Can feral cats be tamed?

Hello everyone,

This will be my first post here on this website so I will try to keep it as brief as possible.

We have decided to adopt a feral cat from a family friend as they are moving house soon and will not be able to take the cat with them due to their housemate being allergic to cats.

Before we decided to adopt the cat he was considering having her euthanized due to not being able to find her a home. Without question my mum decided to offer her a home. 

The problem is, we already have three housecats. Two of which are 7 month old boys and the  is a 2 year old female. They're all loverly cats but the female is quite wary of other cats. 

What I'd like to know is, Is it possible to tame a feral cat? Are we doing the right thing by adopting her? We have no experience with feral cats but I couldn't bear the thought of her being put to sleep.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated, 

Thank you.

Welcome to the forums.  Thank you for caring about this cat and wanting to do the best.  First off, some more info is needed.  When you say feral cat, is this cat living outside and has limited interactions with humans or is this a shy indoor cat that maybe at one time was a stray? 

It is important to know where the cat has been around humans at all.  Also how old is the cat?  How long did your friend have the cat?  Is the cat spayed or neutered?  Can the cat be taken to a vet ( which is very important if it will interact with your other cats). 

I will be happy to answer more of your questions, once I understand a bit more about the cat.

I just wanted to put my two cents worth in and say if you do move the cat and plan on releasing him to the outdoors at your home PLEASE make sure you get him used to the new place by keeping him in an outdoor cage such as a rabbit hutch for at least two weeks, a month would be better.  I've found new homes for several ferals and the people released them WAY too soon and they were never seen again, it broke my heart. I vowed I would never do that again unless the people promised to get them used to the area first.  Good luck and I pray it all works out!

ShadowsRescue said:

 
Welcome to the forums.  Thank you for caring about this cat and wanting to do the best.  First off, some more info is needed.  When you say feral cat, is this cat living outside and has limited interactions with humans or is this a shy indoor cat that maybe at one time was a stray? 

It is important to know where the cat has been around humans at all.  Also how old is the cat?  How long did your friend have the cat?  Is the cat spayed or neutered?  Can the cat be taken to a vet ( which is very important if it will interact with your other cats). 

I will be happy to answer more of your questions, once I understand a bit more about the cat.

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Hi, and thank you for responding! 

The cat has been living with the friend for a year/two years. before that she was an outdoor cat on his dad's farm. But during the period he has had her she has mostly been indoors and will stay outside when he is away from home. She is 8 years old and has been neutered so I'm assuming that she can be taken to the vet. I will double check later just to make sure.

Tyler Nicholson said:

 

ShadowsRescue said:

 
Welcome to the forums.  Thank you for caring about this cat and wanting to do the best.  First off, some more info is needed.  When you say feral cat, is this cat living outside and has limited interactions with humans or is this a shy indoor cat that maybe at one time was a stray? 

It is important to know where the cat has been around humans at all.  Also how old is the cat?  How long did your friend have the cat?  Is the cat spayed or neutered?  Can the cat be taken to a vet ( which is very important if it will interact with your other cats). 

I will be happy to answer more of your questions, once I understand a bit more about the cat.

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Hi, and thank you for responding! 

The cat has been living with the friend for a year/two years. before that she was an outdoor cat on his dad's farm. But during the period he has had her she has mostly been indoors and will stay outside when he is away from home. She is 8 years old and has been neutered so I'm assuming that she can be taken to the vet. I will double check later just to make sure.

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Ok.  Thanks.  So she has been somewhat socialized since she lives inside and allows human contact.  Do you know if you can pet her or pick her up? 

As mentioned by @Di and Bob, if you are going to allow her to go outside at some point, it is very important not to do so for about a month.  She needs to accept her new home as her territory.  If not, she will take off and try to find her old home. 

The first thing you need to do is get her to the vet to be sure she is up to date on all shots and she test negative for FIV and FeLv (two very contagious diseases cats can carry). 

When you bring her into your home, you will need a room for her that is hers.  No other cats or animals.  Make sure the room is cat proofed.  If there is a bed in the room, block off so she can't get under it or put the mattress and box springs directly on the floor.  Also block off behind book cases or dressers.  You don't want her getting stuck somewhere or hiding where you cannot get to her if needed.  Yet do provide her with a safe hiding spot such as a box on it's side with a cozy blanket or a cat tree that has a hiding box.  You can even use a cat carrier with the door propped open.  Make sure she has access to a litter box and fresh food and water. Don't place the food too near the litter box.

