What do do with "our" feral/stray cat?

Hi all,

Okay this is the situation so far: my husband and I live in a fairly rural area (more cornfields than anything else). Our nearest neighbors are about half a mile away. About late August we spotted a really, really thin, almost emaciated cat in our "yard". As soon as he caught sight/ heard us he was gone hiding in the cornfields or in the culverts and essentially disappearing.

I am a very soft touch, and I knew that fall would be coming soon, and if this winter was anything like last winter the cat wouldn't stand much of a chance (considering its state at the time). So we began feeding the cat (whom my husband named Jess (after postman pat's cat because he is black and white like ours).

So we started out with the food near the car (close to the culvert) and gradually moved it closer and closer to the house and the sidewalk that leads to the front porch. Since the weather was starting to get cold even in September we decided we'd made him a cat house.

We thought that if nothing else, it'd be someplace warm, and hopefully someplace that would be difficult for local predators to get into and eat him. We placed it on the lee side of the house, about 3-4 feet from the house itself -- this was because the winds in our area are fierce and there is very little shelter or breaks from them (we moved here two years ago and although we've planted some trees---it'll be a long time before they do much)  Anyway, this is the cat house/ shelter we made:


(my husband over engineered it so that it has 2 inch thick foam insulation on the floor, walls and ceiling (the lid lifts off so we can get into it and change the straw).  And from the entry hall it has an opening into the main area (filled with straw, and also the escape door). We tried this out (after we built it, ha ha) on our indoor cats and all of them could fit through it.  The window is double glazed so that there is some small amount of light available inside so the cat can see a little).

We also made a makeshift feeding station for him: (this was taken a week or two ago).


It took a LOT of arguments and stamping my feet to make my husband understand that the food should _not_ go in the shelter since other things will come to eat it. What it took to get that message through? Him seeing a skunk there at night eating.... After I explained we could not chase it off with a stick (he's foreign, still not too clear on all our wildlife out here) we decided that I was right, and that also, we should only put the food out during the daylight hours to keep other beasties uninterested in coming around.

Jess seemed to have no problem with eating the food (we do dry food, and then canned food.) my biggest concern initially was to get some calories in him so he'd survive the winter. Since we started feeding him he is looking worlds and away better

Ok, So, here's the thing: in all it's taken 3 or 4 months to get Jess to feel comfortable around us, and to not immediately run off when he sees/ hears us. This past weekend we obviously hit some sort of lottery because he was actually willing to come into the porch (it's a closed porch) as long as we left the door partly open. He seems to have put on a good amount of weight in the process.

Since then he's actually sat in both our laps, purred, shown us his belly, let us pet his belly and generally was very affectionate (although still very "on guard" when unexpected movements or noises were made). We can now have him on the porch (it's uninsulated though and often colder than outside except for the wind) with the door closed. He will now allow us to pick him up and hold him (and he purrs).


He is out at the front door at 6:30-8am crying and as soon as he hears the front door (to the house not the porch) open he races out of his house to sit on the step and cry....


He is looking better. His fur is cleaner looking and he isn't matted anymore.

So, although he's warmed to us and displayed (IMO) a high level of trust I need to bring him to the vet (I say him because I think I see danglies when I look at his backside-although he could be a she too, I guess. Either way I feel like all the effort we've put in has essentially made us responsible for his health and general wellbeing. Being neutered, vaccinated and ect seems like the right thing to do.

Do I sound really bad for saying that I would like eventually, to get him to be an indoor cat? (provided we could get him acclimated to our other cats)? I'd like to ensure that he stays safe and we live in an area with a fair sized population of coyotes and foxes. Currently out of our 3 cats only one of them goes outside (on a harness) until we get around to building a catio.

Your thoughts? 

Your story is wonderful. It sound to me like you are doing everything right and it seems like Jess is getting quite attached to you and to have him/her in your lap purring is saying something. Well done! He/she is adorable!
I love the house you built outside, it's beautiful, it looks very well made. It would be lovely if you could eventually make Jess an inside kitty where it's safe.
We have been looking after a stray for most of this year and managed to finally get him neutered a few weeks ago. We too have built him an insulated shelter at the bottom of the garden.
We have an enclosure that covers most of our garden apart from an area at the bottom where he lives, my two cats are totally at ease with him and he comes in for short periods to spend some time with us. He is a little unpredictable and can be a bit bitey sometimes. To us not our cats.
Good luck with everything and please keep us updated with your progress with Jess and your catio!

