Looking For Suggestions, Help With My Inside Feral.

[Teri122]

My cat is Tabitha. She is small, mahogany, no tail :-) I first saw her in 2007. It began with feeding her at the end of my driveway . I could only watch her from inside the house, could get nowhere near her .There was a young tiger stripe who showed up for a while, and they seemed to be buddies .Over the years (many years) she became comfortable near me and another person who also fed her on the next block .She became less feral, eventually eating all her meals on my porch, and sleeping in her heated hut in winter, on porch chairs in summer . In 2010 another young cat started to hang out with her, and 2011 another one . They (boys) became friendly and handelable and they were her buddies and protectors .I always knew when room (unfortunately) opened up in my house I would bring them in. In the winter of 2016 the boys came in 5 months apart. But I would let her best bud out every day for a while so she wouldn't be so lonely. She still remained extremely skittish and wary of any sudden movements or strangers .
Maybe I am dragging this narrative out too long... Cut to this winter - she would meow every day at the door to see the boys, and would purr loudly, kneed, drool and rub her face on the door when I held it open .I still could not touch her, but she purred and meowed at me and would occasionally touch her nose to my hand.
Feb. 23 was the day I held a cover over the opening of her condo and brought it inside to the room I had set up for her . Initially it went much better than I expected. She continued to meow, purr, kneed and be super excited when she saw the boys at her room .She started slowly wandering around upstairs as we gave her more freedom from her room, and even started to come down the steps in the later evening when we watched tv, always announcing herself with meows. Then on day 21 everything changed .I was out, bf was home, Tabitha was in the basement (how or why ??) when I got home and eventually got back up to her room, and has not been the same since .She rarely purrs (last time I heard was 4/23) I had been sitting in her room every day talking to her, reading, hanging with the boys and her. She stopped seeming to care. This week she is even more withdrawn - tomorrow is 10 weeks .She lays in her bed or behind the chair in her room. When I go in she either totally ignores me and the boys, or gets up and goes behind the chair. I don't even see her wash anymore .She has not been very interested in toys .Initially I thought she was starting to play a little with feather toy, cat dancer etc., now they just piss her off. Only 2 good things, she goes downstairs every nite where the boys are after we go to bed and sleeps in different places, and she is eating great .
Can anyone offer any thoughts? I am completely heartsick .

 

[maggiedemi]

What happened that day when she was in the basement, did your boyfriend see anything strange that day? Has she ever been to the vet? Is she spayed?

 

[Teri122]

Don't know why or how she ended up there .He sometimes gets overzealous in wanting to get our cats to like him, but even if he scared her, I would think she would be over that, or slowly improving, not continually going backwards. She really stumbled and struggled up the wooden steps (I have since then carpeted them), I thought maybe that hurt, or really shook her up.
No vet, she has never been touched, can't be trapped (other than tnr before I knew her).

 

[orange&white]

She really stumbled and struggled up the wooden steps (I have since then carpeted them), I thought maybe that hurt, or really shook her up.
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Do you mean the day you found her in the basement, that climbing the stairs out of the basement seemed painful to her? Is she old enough to have arthritis, or has she normally exhibited any chronic pain with climbing or jumping?

If she's not in some sort of known chronic pain, it sort of sounds like she was somehow injured that day.

I really would try to trap her and take her to the vet for an x-ray to see if she may have a fractured/broken bone. Or she possibly has a urinary infection...or something physical is wrong with her...which only a vet would be able to diagnose. Call ahead...some vets will welcome feral cats...and some won't see them.

Cats can get "scared" and withdraw emotionally for a while, but they most often come back around to the previous level of trust in fairly short order with love and care. Try to rule out anything physical before you think it is behavioral.

 

[Teri122]

Well she tried to race up those steps, but she is short and they are wooden, so she slipped, hung on trying to get a grip and not fall thru the slats, ... But she did not seem injured after that, I mean she started a very slight rally after a couple weeks, started getting curious in the evening and coming a little way down to the living room, walking around upstairs a little bit .I never noticed anything wrong with her gait until a couple days ago it seemed "off", the little bit I did see her moving . Suspected it was because she doesn't do anything .But now she just looks sad and lays in her bed or behind her chair .
I thought I was protecting her, keeping her safe from the cat she scuffled with on her own last year, giving her back her boys for company . I have wanted her inside for aloooong time and waited till I thought it really was right, but I now look back on pics and video of her in her last week out and see how happy she was .

 

[orange&white]

Oh, I see. Well, I still think that her behavior may suggest something physically wrong. I would try to schedule an appointment with a vet who sees ferals, or possibly have a mobile vet come look at her if that is easier.

Ruling out medical problems can give you peace of mind. If she is healthy, then you can focus fully on behavioral adjustments and socialization.

