Help in successful introduction of adult feral to resident cats

I began feeding a feral cat  spring of 2013 and had fixed a sheltered area out of the rain with clean dry bedding under my deck steps; in fact I trained her to come to the sound of a bell to be fed and given fresh water in her dish.  She would not let me approach her and would run down the deck steps until I had gone back into the house and would then come back up the stairs to resume eating.  She was very wary and would look around every few seconds to make sure she was safe while eating and would chase away neighborhood pets out to get some extra food from her territory.  This continued for six months and as the summer arrived I noticed the back of her ears were raw and bleeding with scabs due to her almost constant scratching the back of her ears and along the side of her face--she had rubbed the hair off these areas--it broke my heart to see her in such misery--I thought she had either a flea allergy or ear mites causing intense itching.   One day I put her morning feeding down, she came up the deck steps and didn't run down when I opened the door---and she let me stroke her!   I was overjoyed!    I put a carrying kennel on a table inside the room adjacent to her feeding station and the next day I decided to try to pick her up--and she didn't resist at all.  I put her into the kennel and immediately took her to my vet.   They kept her for several hours examining her, testing her for cat diseases, immunizing her, worming her, etc.  She was either a TNR feral or a stray who had reverted to semi-feral and the vet thought she was approx. two years of age.   When the vet called me to pick her up I was told she offered no resistance to the vet and staff whatsoever, seemed to know they were helping her and that she didn't have ear mites, fleas or ticks but had a severe allergic reaction to mosquito bites and that was responsible for the severe itching.  I took her home and let the sun porch be her sanctuary and my resident cats no longer had access to the area but they could see each other through the windows.  A course of oral steroids stopped the itching and since she was now an inside-only cat she wasn't bitten by mosquitoes again; the oozing stopped, the scabs disappeared and her hair grew back on her face and the back of her ears.

She doesn't meow but does have vocalizations; does not rub up against me; comes to me when called; plays with her favorite toys when by herself as well as enjoying interactive play; her sanctuary has been my master bedroom for the past six months and she is very content to remain in that room, although I have left the door open so she could explore the rest of the house when my other cats were on the sun porch and to be in another room with me so she could watch the birds and squirrels at an outdoor feeding station through the windows.  She climbs onto my chest and wants me to pet her head and behind her ears when I go to bed at night and lets me know when she wants more petting--but she does not like to be petted beyond her head and neck.

She has been an indoor cat for 11 months and since the beginning, she has hissed, spit, and growled whenever she sees my two other cats and they have never been aggressive with her .  If she isn't removed from the sight of the other two cats immediately after she starts growling,  she begins sounding like a wild mountain lion and I know she needs to be taken back to her sanctuary room and allowed to calm down.  My other cats are intimidated by her and if she is going from one room back to "her" room, she looks around and then runs into her room.  She has no desire to go outdoors and seems to enjoy being safe, cared for and fed--and left by herself in the master bedroom.

I have periodically tried every recommended strategy for a slow introduction with my two other cats since they were used to having free run of the entire house and they want to be able to sleep in the master bedroom which they are not allowed to enter now.  After eight months, one of my vets agreed to start her on an anti-anxiety medication to see if that would stop the defensive aggression as well as straight aggression that she demonstrates--the medication did not work, in fact it made her worse and she was weaned off the drug after one week.  One of the other vets has told me that she was an adult feral who adopted that behavior for survival in the wild, that it was her personality and that I needed to accept her as she is and let her stay in her sanctuary room and just love her on her own terms--that drugs would not change the behavior she was demonstrating.

Have other people had the same type experience when adopting an adult feral cat?  Since she purrs and likes me should I just forget having the three cats together in the house and let her live in the master bedroom without interacting with my other cats?  Why does she not allow me to stroke or pet her beyond her head and neck?   Will she eventually allow me to stroke her entire body and brush her?  Will the hissing, spitting, growling and hysterics when she sees the other cats eventually cease? (Initially she showed aggression toward me several times if I picked her up and took her to another room---she swatted my face hard between her two front legs once and twice she ran toward me and slapped both paws on the floor within inches of my feet when she was angry with me.)   My cats have always been from shelters or strays but I have never had an adult semi-feral or feral cat like this and really do not know what I can reasonably expect in terms of her behavior and time needed for adjustment.  I would appreciate any help or advice you can give me---October 1 it will be one year since she joined my family and became my Nikita.  

