Feral Momma kitty now in my bedroom... ahhh!

As of a few nights ago, the feral momma kitty who I have slowwwwwly made headway with over the past 3 years, is now in the house.

It took up until a few months ago to go from her hiding in the grass when we walked past, to her sitting inside my doorway, loving on me. Taking food from me and being SUCH a love. But, only in the one spot while I sit. Nowhere else on the property.

She is the mother of 3 (2 litters) and we kept  2, 1 a friend has. She showed up one day pregnant so I started feeding her. Once we were able to trap her 2 yrs later.. she was fixed and released back under the house after a week of re-cooping in a huge dog crate in my bathroom. I would have kept her inside at the time but we had 5 (2 elderly) cats, a new puppy,  and 4 other dogs. It was just not the best time for her. But I made sure she was healed up well. They wanted me to release her immediately bu the idea of a fresh surgery and dirt under the house where she may have complications..nope. 

So.. a few nights ago it was still 103 outside, and she normally does not come out during the heat. She waits until early morning for our lovefest. She was at the door crying and crying. Not normal either. When I opened the door, she sauntered in and since we had not made any progress past the one spot by the front door, I had been weighing options. Trying to figure out the best time to bring her in. I kept putting it off. When I opened the door I made a snap decision to do it right then.

We current;y have just her 2 kittens and 4 dogs (2 elderly). I used a huge x-pen to divide the room to keep the dogs away and let her settle in. She was on the cat tree and widowsill the first night. The next morning she was up inside one of the couches. I put food (hard and soft) and water for her back there and let her be.

Up until a few hours ago she had not had any of the water or food or gone to the litterbox. My husband did not want her in the bedroom. I was so worried this morning I flipped the couch over and herded her into the bedroom. No, I do what I want when I think something is in the best interest of one of the animals. LOL

It is quiet, nothing that will spook her. She can hang out in a safe place under the bed for now. I moved her bowls from outside into the bedroom so they would smell familiar. I put in a corn cob type of litter with some of her dirt from her places she uses outside along with one of her old poops. 

I figure during the day (once she settles in), I can put up the xpen in front of the doorway so everyone can get used to each other.

I have only dealt with feral kittens so this is a first for me. She definitely was not a stray, she was feral. Had no idea what fingers were for, or anything actually. 

I could not stand for her to be out in the heat, cold, or among all the predators we have here. I worried all night or when I was gone from the house. I wanted to give her a better life with her babies. All she wanted was to be loved and I hope I am doing right by her.

I'll keep updating this and look for hints or advice from you guys.

Thanks!

I absolutely love this story and it is extremely heartwarming. Your feral momma sounds like one of my barn feral cats a few years back. It took many years for her to trust. She was TNRd as a youngster but still remained extremely feral for years after that only staying at a distance while I would put out her daily food. Finally, as she aged, she began approaching the barn doors and would wait for me to come out. It all progressed rather quickly after that. She began allowing finger sniffs and then allowing pets under her chin. Soon enough, she was allowing pets and even coming inside the barn door. In a matter of just a few weeks time she was permanently an indoor barn kitty living in our lovely sitting area and tack room. She had finally decided after almost 8 years to make her move!! :heart3: Happy as a clam and lived out her life on a couch AND even my lap in the mornings. It is truly amazing to me how the feral cat knows when they have had enough of the outdoor life and the cold, frigid winters and allow themselves to be finally embraced by their person after all that time. AND - to do it so quickly. It does happen. :nod:

I have found that the feral cats do make a choice as they age and many begin approaching and connecting with their caretaker's like never before. It sounds like your feral momma cat has chosen this new way of life and wants to give up the outdoors for good. She truly trusts you now and there is no turning back for either of you. I think you are definitely on the right track with keeping her in the bedroom for now (and going against your hubbies wishes.... - I have done the same too. ) and I really think it will only be temporary. Allow her this under the bed time. Usually I say to block it off completely BUT your situation is very different. This cat already trusts you and knows you. She will come out and be with you soon. Potentially, during the night while you are sleeping. I think you will be surprised by her progress but do "turn off the clock", so to speak. Allow her to make the moves and the decisions as to what she is comfortable with doing. I can tell you have MUCH experience with cats and with dogs, so go with your heart and instincts. They won't led you wrong.

