Fixed Male Cat Acts Possessive Of Caregiver And Jealous Of Other Cats

[Fluffy1950]

have a male feral cat that constantly walks close to me when I go to feed the colony and when I park my car at my work place . he will walk very close to me even when there are no other cats around.how can I curve this behavior?

 

[jcat]

The question is, why do you want to? You're his food source, and it's perfectly normal behavior for a self-confident feral with frequent exposure to humans to get close. It doesn't mean you'll be able to touch him or tame him, though that wouldn't be a bad thing. Some of the ferals in our shelter colony will allow a pat or two, others will wind themselves around your ankles but have a heart attack if you try to touch them, while still others won't come close.

Is he keeping the others from the food? It often helps to prepare several dishes/bowls at once and put them down spaced apart.

Jealousy can be a problem if it's preventing you from establishing a relationship with the others, but I'm not sure what you can do other than space the food far apart. I had that problem just yesterday. There's a male that follows me around constantly. He gets quite close, but has a conniption if I try to touch him. After more than two years of keeping her distance, one female is rubbing herself against my legs. I decided to try petting her, and Paulchen, the male, ran up and whacked her hard. I'm going to try putting some of his favorite treats in a treat ball to see if he'll be distracted long enough to leave her alone while I try again to break the ice with her.

 

[Fluffy1950]

he practically wraps himself around my legs and swats at any other cat that comes near me. am separating
the food bowls already. he. will allow me to pet him but not pick him up. he stops in front of me constantly when I am walking to my car or to take out the garbage at work.It gets annoying at times.

 

[jcat]

Sorry, but as somebody who helps care for feral cats, I can only see the positive side of his behavior. For one thing, if he's ill or injured, you have a much better chance of ascertaining that something's wrong and of trapping him for vet care. Other cats in the colony are certainly observing your interactions, too, which will eventually encourage the bolder among them to establish a relationship with you or other humans, again making it possible to keep closer tabs on them.

Although it's unusual for an adult feral to become tame enough to be homed, it's not completely unheard-of.

I'm going to move this from Behavior to Strays & Ferals, where other members with experience will be more apt to chime in.

 

[surya]

Does he do the thing where he walks in front of your feet like he's trying to trip you? One I feed does that, he just wants me to pet him, he loves attention. They are like kids, they get jealous. I don't know what to do about it other than feeding them in separate places. I have been trying to figure out this problem myself.