I love this site and forum and plan to read all of the postings.   I have been searching for information that can help Nikita, Tipi, Alexi and me and I've finally found it.

Welcome to the forums and thank you for rescuing this sweet kitty.  You are her angel. 

As far as introducing her to your other cats.  Please give a bit more info on what techniques you used and for how long you worked on the situation.  In May of 2013, I brought a stray turned feral into my home.  He had been living outside for at least 1.5 years.  I did TNR on him in Marcy of 2013 and then brought him into my home in May of 2013.  Living inside my house was a large dog and my resident cat of 5 years.  It was a very rough time and it took 1 solid year for there to be peace.  Marvin ( the cat I brought inside) was the aggressive one too.  He was used to living on his own and fighting off other cats.  So I can feel your pain and frustration.  I will tell you a few things I did.

1.  Feliway diffusers everywhere!!  I found that in my open floor plan house I needed lots of them.  I also used the spray.  For my cats, they truly worked and I knew within 2 days, when they were empty. 

2.  When I brought Marvin inside the house, he had no contact with my resident cat or dog for almost 2 months.  He needed time to adjust.  I thought I tried intros slowly, but ended up rushing the last steps.  This set me back months.  I found a great way to allow Marvin and my resident cat (Jake) to see, hear, smell each other safely was to use a screen door.  I bought a cheap wooden screen door for $20 at Lowes and attached it to the door with tension rods.  This way I didn't have to deface my door.  I placed a baby gate firmly in the door way for extra protection.  I have pictures of this set up if you'd like to see. 

3.  Whenever no one was home, someone had to be put away.  This was a major pain, but it was done out of necessity.  Marvin also went into his room each night with the door closed.  Also a necessity. 

4.  Lots of vertical space.  Jake loves to be up high (tree dweller) and Marvin likes it down low (bush dweller).  This helped things tremendously.  I had a few cat trees for Jake so he felt safe being up and no threat of Marvin getting to him.  You can add shelving on your wall too.  Take a look at Jackson Galaxy's site on Catification.  He has great ideas.

5.  Play with the cats.  At first I would play with the individually.  Get them really tired.  I love the da bird toy.  Then reward them with a yummy treat or meal.  When I had help, I would play with the cats together.  The food reward was something delicious such as plain cooked chicken, tuna or salmon.  I often would play string through the gate with one cat on each side with a human to supervise.  I kept the interactions short too.  Trying to stop on a positive note.

6.  I used Liquid Composure Max on both cats and then some just on the more aggressive cat.  He responded very well to this.  I did not have to try prescription meds.

7.  I used a large dog crate.  I placed Jake inside and covered the crate on 3 sides.  We would play string and get yummy food rewards.  Chicken was the way to my babies hearts.  They learned to associate each other with yummy chicken.  When Jake was in the crate, Marvin could walk around and smell Jake while Jake was safe. 

8.  I watched hot spots on liberally sprayed feliway in those areas.  If a fight broke out, ( it was usually Marvin going after Jake) Marvin was placed in his room in a "time out" for 30-60 minutes.  He then was allowed back out, but put back in if he was aggressive.  This worked very well. 

I watched and read every thing I could on cat to cat introductions.  I will post some great links and one video for you.

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

What fantastic ideas you have given me--I plan to follow-through starting today!  Thank you so much!  In response to your questions:

1)  I had only been running one Feliway diffuser in the room where Nikita was.   I will purchase additional atomizers and begin using them throughout the house.

2)  I already have a large screen door not being used currently that I can use plus I have several tension rods to hold it in place in the doorway to the master bedroom.  What a great idea, I would love to see pictures of your set-up with the screen door in place.   I don't have a baby gate but can get one if it appears to be necessary.

3)  Did you allow both cats to be in the same area under your supervision after two months?  Were there any serious confrontations and fights?  Did initial hostilities affect the relationship between the the two cats long-term?