Here is a helpful article though that may have some suggestions for you to try. http://www.catnipchronicles.com/may2012/laurie.htm Really, this cat is not a feral kitty anymore - she is what I call a "NOT-SO Feral kitty" anymore. :bigwink: Do please keep us updated on how things are progressing. :rub: ALSO - here is a link to a list of more TCS Feral Cat articles. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249434/important-ferals-rescue-threads-articles-updated-october-2012

AND - Welcome to TCS and the forums.

Thank you for rescuing this sweet Momma feral.  I am sure she will settle into your household nicely.  Since you have other animals in your home, it is a must that you get Momma to the vet for a check up and shots.  I am sure she also will need to be dewormed.  You do not want her having contact with your other pets until she has a clean bill of health. 

I would start putting her food into a carrier so that you can easily get her in a carrier.  Talk to the vet about the fact that she is/was feral and that she might be a handful.  On the other hand she might do just fine.

I brought a feral male into my home 2 years ago.  I allowed him time in a room of his own for 2 weeks before getting him to the vet.  He had no contact at all with my other pets.  I had a large mesh crate that I began feeding him in.  On the morning of the vet appt. I just placed a tiny bit of food into the carrier, in he went and I quickly blocked the exit with a firm chair pad and zipped him up.  My vets were great.  I had told them that he might need to be sedated and that I was fine.  I dropped him off that morning and they said , they would do his exam and shots throughout the day in short stints so that he wasn't traumatized.  They called me within 2 hours and said he had done great.  I was certain they would need to sedate him. 

The bedroom idea did not go well. She was still not eating, drinking, or using litterbox. She peed on the bed my husband said, but I think because she had a full bladder and she got scared when he went in there so she ran and whoops. 

I came home at 5am from my Sleep Study to find him sleeping on the couch all grumpy. I had thought he would throw a man-fit when he got home from work and I told him she was now int he bedroom, but he took it well. Only thing he said is he hoped she did not pee on the bed.

So, after much thinking this morning, I put a large crate in the bathroom in the corner kind of hidden to give her a place to hide out in and feel safe. It is full of towels and a blanket over the top to give it a cave-like feeling with comfort. I put the food and water right there. The litterbox is in the big tub.

She was stuck behind the headboard on the windowsill so I had to drag the bed out and encourage her to move towards the light and she ran right in there into the tub next to the litterbox. I shut the door andmade sure the vent was open so she would get cool air in there.

I informed the husband he would have to share my bathroom for a while but at least he will get his bed back after I steamclean the crud out of it adn use some of Jackson Galaxy's cleaner on it. I LOVE that stuff!!

That is where we are now. She did get her shots last yr when she was fixed. The worming, yes, once I have her eating I will put some in her wet food. I soooo agree with that! Ick!

She is notttt happy. 

DesertPaso said:

She is notttt happy. 

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Completely normal. Of course, they are never happy, they are terrified at this point. Read through the link I posted above as it has great helpful tips on how to socialize.

I have always had better luck with socializing an adult feral cat by using a cage indoors in the beginning until I am able to pet the cat and the cat is eating, drinking, etc. etc. I have a very large cat/cage enclosure with shelving and it works great. Covering with a blanket will help too. You are ahead of the game though because she was already friendly with you.

This is just a minor setback in the trust department with you. She already is bonded with you so you have that in your favor and things will proceed very quickly because of that fact. Don't despair and don't get impatient. I have a very close friend that relocated quite a few feral cats and they lived in their cages for many weeks. They do fine and all are happy, well adjusted and extremely social and bonded with her now.

Your plan for her is a much safer plan than leaving her outside because I believe that she has chosen to be indoors and near you! It is always the caretaker that, I think, needs the tranquilizers during this transition. :lol3: With respect I say that because I have been there many a time. Your kitty will be just fine and in a couple of weeks, I think you will be updating happy progress. :cross:

Thank you all so much for the support. Yes, I was having such second thoughts about it all. I just went to give her fresh wet food and she has not moved from the window ledge in the bathroom, No water or food touched. Nothing in litterbox.

