ANY EXPERIENCED FERAL RESCUE HAPPY ENDINGS?

I brought an eight month old feral that would not be handled into my house on Dec.16th of last year.  I had fed him from when he was born, but I could never get closer than ten feet.  It went incredibly well.  He sleeps on my bed most nights.  Here is the thread about it.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/311415/making-a-feral-into-a-housecat

 You need time and patience and love.

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Truer words were never spoken! This big guy was the wildest feral I have ever seen and about 2 years old now per the vet:


It has taken a year but this is now a trusting lap cat. I was worried that after TNR the cats would hold the trapping against us and never be seen again but this is not what happened at all! All cats are different and we have one kitten I have hit a road block on and I have to keep reminding myself she is only 9 months old and it will get better. My project started out like this:


I would not say my Happy Ending is completed yet but these cats are a lot better off than they were and that is all we can ask! All have been through TNR and have all they want to eat which was much better than they had in the wild. Keep the faith!

I have just adopted an 18 month old stray that someone took in when she got pregnant. The kittens were all adopted out and she has been spayed. I have had her one week and she is very shy and skittish, and all of the advice on here is so helpful. Thanks for being here! I know she will come around, she just needs time. I live alone and work all day so I really look forward to evenings and weekends getting to sit with her. Her name is Izzy but right now her nickname is "Invisikitty"  lol  So much good advice here. Thanks everyone. 

bigbadbass said:

 
Wanted to highlight (and publicly thank them yet again) ...the advise and insights of members Ondine and Tabby Tom has been invaluable! 

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Ah shucks, just doing my best to help fellow cat lovers!  We need more compassionate people like you!

TabbyTom said:

You are most welcomed [emoji]128521[/emoji] We are just caring for the welfare of the cats

Advisor Ondine is the one with more valuable insights to all this.

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  Thank you!  But without each of us, there's be no forums and no help, so we all do what we can.

YOU ARE THE BEST! I AM HAPPY FOR BOTH OF YOU!

I have Evander, a really big boy who has been living in my house for over two years. He showed up to eat one day when I was feeding the strays, and he was aggressively running off the other cats. So, I started to lure him into the garage to eat away from the others. Eventually, he wound up in the house. I adore him. He is trusting of me, and such a cuddler, but only with me. He recently developed an urethral obstruction. I'm sure from eating canned and dry food, but I think having house guests at the beginning of the month pushed it over the edge. That brings me to the only drawback to having a feral cat: their fear of other people. It makes vet visits a real challenge and limits who you have in your home.

Feral lover said:

I have Evander, a really big boy who has been living in my house for over two years. He showed up to eat one day when I was feeding the strays, and he was aggressively running off the other cats. So, I started to lure him into the garage to eat away from the others. Eventually, he wound up in the house. I adore him. He is trusting of me, and such a cuddler, but only with me. He recently developed an urethral obstruction. I'm sure from eating canned and dry food, but I think having house guests at the beginning of the month pushed it over the edge. That brings me to the only drawback to having a feral cat: their fear of other people. It makes vet visits a real challenge and limits who you have in your home.

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I don't find it limiting with whom I have to my home.  I just be sure to have a safe place for my former feral to hide while I have others to my home.  My boy likes to hide in the basement or upstairs under a bed.  As long as I don't try to push him to interact with others he is fine.  He comes out on his own once others are gone.  

Vet visits are always a huge challenge.  I start by bringing the carrier into the main area of the house weeks before a scheduled yearly check up.  I also have a room where my boy likes to hang out where I have a gate at the door.  I block all furniture and close him in the room.  I then grab a blanket or towel and get him the best I can.  I am sure that all of my skin is not exposed.  I do usually leave my hands exposed as I cannot get a good grip with gloves.  I wish there was an easier way, yet with ferals an former ferals this will always be a challenge.

i'm realizing trapping my (new to me) 12 year old feral to get him to the vet/neutering is by and far quite a challenge.  Using a large carrier.for over a week now  ..I'm moving the food dish further and further inside....I estimate next week i'll be able to slam the door....immediately off to the vet he goes.

If it were easier, I'd have done it already.

I can't even imagine using a towel and bare hands...I'd be ripped to shreds. ShadowsRescue...you are certainly BRAVE!    