4)  How long did Marvin have to sleep in a room by himself at night?

5)  I only have one floor-to-ceiling cat tree/condo and my resident cats do not climb onto its shelves since they are very large cats.  Do you have a site where I can purchase a cat tree with larger shelves for bigger cats?   I have a smaller cat tree that I have on the sun porch but so far none of the cats seem to use it for lounging.  All three have vertical spaces and use them to watch the world and nap.

6)  I love Jackson Galaxy's "My Cat From Hell" on Animal Planet and will visit his section on Catification.

7)  I haven't been playing with any of the cats long enough at a time to tire them out; I will remedy this starting today--I have been playing with them for short periods of time just for stimulation and never with Nikita in the same room with the other two cats while playing.

8)  How long had Marvin been living indoors before you allowed him to be loose with Jake for extended periods of time under your supervision? 

9)  Great idea about putting Jake in the crate while allowing Marvin to be out loose; I had done just the opposite--put Nikita in the crate and allowed the two resident cats to be loose to investigate her while all were safe.  I will definitely try putting Tipi and Alexi in crates while allowing Nikita to be loose to investigate their smells, etc.

10)  I have been using Greenies as treats for all three cats since they love them, but will try the cooked chicken idea and use it as a reward for them playing nicely without aggression, etc.

11)  I have used the "time out" idea to allow Nikita to calm down after she goes into her "wild mountain lion" routine since she sounds as if she is about to lose control and viciously attack me or the other cats.

12)  Did Marvin's aggression toward Jake, growling, etc. eventually cease?  How long did it take before there was peace in your house and you didn't have to be concerned about leaving the two cats together when you left the house?

I plan to visit the sites you listed.  I thought I had tried everything in terms of a slow introduction of the new cat but I was so wrong!  My slow introduction attempts were focussed on seeing, hearing and smelling each other, atomizing Feliway and short sessions of them being in the same room under my supervision.  I have been afraid that Nikita's aggression would permanently damage the relationships among the three cats if a genuine fight resulted from their contact and one or both could be hurt.

I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your excellent suggestions and telling me what worked when you were introducing Marvin to Jake.  I can't understand why books on cat care do not really cover introducing a feral or semi-feral cat into a household with resident cats--it has been very frustrating not being able to get helpful information until I happened onto this cite and you responded to my questions.

shadowsrescue has lots and lots of good suggestions.
Regarding your cat (name? pictures ?) not liking to be petted beyond her head and neck area: no telling what her life was before you became her Guardian Angel. Her former (in)humane owner could have swatted her on her torso as punishment. On the other hand, she could have an old injury to that area or arthritis.
I would try petting her for a few seconds below her neck area and then stop. And then pet her where you know she likes to be petted, where it's safe for her, so she associates the two.
That's how I started getting Ritz to being petted (rescued, largely unsocialized); now, she sometimes seeks me out for a cuddle and belly massage.

Shadows Rescue, once again, has excellent advice!  I can only offer encouragement, as our experiment in adding a former feral to our house failed.  She has her own room now and no one except her brother is allowed in.  He only stays for ten minutes and is howling to get out, away from the crazy cat!  She does the mountain lion imitation, too but is sweet as pie to me and my husband.  (Probably because we feed her - otherwise, she's probably scratch our eyes out!) 

Of course, this was all before I found this site and I did everything wrong, so no wonder.

I think following the steps laid out by Shadows Rescue will go a long way towards helping integrate Nikita into her new home.

ShadowsRescue--your advice is already working.  Thanks for the pictures of your screen door---mine looks the same except I don't have a baby gate.

ShadowsRescue, Ritz and Ondine thanks for your replies and encouragement re:  Nikita eventually being a happy, well-adjusted cat in the household.  I was reassured when I read that someone else had the new feral in a sanctuary room for a year---I really was afraid it was going to be like this forever and that the wild mountain lion reaction would never stop.  Nikita definitely does not want to leave the house to go outdoors--she must have had enough of that before she came to live at my house.  Whenever I open a door to the outside and she is in the room, she goes to the other end of the room---she enjoys watching the birds and squirrels through the glass, but she has no desire to see them "up close and personal."  I think she is going to be a sweet and loving girl when she is completely comfortable with my other two cats and her new surroundings.