I am glad I found you guys here. No one i know or could find had this experience. I did not know who to turn to. You guys rock!

On a happy note I wanted to share the video I took  few weeks ago over our love fest and where we sit. She would not come in if i moved a few inches more in or if I flipped sitting the opposite way. 

She will need lots and lots of time and patience.  It took the feral I brought inside the house one full year to get used to my house and the other pets.  Yet, I knew I could not put him back outside and there was no rescue that would take him.  I did everything I could for him.

A few things that helped me were Feliway plug ins and Composure liquid max calming supplements.  The Feliway is more subtle and I also used the spray for areas where I did not have an outlet.  The composure, I started with the treats, but he did not always like them and at times I needed him to eat 3 of them.  The liquid was easy to mix into wet food 2x a day.  I did 1/2 t. in the morning and 1/4 at night.  During the night, I played calming harp music for him.  I had it on my ipod.  You can also play a radio with soft calming music.

When you visit ( and visit as often as you can) always sit on the floor.  Do not stand and loom over.  Talk quietly and reassure her that she is safe and loved and that you will always take care of her.  When you come to visit bring a yummy special treat.  I would try plain cooked chicken, tuna or salmon.  Offer it to her and see how she reacts.  She may not eat it in your presence.

Another great training tool is Gerber stage 2 chicken or turkey baby food.  It is in a small glass jar with a blue label.  The only ingredients are chicken or turkey and water.  No added spices.  This is not a meal replacement, but a training tool.  YOu can offer a bit on a plate and the move to a her eating some off a spoon and then licking some off your fingers.  Cats go crazy for it.  It also works wonders to hide medicine. 

Give her time.  Also have you tried offering her a few toys or some catnip? 

When you had her to the vet did you have her tested for FIV and FELV?  This is necessary if she is staying inside and will have access to other cats.  Even though she had shots last year, she will still need more shots for this year as well as an exam. 

She was never one to play with toys really. She did have a few but until she is out of her catatonic state, I'll kind of leave things as they are.

I will get some Feliway. We used that at the adoption centers in Petsmart, worked great.

As for testing her for FIV, the only two cats in here are her two kittens. I don't think the trap and release people did that. No way for me to get her near a trap or crate normally, but we will see if she starts to like hers in there as time goes on.

Haha as a side note, my husband asked me to go in and get his bathroom supplies for him. He said, "it's just for one night, right?" I laughed pretty hard and told him it was until she was ready. I hope momma understands what a huge sacrifice it is for me to share a bathroom with him LOL 

Now, you would think looming was bad and it always is, buttttt.. the first thing she was ok with was me looming over her, sticking my head and hand out of the door handing her baked chicken. I never understood why that was ok but sitting was a no no for a long time. She's a special one..

Once I can get her to eat or drink which she has not, I will make it more cat-friendly in there. Put up a scratcher, some of her toys, etc.

When I had her feral kittens in there, I sat in there for hours letting them get used to me. I do have the same plans for her, starting in a few days. 

At what point should I worry about her drinking? I am not so worried about her eating yet, but the drinking has me very concerned. Same with going to the bathroom.

OH MY GOSH. The video gave me happy tears. BIG ones. She is beautiful and loves you so much. :heart2:

So typical of them to not eat/drink or use the box and it is such a worry. Can you offer her something really, really stinky and tempting such as Fussie Cat fish canned foods? Fancy Feast fish kitten pate? OR the big guns Weruva canned fish varieties. At this point anything to get her started. You can even pour some tuna juice over some canned foods and even mix in a little bit of tuna. Cook up some chicken just on the outsides a bit. What were you feeding her outside? I imagine you are offering the same but maybe try something more tempting at this point. You can even mix in a little bit of water. Also - - know that this is also very common for the newly brought in feral cat to not eat for a couple of days. It is really awful on us to watch them go through this fear and work it out in their own minds that they will be safe and sound. It just takes time. I am REALLY hoping that your next update is that she is eating/drinking.

