New Feral Owner

Hey StefanZ,

"Relaxing Sleep, Music, white noise and cat purring 10 hours"

"Cat purring 9 hours-kittens, nature sounds, relaxation, meditation, purification"

Can search Google or YouTube for "Relaxing cat purrs"

Good luck! bj1jhu

StefanZ, Try covering the cage on 3 sides, so the cat has a semi-safe hiding place. I have a "Cattery" large cage where the cats like to sleep -the doors to the cattery are always open, now. I kept the ex-feral cats in it for awhile when I first got them. Did the technique above. They were less frightened and scared (less hissy). A towel or small blanket in your cage so the cat can hide and feel more safe would be nice, too. bj1jhu

the cover I made covers the entire cage when fully on. It's actually two sections so I can use one or both.

She seems perfectly content If I have it so 1/4 of the cage (aka one corner) is covered for her "hidey"... if she gets a little upset, I put one cover on fully which covers up 2/3 of the cage.

At night I cover her completely.

She WAS hiding under our loveseat, so she prefers someplace completely "hidden".

it's odd, but she doesn't get hissy or upset until late evening. AFTER my husband has gone to bed.

Which I find odd because she mostly seems to like me (or at least tolerates me) but HATES my husband as he's usually the one who was catching her.

The newest thing she's doing is crying when I "put her to bed" (I'm a night owl, and go to bed between 2 & 3am generally) and I cover her when I turn off all the lights.

She STOPS crying if she sees her brother, Shadow.

Which makes me wonder if she's just upset to be separated from him.

I wouldn't mind putting him in the cage with her at night, except that he knocks all her food out of her bowl, and kicks a large amount of litter out of her box... (he's a rotten little bug, but I love him, lol)

If she's eaten (which she has) and drank her water, should I remove her food/water bowl and put him in with her for the night? (he's eaten as well)

He's returning to the snuggley and sociable kitten he was before we caught Bast.

We caught him about 3 weeks before her, and I don't want to set him back.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I would do what you suggested and take out the food and water, then put Shadow in with Bast for several nights to see if it helps Bast. My cats enjoy snuggling together. Shadow's basic behavior and temperament won't change in the long run. Unless they don't get along together in the cage/cattery, I'd try it.

My husband had the brilliant idea of giving Bast a very soft stuffed dog that's slightly bigger than her to snuggle and she loves it! She was much happier last night and without Bast, Shadow has started sleeping on our bed at night. Bast is still not happy, but she's less unhappy.

My husband and I are buying a house from a friend, and one of our new neighbors by the new house we're buying is VERY pro TnR (Trap n Release) and has personally helped over 55 feral cats.

Well she lent us 2 traps and a carrier (the carrier for Bast, we already had one from Conga for Shadow) so we can get our feral bunch fixed before we move...

The results so far:
Ferals: 0              

Kryss: 2

I caught Jeckle (Shadow and Bast's mom) and the one we call Pinstripe.

I haven't gotten a good enough look to see if Pin is a he or a she, though we've always assumed male.
I'll call Bobbi tomorrow and set up the drop off of the big cats for tomorrow night.

We'll have to keep them overnight on Wed to make sure they're completely awake and ok from the anesthesia.
Right now they're in the traps, NOT happy, but covered by clean towels to help them keep calm. (it's working)

Jeckle ate her food at least, but Pin was still spazzing when I brought him/her in.

I gave the food back, so I hope he eats.
Shadow keeps trying to get to his mama, but she's not really very happy to see him at the moment.

I wonder why? lol

Updates later

Unfortunately IN the cage they don't. Shadow just tries to tear it up, and constantly harasses Bast. But she seems to like her stuffed puppy, and we also got her one of the long rectangle scratching boards, she already had several toys on cords so she has toys.

Best is about 5 months old now, right? She's big enough and old enough to be spayed. I know this surprises many people, but cats can start going into heat and getting pregnant at 4 months of age.  A feral a neighbor and I trapped (and she adopted) a few summers ago was only four and a half months old, but was a already few weeks pregnant. Best's' hormones may be contributing to her restlessness, so I'd advise you get her spayed as soon as you can--chances are she will calm down after that. 

