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- Nov 30, 2017
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Hi, i am looking for advice on taming a stray cat.
I will give some history and where i am up to with taming.
The cat in question once belonged to my next door neighbour as a kitten but one of their kids tried to pick it up and ended up getting scratched badly enough for them to take him to the hospital A&E department. So they pretty much abandoned the cat. Jump forward a couple of years to when i move into my flat and the previous tenants had been feeding the cat plus another elderly cat which belonged to the same next door neighbour, so they both live in my garden.
I would feed them both and they would both come into the kitchen and be petted (the older one was apparently the father of the younger and has since passed). Anyway the cat i need help with has slowly gotten friendlier over the time ive been feeding him but is still very skittish (could be down to my neighbour on the other side chucking water at him to get him out of her garden!) He had an abscess that had burst on his face leaving a wound about 1 inch wide/tall, so i got him help with the local RSPCA, who treated him and neutered him.
When i got him back after that he didnt trust me at all, would come into the garden for food, but the slightest movement or sound he would run away. Its been about 4 or 5 months since that and hes gotten friendlier and trusting again, coming into the kitchen doorway and rolling on his side, but the door has to be open (my kitchen door opens out directly into the garden), he doesnt like being shut in the house.
I am going to be moving house in a couple of months and would like to take him with me, as i dont think he gets fed anywhere else but hes so skittish its the physical act of getting him from a to b that will be hard as he wont let you pick him up so i cant get him in the carrier, and even with a bribe of food i dont think i could get him to willingly go into one of those cage traps again as its what i used last time to get him to the vet.
I understand it can take a long time to tame a stray cat that didnt have a lot of human interaction as a kitten but im hoping im part of the way there. Anyway tips and advice would be helpful.
Thank you
A quick Edit: I forgot to say, even through several attempts at picking him up hes never scratched, bitten or even hissed at me. He is very vocal though, will meow a lot, especially when the food comes out.
I will give some history and where i am up to with taming.
The cat in question once belonged to my next door neighbour as a kitten but one of their kids tried to pick it up and ended up getting scratched badly enough for them to take him to the hospital A&E department. So they pretty much abandoned the cat. Jump forward a couple of years to when i move into my flat and the previous tenants had been feeding the cat plus another elderly cat which belonged to the same next door neighbour, so they both live in my garden.
I would feed them both and they would both come into the kitchen and be petted (the older one was apparently the father of the younger and has since passed). Anyway the cat i need help with has slowly gotten friendlier over the time ive been feeding him but is still very skittish (could be down to my neighbour on the other side chucking water at him to get him out of her garden!) He had an abscess that had burst on his face leaving a wound about 1 inch wide/tall, so i got him help with the local RSPCA, who treated him and neutered him.
When i got him back after that he didnt trust me at all, would come into the garden for food, but the slightest movement or sound he would run away. Its been about 4 or 5 months since that and hes gotten friendlier and trusting again, coming into the kitchen doorway and rolling on his side, but the door has to be open (my kitchen door opens out directly into the garden), he doesnt like being shut in the house.
I am going to be moving house in a couple of months and would like to take him with me, as i dont think he gets fed anywhere else but hes so skittish its the physical act of getting him from a to b that will be hard as he wont let you pick him up so i cant get him in the carrier, and even with a bribe of food i dont think i could get him to willingly go into one of those cage traps again as its what i used last time to get him to the vet.
I understand it can take a long time to tame a stray cat that didnt have a lot of human interaction as a kitten but im hoping im part of the way there. Anyway tips and advice would be helpful.
Thank you
A quick Edit: I forgot to say, even through several attempts at picking him up hes never scratched, bitten or even hissed at me. He is very vocal though, will meow a lot, especially when the food comes out.
