I live in an apartment in Philadelphia. I've been there since the beginning of September, and I noticed a family of cats always running through my backyard. They're always on my block, they never leave (so I assume). So a couple weeks ago, I just started leaving food out and would put boxes on their sides along the fences so they had somewhere to sleep possibly. With the food being out, I noticed them around more and more often.
One morning, I actually saw two sleeping in one of the boxes I left out. Later that day, I decided to leave my back door open with food on the inside, just to see if they would come in and maybe socialize. Sure enough, they did come in. Three of them; one of the parents, and two babies. After my boyfriend shut the back door outside, one of the babies escaped and the mom and other baby were left inside. Mom immediately got ontop of the washer and the baby ran off. After many attempts to make friends, we opened the back door up again to let them go. Except only the mom left, the baby wouldn't leave. (Yes, I do feel bad about separating the baby from her parents, but the way I see it, she's got a full belly and a warm place to sleep... something she doesn't have outside in Philadelphia in the dead of winter. Recently, I found a dead kitten in my friend's backyard, which reassured my keeping the kitten)
The baby (now named Sofi) was actually pretty friendly, didn't mind being pet or picked up. I fed her, gave her a warm bed, and she seemed to be loving it. She would purr happily in my lap. I thought she was house broken and domesticated, but today I was proved wrong. After bringing her to my mom's house, she absolutely lost it. She jumped out of my arms, ran into the kitchen, then ran straight into the washer, banging her head really hard. Immediately, she turned around, ran into the dishwasher on the other side of the room, banging her head again. She did this for a couple of minutes until I could catch her and put her back into her carrying case. I put her in a room by herself for an hour or two and she seemed to be fine again. She was relaxed, mellow, and allowed me to pick her up. I sat on the couch with her in my lap, and she cuddled up, as usual, and let me pet her. Then, all of a sudden things changed again. She tried burrowing her head into my lap, then jumped off and went crazy again. Spastic, running all over the room, hiding behind things, just out of control wild.
I've never seen this before, and I don't know what to do. I got her back into her carrying case, and I put her in a room by herself again to mellow out. My mom thought that this might be some of her stray cat instincts coming out, but I'm not sure. She's been spayed, and checked for feline aids and limes disease. I'm pretty sure she's had all of her shots, too. Has anyone experienced anything like this before? And if so, what do I do? Any suggestions?
One morning, I actually saw two sleeping in one of the boxes I left out. Later that day, I decided to leave my back door open with food on the inside, just to see if they would come in and maybe socialize. Sure enough, they did come in. Three of them; one of the parents, and two babies. After my boyfriend shut the back door outside, one of the babies escaped and the mom and other baby were left inside. Mom immediately got ontop of the washer and the baby ran off. After many attempts to make friends, we opened the back door up again to let them go. Except only the mom left, the baby wouldn't leave. (Yes, I do feel bad about separating the baby from her parents, but the way I see it, she's got a full belly and a warm place to sleep... something she doesn't have outside in Philadelphia in the dead of winter. Recently, I found a dead kitten in my friend's backyard, which reassured my keeping the kitten)
The baby (now named Sofi) was actually pretty friendly, didn't mind being pet or picked up. I fed her, gave her a warm bed, and she seemed to be loving it. She would purr happily in my lap. I thought she was house broken and domesticated, but today I was proved wrong. After bringing her to my mom's house, she absolutely lost it. She jumped out of my arms, ran into the kitchen, then ran straight into the washer, banging her head really hard. Immediately, she turned around, ran into the dishwasher on the other side of the room, banging her head again. She did this for a couple of minutes until I could catch her and put her back into her carrying case. I put her in a room by herself for an hour or two and she seemed to be fine again. She was relaxed, mellow, and allowed me to pick her up. I sat on the couch with her in my lap, and she cuddled up, as usual, and let me pet her. Then, all of a sudden things changed again. She tried burrowing her head into my lap, then jumped off and went crazy again. Spastic, running all over the room, hiding behind things, just out of control wild.
I've never seen this before, and I don't know what to do. I got her back into her carrying case, and I put her in a room by herself again to mellow out. My mom thought that this might be some of her stray cat instincts coming out, but I'm not sure. She's been spayed, and checked for feline aids and limes disease. I'm pretty sure she's had all of her shots, too. Has anyone experienced anything like this before? And if so, what do I do? Any suggestions?