Need Serious Advice on Adult Feral

Hello everyone. 

This is my first time posting here, and I have a question about an adult feral that my wife and I have grown attached to. I'm going to tell a story about her first (Sorry if its long) and then ask my question at the end, just do everyone has all the information they may need to help me. And I really do value the advice you may give. My wife and I have dealt with a fair number of strays or feral kittens, but never an adult like this. I would guess she's a bit over 1 year old.

I live in a community that has a colony of feral cats. Some have been caught and given shots and such, others not. One of these ferals had been exclusively relaxing in our backyard pretty much all day because I don't run her off. My wife got the idea to start feeding her because she was here so often (though its apparent someone else in the community feeds them too, some of them are hefty, but ours is not.) After a while the cat would hang around our patio regularly for feeding, recognizing us as a food supplier. We began sitting with her, and over time, she would even let us pet her if she was eating, but she never came to us for attention. We could not pet her or otherwise be near her without the enticement of food or a barrier between us. It got to the point where even if we were home late, the cat would wait by our patio door and peer into our home to see if we were going to feed her, and she would rub up against everything constantly if we came to saw her. She was becoming affectionate. 

We began to discuss catching her in earnest because frankly, even though there is an abundance of ferals here, the community is not safe. There is regular traffic, and there is a pack of raccoons that the neighbors have told me are dangerous to the cats, physically. Not just the possibility of rabies, which I dont believe they have. I made a mistake here and tricked the cat into the house to eat, and closed the door. She freaked out and jumped all over the house, destroying blinds and screens trying to get out. I wanted to release her again right away but my wife insisted we keep her since we already went through the issue of catching her. I regret this deeply, I think if we had given her more time things would've worked out differently.

We placed her in a small room no one else goes in (I must emphasize small here, we live in a small house as it is and we had to use the master bathroom as her room) and built for her a hiding area and left out food and water and a litter box. In two days, she did not eat or drink. I got very worried and brought her to the vet, the vet was.. not very helpful honestly. We brought her for the possible starving and dehydration issue and he said she absolutely would not starve or dehydrate herself, and that we should bring her back for sedating and shots the next day. At this meeting they basically could not hold down the cat and scared the hell out of her. She was very traumatized, shaking half to death. The vet never mentioned whether or not they would be able to help feed her or get her to drink. I took her home but did not bring her back the next day, simply because I felt sedating her for a whole day meant one more day of her not eating or drinking. I called an older vet my family has used for years in another part of the county, and they suggested that I give it another day or two and if she doesnt eat or drink, to re-release her and try again another time. So.. that's what we did. For 4 days she did not eat or drink a thing. She used her litter box once to pee and once another day for #2. The only time she spent out of the box was on Night 4 where she cried on the window sill all night.

Since releasing her, she has been very skittish for obvious reasons. She returns to the patio for food, but I think that is only because I've been keeping it out there for her and not waiting for her to come around. I then have been able to go out and sit with her as she eats and offer her more, but she is not spending any time in the yard after eating anymore. We are hoping she will eventually come back to the way she was, so hopefully we have the opportunity to try and make her friendly towards us a bit more before we try again.

My concern is the 2nd capture and caring for her then. I already know she is unlikely to eat or drink. What do I do if she doesn't? I must emphasize I am 100% certain she never ate or drink. We kept close tabs on food bowls and what was in there (pictures and all) and marked levels of water. I never get her to drink water outside as it is and have no idea where she prefers to get water from. I really need some advice on this aspect because I'd hate to put her through this a 2nd time and then have to re-release her again, at which point its pretty much giving up.

Thank you for any advice.

First of all, blessings on you for helping this kitty.  You are her guardian angel.

If she's eating wet food, she may be getting enough fluids.  Cats don't really drink a lot of water in the wild, as their fluid intake needs are usually met by their diet.

I would suggest feeding her a good quality wet food.  The first vet was right, if a little abrupt.  She will not allow herself to starve.  She will mourn, though, and need plenty of time to adjust to any changes in her routine.

Once you are ready to take her in again, set up a humane trap and feed her only in the trap.  I would tie it open for a week or so, again placing her food only in the trap.

You did not say whether she was spayed or not.  If she isn't, I would put this at the top of my agenda.  You do not need kittens!

If there is a rescue nearby, they may have some resources - a feral friendly vet is one I'd ask about.  They may also know of other low-cost services.

