Bringing feral in

I'm new here. I've been reading through forums and hoping to get some advice. I just brought in a feral kitten (~7 months old) last night. I TNR'd her about a month or so ago. But she's hung around, regularly stops by to eat and be pet, and we just found her momma dead in the road. She's been living under my deck and is not a part of any colony. She just stares inside our windows looking so sad.
Right now she's very angry in the kennel. She hasn't eaten or drank and will not come out of the little cat carrier that I gave her to hide in. Poor little thing is back to hissing and growling at me after weeks of working to get her to trust me.
We also have 3 male cats already in the house, who all think they are King of the Castle. Two are very poorly socialized adopted Maine Coon mixes and the third is a wanderer who moved himself in 2 summers ago.
The two big guys will be afraid of her, but eventually will be fine. Bruce, the little guy, is difficult. He can be quite the bully. He usually tries to nuzzle her through the screen. But he did sneak out trying to chase her one day. And she did not return for dinner until the next day. I'm afraid that his antics will be terrifying for her.
I'm not really sure how to go about both getting her used to being inside and socializing all of them at the same time.
And how will I know when she's ready to be out of the kennel? What things can I do to help make the transition easier for her? I know she will be happier inside once she understands that she is safe. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right things to help her get there.

If she isn't in a room by herself, do that.  The kennel probably makes her feel trapped, so I am not surprised she's upset.  If on top of that, the boys can get near her, it would make her very uncomfortable.

She can stay in the kennel for a few days in the room so she has time to get used to new smells and sights.  During that time, cat-proof the room and keep the boys out.  Make sure there are no places she can hide that you can't get to her and remove anything that might hurt her or get broken.  A bathroom is good for this.

Keep her in this room for a few weeks, visiting daily to feed, scoop poops and socialize.  Reading out loud to her quietly will get her used to your voice and your presence.  Keep her routine the same and as close to the boys' as possible.

Once she's used to being inside, you can start introductions.  I use a screen door, secured with tension rods, at the door to our foster room.  This will allow the boys to see and smell her (and vice versa) without being able to get to one another.

Rub one end of a towel on her and the other on the boys.  Place the towel under the door with their scents on her side and feed everyone treats on the towel.

This will clue them to "hmm, nice things happen when I smell this."  It will help them associate good things with the other cats' smell.

You are doing a nice thing for this kitty.  Thank you!

Thank you! She finally started eating after I went to spend time with her this afternoon. She was the most loveable she's ever been. Every time I left the room, she would howl until I came back. She must understand that this is a good thing!
I also just realized, I had to take the blanket out of her cage. She's only used to hard ground and was terrified of it! Luckily we don't have much carpet in the house, so that won't be a hurdle for her.
I can't use the bathroom, as we only have one and two children who can't handle the concept of closing doors, lol.
But the room she is in is basically a mud room. And I can easily keep the other critters out of it. I will have to cat proof it, though. That will be quite the chore! I made the mistake of letting her in there the first time I tried to move her in. I had to let her right back out. I'm shocked that I've been able to catch her a third time! Thanks again!

Little Grey, as we've been calling her.

Beautiful cat!

The mud room should work.  She just needs her own space for a bit, until she gets used to the new digs/

I'll bet she gets used to things soon.  She'll probably learn to love blankies, soon, too.

She's very frightened of course.

Nicholatta said:

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• nicholatta
• Dec 9, 2016

Little Grey, as we've been calling her.

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If I were you I would get an appointment set up for her to be fixed, not right away, but soon. You don't want her going into heat every month.

She has already been fixed and had her vaccines.[emoji]128522[/emoji] I have been working with our local Voiceless chapter to do Trap, Neuter, Return in my neighborhood, which is how I started getting to know her. Her momma was feral, but this one has warmed up to people pretty quickly.
I might take her back in to get checked for worms, though. She's had two months worth of flea treatment and over the counter dewormer, as I put it in the wild kitties food. But her belly is so big! It could just be that she's been overeating, though. I was leaving kibble out all day for her & momma for quite some time.

So far it's going...ok. She LOVES me. She comes when i call her and lets me hold her. She will let other people pet her, IF I'm there. Otherwise, she hides if anyone comes in the room.
She did well her first day out of the kennel. But the second day was a disaster. She's throwing herself at the window and howling like a banshee. So back to the kennel it is, for now. There is literally no room in my house that doesn't have a bunch of windows. And she climbs curtains, so covering them isn't helping much.
She's fine if I'm in the room with her, for the most part. Otherwise, she's a complete wreck. Realistically, I can't stay in there with her all day. So I just go in every couple of hours when I'm home.
This is gonna be a long road!