You were spot on by putting some of her usual dirt and a poop in her box to help get her started using the box. If that doesn't work, I then use Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract AND add in more than half the bottle of the herbal cat attractant by Dr. Elsey. It seems to be the best way I have found to get the feral cats using the litter box.

Everything crossed :cross: that she will soon settle in and relax in her cage. Hold tight yourself as I know this is a tough stage to get through.

You figure someone who has dealt with abused/starved/neglected dogs and horses, I would be fine with trying to wait this out. Yes, I have been a huge mess. Wondering every minute if I did something stupid. Thank you so much for the support.

I went in there about 20 times today and up until an hour ago, I was met with the horrible yodel howl crying.  She had not moved from the windowsill since I put her in there. And then I realized something... I put a crate in there with towels in it and a blanket over it thinking she would crawl in it. Stupid me totally forgetting her horrible time in a trap. I took the crate out. The next time I peeked in, she was in a different location. Then she moved to the bottom of the bathtub and has been hanging out there.

Yes, I have been bawling begging pleading for her to eat and drink. I could not tell if she had water so I filled it to the very brim so I could look the next time. I also put in some super stinky food. It sat for an hour. I just checked again for "lights out" and most of it was gone!! And.. no growling. Just the evil stare.

I was so happy and waited until I got in the livingroom to do the happy Toyota jump in the air clicking my feet together. 

I do feel better now. I will just keep at it. I will once again be buying up the store's chicken to roast in the oven for her. I just roast it with nothing on it then shred it. After the initial thinking my hands were bad bad bad to taking food, to licking them and giving me kisses. I stopped all hand feeding once she saw hands as good things. I did not want to confuse her association with fingers = food once fingers = good scritches. 

I will be ordering some of the litter attractant asap, thanks for the link!

As fir the video, I wish I had some of her before. Well, her running off if we got close, then all of a sudden taking meat from my hand, to taking small treats, to me sitting ad being loved on. It has come at an emotional time I REALLY needed in my life. I suddenly lost my heart kitty in January and it's been a constant battle to not bawl every day over it. I needed something to take my attention away. An animal who really needed me as much as I needed them. She must have sensed it to have this happen out of the blue. She is helping save my heart.

I wish I had found you guys sooner. I tried and tried to get advice from Jackson Galaxy but nothing ever happened. Thank you all so much and momma thanks you too (even though she has the death stare with a resting b*tch face)

I am so happy that she ate.  Good thinking to remove the crate.  Just give it lots of time and patience.  I have another idea, but since you are roasting a chicken, have you ever heard of bone broth?  I discovered it about 6 weeks ago when I was caring for a very sick stray who would not eat.  Bone broth is so full of nutrients and can be fed to sick pets, pets who are finicky and as an extra way to get some good nutrition in them.  It's also for people too.  The basic way to make it, it to roast the chicken as usual.  You can use spice, but if it's for pets so easy on the spice.  After roasted, take off all the meat and save or eat the meat.  Next put all of the bones in the crock pot and put water on top to cover.  You need to have water just to cover (maybe 1/2" more).  Then add a splash of cider vinegar ( to help leach the minerals from the bones), and turn the crock pot on low for 24 hours.  Yet 24 hours.  When done, strain the broth and discard all bones, extra meat or fat.  If you are worried small bones are in the broth, you can whiz it in the blender for a bit.  You can feed the broth by itself or pour some over the chicken.  It keeps in the fridge for about 5 days and you can freeze in small containers and it keeps for a year. 

I hope all goes better today.

Oh, you can get the Litter Attract at most pet stores.  You can buy a small container and mix it with exisitng litter or get a large bag and use it straight.  I have used it straight when I brought a feral inside and then gradually add back regular litter.

OK it's like cooking some really good stock to cook with but add the vinegar thanks!

Sadly, I live an hour and a half from the nearest pet store. I live in the middle of nowhere, not even a movie theater or chain restaurant.. I even have to order their food (Taste of the Wild - Venison & Salmon) online. Ya, momma was getting the good stuff once I knew I was just feeding her. I was just feeding her the Ranch cat food at feed store but once I started with the TotW, she started getting into better shape and eating less. Eating less bunnies too. gah!  Yes, I helped more than one baby bunny escape after she ate her wet food then her dry food. Eating a while bunny after that was not needed. To see me chasing her chasing the bunny, what a sight. She hated me for a week after that. 

