New Feral Cat

nccat · Feb 11, 2005

We recently found a litter of kittens that a cat who has been roaming around by itself for a little over a year had. This is the first litter we have ever seen, and there are no cat colonies here, just an occasion stray. Once we noticed the kittens eating solid food, we grabbed them and have adopted them out and they are doing very well. We recently trapped the mother and had her spayed. Since it has been cold here, I have her in my apartment bathroom to allow her to rest a few extra days before release. I leave the cage door open and bathroom door shut when not in the bathroom. She had one episode where she jumped to the top of the shower rod for a few min before she fell into the tub, but other than that she has been sleeping in the carrier nonstop. I had to put her away so I could shower for work and I can not yet trust her even though she has never been aggressive, she was hiding in the tub. I put the carrier in the tub and moved it towards her, she looked up at me and then just walked in and layed down. She also has not eaten anything in a day and a half which I am worried about, but after major surgery she may not feel like it yet. She seems very docile and has yet to make a sound. No hissing, spitting, lurching or anything. She is pretty much just sleeping, although this could also be because it may have never had a chance in its life to just be warm and safe. I have been able to get my gloved hand within an inch of her face and have tried peting it with a comb through the carrier hole, and neither elicit any response. I do have another cat and he has actually been the one hissing and being a jerk, though I have not let them near each other. Does anyone think this cat can be domesticated? Things I am worried about:
1) The cats eyes have a lot of junk in them
2) She is not eating
3) She has not moved much except for one venture outside the carrier and in that she wanted to keep a distance
4) My hissing cat has no affect on her, but it might be an issue with my male cat later

At the very least, I figure she can recouperate a few days and be stronger at release. I am very tempted to try and tame her though. There are only a couple other cats in our area and she is not part of a colony. We work in a backroad that is perfect for dropping of unwanted animals. I think she was a dropoff since I would think a true feral cat would be more aggressive. Thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

gargoyle · Feb 11, 2005

In my limited experience, trapped ferals keep quiet. Silence = safety.

When they spayed her, did they do all the shots, checks, etc.? If so, and she came up clean, you can try incororating her into your feline family. Be prepared for an extended time frame for her to learn to trust you. "Patience is my friend" - make that your new mantra

Others on this board, particularly Hissy, have a lot of experience with domesticating adult ferals. Whether yours was born feral or became that way to survive may make a difference in how long she takes to come to trust you. It can be done but you have to be willing to make the time investment.

catsknowme · Feb 11, 2005

Hooray on your great success with the kittens and on getting mama kitty spayed. She definitely sounds like maybe she has some other issues going on, though, those gunky eyes are often a sign of illness. And she does sound like a "drop-off", since she seems carrier-trained. Maybe you could PM Hissy and get her insight on this - I'd love to find out what she thinks. Meanwhile, I'd call the vet's office and get their opinion on the cat's condition, since they saw her so recently. I'm glad that you can keep mama kitty inside to recover from surgery. I hope that this is a simple case of finally, this poor cat can exhale & recover from being homeless (I understand NC has had some bad winter weather this year), pregnancy & feeding a growing family. Healing vibes for mama kitty & encouragement for YOU, you are this cat's true guardian angel!! Susan & Natalie

Originally Posted by NCCAT

We recently found a litter of kittens that a cat who has been roaming around by itself for a little over a year had. This is the first litter we have ever seen, and there are no cat colonies here, just an occasion stray. Once we noticed the kittens eating solid food, we grabbed them and have adopted them out and they are doing very well. We recently trapped the mother and had her spayed. Since it has been cold here, I have her in my apartment bathroom to allow her to rest a few extra days before release. I leave the cage door open and bathroom door shut when not in the bathroom. She had one episode where she jumped to the top of the shower rod for a few min before she fell into the tub, but other than that she has been sleeping in the carrier nonstop. I had to put her away so I could shower for work and I can not yet trust her even though she has never been aggressive, she was hiding in the tub. I put the carrier in the tub and moved it towards her, she looked up at me and then just walked in and layed down. She also has not eaten anything in a day and a half which I am worried about, but after major surgery she may not feel like it yet. She seems very docile and has yet to make a sound. No hissing, spitting, lurching or anything. She is pretty much just sleeping, although this could also be because it may have never had a chance in its life to just be warm and safe. I have been able to get my gloved hand within an inch of her face and have tried peting it with a comb through the carrier hole, and neither elicit any response. I do have another cat and he has actually been the one hissing and being a jerk, though I have not let them near each other. Does anyone think this cat can be domesticated? Things I am worried about:
1) The cats eyes have a lot of junk in them
2) She is not eating
3) She has not moved much except for one venture outside the carrier and in that she wanted to keep a distance
4) My hissing cat has no affect on her, but it might be an issue with my male cat later

