Hello everyone; last Tuesday I brought home a feral three month old kitten/young cat who had been living by a river in my old hometown. A friend who works for a no-kill adoption organization was the one who trapped him and some of his siblings, and she had him for a couple weeks before I became his foster parent. Right now, he's in a large (approx 2" by 3") cage that takes up half of my bathroom. He mainly hangs out inside a small, open cat carrier placed inside the crate/cage. The crate is on a stand so he can at least be higher than the floor.
He's doing quite well: purring and rubbing against my hands when I scratch his face, and he's even given me what I think was a "soft blink" back when I did the same thing to him. He will come out of the carrier (not the cage/crate) when I lure him out with canned cat food, which he eats out of my hand. He's uncertain about me petting him while he's eating though, and otherwise doesn't come out of the carrier when I'm there; he just sits toward the front. My friend suggested removing the lid of the carrier so that he'll have a semi-secure place with high sides to sleep in but not be able to be unreachable/hide. As it stands now, I can't really do full body petting. But I'm nervous that removing the lid will make him backslide or become more scared. Has anyone else had a similar set-up with a carrier inside a crate? I've been reading a lot on the forum about others' experiences, and it seems most people have the cat loose in their bathrooms... perhaps because they don't have a cage/crate or perhaps because it's better? Any opinions on that?
The kitty (I named him Theo) is making improvements everyday, so I don't know how hard I should push him or if he'll naturally "push" himself. I've gotten a lot of great advice on this site just by reading, and I'm trying to implement as many taming strategies as I can in the time I'm not at work. I was afraid he was too old when I first took him, but after reading others' experiences and seeing how he's improved, I'm pretty hopeful. Thanks for any further tips you can give a first-time feral cat care-giver.
He's doing quite well: purring and rubbing against my hands when I scratch his face, and he's even given me what I think was a "soft blink" back when I did the same thing to him. He will come out of the carrier (not the cage/crate) when I lure him out with canned cat food, which he eats out of my hand. He's uncertain about me petting him while he's eating though, and otherwise doesn't come out of the carrier when I'm there; he just sits toward the front. My friend suggested removing the lid of the carrier so that he'll have a semi-secure place with high sides to sleep in but not be able to be unreachable/hide. As it stands now, I can't really do full body petting. But I'm nervous that removing the lid will make him backslide or become more scared. Has anyone else had a similar set-up with a carrier inside a crate? I've been reading a lot on the forum about others' experiences, and it seems most people have the cat loose in their bathrooms... perhaps because they don't have a cage/crate or perhaps because it's better? Any opinions on that?
The kitty (I named him Theo) is making improvements everyday, so I don't know how hard I should push him or if he'll naturally "push" himself. I've gotten a lot of great advice on this site just by reading, and I'm trying to implement as many taming strategies as I can in the time I'm not at work. I was afraid he was too old when I first took him, but after reading others' experiences and seeing how he's improved, I'm pretty hopeful. Thanks for any further tips you can give a first-time feral cat care-giver.