3catgurl said:

Do I sound really bad for saying that I would like eventually, to get him to be an indoor cat? (provided we could get him acclimated to our other cats)? I'd like to ensure that he stays safe and we live in an area with a fair sized population of coyotes and foxes. Currently out of our 3 cats only one of them goes outside (on a harness) until we get around to building a catio.
Your thoughts? 

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I think you have done/are doing a wonderful job with Jess.   Although my shelter cat, Ruby, sleeps in my lap, she still doesn't like to be picked and held. So to me, the fact that you can pick him up now is amazing! 

And I definitely don't think it's bad at all that you are thinking of making him an indoor cat. In fact, I suspect that's exactly what Jess wants.

I think you could make Jess an indoor cat. My Remy was a feral ( I was told) I have had him in for 2 years and he is a love bucket. The only time anyone would guess he was originally a feral is of course when they see his clipped ear and if they tried to pick him up. He lets me pick him up when I have to but he doesn't like it. He gets really stiff. That is better than before when he used to flip out.He is a darling sweet lap cat and gets on wonderfully with my other two. God bless you and your husband for doing so lovely a thing for this cat. My husband would never have done that. You  are lucky.

Everything you've done so far is excellent.  That house is amazing!

What a gorgeous kitty! And when you wonder if it's bad that you're thinking of bringing him in...I think Jess is showing you in every way his little kitty self can that he's picked YOU to keep him safe, fed and loved! That cat shelter is beyond wonderful - but it sounds like he'd rather be with you --even if it means porch over warmer shelter My gut -and I could be wrong - is that he's not a true feral, but was somebody's kitty at some point that was dumped or lost. His behavior seemed to flip from scared self-preservation to people-trusting, lap-sitting kitty fairly quickly in the grand scheme of things, faster then the general timeline for a true adult feral. So I don't think you'd be "taking the outside away" for him - I have a feeling you'd be providing things he craves--companionship, food, safety and love.

And you'd be making his life infinitely more safe - particularly since you've got problems beyond weather or other cats- you've got coyotes. Bringing him indoors would, at minimum, probably triple his life span. And think how good you'd feel

My only big piece of advice - introduce him slowly to your indoor guys. Many on this site can offer suggestions for how to do they if you do decide to bring him in. And definitely get him vaccinated, & most importantly neutered, ASAP so he's not out making more little kitties who you'll have to worry about making it through winter nights.

Keep us all posted --and good luck! You've already made his furry little life infinitely better!

kittychick said:

What a gorgeous kitty! And when you wonder if it's bad that you're thinking of bringing him in...I think Jess is showing you in every way his little kitty self can that he's picked YOU to keep him safe, fed and loved! That cat shelter is beyond wonderful - but it sounds like he'd rather be with you --even if it means porch over warmer shelter

My gut -and I could be wrong - is that he's not a true feral, but was somebody's kitty at some point that was dumped or lost. His behavior seemed to flip from scared self-preservation to people-trusting, lap-sitting kitty fairly quickly in the grand scheme of things, faster then the general timeline for a true adult feral. So I don't think you'd be "taking the outside away" for him - I have a feeling you'd be providing things he craves--companionship, food, safety and love.

And you'd be making his life infinitely more safe - particularly since you've got problems beyond weather or other cats- you've got coyotes. Bringing him indoors would, at minimum, probably triple his life span. And think how good you'd feel

My only big piece of advice - introduce him slowly to your indoor guys. Many on this site can offer suggestions for how to do they if you do decide to bring him in. And definitely get him vaccinated, & most importantly neutered, ASAP so he's not out making more little kitties who you'll have to worry about making it through winter nights.

Keep us all posted --and good luck! You've already made his furry little life infinitely better!

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I was thinking that his change in scaredey-cat to -lap cat was sudden too, so I'd say you're probably right about that.

We're in an area where a lot of people tend to dump their animals because it's "the country! everyone knows animals can take care of themselves!"

Jess has an appointment with the vet on the 15th of this month for vaccinations, blood tests and to schedule the neuter/spay.

Could anyone recommend a way to get Jess litter trained?

I'd like to make sure of that before we're in the house (my husband likes cats but his tolerance gets stretched around things like that).

Introducing Jess to the other 3 cats...any tips?