Should I ask the vet for a pill/sedative to mash into his food?   

@ Bigbadbass  I doubt the vet will give you a sedative.  Too much can go wrong.

Have you thought about a humane trap?  Tie the trap open and feed in the trap until the cat goes all the way in.  Make your appointment and set the trap to spring  It is no more traumatic than shoving him into a carrier and a lot safer for you.  Covering the trap when it springs will help keep him calm.

Just an idea.

bigbadbass said:

i'm realizing trapping my (new to me) 12 year old feral to get him to the vet/neutering is by and far quite a challenge.  Using a large carrier.for over a week now  ..I'm moving the food dish further and further inside....I estimate next week i'll be able to slam the door....immediately off to the vet he goes.

If it were easier, I'd have done it already.

I can't even imagine using a towel and bare hands...I'd be ripped to shreds. ShadowsRescue...you are certainly BRAVE!    

Should I ask the vet for a pill/sedative to mash into his food?   

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My former feral has been in the house for almost 4 years now. I would never attempt this with a true feral. Always use a humane trap. So much safer for the cat, yourself and the vet.

Feeding the cat in the unset trap for a few days to a week before the appointment is definitely the way to go.

My guy was at a shelter, he had been brought in as a stray. I started him in the bathroom off my bedroom with a nice box to hide in, but he could peek out at me; and I would go in and just sit on the floor- talk, read, be quiet, sing a quiet song, not really look at him- at night I'd have the bathroom door open and my bedroom door closed and he could come out while I was asleep.

After a few days if I laid on the floor with my arm outstretched he'd creep up and got a taste of getting scratched on the cheek, he loved it. I stopped free feeding and would come in with his food (in bedroom) and have a few bites in my hand; he'd take a couple pieces, then I left the room and left the food in there and I just kept doing that. Visiting often, lay down, talk, be quiet, food and treats.

It was 2 months before he jumped in my lap (I think.)

Once he started approaching me more I'd put the food bowl closer and closer to me, then sat it on my thigh while sitting down.After about a month he willingly approached to get scratched, luckily he LOVED to be scratched about the head and would purr and purr. I had to be sitting down.

It's been 4 months and I can't go up to him to scratch him, but he will come to me and lay out on my lap and purr up a storm.

Definitely time and a whole lot of patience- it's so worth it.

He's out in the house, is very playful, stampedes around the house. On my lap he gives me these looks like he's the happiest thing in the world, so glad I found him!

This is Evander before his crisis with the urethral obstruction. I'm supposed to take him back to the hospital for a follow-up, but I am giving him more time to heal. He is peeing OK, and the vet trip is just way too much stress.

Feral lover said:

Evander.jpg

• feral lover
• Dec 30, 2016

This is Evander before his crisis with the urethral obstruction. I'm supposed to take him back to the hospital for a follow-up, but I am giving him more time to heal. He is peeing OK, and the vet trip is just way too much stress.

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I'm sorry but I have to say that I absolutely adore the "coon" tail. My Felix and Hazel have one too.

His tail is so adorable. My Max is that pattern all over and he has the most gorgeous green eyes, My vet calls him gorgeous. I call him MAX A MILLION. Because he has been very expensive, Some monster threw him out a car window when he was only one pound and about 6 weeks old. This caused him to have a broken leg and he also has asthma, Unfortunately the prednisone is making him TOO FAT. I love him so much!

Have you tried purina urinary tract formula for Evander? I feed that daily to all my cats and have never had a problem. My sister who is ten years older than me and has had over 50 cats told me about this years ago. One of my best friends is a vet and she told me to feed that also,

GOOD LUCK WITH HIM! HE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!

I ordered her two of those beds. We thank you very, very much!!!

My girl Shadow was a feral that had kittens in our garage a few years ago. 

I trapped her and got her spayed, and a friend socialized the babies (5 weeks old) and adopted them out. 

We kept Shadow in a spare room for a few days, hoping to keep her as a pet. She hid behind everything, only coming out to eat. One night I startled her, and she was in between hiding places. She crouched and hissed at me, then growled. I gave up, thinking we'd failed and she'd be happier outside, so we released her. 