I just checked this morning and even more water gone and only tidbits left in her wet food bowl I started to combine the tuna with the regular wet food so I will check that later.

I also noticed she is familiarizing herself with all things cat..like the tp roll all undone LOL I will put a few more toys and her old bed in there later today. I will end up buying a small scratcher to put in there. I only have the big ones.

Now that I know she is eating and drinking, eventually she WILL go to the bathroom but now it won't be ON the bed. Whenever or wherever it happens, is just fine. I can deal with getting her eventually in the box.  With animals, I have the patience of  a Saint. 

And now I can stop worrying about her health. Whew..I think you guys have been through one of the most crazy things emotionally I have been through of the animal type where nothing went to the rainbow bridge. 

I will update when we have some good progress. (When she decides to forgive me)

Yep, it's like really good stock.  I have made some recently for myself as it is to be very good for humans too.  It is not too bad.  My sick kitty loved it.  For awhile it was the only thing she ate.  I figured if I had the bones, it was no problem to make and the crock pot method was so simple.  I now try to keep containers of it in my freezer to have on hand.  We eat a whole chicken 2-3x a month so I always have bones.  You also can use beef bones, but I have only tried chicken.  You also can save up the bones by freezing them until you get a lot of bones to make a huge portion.  I have made the mistake of covering the bones with too much water and it doesn't get gelatinous after it cools. 

Have you ever ordered from Chewy.com or Wag.com?  I have found that have good prices of cat supplies and free shipping over $49 and it's 2 day shipping. 

Hope all goes well today.

I have ordered from both and both have left me with no food for a week  They have both messed up plenty of orders. I ended up doing Amazon and getting it quickly. I try to price things around on the first every month for the best deal since we go through 4 bags of dog food a month besides the biggest bag or two of cat food. I did try Chewy again back in April and this time was ok.  I finally got the feed store to get one set of dog food for me each month but not the cat or other set of dog food. Some of those petfood ordering places sneak in charges even though they say FREE shipping they hit you with freight charges. There are a few local places to get food but they charge $10-$20 more a bag.. riiiiiiiiiiight, 

I just went back in and she had spilled some water and ate some hard food! But she was back on the windowsill doing her yodelhowlgrowl at me. But, I can deal with that if she is eating well 

I took her cat bed in there just now and what did I spy IN the litterbox? Yup a Poo! I still got stinkeye and howl, but seems I won't need the attractant now, yeahh!! Now, just patience and time.

Just read over this thread, and good to see that you're making progress.  Does she have a name yet?

Loved the video, though I had to turn the sound off, as my cat, Ruby, came rushing into the room with her tail all puffed up ready to confront the cat she heard meowing.

Such good news!!  I learned a trick once that if they pee outside the litter box to sop it up with a paper towel and bury it into the litter.  THey then can smell it. Hopefully she will continue to use the box!!

Bummer about Chewy and Wag.  I had a problem with chewy and getting dented cans, yet their CS is top notch.  They bent over backwards to make up for it.  I use Amazon a lot too.

Oh yes, please tell us her name

Uhh well I have called her "momma kitty" since day 1. I did not think to even change it. She is used to us calling her that so I think it will probably stay LOL We have no clue how old she is either.

Funny about playing the video. My one Doberman cannot be in the room if I watch ANY animal on my computer. Cartoon, picture or video. Just of animals. She is an odd duck.

Will keep you all updated!

DesertPaso said:

I just went back in and she had spilled some water and ate some hard food! But she was back on the windowsill doing her yodelhowlgrowl at me. But, I can deal with that if she is eating well 

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I am very relieved to hear that she has eaten something and even spilled some water which means she is drinking too. AND that she used the litter box!! :high5: All good signs and please do just be extremely, majorly patient, it is the only way to be!!! Your doing great.

p.s. Momma Kitty - maybe MK for short.