After the spay, keep her in the cage for a few days for recovery, but then consider allowing her out of the cage again if being inside and separated from her brother 24/7 stresses her out. Ferals and strays who are used to having their freedom outside have a hard time adjusting to being confined, especially in a small space, so as long as she did not hurt herself, Shadow, or you when she previously had the run of the house, I think letting her back out of the cage when she's recovered from the spay would make her less stressed. Cats are used to hunting and being active during the evening hours, so that is why she cries the most during that time.

It's not unusual for a cat who's in a new environment to hide. When a cat I've rescued wants to hide under a bed, I just let the cat be--they always  come around in their own time--some within days, some within months. I've had my rescued feral, Mia, for over a year, and she still spends a lot of time with my two geriatric cats sleeping under my bed. She doesn't tolerate being picked up or held, and only allows a small amount of petting before she'll swipe at me. However, she loves playing with the wand toy with me, several times a day when I'm at home. This is her joy in life (besides eating), and the way in which we bond. When I rescued her (she is partly lame because of a leg issue from getting shot) I decided to accept her on her terms--she never has to be a cuddly lap cat, and I don't need to socialize her to be anything other than she is because she's going to be my forever cat. So if you've decided to keep Best, then you may need to decide to accept her on her own terms. She may never be a cuddly cat like Shadow, but in time you will find her to be a loyal companion with her own special, loveable attributes, and you'll also have the satisfaction that you rescued her. It takes time-- a lot more time than a week--for any cat to adjust to a new environment and settle in, so patience is required (and sometimes it's helpful to purchase ear plugs!) I recently took in a stray who was running the streets near my work place. He had a bad parasite and flea infestation and a bowel infection. I neutered him and got him veterinary care, and took him into my house with my other four cats. He was loving and affectionate towards me from the moment I picked him up and put him in my car. However, he cried and caterwauled for hours a day because he was not used to being inside, had to adjust to my other cats, and he likely missed his buddies. It's been two months now, and the crying has FINALLY stopped. He is quite happy now! But there was a lot of caterwauling to contend with for two months--and this was not even a feral, but a cat who's owner did not care for him and allowed him to run around outside, un-neutered and starving. So yes, it does take time--but it's well worth it!

Sounds like Bast & her stuffed animal make good buddies.
My Pepper, now a large boy has started gently playing with Riley, my large domestic cat, that's sweet. Pepper, the semi- feral is a big Marshmellow inside (^__^).
I have been playing more with the cat with those toys on a stick with a string + toy which Mighty Mouse, my hissy girl is starting to understand. Replacing the hissy, biting, paw swinging at me to swinging it at toys. In short, teaching her to domestically play. Its helping.

Quick update... after some soul searching and discussion with the trainer who works with the feral TnR program we've been taking the cats to, we made the decision to have Bast fixed, and release her back to her family... She seems much happier with this decision. The night we dropped her off to be fixed, the friend who lent me the traps gave us a 10 week old kitten to take as well.. Turns out he was a "dump" not a feral, already fixed and the sweetest lovebug you can imagine. My hubby took one look and fell in love.

Terrin is a Bengali (Bengal/domestic mix) and already nearly as big as Shadow, who's 7 months (Vet confirmed Bast's age, we haven't taken Shadow in yet due to timing issues) Here's the handsome boy. He and Shadow made quick friends and play/sleep/cause trouble together.


My neighbor has a female Russian Blue who has a litter that's about 8 weeks old, we're hoping to catch them tomorrow night, and get them taken care of. I have homes for the 2 with the Russian Blue coloring, and there's also a black one. If it's a girl I'm going to keep her in place of Bast. (She'll be called Bastet, lol)

It's been a while since I posted here, but the boys are doing fantastic.  Shadow is now a 12 lbs snuggle bug, but ONLY with me. He comes in every night when I go to bed, and every morning to snuggle, and cries at me if I don't start holding/petting him fast enough. Terrin is also doing well, and it turns out he's a Bengal, and at 9 months is the BIGGEST cat in the house.

The first picture is Shadow and Terrin about 2 months ago, the second is Terrin and Oliver our 4 yr old cat who's about 9lbs...

Wow, beautiful cats!  Thanks for the update.