Suggestions/advise needed

All hi,

New to the for so hopefully I am doing this right.

I am not new to caring for cats, feral or at home, but this guy puts i

So much for trying that with my phone, my apologies.

I am not new to caring for ferals nor home cats.  Currently have a old guy colony of 11 ferals that average 8 yrs and are doing great. 

I have a fairly new feral that I trapped and got neutered and he is currently living in my basement.  He has 28 toes and I dont think he is quite all there.

The winter was brutal up here in the northeast and there was no way I could put this one back out.  Now I dont know what to do with him.  We were doing nicely for about a week, and then he dicovered a tiny section between the basement ceiling and the upstairs flooring ( that I didnt know was there)  He has since been hiding up there everytime I come down to care for him.  I cannot get him out,due to nails sticking through the floor, and have not been able to close the gap to keep him out of there. Upstairs I have two cats, both rescues.  I have been leaving the basement door open in hopes of him coming out and them all settling down.  He has come up and they have interacted, but as soon as I get up...down and into the rafter he goes again.  This has been since January.

He uses the litter box, plays with mice, but makes no sound what so ever,  no purr no meow, no growl.  He is not deaf as he came when called while he was still outside. 

I have tried sitting down there with him...stayed for over 8 hours more then once...he wanted no part of it.  Tried luring him out with catnip...tuna...steak...chicken..had a fishing pole and tried to lure him out with catnip stuffed mice...no go.  I loath to trap him again, and not sure I even could as it took me 2 months in the first place.

I do work, so I dont have all the time in the world.

Should I let him outside and of course continue to care for him?

Just wait it out and hope he becomes more tame?

It pains me to think of him in the rafters for untold hours.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Welcome!

Please proceed with your questions and reports!   We will read!

one solutions is simply, to let him be. To let him be such inhome semiferale...  He isnt unlucky, isnt he?

You CAN double check this by letting the doors be open...  If he runs out, fine. His choice. but it is quite possible he will choose to stay inside. 

He will surely be better with time, more and more tame.

You can also try with a Feliway diffuser, making him feel more comfortable, more at ease.

Good luck!

Interesting.  I will try it.  Thanks for the suggestion.

I agree with Stefan. This cat is way better off in your ceiling than he was before and as he doesn't seem to be trying to escape your home, he sounds fine. Perhaps you could offer him other hidey holes - safe places- where he can feel comfortable. Boxes, tents, etc. Maybe you can get a cat tree downstairs, near the ceiling hiding place, as a transitional space. I think he will eventually integrate but is taking it at his own pace.

He has a tent, he has his house from when he was still outside, all the comforts  LOL

I shreds toy mice daily, so I am happy about that.  He seems to play more then my guys upstairs.

I ordered the Feliway, hopefully that will help.

BTW, that is him as my avatar.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Welcome and thank you for all of the work you do with ferals and for rescuing this little guy.  A product you can try is called Composure.  It comes in treat formula (feline composure) or liquid (Composure liquid max).  I really like the liquid best as it works faster and longer.  It is a calming agent that helps a cat feel more calm in their surroundings.  I brought a feral/stray into my house last spring.  I do believe he once might have had a home, but I know he had been living outside on his own for almost 2 years so he had turned quite feral.  He has his own room and still stays shut in the room at night.  My resident cat and this new guy have their differences.  Yet the Composure really helps the new guy feel safer.  In his room, I had propped the mattress and box springs up against a closet so that he wouldn't hide under the bed.  He soon discovered the small space in between the wall and propped up mattresses.  It is dark, small and cozy there.  I didn't know whether to block it off or let him be.  I decided to let him be as when he is very stressed by storms and the vacuum cleaner, it is his safety place.  He has a cat tree and other hiding boxes, but truly prefers this dark space. 

You can find the Composure on Amazon.  If you get the treats ( they are a bit cheaper), it does require 2-3 per dosage at first.  I find the liquid lasts a really long time.