You can read another success story "Pawley could use your vibes." Pawley has taken almost eight months to assimilate but he's getting there.

I think the love and patience it takes us to socialize them makes as much of a difference in us than it does in them. It has certainly made a difference in my life.

Time, patience and baby steps are your friends!!  The thing that worked absolutely the best for me was having the cats associate each other with positive things.  For my two it was chicken and play time.  I also made sure that all interactions were short so they ended on a positive note. 

Keep plugging away.

Definitely read the progression of Pawley http://www.thecatsite.com/t/270195/pawley-and-all-of-us-could-use-your-vibes  It is an amazing story!

Buckley was a cat I was helping socialize; he escaped into the walls and ceiling as he was being put into a cat carrier to go to his Furever Home.
Two weeks later he returned to the area from which he was removed (two miles away), which was my community cat colony.
I calmly picked him up (no resistance) and returned him to where he was being socialized. He was much more friendly, peaceful this time: he learned he had it good indoors.
(He was later adopted out to a multi-generational family and is doing well.)

I'm glad Buckley's story had a happy ending for everyone concerned!

I look forward to reading about Pawley, thanks!

I want to update you on my progress; I lot has happened in the last month thanks to ideas from this forum and The Cat Whisperer.  I have:  1)  attached 12" wide carpeted shelves in tiers staggered across windows in my T.V. room which looks out to one of my wild bird feeding stations outside---a.k.a.  "cat T.V."  Tipi loves the shelves,  Alexi has jumped onto the lowest tier & last night Nikita (a.k.a. wild girl) was lying on the lowest tier.  2)  I also put 12" wide carpeted shelving across the top railings of my stairs on the second floor and both male cats love this walkway to high windows that look out onto the street in front of my house..  Tipi lounges on it while I am on the computer.  3) I purchased a pet gate (it's higher than a baby gate and is made of wire and wood) from amazon.com and have started putting it in the doorway of which ever room Nikita is in;  then I place a screen door (from a sliding glass door) behind it with a heavy door stop behind all of it to prevent the gate and screen from crashing down if one of the cats decides to take a run into it.   4)  I started a regular schedule of  interactive play with each cat twice a day and all three seem to love this.  All three are chubby and need to lose some weight, so along with cutting down somewhat on their feedings I have increased their exercise to help with weight loss.

       One of my males has been so stressed with the construction earlier this summer on the house and having "wild girl" growling and hissing every time she sees one of the boys that he has been over-grooming and has licked most of the hair off his lower abdomen and the inside of his back legs.  After one year of trying to get Nikita to adjust to the boys and letting her have exclusive use of the master bedroom I decided to make some changes to help Tipi and reduce his stress since both male cats had always slept in cat beds on top of my king-size bed with me in the master bedroom.  Last night at bedtime, I put Nikita into the T.V. room with her food dish, water, litter box and favorite toys, left a small light on in the room and put the pet gate and screen door at the entrance to the T.V. room for the night.  Tipi and Alexi then were able to sleep in their cat beds in the master bedroom for the first time in months.  Then this a.m. while I was feeding the male cats in other parts of the house I let Nikita go (run) into the master bedroom, put all her things in there and moved the pet gate and screen door to the entrance to the bedroom.  It worked out very well--I'm not sure that Nikita liked being displaced from her sanctuary room for the night but the boys were much, much happier and it stopped the crying and begging to come into the master bedroom by the boys at night.  I intend to keep this up for the foreseeable future and see if it helps stop Tipi's over grooming.

      The pet gate and screen door in front of it in the doorway has already helped.  Nikita now sits and watches the male cats who come to the door and they show that they want to make friends with her.  She no longer growls or hisses at them as long as they are on the other side of the screen and gate barrier from her.

