How to get former feral out of hiding in my basement

I finally moved my about 4 year old feral mamacat into the house, after 2 years of taking care of her in an outbuilding in Minnesota (I had a cubby for her that I heated with heating pads etc).  She is tame in most respects now, after 2 years of work, except I can't really pick her up (but she doesn't claw me to death anymore, just wants down immediately) and she is shyer than a normal pet cat, and very wary of being trapped (not just by traps, I mean blocked in by people etc - she keeps her escape routes open).

 She came into the house to get a snack, which she had been doing for about 3 weeks in preparation for this, and my husband closed the door behind her. My 2 15 year old cats, who had been sort of getting along with her when the front door was open, immediately jumped her like it was a planned team event, she fled to the basement, and is living in a tiny dirt crawl space under the porch for 10 days now. It is cold there, but won't get below freezing because there is some heat in the basement, she is peeing and pooping in there, and I can't coax her out into the main basement. She lets me pet her and play with her, and purrs and kneads her paws,  and she will come to eat.  I can't grab her because it is 2 foot thick stone foundation, the water heater is in the way of the access hole blah blah (old farmhouse). It is very awkward to access there.  I have to stand on a step stool at an awkward angle leaning against the water heater and reach as far as I can to pet her.   I put her heated cat bed in there. she didn't come out even for water and I didn't want her to get sick so I have actually given her every thing she needs up there, but there is not a space to put a litter box - impossible to do that.  

 I have jammed in a carpeted ramp for her to come down, and it's quite sturdy, have tried coaxing her with Fancy Feast, playing string, calling, and so on and no dice. The other kitties won't go down in the basement because they know she is there, so she has not seen another cat for several days.

Should I force her out of there somehow (the method still to be determined) or be a little more patient?

Tx for tips!

I would try with Feliway spray.  Or Feliway adapter if there is an el contact to plug the adapter into.    And let her decision mature by herself, if possible.

Next question is, what will happen next when she returns.   Your two residents arent happy with her presence.   And she is apparently afraid of them.  Dont want to confront them.   Possibly an Feliway adapter for them too...

The plus being, when she dares come up, there will be the Feliway spread there already...

Have patience. 

Good luck!   @Iluvcats3

Oh silly me, I do have Feliway spray and also the plug in thingie.  Yes, I will do that. My husband says it will be easy to disconnect the heating duct so Mamacat can look up into the bathroom, too, and it is such a big heater vent that she can easily come thru that if she wants without getting stuck. I would have to put some kind of step stool in the crawl space so she could just crawl upstairs, if desired. Hey, thanks!  The kitties were getting along pretty well for a few weeks before Mama was shut into the house so this is not going as well as expected.  I would have put her in my sewing room if I knew this would happen and she would be warm and toasty there and kitties could hiss under the door.  Thanks again!

Still no progress and it is really getting bad smelling under there.  The Feliway didn't seem to help much at all :-(

Iluvcats3 said:

 
Still no progress and it is really getting bad smelling under there.  The Feliway didn't seem to help much at all :-(

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Hey, Iluvcats, can you borrow a trap from animal control or a local rescue group?  I would suggest setting it up as close to her hidey hole as possible, if not inside it, and feed her exclusively in the unset trap for a couple of days (I've used shoelaces to tie the door up, duct tape, whatever's on hand), then set it and follow your plan to temporarily house her in the sewing room.  If she's wary of the trap, you can try covering it with a blanket or garbage bag.  Just make sure the door isn't going to get caught on anything when the trap is tripped.

Good luck to you!  

P.S.  You might want to schedule a vet appointment on the day you plan to trap her so she can get checked out before settling in.  If your vet isn't comfortable handling feral cats, you may have to call around, possibly get in touch with a local rescue or humane society for referrals, or try one located in a rural area (all the rural vets in my area have experience with ferals).