When we brought Max home we kept him in our (very small) bedroom since there was enough space under the door for all the cats to smell and stick paws.

Space is kind of the main issue:

Right now, because it's winter we only have the woodburning stove as our heating (which means my studio (the largest space which could hold a cat away-from the others) is off limits because it has no insulation or heat-it stays between 45-30 degrees farenheit).

That leaves our bedroom as the best spot for Jess--but because it is so small 10X8 he might feel trapped and like he is being punished. 

The last option I could think of would be to move his cat house into my studio it would keep him as warm as it does now, except he would have my space to run around in (its aprox 14X12) and again with a gap under the door for cat smellery and pawing. And of course there are no coyotes in there...

What would you folks do/ suggest?

3catgurl, you are that cat's angel. I have a friend who has converted a many strays into indoor pets and it usually takes more than 4 months before they sit in his lap or allow petting; so it sounds like you are doing pretty well. I had one years ago who took nearly a year before letting us touch him and then another 6 months before he trusted us enough to let us take him for a (much needed) visit to the vet.

From what I have read about cat behavior I surmise that feral cats who quickly become friendly with humans probably had a home before, so some may be familiar with the routine of being in with other cats and some may not. I would go slow and see what happens. You seem sensitive enough to read the cats behavior and modify what you are doing accordingly. I know one on my friends feral cats was completely indoors in under a year, while another one never really made the transition and after years still goes wild if a door closes behind him and "traps" him inside. 

The last cat we got was a VERY timid rescue who took a few weeks of living in the bathroom before she met our other cat and started making forays into the rest of the house. She let us know when she was ready for each step. She meowed at the bathroom door to come out, and we restrained the other cat from going to meet her and let her be the one to finally come over for the first nose to nose sniff.   

I love the outdoor shelter and feeder you made, and laughed out loud about you having to explain skunks to your husband!

Eric

Well, only you can decide the space. The studio sounds nice but that's up to you.
As for litter? My suggestion is find a bit if his poo n put on the litter box you want him to use.

When our stray boy (Mr White) comes in to the enclosure to visit we have a box with litter and a box with soil in for him. We figured that as he is a stray he might prefer to dig around in soil rather than litter but so far he hasn't used either. He must wait until he leaves because we haven't seen him go anywhere in our garden.

When I got my blighty aged 6-8 weeks straight off the streets his safe place was my bedroom.the first night/day he didn't eat, drink or go to the toilet.the next day he did everything including using the liter box. Never an accident.

You also might try putting some dried leaves on top of the litter. It is what he is used to using, so it will help him learn this is what the box is for. I would be surprised if he messes - cats are very fastidious and unless there's some odor he wants to cover up, he probably won't. I would say to clean the room thoroughly with a good enzyme cleaner, especially if there's ever been a cat in there before.

I think you guys are so sweet!

Worm?!! Worms....

Help me not freak out folks, please?

Ok so since we were going to get hit with a fairly large winter storm on Weds, I decided we'd bring Jess into the house (and quarantine him/her in my studio) so that we didn't have to fret and he wouldn't have to freeze/get eaten by coyotes etc.


My studio seemed like the best spot since it has a vinyl floor, and minimal furniture (the one chair shown below and an office chair and my desk). Pretty much everything else is in plastic containers).  I didn't know if i should expect (if Jess is male) for him to go spray-crazy, so I wanted to be on the safe side of things being pretty much out of range/reach/contact.

We moved Jess's outdoor house into my studio because the room is uninsulated (we bought the house as a fixer-upper and found most of it is uninsulated and have been slowly working to rectify that but we haven't done that room yet). The cat house still has the straw in it, and the kennel heating pad but Jess appears to prefer the chair (shown above) and the blankets that are there too.

And the litter box--Jess knows how to and is willing to use it

But....Jess apparently has worms. (not unexpected, I figured as much being as Jess has been outdoors for who knows how long eating who knows what)

I saw white ovals in the feces last night, and this morning I have spotted wiggly worms in his/her butt area. (I'm sorry folks, but that just has my skin crawling. I have a mild parasite phobia and just writing about it makes me want to go scrape my hands raw in the sink ).

So -- the thing is, what is the best method of cleaning up the areas where Jess is?

(Monday evening we have a vet appointment for vaccinations, testing (for FIV & Leukemia) and worms and pre-neuter/spay etc.)