      Do you think it's likely that Nikita will ever tolerate being in the same room with the two male cats?  Will she be content to be alone in a room sharing me for part of the time but no longer in sole cat possession of the master bedroom?  Will appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on this--Oct. 1 will be one year since Nikita became an indoor cat (which she loves--she has no desire to be outside whatsoever and she was either feral or semi-feral that had never been socialized to other cats.
 

Has anyone had a resident cat begin over-grooming from stress while attempting a slow introduction of a feral or semi-feral or feral cat into the household?   How did you handle the situation to reduce the stress on the resident cat?  Did the over-grooming eventually stop?

I have two cats who do that. One did it when she first moved inside. Her brother still does it occasionally when he's stressed. The neighbors have a big renovation going and poor Chester's hip is bald! I use Feliway, which seems to help. Other posters have recommended Bach's Rescue Remedy.

Take the intros as slowly as you can. The cats may never be buddies but they can learn to co-exist.

Thanks for the update!  Your story reminds me so much of the saga between Jake and Marvin.  I was always trying new things to see what worked and what didn't.  My main point was always safety of the cats.  Marvin having lived outside on his own for at least 1.5 years was so strong and aggressive.  I knew he could tear Jake to shreds. 

Did you ever try any liquid Composure Max on the feral?  I used it on Marvin for about 6 months.  It was the only product that worked on calming down his territorial aggressive nature.  I gave him 1/2 t in the morning mixed in his wet food and 1/4 t. in his evening meal.  It worked much better than flower essences on him.  I found it on Amazon and EntirelyPets.com

Thanks Ondine and ShadowsRescue!  I have just picked up Composure Max from my Vet and given all three of my cats a "treat"--they took it without any problem.  I hope it will help both my little wild girl and stressed-out male who is denuding himself.  Will let you know if it helps.  What did I ever do before finding this web site and forum---thanks to everyone, your suggestions have helped immensely.

I started with the treats, but found that in order to make a difference in my aggressive boy, he needed 3 at a time.  He then stopped wanting to eat them.  That's when I moved to the liquid.  It was tasty and easily mixed into food.  So if one treat makes no difference you can double for triple the dose for short periods.  It just gets costly with the treats.  The liquid last a long time and it's much cheaper on Amazon or Entirely Pets too!!

ShadowsRescue, that's good to know about the Composure Max, I will definitely switch to liquid from amazon if they begin refusing the chewable treat---all three are usually very good about eating treats that are good for them, taking meds., etc.   Do you divide up the doses (i.e. give some in a.m. feeding and some in later feedings) or give all at one time?    Has it made a difference in your cats' aggressiveness or helped them get along better?  Do you think it will stop the over-grooming of my male?

VickyNC said:

 
ShadowsRescue, that's good to know about the Composure Max, I will definitely switch to liquid from amazon if they begin refusing the chewable treat---all three are usually very good about eating treats that are good for them, taking meds., etc.   Do you divide up the doses (i.e. give some in a.m. feeding and some in later feedings) or give all at one time?    Has it made a difference in your cats' aggressiveness or helped them get along better?  Do you think it will stop the over-grooming of my male?

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When I gave the treats I gave 2-3 in the morning and 2 more at night.  I actually first started using the treats shortly after I brought Marvin into the house.  He had his own room and would cry and cry all night long.  I would give him 3 composure treats at night and he was so much calmer.  What I did find was that the treats didn't last very long.  Their affects were worn off in about 4-6hours.  I then switched to the liquid when Marvin stopped wanting to eat the treats.  I would mix 1/2 t in his morning wet food and another 1/4 t. in his evening meal.  The liquid worked quicker and seemed to last longer.  It made a huge difference in Marvin's aggression.  I gave it to my resident cat too, but in a lower dose.  For my resident cat it was more to assure him that he was safe.  He was so freaked out by Marvin constantly trying to tear him to pieces.  I continued using the liquid composure with Marvin for almost 6 months.  I then weaned him off to be sure he could still control himself.  He has now been off of it since May and is just the sweetest boy!!

I am now using liquid Composure on my resident cat as he has some stress pee issues.  It is helping him as well. 

It definitely could help with the over grooming.  Yet each individual cat responds differently to the composure.  I know some have tried it and had no success.  My cats respond very well to it.