She kept coming around for food, staying at a safe distance. With cold weather coming on, I worried about her surviving the winter, so we put a pet door in our cellar door, leaving it propped open. She came in for food, I sat across the cellar from her just talked to her. Eventually she learned to come up the cellar stairs into the kitchen for feedings. We got to thinking about how short her life would be outdoors (coyotes, disease, busy road out front), and we decided to shut the pet door, keeping her inside. 

She became friendly, but wouldn't let us touch her for months. Eventually, we were able to pet her, and she really bonded to me, and to my husband to some extent. He can pet her, but she's a little wary, they can slow blink back and forth.

Whoever said patience was very wise, it just takes time. Shadow is extremely timid (not aggressive at all), and she had to figure out I was no threat to her. She can easily go to fear and revert, but mostly she's a happy kitty, purrs a lot of the time, and loves to be groomed. Super happy ending. 

However, she will never learn to love music -- especially harmonica. She will leave the room when I play or sing, complaining over her shoulder on the way. 

Here's a video I made of her last year: 

Thank you so much for sharing your video of Shadow.  Fantastic job!!  I too have a feral named Shadow.  

You got lots of good advice, talk softly, move slowly, the slow blink, etc. I will share my experience as payback for all the information, advice and support I got from people on The Cat Site. Could be too little too late but I will share it anyways.

I find this to be a tricky subject, in that at which point are they no longer feral. I have two used-to-be feral cats named Rusty and Kitty. I started feeding my two when they were approx. 2 months old and feel that took part of the feral out of them. A big part of an animal's life is getting food and being fed by people has to knock some of the feral out of them. I trapped them when they were approx 9 months old and they had been watching me put out food for several months and knew when I called "kitty, kitty, kitty" it was time to eat.

My two had upper respiratory infections when I trapped them and it seemed like they knew the vet and I helped them. Within days I was able to pet both of them, the odd hiss but that didn't last long. Of course I had to approach them slowly and talk softly so it wasn't casual petting. Kitty did the occasional hiss for maybe a month and a half, only if I startled her. Rusty progressed much faster than Kitty. Within the first couple weeks Rusty did not seem interested in escaping me but his sister was closer to a couple of months. I could pick up Rusty with no struggle after a few weeks where Kitty it was a couple months. Other people could approach Rusty after a couple of month where Kitty was a couple more months after Rusty. Of course the other people have to work their way up to petting them and it isn't instant.

My bond with Rusty is different than Kitty. When I was feeding them outside Rusty always came first to scope out the situation. It seems like I look after Rusty and he looks after his smaller sister Kitty. I feel that is why Kitty progressed slower than Rusty. It was out of necessity for Rusty but not for Kitty. They are around 16 months old now and some people would say my cats are still semi-feral as they are leery of other people but I consider them to be timid.

I would expect that someone that trapped an older feral would take much longer. I would also expect that someone that had only fed them for a short time would also take longer. I know my cats were never bothered by other people, they were isolated from the general public and I am fairly certain they were born on the property. If someone had been cruel to them that would have likely caused things to take much longer. I also had a brother and a sister which likely makes the entire process easier as they got to share it and not go through it alone.

I think there are lots and lots of factors and I don't think anyone could say exactly how long it will take to socialize a cat.

I hope things go fast for you. I wish you and the cat the very best.

WOW!!! WHAT A WONDERFUL HAPPY ENDING!!!

Thank you for letting me know about your sweet Shadow!! Tomorrow makes two weeks that my cat will be still alone in her bedroom. I have had a few people tell me to release her but there is absolutely no way that will ever happen!! I too know that it is too dangerous for her to ever be back outside again. As much as it makes me sad that I know she has not figured out that she is deeply loved and safe now, I know that the alternative would be possibly freezing to death to say the least. So each morning  and eve,I tap on her door and softly announce that I am bringing her yummy food.  I also go in one more time mid day to try to get her used to me, So far she has graduated from hiding under a chair to now hiding in a large circular toy where she can get a better view of me. She peeks out with only one eye. I pray she does as well as yours has!! God willing, we have plenty of time for that to one day happen, I can not even imagine introducing her to my other five, All in due time I guess,

Thanks again! You made my day!!!