Need help with a feral I have brought indoors!

I posted on here a few weeks ago, about the little feral that we trapped and brought indoors. Well six weeks on, and he is still hiding in one of his little houses, and will only come out to eat and toilet, when I have left the room. He has a room all to himself with beds and toys (not that he plays of course), and I work quietly in the room with him for a few hours every day and I read to him every evening, but there seems to be no progress. I understand that I just have to be patient, but I am really worried about his mental state, with no interaction and just boredom for six weeks. Does anyone have any advice, or tricks to help him feel more comfortable or to get some kind of interaction? We have built him a ledge at the window so he can sit and look out of, but is this enough? Becky xx

Have you tried offering him really yummy food treats.  I am talking about plain cooked chicken, canned tuna or salmon or other fish items.  You can begin my gently tossing a piece in his direction and see if that will entice him.   At some point you may need to take away his little house.  Yet, this is his security so taking it away might not be the right thing to do just yet.  

Feral cats can take a very very very long time to acclimate.  I brought in a 3 year old male a few years ago.  It took him one solid year to fully acclimate in our house.  He hid daily in a small cat tree.  

You might start bringing something yummy with you each time you come into the room and each time you leave.  Even if he doesn't eat it just yet in your presence, he will associate you with something yummy.  Have you tried to interest him in any toys.  My guy loved when I hid a string under a towel and slowly or quickly pulled it out.  At first he would only watch, but watching is progress.

Progress with feral cats can be very very very slow.  I find it easiest not to get caught up in how long he has been inside or what you think he should be doing at this stage.  He is inside, in a warm loving home.  So much better than being outside.  He is still scared and may be for awhile.  Yet with time most will adjust.  He may never ever your cuddly lap kitty.  He may hide with every new sound he hears, when company comes over they may never see him, etc...  yet that's ok.  

Do you have a feliway diffuser?  Have you tried Composure calming treats or Composure Max liquid calming supplement?  There is also a product by Jackson Galaxy in his Spirit Essence line called Feral  Flower formula.  I have used all with great results.  

I know some people like to use a cage to help socialize a feral or shy cat.  I have used one with introductions, but not to socialize.  This could be something you could try if needed.  Here is a great article that talks about it.  Even if you don't use the cage, you might pick up some tips.

http://bestfriends.org/resources/socializing-cats-how-socialize-very-shy-or-fearful-cat

Just concentrate on the fact that he is inside and in a warm place.  You may feel he is not doing well mentally and right now he might just be very scared.  Yet with some tools to help him, he can adjust.  

I agree 100% with @catwoman707. Offering him a yummy treat when you go visit him will help him associate you with good things. You're really doing everything right though. This is just going to take time, patience and lots of love. He will progress on his time frame. I learned that lesson myself when I took my Henry from a local shelter. He had been there for 8 years and while he's never been feral, he was not socialized when he was there. He was terrified when he first got with us. He spent 8 months in his safe room (by his choice- not mine). After the first month, the door was open and he could have come out- he just chose not to. My other cats and my dog went into the room and kept him company frequently and there was never any issues with that at all. I also spent time in there with him talking to him, reading to him, etc. 

After about 6 months of him refusing to budge from the room, I started thinking that I was doing everything wrong. It was my fault that he wouldn't come out, He must not like me, he's unhappy, etc. Then I mentally put my hand in front of my face and just said, "STOP". I knew that cats do things at their own pace. He was likely picking up on my anxiety and it was not helping him. I gave him 100% control over the relationship with me and let him do things exactly as he pleased. He's not going anywhere so what did it matter if he came out today, tomorrow, a month from now or ever really? As soon as I calmed down, he started to progress. He finally started poking around by the door which led to coming out of the room a few feet and then some cautious exploring outside the room. When he did come out, I calmly praised him for being so brave. he eventually came out for good. he still likes to nap on the twin bed that is in the cat room but he goes everywhere in the house now. He's not a lap cat and I doubt he ever will be but he does like to cuddle on the bed with us. 

Hang in there. You can do this. Feliway diffusers and the like can help but patience is the key. Keep reassuring him that you love him (he does know this though  ) and that you are glad he is with you and want him to be happy. Cats are so smart and I know that they understand far more than what some people give them credit for. 

Thank you for taking this lucky little one in and caring for him. 

If you want to interact with him, the hands off approach is best so try a wand toy. Most cats cannot resist Da Bird or similar toys. Amazon sells them. Laser pointers are good as well. Also try the slow blink. This is something that all cats know and use. When you look at him, do not look him directly in the eye as this is seen as threatening. Look just to the side or right above his head, close your eyes and keep them closed for a few seconds before opening them. This is telling him, "Hi! I see you and I am not a threat to you!" Do this often. You will see that he will eventually return it and then he will do it first. That will be a very special moment. I promise you that. 

Feel free to ask anything you like. We are happy to help in any way we can. I wish all ferals had someone like you to love them. 