Remember, she has lived on her own, probably most of her life.  Any changes, however beneficial, will disorient her.  I think it is an excellent sign that she used the litter box.  Most feral cats don't know what it is for, as they are used to using dirt or dried leaves.

When you are ready to try again, have a plan.  Trapping, vet visit, recuperation, socialization  All of these will take time and patience.  There are several threads here about that process.  Reading those will help a lot.

Even if you end up releasing her outside again, she is a lucky kitty.  To have humans who are concerned about her is a gift.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you for the advice. I have another question. How important do you think it is that the cat be very bonded to me? Technically, I could capture her right now with a trap. She has regular feeding times and she knows where to come for her breakfast and dinner. My concern is, she doesnt' trust me right now due to the prior incident and I wonder how much of a problem it will cause if I trap her, get all the vet work done, and try to domesticate her with her no trusting me right now to begin with.

I have no idea why you want to bring this cat inside again when she so obviously hated it before. You have to understand that many cats living in colonies are perfectly happy living with each other so long as they have food & water sources. Don't know where you live, but here we have TNR - trap, neuter & release. We have a colony on my street & all the cats have a clipped ear to show they're fixed. Our local shelter determines who is adoptable & who is not & the non-adoptable cats are returned to the colony. Is this a perfect arrangement? No, because for one thing they have to find their own shelter, but they are much better off than before & there are no kittens.

Your cat freaked out when she was brought inside & I believe you when she said she would not eat or drink. For one thing, you have no other cats inside to show her how it's done. She may have lived outside her entire life.

If it were me, I would continue to feed & water her as you did before, but reconcile yourself for now & maybe forever that she prefers to be outside.

If you really want to do something nice, adopt a shelter cat!

I actually do have other cats, but I kept them away from her because she had not received any shots yet and it has been implied to me by several people(some on this very site no less) that it is a good idea to keep new indoor cats away from the others until they're more comfortable with their surroundings.

As mentioned before, part of the reason I am wanting to re-attempt the domestication is because she is, in fact, in danger outside regardless of the colony. People speed through the area and the pack of raccoons (often travelling in a group of 4) have killed other cats.

JimG said:

I actually do have other cats, but I kept them away from her because she had not received any shots yet and it has been implied to me by several people(some on this very site no less) that it is a good idea to keep new indoor cats away from the others until they're more comfortable with their surroundings.

As mentioned before, part of the reason I am wanting to re-attempt the domestication is because she is, in fact, in danger outside regardless of the colony. People speed through the area and the pack of raccoons (often travelling in a group of 4) have killed other cats.

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There are dangers in any cat colony - no question about that. Not sure what else we can tell you. I've given my opinion & I stand behind it.

You are correct about isolating your resident cats from her until she is vet checked and given a health clearance.

If there is a way to build her an enclosure, that might solve the problem.  it needn't be elaborate - a dog kennel, reinforced at the corners and roofed over with wire fencing, would do.  As long as she has room for a shelter and litter box, it could work.  Attaching a shed to the enclosure would give her even more room.  Or you can secure a porch with wire and give it to her.

If you still feel its important to bring her inside, doing so will not mean she will hate you forever.  She'll just be annoyed until she realizes how much better inside life is. She may try to escape; she may whine and cry.  But giving her a chance will improve her life tremendously.

She does need her own space until she's health cleared and until she gets used to the idea of being inside.  Once she is spayed, her hormones will calm down, too, so that will make it easier.  She sounds somewhat socialized, so I think her reaction to the first "capture" a one of confusion (rather than by her being too feral to adjust).

Once you decide that you are bringing her inside, hunker down for a period of adjustment.  The length will depend on her for the most part but it can be helped along by patience and support on your part.

One thing you have to remember is that she has been outside for a long time. It will take a long time for her to adjust to indoors. We are doing the same thing with our 2 feral cats. It has been over a month now and one is very friendly and ready to meet  our house cat. The other is still very shy and hides all the time. Your cat is still young so make sure she has all her shots and checked for flv before introducing her to your cat.

Tom, do you happen to recall how long it took until your hider decided to come out and eat for its first time?

The thing that most concerns me is she was dehydrating and starving herself for 4 days straight before we re-released her.

The last little stray we found a home for was reported to have not ate or drank a thing for almost a week. She did use the litter box next to the bed where she hid, but that was it. They called to bring her back and she finally started eating during the night when no one was there. Dry food left out would be good for that. She ended up loving her new home, but it took months. 