 

[kittychick]

I'm so sorry - - - it's so hard when we can't figure out what's happening with our furry family members, and especially hard when we worry it's something we've done to them, even if it is unknowingly. Know that everything you've done you've done with love for her - - starting with caring for her when most wouldn't have for 11 years outside! You obviously care dearly for her. She's a beautiful girl!

(and pardon me if I ask anything you've already said or answered - it's late and I'm half asleep so probably shouldn't be near a keyboard - but your post touched me)

Did she come to you 11 years ago as a kitten, or adult? I'm just trying to get an idea of age. If she came to you as an adult, even a fairly young one, she's at least 12, correct? And you mention TNR, but I notice she's not ear-notched, and you mention she's never seen a vet since you've known her. So are you sure she's spayed? (that likely has nothing to do with anything - but trying to think things through). Are the boys neutered? Again - likely not an issue - but you definitely don't want to add dealing with kittens to the mix - physically or psychologically.

I know it was asked and you don't seem to know - - but your boyfriend truly has no idea how she ended up down in the basement? I'm not being accusatory of him abusing or anything (tone is so hard to read online, so I didn't want you to think I mean that). But am I understanding that she was at the time generally kept in a room of her own, so that she could have time to adjust (very understandable and very smart - - slow is virtually always the way to go!)? Could she come and go - or was her door shut? (I guess I'm just trying to picture things). Is it possible at all (again - please know I'm not accusing - my hubby wasn't a cat guy AT ALL until he met me - and I came with two of them!) that your bf did something - - - not necessarily meaning to scare or hurt her - - and he accidentally left the door open to the basement and now is worried about telling you? Even something he thought was play- - anything that kicked her feral instincts into high gear? I'm thinking it's possible that he - not purposefully - could have done something that scared the bejesus out of her and made her feel very threatened, and if that was then accompanied by an injury on the basement steps - - that can definitely cause not only trauma physically, but mentally, and you obviously see how long it's taken to get as close to her as you have. Let him know how important it is to know what happened - and nothing will make you mad.

I will say - - - we had a very strange, kind of similar incident. We brought in a little grey feral girl with a light case of CH (which makes her "wobble" a bit), Flick (for her 'flick" of heart-shaped white fur on her chest) that we'd TNR'd from a colony in our neighborhood. It took quite some time to gain trust - but eventually we brought her in when a neighbor began poisoning the "damn ferals" in our neighborhood. She's now the love of our life - a complete lap cat. One day last year - Flick and one of our failed fosters, Bowie (my avatar) were "play wrassling" (she's less than 7 pounds and he's almost 20 - - but she ALWAYS starts it). One day - and my husband witnessed it - they were wrestling in the kitchen and a pan fell in a cabinet. Flick was startled beyond belief - and ran into another room. Suddenly the cat who loved us dearly wouldn't let us come near her. We went to look at her and we could tell she literally didn't recognize us. She was absolutely terrified - - - and even more terrified by us, who were suddenly strangers. I was able to carefully manipulate her limbs - nothing was broken or painful. But by that night, she hadn't touched food or water, and by morning , she still didn't recognize us, hadn't eaten or drank, and worst of all, had far more trouble walking than her CH usually causes. She'd literally fall over - - - trying to escape us, the people that 24 hours ago she'd loved dearly. We were beyond terrified and heartbroken. And taking her to a vet was a scary proposition - - -as she's beyond terrified of carriers and vets - - it definitely brings the feral out in her. Long story slightly cut short (but still long - sorry) - - we learned she'd had a small stroke! Not much could be done but isolate her, love her, watch her, keep her hydrated and fed. I literally slept on the hardwood next to her the first few nights. Several days later it was like a switch flipped and the lights came back on - - she recognized my husband, wobbled to him, and pulled herself onto his lap! (we both cried like babies). It took some time before she was back to her wobbly self - - -both physically and emotionally. She was definitely back in her feral world for a bit.

So I guess I'm telling you that to say (as a VERY long story - sorry) that you're not alone or crazy and it's likely nothing you did at all. BUT she could have been so terrified by an incident - which accompanied by what could have also been an injury on the stairs (it made me tear up to read you'd carpeted them so she'd never be put through that again). Combine the two - - and a feral can truly retreat. Especially if it - in her head at least - is in conjunction with another being in the house (even one of the boys could have ambushed her purely in play). But I am definitely concerned that she's going downhill rather than uphill or even stable. And she's not an extremely young cat (although not old by any means) - - - so even something like a slip that really aggravated an arthritic joint could have her frightened and in pain. I personally would absolutely get her to a vet that is experienced with ferals. They can even prescribe her a mild tranquilizer you can put in her food to make the trip less terrifying - - and some vets experienced with ferals (like ours) will even do any examining of her only after giving her a mild anesthesia that's done in a box - - again lessening the fear of the trip and the exam. You mention she can't be trapped - - but you did get her inside by closing her house she was sleeping in outside. Can you place a carrier in her room with a favorite blanket (or the adorable soft bed she's sleeping in in her photo) inside it, perhaps along with a few treats - - so that she has a little bit of time to become used to going into the carrier to sleep? I know you may feel like you're "tricking" her - - -but if she's a little anesthetized, it'll be less traumatic, and if she is injured, it'll be worth it.