Thank you so much! Your reply made me cry! You are so kind and have reassured me. He can of course, take all the time he needs, but I was worried that mentally he is suffering. It is ver cold here now though, and we had our first snow of the year last night, so I was glad that he was in our house. He is eating well, so I guess that is a good sign. Hearing your experience has made me feel so much better. I am very inexperienced with ferals, so the support here is so good! He has got a couple of wand toys, and he has started to watch them when I play with them. I tried some bird videos, but he didn't seem to respond to them at all. He is the room above us, and overnight we can hear him jumping up and down from his window perch and we can also see that he has been out and using his scratching post. It is frustrating though and you start to think that he is not one that will be tamed, but I know that is not necessarily the truth. Up here in Quebec, we are about to be hit with four to five months of snow.....so we have a lot of time! Thank you again for your encouragement and very kind words xxxxx

​Thank you so much for your response and the great advice! I do give him tuna and cat treats, but he won't come out to eat them until I leave. I got Feliway spray, but I have heard great things about the diffuser, so I will try that! Also, thank you for the heads up on the calming treats....I will most certainly be looking into these. I am very inexperienced with ferals, and so was not really sure what to expect. We took in a little stray that we trapped a couple of years ago, but she was so sick that handling her was easy and she seemed so grateful to us, that we had no problems with her at all (she is fine now and still lives with us), but this situation is very different. I am worried that he does not have enough mental stimulation...but then I guess with the horrid Canadian winter now upon us, at least he is warm, dry and well fed. It is so great to hear others experiences, and you have no idea how reassuring it is to me. Thank you for the encouragement and the great tips! xxx

Beckyroo said:

 
Thank you so much! Your reply made me cry! You are so kind and have reassured me. He can of course, take all the time he needs, but I was worried that mentally he is suffering. It is ver cold here now though, and we had our first snow of the year last night, so I was glad that he was in our house. He is eating well, so I guess that is a good sign. Hearing your experience has made me feel so much better. I am very inexperienced with ferals, so the support here is so good! He has got a couple of wand toys, and he has started to watch them when I play with them. I tried some bird videos, but he didn't seem to respond to them at all. He is the room above us, and overnight we can hear him jumping up and down from his window perch and we can also see that he has been out and using his scratching post. It is frustrating though and you start to think that he is not one that will be tamed, but I know that is not necessarily the truth. Up here in Quebec, we are about to be hit with four to five months of snow.....so we have a lot of time! Thank you again for your encouragement and very kind words xxxxx

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I'm glad to help. We all are. You really are making progress with him even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. He's eating, using the litter box and exploring? These are good things. He's starting to feel more comfortable. The fact that you spend quiet time in the room with him is good too. He will get used to having you around and eventually will become curious about you and may want to approach you. If he does, don't try to pet him. Hold your hand out in a fist. Your fist is about the size of a cat's head and they exchange greetings with one another with head butts. He may not respond to you with more than a sniff at first but be patient. Keep extending your fist and in time, he might start to rub his cheeks on your hand. This is how he will claim you as his property. There are scent glands in his cheeks and he will be leaving his scent on you. 

You are doing a great job so far!   

Kat0121 said:

 
I'm glad to help. We all are. You really are making progress with him even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. He's eating, using the litter box and exploring? These are good things. He's starting to feel more comfortable. The fact that you spend quiet time in the room with him is good too. He will get used to having you around and eventually will become curious about you and may want to approach you. If he does, don't try to pet him. Hold your hand out in a fist. Your fist is about the size of a cat's head and they exchange greetings with one another with head butts. He may not respond to you with more than a sniff at first but be patient. Keep extending your fist and in time, he might start to rub his cheeks on your hand. This is how he will claim you as his property. There are scent glands in his cheeks and he will be leaving his scent on you. 

You are doing a great job so far! 

 

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​Thank you!

I really do appreciate you taking the time to offer the advice. I really am just a bit lost with it all! It is good to hear that you have had a similar experience and that patience seems to be the key to the situation. I am sat in Pickwick's (that's what I have named him) room as I type this. He is in his little house of course, but your responses have made me feel better that at least he is safe and warm. There is snow on the ground outside now and the temperature is really starting to plummet, so I should just be pleased that he is indoors with us. He does seem comfortable and is sleeping.  I shall take the advice and will definitely be looking at some of the calming treats etc, but most of all I shall feel better that it may take a long time, but that is ok. Thank you so much xxx

He is certainly okay. I can tell you exactly how feral cats behave if they are stressed and suffering because of confinement--they caterwaul and cry for hours, scale walls and windows, hiss, and try desperately to escape. The one feral I took in who behaved this way for several days I released back outside, and he contentedly spent the rest of his years in a heated house on my porch and playing in the woods around my house and being fed like a king. Your cat isn't behaving like he's suffering at all, so no need to worry. I personally do not cage or scruff or in any way force any feral to become socialized according to my timetable. When I've taken a feral into my home, it's been their forever home, so no need to hurry. It's a different situation for people who foster ferals to make them adoptable for anther home--they sometimes have to use more intrusive methods to "break" a feral--but I cannot do that so it's a good thing I don't foster them. Ferals over the age of one generally can't be "broken" anyway, they would just become angry and very depressed being caged. Keep doing what you're doing with your kitty. Have you tried to entice him to play with a wand toy or laser toy? It took 6 months before the last feral kitten I took into my home let me pet her. Now after 8 months she is a very affectionate, loving cat. Yours may not become that way (another one of mine winces when I pet her) but he will still be very grateful that you saved him. He already knows he has a good thing going.

