help - adopting out a reformed feral

2tame

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The good news is I finally adopted out one of my reformed ferals :-)
The bad is that he's hiding under the bed at his new home :-(

This is a totally sweet, loving kitty. My guess is that being moved to a strange environment combined with being without any of his playmates (or any other cats) for the first time is akin to one of us being abducted by aliens.

I'm wondering if it would be helpful for me to make a visit to give him a familiar presence for a bit or would this just prolong the seperation trauma? Another option would be to take one of my cats, who he really liked, that is very outgoing (not a shy bone in her body) to stay with him for a few days so he at least has another cat to relate to.

Answers or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

hissy

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This is normal behavior for ferals, and he simply needs to get used to his new owners. If they are sure he is healthy, they really just need to ignore him. That is the fastest way for him to feel secure. See to his creature comforts, food, water, and litter pan, and just ignore him and in a few days he will venture out.

Please see this thread for inspiration. And if they have access to a computer send them the url so they can read it for themselves.

Lucky's Story
 

linda_of_pgff

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It's expected that a cat (ANY cat, actually) will backslide a bit when it goes to a new home -- it's probably more noticeable with a former feral simply because, well, people expect something different than "couch potato immediately bonded with new family."

Don't panic, and support the new family to avoid panicking too. Hissy's right -- benign ignoring is probably best for now.
 

phendric726

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We foundthat many people who adopt our formal feral often have this problem. SOmetimes it takes a week sometimes it takes a month, but all have come around at some point an drealized what a good deal they got.
Good luck with this one, I know it can be hard to keep up the optimism.

Sending lots of feel at home soon vibes!!
 

patc

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Feral cats often seem to bond intensely and trust completely the person who tamed them,and can backslide badly in new homes.

They need special homes with owners who will be extremely patient and let the cat make all the moves. The cat needs to be confined to one room and the person needs to go in and feed, talk gently and just sit with the cat until the cat decides that it's safe to come out.

I adopted out a former feral kitten last week, after explaining in detail to the new ower what the process would be. I guess she didn't really understand, because a week later she called me to come take the cat back. She was very upset cause the cat wouldn't eat, play with her kitten, or come out of hiding. I took her back and decided not to adopt her out again.

So now I have 3 former ferals living with me.
 
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