You will need to spend time with her and access if she is socialized and allows pets.  Sit on the floor ( don't loom over her) and talk quietly with her.  Bring her a special yummy treat and leave it on the floor.  She may not take it right away, but she will associate you with good things.  Just talk aloud to her or spend time with her.  Don't try to pet her unless she approaches you.  Watch direct eye contact too.  It often frightens cats.

If you can provide more info that would be helpful.  I would like to know if she can be handled and if your friend can pet her. 

Introductions with your other cats is possible, but it might be a slow process.  THe first step is acclimating her to your home and getting her adjusted.

Tyler Nicholson said:

 
Hi, and thank you for responding! 

The cat has been living with the friend for a year/two years. before that she was an outdoor cat on his dad's farm. But during the period he has had her she has mostly been indoors and will stay outside when he is away from home. She is 8 years old and has been neutered so I'm assuming that she can be taken to the vet. I will double check later just to make sure.

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The short answer to your question, is: yes, usually its entire possibly, although it may take time, some effort, much patience and love.    But not all people are ready for this.

Also, an ex ferale usually remains shy cat to visitors, although she becomes a nice friend to her human, and usually has no big troubles with the residents.

Sometimes such a adult ferale doesnt become really tame, but manages to live OK as inside feral.   No petting, no cuddles, but lives otherwise a decent live inside...

Here I understand she isnt truly ferale.  How did she do? Could your friend pet her, cuddle her?   Had he other, tame residents?

What is done once by the first owner, will usually be possible to do again by the next owner. If not at once, so after some time, when she has landed and you earned her trust.

Also, I suppose you will get some help from your residents.

Good luck!

There are many, many variables, so the basic answer is "it depends" --largely on their current age I think.  The younger they are, the more likely they can be tamed.    I can tell you absolutely that it IS possible.   I definitely have tamed several feral cats....not "tamed" to the point of them necessarily being an inside cat, but tame enough to be very sociable, wanting to be petted and wanting to be "with" me and obviously considering our yard their "home."    I have two right now that  stay outside 100% and I really don't think they'd be happy inside at all.  However, when I go outside, one of them follows me around like a puppy, talking to me, assuming the "Pet Me!" position and generally acting like a spoiled cat should!  Every afternoon/evening when we walk the dog, she walks with us the whole way.  The other is more aloof, but I can pet her for sure.  This took almost 3 years however.  They both came close to the same time...both trailing 4 kittens each.  They were both under a year old when they showed up and were wild as bucks and couldn't get anywhere near them so I'm pretty positive they'd had little or no human contact before.  I borrowed traps to trap them and their kittens.  I had both females spayed.  When I brought them back from being spayed and released them, I didn't figure I'd ever see them again...but since I still had the kittens in twp large dog crates outside, they did come back to be around the kittens.  I had food out for them.  I gradually tried to socialize the kittens enough to be adoptable and did find homes for all 8 kittens --major miracle!  After all the kittens were gone, the two females still hung around for the food.  With alot of time and patience, baby steps were made and now it doesn't seem like they were ever "feral."  Every night at 8:00 or so in the winter and 9:30 -10:00 in the summer, we "put them to bed" in the garage with a bowl of food and water and shut the door.....so they are warm in the winter.....and safe from the coyotes (there are alot around) and other predators year around.   They just follow us right in and don't mind at all being shut in for the night.   I think I "could" bring them inside and eventually they'd be fine with it, but I have 2 inside boys that wouldn't be happy and I don't think I really need to force them to be inside cats but if there were a compelling reason, I WOULD for sure....

It's great that you are doing this....

If the cat has been living indoors for years and content to be inside, and is able to be handled, then she's a semi-feral and not a true feral. Most true ferals don't adjust well to indoor life and would be climbing the walls and windows trying to escape, or go into a state of depression and anxiety when confined against their will long-term. If you take the cat, try to keep her indoors. At age 8, she may have a harder time being outside with cold weather and encounters with other feral cats. I took in a year old female feral almost 2 years ago. I had planned on releasing her back outside after the spay, but she had medical issues so I kept her inside, in a room of her own with a baby gate for a month, then allowing her free run of the house, though she stays upstairs mostly. She co-exists with my other 4 rescue cats, but hasn't become friendly with them. She allows me to pet her sometimes under some conditions and loves to play with a wand toy, but is not a cuddly lap cat and is still very timid. I love her, though, and if you take in your friend's cat, she will bond with you over time and you'll come to appreciate all the positive things she is, even if she is not a lap cat.