I obviously do not want to spread worm-age to my other cats in the house but now I'm freaked and concerned that I may have (as I did pick jess up a number of times and hold him/her and give pettings on my lap) that I will have transmitted eggs and larvae elsewhere in our house (potentially to the other 3 cats and potentially, depending on the kind of worms, to my husband or myself).

I feel foolish now for not changing my clothes when I went in and out of the studio after bouts of petting and lap-holding. o_o

What can you all recommend? Do I need to wash things down with bleach? Do I have to throw the blankets away or is a good washing ok? And what would I do for the chairs, since Jess has and does sit on them? (and what do I do about the scratching post? the base is covered in short rug, the rest is sisal and wood).

Sorry to sound so completely neurotic but I would appreciate thoughts on this. I mean I know they are worms, not say, the Marburg virus but I am still freaked and I want to clean properly and try to avoid cross contamination if at all possible.

Call you vet now and tell him your cat has worms and needs medication today. S/he will prescribe a de-wormer--Drontal, Revolution, or Panacur. Drontal pills are large, so if your vet gives you one dose Drontal,  ask if they can sell you a "pill gun." You put the pill in the plastic applicator, open the cat's mouth, and plunge it right down in there. Many cats will not eat food with crushed a pill in it, but if you do administer it that way, give it to him with some tuna fish. Panacur is a liquid given in a syringe for 3 days. If your cat has fleas, too, then Revolution will take care of both the fleas and worms. You apply the liquid between his shoulder blades. After the cat has expelled the worms, completely empty and clean the litter box, preferably with bleach solution. You don't need to bleach your entire house or worry about changing your clothes. Do not let the other cats use his litter box until the worms are gone, since they can be contagious and are spread through contact with infected feces, which occurs in the litter box. If you're concerned about the other cats, ask your vet for treatment for them, too. Drontal pills cost about 7 dollars each.  Please don't freak out. Most cats get worms at some point in their lives, and it's very common among ferals and strays. I would not wait until Monday to get the de-wormer, if you can help it. I know it's gross, but it's easily treated! 

I too am  "OOH!! WORMS!!!" but they're so easily treatable and quickly gone - they'll be but a memory soon! But get them in asap - even some clinics (our pet supplies plus offers a clinic with inexpensive things like worming, de-gleaning etc. on SUnday Monrnings. Call around!!!!!! Get in as soon as possible and they'll be goon quickly. Yes - it's icky. But honesty - most PEOPLE have had them in their lives too.

And look how HAPPY you've made her?!?! THere worms will be long forgotten in days

The "good news" is that the worms you are seeing are tape worm, or actually pieces of tape worm (long story), and they are NOT contagious for any other creatures. Tape worm spread through ingesting fleas or the stomach of certain animals, usually rabbits. For most cats the most common culprit is fleas that they accidentally eat when grooming themselves. So if your kitty has tape worm he should also be treated for fleas. He may not longer have them since it's cold but I'd treat him with Frontline for 3 months (3 doses) to be on the safe side. Your cats shouldn't be at much of a risk to get fleas but if you want to be on the safe side it wouldn't hurt to put a dose each on them too. You can use generic frontline, like Petarmor, which is sold OTC in several stores like Walmart.

To treat tapeworm Panacur and Revolution will unfortunately not work. They treat other worms but not tapeworm. You have to give something that contains praziquantel like Drontal or Droncit which are pills. You should give two doses 3 weeks apart. There is also a topical dewormer for tapeworm which is very good called Profender. It's a bit more expensive than the pills but sooo much easier to give. The pills are pretty big and can be hard to give a cat. Profender only required one dose and will also treat roundworm and hookworm.

Roundworm is super common in stray cats so Jess should also be treated for that. Profender will do that but if your vet doesn't have it you can use Revolution, which also kills fleas, or Strongid. Panacur will also treat it but I'm not a fan of it since it requires several doses while Strongid and Revolution only requires two, 3-4 weeks apart. Roundworm can be contagious so it's best to keep Jess separated from the other cats until he's been dewormed.

Most of the products mentioned above has to be bought from a vet (Revolution and Profender are rx only) so you can get that when you go in on the 15th. Tapeworm is nasty, very nasty, but not harmful to you or the rest of your household and normally not very harmful to Jess either.

BTW, I love your cat house! It's awesome! Your husband should make some more and sell them. I wish my hubby was that handy but I'd be lucky if he can drill a hole straight.