Found him under his litter box this morning

This morning I went to check on Ferris to see if he'd escaped again or if everything was ok. He was fine, but had been up on top of his "house" overnight, which caused it to collapse, so he took refuge for the rest of the night underneath his litter box, poor little dear.

So far, so good with him - I was actually able to pet him a bit this morning while changing his litter and fixing his house - I have to get a sturdier box for him. He likes to hide under the box peeping out at me through the door I cut in it for him.

Late last night as I was sitting on the floor next to Ginger and talking to her while she finally ate her first meal since Ferris came into the house, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him creep just a little further out of the cardboard box, watching me talk to and pet Ginger. He backed up when I moved my leg, though, so I'm still looking to ignore him, for the most part.

I talk softly to him, using his name every time, whenever I have a task that takes me into the kitchen. I'll do some more paperwork on the floor in their today and tomorrow. I'm hoping to be able to start keeping the cage open for him to start to get out and explore the house within the next two weeks, but we'll see how it goes. I'll be going back to work on Tuesday, but will come home to talk to him/check on him at lunchtime every day for a few weeks until he's gotten better assimilated.

I think he's going to be fine - he's very sweet, just very scared, and I know that he'll calm down once he learns that there is nothing to be scared of - except maybe Ginger, LOL.

She makes it a point to hiss and growl at him, tail down, when she stands by his cage, but once she spends a moment doing that, she struts off, tail back up in the air, her job done. She'll definitely be the big boss lady, LOL!

I can't wait to get some good pictures of the two of them together, but THAT will be awhile, I think!!!

Good luck. I remember when I brought home my kitten -- he hid for two days under the couch and I was getting really scared that I had made a big mistake taking him. Now he is EVERYWHERE including laying on my chest at 5:00am this morning!

Ferris is doing quite well, eating like a little piglet, peeping out cutely at me from his "house", a cardboard box I set up for him to hide under. He's so sweet - I was able to pet him a bit this morning while I changed his litter box. He's going to be just fine. My arms are healing, and Ginger is feeling better. She's sleeping it all off today, and she needed it badly.

Life is good. I'm getting important things done, like dishes and filing (a year's worth of paperwork - bleah...) anything that I can do in the kitchen talking out loud so the little guy gets used to the sound of my voice and realizes maybe I'm not so scary...

I tried to tempt him with a little chicken baby food on the tip of my finger. He didn't shy away, but he didn't come closer, either. I waited a bit with my finger where he could see/smell/touch it, then I backed off and wiped the little bit of baby food on his food dish.

A minute or two after that, I had my back turned to him as I was making myself a sandwich, and when I turned to put things back in the fridge, I saw that he had come all the way out of his box, and had licked all the baby food off his dish! A tiny step forward is a big success with this little wildcat. I'm VERY pleased. He's safe here, and he'll be climbing up my curtains before I know it!

Ferris has been coming out of his box more often, being less afraid and more curious about his surroundings. He's getting used to my voice, and watches me move about the room without cowering or flinching at all.

This morning I locked Ginger out of the room for a while - she's being quite aggressive today, hissing and growling more than yesterday, and striking at his cardboard house through the mesh of the tunnel. He pulls back, and I've noticed him looking at her chin when she growls at him - he's being a good little boy, but she feels the need to put on a big show, LOL...

After I closed off the room, I sat on the floor and sorted some more paperwork while talking softly to him. I'm seeing relaxed poses and smaller pupils - he has actual irises, my goodness! He's got yellow eyes to match his light orange coat. He even stretched out both front paws and put his chin down to watch me as I worked.

I put some baby food on my fingertip again, putting my arm into the tunnel and my finger near his face, and this time he licked it all off, then licked my finger clean! Woo-hoo! Progress! I gave him a little more, coaxing him out of his box a bit, and he came out a little ways. He wouldn't come out all the way, but I'm very happy with how far he got!

I wish I could just stay home every day and spend time with him, but after tomorrow it'll have to be lunchtimes and after work in the early evening. And I'll have to share that time with Ginger kitty, so she doesn't get jealous.

We started off on the wrong paw, but it looks like all is going better than I had expected - we've come a long way after just two days. And I couldn't do this as well without TCS and the advice I've gotten from you all by reading through the threads here.

TCS ROCKS!!!!

Thats fantastic ..... you have such patience and understanding in dealing with Ferris .... which will dramatically help him progess !!!

Wow - that is great. I went through something similiar but not quite as bad with Astrid when I brought her home. She was a feral who was trapped and neutered and sent to foster. But she was trapped when she was about six months so her tolerance of humans was extremely limited.

It took a few months, but eventually with patience and love they do come around. She is still skittish at timesand she will not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES allow you to pick her up, and doesn't like strangers in her "territory". But she now sleeps with me - and even wakes me up in the middle of the night for her "lovvies" before she will settle down with me with her head on arm all stretched out next to me.

Hang in there - it so rewarding to see them come around. Some days will be better than others and it might seem as if some ground is lost, but it will work out. Good luck! Keep us posted.

I have had Pearl fo 5.5 years, and we still go back and forth on her progress. She likes to cuddle on the bed, but does not like being held very much. She stretches out next to me to sleep. She has recently started letting me rub her paws, and I am hoping this will lead to nail clipping.
With the progress Ferris is making this quickly, he will probably turn into a spoiled housecat very soon. Thanks for keeping us posted, and letting us watch him grow up with you.

When we first brought Scratch home DH made this box for him:






He went to Kinko's and asked for a box that held their paper. With both boys now using it, it has held up remarkably well.

I've constructed something quite similar to that - I'll post pics this week!