At the very least, I figure she can recouperate a few days and be stronger at release. I am very tempted to try and tame her though. There are only a couple other cats in our area and she is not part of a colony. We work in a backroad that is perfect for dropping of unwanted animals. I think she was a dropoff since I would think a true feral cat would be more aggressive. Thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

nccat · Feb 11, 2005

Originally we were just going to release her and were trying to keep the cost down because we received no discount on the spaying and 2 days of kenneling, so we did not get her shots. If she handles this weekend well I will bring her in for shots and tests and see what they say. If she doesnt start eating I will have to bring her in anyway. I am keeping the cats separated till she has shots for obvious reasons. Thanks for all the good advice.

hissy · Feb 11, 2005

I wouldn't worry about not trusting her or taming her. I would worry about getting her to the vet to be tested as soon as possible. She sounds likely as if she is quite sick. Feral cats rarely if ever adapt so quickly to being indoors unless
a. they were previously owned housecats and tossed into the world by the owner
b. they are to sick to care
c. they were in a previously managed colony where the caretaker took a hands on approach

I would urge you to get her to the vet today. She likely has URI which stops any cat from eating, because gunk crusts under their noses and if they can't smell they won't eat. I would take the gloves off when handling her and not be afraid of her, but instead be afraid for her. I am surprised the vet did the spay without first testing for all the known diseases. That is the first thing my vet does for the cats I bring in, and if they test positive they are euthanized.

nccat · Feb 11, 2005

Thanks for the advice. I am bringing her in on Monday to get tested for everything and if she checks out get her cleaned up. Hopefully she will be clean. She started finally eating tonight. Her bowl was about half empty and she was sleeping in the bathtub.(small bathroom, tub is furthest from entrance, so prob best vantage point in her mind) I had gloves on and sat on the outside of the tub and she let me pet her head and body and clean some of the gunk out of her nose. I'm hoping all that is a good sign even if she is sick. I don't think a true feral would let me do that unless it was so scared it won't move, but this one seems semi-relaxed. The next big step other than the vet is for her to use the litterbox. I have to admit this is much farther than I thought I would be in a few days.

Originally Posted by hissy

I wouldn't worry about not trusting her or taming her. I would worry about getting her to the vet to be tested as soon as possible. She sounds likely as if she is quite sick. Feral cats rarely if ever adapt so quickly to being indoors unless
a. they were previously owned housecats and tossed into the world by the owner
b. they are to sick to care
c. they were in a previously managed colony where the caretaker took a hands on approach

I would urge you to get her to the vet today. She likely has URI which stops any cat from eating, because gunk crusts under their noses and if they can't smell they won't eat. I would take the gloves off when handling her and not be afraid of her, but instead be afraid for her. I am surprised the vet did the spay without first testing for all the known diseases. That is the first thing my vet does for the cats I bring in, and if they test positive they are euthanized.

catsknowme · Feb 11, 2005

Hissy, your insights & wonderful advice can come only from lots of experience & the know-how "learned in the trenches". I don't know how you do it all & still find the time to read and respond to these threads. If the newspapers were smart, they'd have you in the dailies, as the "Dear Abby" of cat questions!

Originally Posted by hissy

I wouldn't worry about not trusting her or taming her. I would worry about getting her to the vet to be tested as soon as possible. She sounds likely as if she is quite sick. Feral cats rarely if ever adapt so quickly to being indoors unless
a. they were previously owned housecats and tossed into the world by the owner
b. they are to sick to care
c. they were in a previously managed colony where the caretaker took a hands on approach

I would urge you to get her to the vet today. She likely has URI which stops any cat from eating, because gunk crusts under their noses and if they can't smell they won't eat. I would take the gloves off when handling her and not be afraid of her, but instead be afraid for her. I am surprised the vet did the spay without first testing for all the known diseases. That is the first thing my vet does for the cats I bring in, and if they test positive they are euthanized.

New Feral Cat

nccat

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gargoyle

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hissy

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