Oh I'm sorry, i wasn't clear. . . this kitty is now mostly tame but still has some of her feral characteristics. She comes out of the hole out enough I could grab her and my husband could then block the hole with chicken wire or something like that, but I don't want to traumatize her or get bit. If I put on the winter coat and 2 pairs of leather gloves, she'll know what's up and not be all purry and cuddly that I can even grab her. I got her to jump onto the water heater (which is entirely outside the crawl space) when I brought down some Fancy Feast this evening, so that's promising.  I don't think the other cats are even the main issue here - I think it's the change in environment that is upsetting her. The other cats haven't been downstairs at all unless they go down there at night, but one of the cats peed on the floor rather than go down there so I had to set up a litter box upstairs.  Mamacat and me get along great, but I still can't HOLD her. She will jump on my lap and purr when I am in a recliner (I set one up in the outbuilding as part of her pet cat training).  So she is really getting to be a pretty good pet cat. I'm surprised I'm having so much trouble because my farmhouse is very similar to the 2 story old granary she lived in for 2 years.

It can take a very long time to get them accustomed to being held, and some will never be okay with it.  Being restrained by a person, suspended in the air, is a greater loss of control over the situation than some cats can handle- especially former ferals.  I wouldn't count on being able to catch her anytime soon, which is why I recommended the trap.  We usually have to trick these savvy creatures into confinement.  

You are most likely going to need to make gradual introductions.  Your resident cats might be fine with a visitor, but it is *their* territory and mama cat knows this.  Cats are extremely territorial and most don't take kindly to having an interloper thrust on them.  Mama cat senses the tension and doesn't want to get involved in another fracas, so the least stressful thing for all parties is to get her into the sewing room while avoiding contact with the others.  A trap is the only way I can think of to accomplish this, unless you can get her into a carrier.

Last night, i tried putting a horizontal plank next to her hole, and she did walk out on it a ways. It's about 5 feet off the floor. I am now thinking maybe I can set up a cubby on the large shelf that the plank is resting upon on one end, and make it very desireable, and maybe put a table up really high so she can use a litterbox way up in the air.  Sigh. I will try this though, then if that fails, probably grab her and put her in a carrier.  One of my old cats loves to be with me in the sewing room, so I have not wanted to shut that room off to him.

Try shelling her some prawns, my newly adopted stray will not come down stairs (this is my other cats territory) unless I'm shelling them both some prawns then she makes her way down the stairs in a flash! I think they would both do anything for a prawn.

Ho ho! I think I will try that.  Mama cat WANTS to come out of that dirt hole under the bathroom, but she is just such a stubborn thing! I don't even think the other cats are the issue anymore, it's the change of scenery I think.  My other cats no longer seem to care she is down there, but then, they never liked to go into the basement anyway since it is a stone dracula basement and the mice would prefer to be upstairs, too!

Ahh bless its so frustrating! I did find feliway plug in diffusers good but they seem to take a while to work! I think you may have to trap her but I'd build up her trust again with nice food for a few days first! Cats generally like to be very clean so if she is soiling down there she prob isn't very happy and will be glad when you have sorted her out!

just be patient let it be in their for a bit let it adjust before bringing it out .. meetings between cats should be short and brief I advise bringing the cats in separately
After a while of doing this bring the cat out to explore

Iluvcats3 said:

 
Last night, i tried putting a horizontal plank next to her hole, and she did walk out on it a ways. It's about 5 feet off the floor. I am now thinking maybe I can set up a cubby on the large shelf that the plank is resting upon on one end, and make it very desireable, and maybe put a table up really high so she can use a litterbox way up in the air.  Sigh. I will try this though, then if that fails, probably grab her and put her in a carrier.  One of my old cats loves to be with me in the sewing room, so I have not wanted to shut that room off to him.

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I hope you can manage to arrange a more comfortable (and hygienic!) environment for her, even if it's just temporary.  The Dracula basement sounds like a neat place to visit for Halloween  , but maybe not such a great habitat for a kitty.  I hope you're able to integrate the household soon...keep us updated!

So here's an update. Kitty STILL won't come out of her hole under the bathroom. She'll come out onto the plank a foot or two to eat, but that's it.  So I will have to scoop her up into my arms and put her on the basement floor, and quickly block the hole with wire fencing (I have it in position so I can just slide it, but there are furnace ducts and water pipes to deal with) so she can't go up there. So in preparation for that, I have created two secure cubbies for her in the basement, both a foot and a half off the floor, so it's a bit warmer. Also, she will hopefully feel she has a good defensible position should the other kitties go down there, which they have abandoned the basement ever since I put a litter box upstairs. They never liked it down there anyway being it is cold. I am putting a heated cat bed in each cubby I have made, and each one has Mamacat's scent on it. 