Please please keep us posted. This one's obviously close to my heart - - I truly feel your pain.

 

[maggiedemi]

Is she peeing and pooping okay? Does she get some canned food every day? What about flea and de-worm treaments? That's great that she was TNR'd. So she's already been spayed and had her vaccinations?

 

[Teri122]

So I will try to answer everything . I have no idea when Tabitha was spayed .I thought she was pretty young when I first saw her, but it was never close up, and she is a small cat anyway, which I am not used to. I did try to trap her for surgery, but she wasn't going for It at all and I just couldn't get her .It was some time later that I learned someone on the next block had already done it .There is a vet in the area who does not eat tip .They managed to trap her a year later to get shots, and tried the next year but by then she knew better. I asked them last week what year she was done and they were going to call the Dr to check his records .They are obviously not like me, I document every vomit my cats have, and have been keeping a record of Tabs activities, as well as paperwork for the TNRs I have done. One year, 6 years ago maybe?, when she was basically showing up for meals then going on her way, she came up putting no weight on a back leg, I tried for 3 weeks to get her contained somehow and to a vet, finally she started limping on it, eventually walking again.
Anyway, I gave her Capstar thru the summer last year, and a few doses after she came inside. I check her bedding, put a white sheet on it, and don't think she had fleas. Gave her a worm pill from the vet . She pees, and her poops sometimes are small and hard, sometimes normal. She gets wet food, with some crunchies . There have been some hairball pukes, but not for a few weeks.
As for that reaction from the falling pan, I experienced something like that with my cat Jewel. She had a major misplaced aggression episode, where as you described, she didn't know me let alone herself .She pretty much wanted to kill me and it was terrifying. So I absolutely feel your pain with that . I wondered if this basement episode was similar, Tab really didn't know where she was down there, didn't even know the main floor well, and just wanted to run and find her room, and couldn't even get up the steps - I know it flipped something in her. Jim wants all the cats to love him, he tries too hard even though he has always had cats and knows better, and knows you can't force yourself on them . He may have gotten too close to her upstairs, but he insists she came down to the living room on her own, then Hector (cat) followed her under a chair. Then he does not know how/when she got to the basement . but he did try to get her out from under the oil tank with something, but she just went under the work bench, etc. Prior to that day she had spent time in her room with the door closed for a few days, then a couple weeks with a gate and screen at the door, and I guarded closely as the boys strayed mingling in the room with her. There had been no issues with the boys and she LOVED having them nearby. Cut to more recently, when she was still interested and walking around her room (She is not locked in at all) there have been times when Oliver would give her a little smackdown. Nothing bad or mean, and nothing that I didn't see when they were outside, but kind of like - makes you sad for her - kind of thing . She does still go down stairs to the dining room, or living room to sleep at nite, where at least 2 of the 3 boys are, so it doesn't seem she is afraid of, or hates them . I just installed a home monitor camera to be able to see what she does mainly at nite . Watching her walk on it I do think she may have something up with a back leg... Or is it because she is not walking around much at all .Kinds of seems like one is weak, sometimes. Not a limp. Now, she is really bow legged, always has been. so between that, and no tail, she never has walked exactly like other cats .But she was the fastest cat I have ever seen and the cutest one to see trotting away from you.
Think that is about all for now.
Oh, just 2 things to add. Multicat diffusers in her room, living room and dining room. And it has been suddenly hot and humid the past few days, and her room, of course, is the hottest.
Thoughts welcome!

 

[rubysmama]

I just found this thread, after reading your posts in @sweetblackpaws's thread.

How is little Miss Tabitha doing now?

 

[Teri122]

Thanks for asking.
She is actually doing really well. She was obviously having some painful issue, that seems to be resolved, hopefully. She had 10 days of pred, and I just starting the weaning. She has been very active at nite, follows her buddy Oliver around, looks out the bay window, etc. She had even come down during the day yesterday when I was home, but is very skiddish and runs if I get anywhere near her. This evening she was purring away when me and the boys (cats) were in her room.

 

[rubysmama]

Glad to hear she's doing well.