Thanks MsAimee. It is frustrating and I was starting to get worried. Six weeks in and still no progress, but no, he is very quiet and is certainly not looking to run at any point. I was just getting worried about his mental state. Going from roaming free to be confined to a room. You have all reassured me which I am grateful for. Ideally, we were looking to rehome him as we are planning to move abroad at the start of 2018, but that is well over a year away and we are happy to keep him with us and if he adjusts, we want to take him with us and our other cats. Maybe this is why I have been so anxious. He is using his scratching post over night and actually this morning I thing I see signs of claw action on one of his toy mice......so maybe. Thank you for the encouragement and reassuring. We just want the little chap to be safe and happy xxx

Beckyroo said:

 
Thanks MsAimee. It is frustrating and I was starting to get worried. Six weeks in and still no progress, but no, he is very quiet and is certainly not looking to run at any point. I was just getting worried about his mental state. Going from roaming free to be confined to a room. You have all reassured me which I am grateful for. Ideally, we were looking to rehome him as we are planning to move abroad at the start of 2018, but that is well over a year away and we are happy to keep him with us and if he adjusts, we want to take him with us and our other cats. Maybe this is why I have been so anxious. He is using his scratching post over night and actually this morning I thing I see signs of claw action on one of his toy mice......so maybe. Thank you for the encouragement and reassuring. We just want the little chap to be safe and happy xxx

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Six weeks is really not that long in the process. The best thing that you can do now is RELAX. Just let him progress the way he needs to. When you relax, he will pick up on that and it will help lessen his anxiety too. 

He's already on the way. You are not doing anything wrong. You have already done so much for him. He's warm, dry, safe and he has good food to eat. Cats are brilliantly intelligent, intuitive creatures. He knows that he is lucky to be in such a good place but he's out of his element and in a new place full of new sounds, sights and smells. This is going to take adjustment but he will adjust. The reason that ferals are not taken into most shelters and rescues to be adopted out isn't because it's impossible to socialize them. It's because these places do not have the time, space, resources and manpower to do so. Ferals can be and are socialized all the time. We have many members here who have cats that are former ferals and they are wonderful companions and loving family members.

He also knows that your intentions towards him are all good. He knows that you love him and I have no doubt that he has love for you too. He's just not at the stage where he can openly show it yet. Pay attention to his body language and you will see this change too as he becomes more and more comfortable with his surroundings and with you. I really hope you decide to keep him. I think you will since he already has a name. Pickwick is a fine name for a lucky kitty.   Do you have any pictures of him yet?

Have you introduced him to your other cats yet? You might want to start by bringing your friendliest cat into the room for a few minutes each day, holding him in your lap. Feral cats very often feel much more comfortable around other cats than they do humans. This was a case with the last feral kitten I took in. She bonded immediately and strongly with her brother from a different litter. She bonded with all four of my other cats within a few weeks. It took longer for her to get used to the tall, giant human in the house lol. Also your feral will observe you interacting positively with your other cats and will understand that you are a safe person. I may be a little bit of a nut, but when introducing a new cat into my household, I take each of my other cats in my arms and sing and dance around in front of the new cat. Pretty soon the new cat finds me too ridiculous to be afraid of When a feral cat bonds with its caregiver, it is often for life. So I have a feeling that you will end up keeping him.

I tried bringing in my little Elsa. He used to sit near her when he was outside occasionally. Elsa is very curious about him but he spat at her. I guess he is still not feeling comfortable, but I will keep bringing her for a few minutes at a time. If Pickwick does bond with us, then there is no question that he will live with us and we will take him back to the UK with us, but this is up to him. Rest assured that we are going to do everything we can to make this happen. We have already fallen in love with him! Anyway, the snow has now arrived here in Quebec, so we will have a good few months of indoor time with him....there is no rush xxx

​Thank you Kat. I am relaxing a bit now. Today I was working in his room, and he had his head upside down at the opening of his bed, watching me with eyes half closed. He looked so comfy. I didn't approach as he would have hissed.....but he did seem more at home! There is no question that we want to keep him. If he takes the leap to trust us and join our 3 resident cats, then he is more than welcome to become a member of our family. We are not moving abroad for well over a year yet, so we have lots of time. I do have one picture of him that we took the day after we trapped and put him in his new room......this was before he discovered all his hiding places....so now all we really see is a pair of eyes! :-) xxx