Iluvcats3 said:

 
So here's an update. Kitty STILL won't come out of her hole under the bathroom. She'll come out onto the plank a foot or two to eat, but that's it.  So I will have to scoop her up into my arms and put her on the basement floor, and quickly block the hole with wire fencing (I have it in position so I can just slide it, but there are furnace ducts and water pipes to deal with) so she can't go up there. So in preparation for that, I have created two secure cubbies for her in the basement, both a foot and a half off the floor, so it's a bit warmer. Also, she will hopefully feel she has a good defensible position should the other kitties go down there, which they have abandoned the basement ever since I put a litter box upstairs. They never liked it down there anyway being it is cold. I am putting a heated cat bed in each cubby I have made, and each one has Mamacat's scent on it. 

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Sounds like a good plan for getting her out of the hole    I wonder how you're planning to integrate the household, though.  Are you going to keep her in the basement?  If it's cold down there, I think she'd prefer being upstairs.  A heated bed is a thoughtful addition, but kitties need to feel comfortable in their environment, too.  I feel bad for my poor ferals who have to run around in the wintertime and don't get the opportunity to warm up until they get cozy in their shelters.  It's not an easy life for a kitty...far from ideal.  I've got big plans for them, but that's another story for another day.

My plan is for her to live with the other kitties.

OK, so another update, I DID scoop her up in my arms and put her on the floor, but an hour later, she got around the wire fencing and I found her back under the bathroom in the crawlspace. So I scooped her up again and had my husband do a better job with the wire fencing, and now she can't get back up there.  She is occupying one of the cubbies I made up for her, and although she cried and was scared, it was nothing like 3 weeks ago when I brought her in. She clearly enjoyed the extra petting she gets now that i can reach her good, and she did play string with me.  She went up the basement stairs a few times, but didn't stay upstairs at all. She came up even though we had a guest over playing cards, and she watched us all for a few seconds before retreating. She sort of knows this guest a little bit, but he can't touch her. So she did really good so far!  Oh my does it stink under the bathroom, though.  That is going to be a treat to clean out somehow. The other kitties must know she's out and about down there because she meowed a LOT but they don't seem to care very much. But you know, they got along fine with her until she was shut in the house, then jumped her, so how would I know? I've usually had cat introductions go better than this.  

Just wondering how it was all going?

Update:  Mamacat is now comfortable in the basement. She will readily come up the stairs to get her food at the top of the stairs, but still won't come into the kitchen. She must be aware it's warmer upstairs. It appears that my male kitty is going downstairs from time to time, because sometimes I pet him and his fur is really cold, and there is nowhere else in the house that cold.  He will hiss at Mamacat when she comes up to get her food, but then he goes back to his food bowl immediately and ignores her (they eat about 5 feet apart right now). The female kitty, she is usually not eating at this time because she is on medication and she plays a little game with me avoiding me until I catch her and squirt the medicine into her face. By the time she goes to her foodbowl, Mama is all done eating and back downstairs.  So I have not see her hiss at Mamacat, and I've not felt her fur be really cold. I don't think she's been downstairs at all since Mamacat came in the house a month ago. I have discovered that Mamacat likes laser dot a heck of a lot.  The washing machine and dryer no longer bother her (never did, much) but the furnace did. We are using the wood stove right now, so the furnace has not been running for a few weeks. We had to test it a couple of days in case it needed fixing, so that's how I know she is scared of it. Soooooo I think Mama is going to move upstairs fairly soon. I have been practicing picking her up, which is going along slowly.  She calms down afterwards much quicker, but this has been a very long process and almost there with a super cute pet kitty!!

That's so good to hear, glad you've had progress it's good you've got her playing, she must feel relaxed if she's chasing the laser dot, she will prob be sat on the sofa by Christmas. I wish I could get my newly adopted stray cat to play, she's scared of everything!

Anyway, thank you for the update

keep us posted :wavey

We have been working with this cat for over 2 years. So it was quite a bit of socializing. It helps that my husband and I are retired so we have more time to spend doing this. It's still not so much time, but it's spread out thru the day.