Need advice - meeting of house cat & feral

[bastfriend]

Thanks sweeetthangtx!     I think my Patches is a special hard case - either really traumatized and/or too intelligent or both!  I was able to lure her into the humane trap one time - for check up (after 7 years) and dental but that was it.    Last time I had to get her I had no choice but to shut her in a room and have the vet come in with a net and heavy duty gloves.    I'm holding the drop trap method in reserve for some future special occasion

     That's nice that you've got much of your feral crew trained to think of the trap as a temporary holding tank with food.

 

[crazy cat folks]

Thank you for the feedback. I'm lucky that my husband is such a good trapper. He can usually target which cat he wants and get that one. We have Also neutered some neighborhood toms that were in the right place at the wrong time

 

[anothercatlady]

I don't think you did anything wrong. Cats, like people, don't like everyone they meet. I introduced an old feral to my two house cats slowly as you did. That's a method suggested even when both cats are not feral. It did not initially go well. One of my house cats still hated him, growling and hissing and trying to scratch. It didn't help that the feral (who had spent at least 10 years of his life un-neutered) was something of a lout. When this behavior erupted, I separated them again to prevent any festering bad feelings and slowly reintroduced them later. Provided plenty of hiding spaces. This went on for a while. It's now been two years. They are not fast friends, but they have accepted each other. Occasional bouts of "air boxing," but no bloodshed.