over, this is okay though. He will learn to trust where he is, that he is safe and cared for, etc.

During his cage time, he should get neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, de-flead, and tested for felv.

Good luck! Ask questions if you want

Thank you for your advice. I appreciate the support and extensive overview that you gave on handling and taming them. I dewormed him before bringing him home today. Trying to think of a good way to deflea him without getting bitten. If you have any suggestions for that, let me know.

I added dewormer in canned cat food when he first caught and he took that very easily. He will be neutered/rabied when he gets adopted in the future (if he does tame down) or if he goes to a feral cat rescue if he doesn't. I will update you with how the progress goes. 

Oh I didn't know he wouldn't be staying.

I hate to say it but if he is a feral, there's basically no chance he will ever be adoptable, as in friendly to strangers. The only thing for him would be finding him an indoor/outdoor mouser home situation, or as a barn cat.

Feral cat rescues rehome/relocate ferals to places like this.

I rehome to wineries/vineyards, larger estate properties and farms too.

Last year I relocated 10 cats to Joe Montana's home (from 49'ers)  so believe me they are living the life now!! haha

Sorry, I didn't understand that you were attempting to tame him as kittens can be. Adult ferals never will tame enough to adopt out as friendly cats unfortunately.

You can give him flea med through the cage bars if you put it in a syringe (no needle of course) and when he is at one end and the position seems good and fairly close to the cage, just zap him

Some "feral" cats were pets as kittens and dumped when they got to sexual maturity, and will "remember" that after a while. But if he was born feral he almost certainly will never tame enough to adopt out.

I wouldn't let him loose in the house without neutering him first. The spraying could be a problem!

I don't think he is an adult by looking at him up close. AC thought he is about 5 months old (give or take). so if he was socialized as a kitten, there still might be a chance?

It looks like he's been fighting, and his head looks tomcat-boofy. I'm not sure a 5-month-old would be boofy yet or start fighting. Plus that would mean he'd have been born in December and kittens usually aren't born that time of year in temperate climates (but if you're somewhere tropical it's possible). I would guess he's around a year old, maybe as young as 8 months but I really don't think he'd be fighting before that age.

Yes, if he was socialized as a kitten there's a chance. I have a stray tom, about a year old, right now who I believe was a pet as a kitten. I thought he was feral, couldn't get near him at all, but one day he was sick (abscess from fighting ) and let me take him inside and now he's pretty friendly. So it can happen.

Yeah, no. Just as @Willowy  said, he has a full blown unneutered male head/face/cheeks, they get these wide jowls, very distinct, and it takes being a full grown adult to get them.

Also, yes, he has been fighting, so he is def. older than what is estimated.

How do you think I knew it was a male? Jowls and fighting/battle wounds. This takes time to acquire both.

He also appears to have been outdoors and homeless-turned feral for some time, so if he were ever owned, it might be just a distant memory for him, but you never know until you go at it and see his reactions, but they will be of a feral for a bit either way as he is not used to people or has never been social.

He looks sad, but then his life has not been an easy one, guaranteed....................poor guy.

He actually hasn't been fighting at all. All those injuries were actually from charging the trap . Probably all the dogs barking spooked him. As far as kittens, surprisingly I have seen kittens all year long around here. But maybe I should get him neutered so he doesn't spray if I decide to keep him. That wouldn't smell too good! 

He is actually really wanting out of the cage. He rolled over and was playing with my other cat through the gate but backed into his taxi once I 3 inches near. I was tempted to let him out... but not yet, I know. 

I'm coming into this string late...but with a bit of experience.

So the room where the caged crate isn't a small room is it? It seems as though if his crate is truly in the 1000 free space....guess the best I can say is be prepared upon release!!!!!!!!!! For ANYTHING. I'm not kidding. Best bet is he'll regress considerably unfortunately. He'll hide in every nook & cranny (& from pics looks like lots! I've had kittens hide between bookcases & walls that seemed impossible to squeeze a mouse into!!). Any way he can be given more freedom by starting his crate system in a small room & seeing how he does? ALWAYS easier to start small & open up then to try & reverse the process!

Keep us posted!!!