Has your little one had kittens? If she is already spayed that is wonderful for her. For now I would make her life outside as nice as possible, a heated cat house would save her from being cold, my ferals love them. Raccoons do kill cats, I had one of mine killed right here in my yard, raccoons are the only other animal able to get into my yard. There is little to be done there except make sure your little one has an escape route where she stays. She may be happier outside, but it would take at least six months to get her used to the inside. The little feral I brought in last year at this time won't leave the house now! 

JimG, the younger stray/feral started eating and drinking after the second day. Puppet the older cat didn't eat or drink for about 3 days. She still doesn't eat in front of us except for treats. Have you tried given her some cat treats? It takes a lot of time and patients.Both of ours will run and hide under the bed if they hear a strange noise and still after a month and a half neither one will come out of the room they are in.

When we had her, we tried feeding her dry food, soft food, tuna in water, heated shrimp, and some other fish foods. She wouldn't touch anything. Part of the problem was the way we caught her was particularly bad. And after 2 days she got further traumatized at the vet. I am going to attempt to do the trap and vet all in one day if possible so she has more uninterrupted time to adjust to new surroundings when we catch her again.

Has she been spayed? If she has already been spayed, then you can care for her as an outdoor cat, providing her with a pet house that has an outdoor heating pad in it, or a house with a thermal self-warming cushion, filled with straw. As long as you are providing her adequate food and shelter, she will be fine as an outdoor pet. It's very difficult to socialize a feral cat over the age of one year old to live inside a house. Some can adjust over time, but for many, it's just too stressful. The stress outweighs the benefit of the assurance of her safety. 

I had an experience very similar to yours. Four years ago, I trapped a feral tomcat, Muffin, that I had grown attached to and had been caring for for about a year. Instead of taking him to a vet clinic in the trap to get him neutered and vaccinated, as clueless as I was about feral cats,  I took him into a room in my house, thinking I could get the neuter and vet trip done once he settled down. Well, he didn't settle down. He scaled the walls and windows, caterwauled, went completely nuts. I had a mobile vet come into my home to vaccinate him, and Muffin scaled up the wall and got his foot lodged in a plant hanger. The vet climbed a ladder and was able to give him his rabies vaccination, but unfortunately, not the FVCRP shot that would have protected him from the bad URI he developed several months later that almost blinded him. I wasn't able to get Muffin back into a trap or carrier. At the 72 hour mark, I let him out of the room. My other cats accepted him and he them, because they already knew each other by sight and scent--but Muffin tried to jump through the screen in the sunroom window and knocked down the plants, and hissed, and communicated very clearly to me that this was NOT the life he wanted. So I let him back outside. My friend had told me something I never forgot--to not destroy his dignity in my efforts to tame him. Muffin lived about 6 years until he became ill and passed. But during his years outside, he was very happy with his life. He had a heated cedar pet house on my porch and every kind of wonderful food he could imagine. My neighbors all loved him. He never allowed me to touch him, but I was able to care for him when he was sick or injured by putting antibiotics in his food. My only regret was that I was never able to trap him again and get him neutered. The result is that I have three of his offspring, whom he brought to me, inside my home, which I domesticated when they were kittens. My neighbors have another three of his offspring, whom they domesticated, in their home. The last of his offspring that we know of is adult and very much like Muffin was--content to live outside, and we have provided him with a heated house and food. So I would encourage you to get your cat spayed if you trap her again, and then release her back outside. Otherwise you will end up caring for more cats than you imagined. That said, I cherish all three of his offspring and love them dearly.

With regard to forgiveness for the ordeal you put her through---I cried my heart out when I released Muffin that morning and thought I might never see him again. He showed up on my porch as usual for dinner that evening, and within a week, I could sit closely beside him again. But he never allowed me to catch him again until he was very ill and I needed to take him to the vet, where he passed. So yes, your kitty will forgive you for the ordeal, but you should respect her wishes to remain outside. It is her life and choice to make. She may one day decide to live inside with you, at least when the weather is bad, but it should be her decision. That is my opinion, but I respect the opinion of others on this forum who have been able to successfully domesticate ferals over a year old to live indoors only.

My cat Pixie is the first cat we ever had. We have forgotten how old she is, we have had her so long. She was born in our backyard & has lived outdoors very happily all this time. When the winter gets really bad she will come into our basement to sleep until the next morning. She will do this for the rest of the winter, but whatever the weather she will spend the day outdoors. She will not come into any other room of our house. She is perfectly tame, but very scared of the unknown.