She's adjusting.  Change is always hard on cats and even though this is a good change, it is change none-the-less.

A couple of hours a day is fine.  She will get used to the routine and will soon settle in.

Thanks for the reassurance. It just makes me feel terrible that she's so upset. Every time she gets upset, I start doubting. And then I look out the window at the 10 inches of snow that's fallen since I brought her in. There's no going back now! [emoji]128540[/emoji]

Nicholatta said:

So far it's going...ok. She LOVES me. She comes when i call her and lets me hold her. She will let other people pet her, IF I'm there. Otherwise, she hides if anyone comes in the room.
She did well her first day out of the kennel. But the second day was a disaster. She's throwing herself at the window and howling like a banshee. So back to the kennel it is, for now. There is literally no room in my house that doesn't have a bunch of windows. And she climbs curtains, so covering them isn't helping much.
She's fine if I'm in the room with her, for the most part. Otherwise, she's a complete wreck. Realistically, I can't stay in there with her all day. So I just go in every couple of hours when I'm home.
This is gonna be a long road!

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I wonder if a Feliway plug in diffuser would help in these circumstances? Might be worth trying. It's upsetting, I know, when they so obviously want to go outside. Or think they do.

That's a great idea! Thabkyph! I have a stockpile, too. I use them for the other critters whenever I can anticipate major changes.

​About a year ago, I trapped a wild feral cat (Bronco).  Already had 3 other cats (all strictly indoor).  

I had to keep Bronco, the feral, in a separate bedroom for MONTHS before I felt comfortable letting him interact with the other cats.

First, he had to get used to me, which took a very long time (much longer than I expected - from Jan to June!).  

Bronco was between 1 and 2 years old when I trapped him.    

Since your feral is less than a year old,  it will most likely take a shorter amount of time (much shorter, I hope) for the cat to get used to you and get used to being petted. 

Once it clicks in their little kitty head that getting petted is a good thing,  watch out !   The former feral cat will absolutely demand constant attention ! 

At least the 2 feral cats that I tamed had that reaction.  

Bronco is now a SHOULDER CAT, in less than a year of being feral.   What a transformation!

Deb  

​Oh, I was replying to the original post.   I now see that progress has been made with the new feral.   Sorry, I am new on this site!

I understand about the cat trying to get out of the windows!   My feral did the same thing - he climbed the blinds.  So, I had to keep the blinds pulled up.

Then, he climbed the dry wall around the windows!!   That went on for MONTHS.  

But, again your feral is younger, so eventually she'll figure out that she cannot escape through the windows.

But, I might suggest a climbing post next to the window.  She could climb the post, instead of the window itself.

It won't be much longer until she acts more like a house cat, since she is already used to being around you!!

Deb

Thanks Deb! That's so awesome to hear!
She's doing okay so far. She had a few days out of the kennel and started getting stressed again. So I'm alternating keeping her in the kennel and letting her roam "her room". I'm the only person she'll let near her still. But she passed out on my lap for about 15 minutes last night. She totally spazzed when she woke up realizing what she was doing, lol. I can see her being such a lover once she truly settles in. She's still afraid of being pet, but loses her mind once she gets over the initial fear of being touched.
One of the boys (the other previous wild one) has kind of become her pal and asks to visit her at least once a day. Although, he makes sure to eat a significant amount of her food before acknowledging her existence every time, lol.
I think the chaos of Christmas visitors and having the kids home all day is setting her back just a bit. Once the house is more quiet, I think she'll progress a bit faster. She is so very sweet. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I understand about the cat trying to get out of the windows!   My feral did the same thing - he climbed the blinds.  So, I had to keep the blinds pulled up.

Then, he climbed the dry wall around the windows!!   That went on for MONTHS.  

But, again your feral is younger, so eventually she'll figure out that she cannot escape through the windows.

But, I might suggest a climbing post next to the window.  She could climb the post, instead of the window itself.

It won't be much longer until she acts more like a house cat, since she is already used to being around you!!

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Sounds like she is making great progress.  After the holidays when things calm down, she will be fine!

Deb

Oh man! Wild kitty! My blinds are inside the windows, thankfully! But, the screens are inside the house, instead of outside. So, that will be interesting once she gets to the living room (it's basically an entire wall of windows, so I'm a little nervous about it).
Also, no worries, I'm still figuring out how to use this site, too. [emoji]128540[/emoji]