Rescued Stray

Hi, I'm Sheri and the mommy to two doggies, toy poodles, and now two kitties. Our oldest cat is a 3 yr old male, who we rescued when he was about 6-8 weeks old. He had been found in a dumpster as a tiny kitten. A few weeks ago, my mother called me to tell me a stray cat was in her yard and how friendly the cat seemed. I went over and met the cat, who was super friendly and wanted to be held and fed. I fed her for about a week and finally found out my mother's across the street neighbor had been feeding her for a few months but would not take her inside to live. She left for a week at Thanksgiving leaving the cat outside, cold, and hungry. Of course, I went over daily and fed the cat. When the lady returned, I asked if I could take the cat and give her a warm loving home. She agreed and we added Molly to our mix. We've tried the slow introduction, with her being kept in our laundry room. She will eat by the door to the laundry room with only a gate between them and she does fine. We let her in the den, sunroom, and laundry room at night. In the day, I put her back in the laundry room and let our other cat walk around in den to put his scent in here for her to smell the next day. She will let him get like 4 feet from her but any more than that and she's hissing and growling but not trying to be aggressive other than that. Are we doing this all wrong? Also, she isn't as cuddly and wanting to be held as she was as a stray. Have we made her angry by taking her from the outside and what she knows? She hasn't met her dog siblings yet. We thought it would be best to get her used to her brother kitty first. I worry that we did the wrong thing by so much change but I couldn't stand the thought of her being cold and hungry. I just want her to be happy to be a part of our family. Any advice??? I took her to our vet. She was FIV and feline leukemia negative and fecal sample was clean. I had them give her a rabies shot and we are waiting on other vaccines until she settles in to our family. Any help greatly appreciated. I soooo want this to work out for us.

Hi SheriLynnC, I think you're doing well. It is always very complex getting a stray to live indoors and get used to all the other animals that live there. Cats live exclusively in a pecking order. Add one to the mix and everything gets upset. Your stray has some big things ahead of her, not the least of which is finding her place in the house hold.

Understandably this will take time and lots and lots of hissing. Make sure she can at all times retreat to a safe spot but I think you are on the right track. Have lots and lots of patience, cats are animals that go purely on instinct, it's not logical a lot of the time to our human brains. Don't forget to play with her a lot. WIthout the other cats in the room! These 'hunting' sessions will boost her confidance and bond her with you.

Try to let your cats handle this at their own pace. She may one day seems quite relaxed and sleep in a room with other cats, and half a day later everything is back to the way is was in the beginning. It seems to be how this works with cats. The only no-no is flat out fighting, try to not let it come to that.

Maybe try Feliway diffusers in all the rooms? I have done this with my last introduction but it is hard to say if it has helped. Have faith, be patient, play with all of them, speak reassuringly to all of them and try and be as relaxed as possible yourself when you're around them. It is a cats nature to be affectioned, if you can created the right circumstances for her, I'm sure she will be a wonderful and loving cat.

He's allowed only this close and the growling and hissing begins. She has never tried to lunge towards him. Is this a good sign??? However she has no problem eating with only a gate between them and very little space between.

There are lots of step by step article on re homing ferals and strays. The main theme seems to be as much as you can leave her alone. Let her come to you until she's comfortable everything is viewed as a threat. Maybe too soon for introductions.
Google "taking in feral cats" and look for step by step. They're really good.
Remember you have captured her and you can't reason with them like people leave her be and let her come to you. No patting, no talking, no engaging until relaxed. Probably gonna and a long time.