Bring her in she will get used to being a loved and cared for kittie, the last one I brought in well first I found her kittens and i have an indoor garage heated so I made alittle room for them then I caught her and brought her in it will be better for both the kittens and mom happy to say got them all vet care and in new furever homes, and bring them all in will give them all that chance, bring her in you could socialize her, lots of love care and you can really save her life to it will take alittle time for her to warm up it can be done I had brought in one wild kittie and she after awhile warmed up and felt safe and secure
Originally Posted by killerapple
Hi everyone!
I've been spending the past couple of months reading up everything I can about cat socialization. I'll try to do a quick background and then get to the meat of this post.
In early June, my husband and I saw a litter of kittens in our window well! There were 4 - about 7 weeks old. After an hour of deliberation, we decided to rescue them. By then, only 3 were there - momma cat moved the 4th. We got the three - put them in a bathroom in our basement. Looked all week for the 4th kitten and never found it... So we got the kittens to the vet, joined a rescue group, and fostered/socialized the kittens. A lot of work but they did awesome. 2 got adopted out, then we ended up keeping the last one - the very shy black kitten that warmed up to us as soon as the other 2 got adopted out.
Meanwhile - we started feeding Momma cat so we could trap her. We got her trapped, got her fixed, then released her. We did hold on to her for several days inside in a separate room as I emailed around seeing if anyone would want to take her in and socialize - got no's. We had assumed the 4th kitten was deceased because wen ever saw it outside. In late July, we saw the 4th kitten eating outside with the momma cat. (We continued to feed her because we felt obligated after 'stealing' her babies and getting her fixed.) This kitten was 14 weeks old. My husband wouldn't let me take in this kitten to socialize myself so I emailed every single rescue group in the area and bordering state. Found 1 person willing to help so I paid for all vet work, wrote them a check, and the 4 month old kitten is now in her hands. I'm keeping in touch with how that is going.
So things are almost back to normal. 3 kittens are happy spoiled inside kitties, the 4th is on its way to being that. Momma cat is what I really am writing about - but thought this whole long story would be important.
We never saw this cat until we found the babies. I have no idea how long she has been in the neighborhood. I need to ask neighbors - maybe they will know. We call Momma cat Patches - she is a GORGEOUS calico (she had an orange tabby, white and black, all black, and black with white spot babies). She is not a friendly stray, but she is getting pretty used to the house. As in, she sits outside the front door at the same time every night - waiting for food. When I open the door, she bolts and hides in the bushes - maybe 8 feet away from me - but I can see her. I feed her every night and watch from the window. She gives herself a bath, then hangs out and rests in the landscaping for a while. It's really heart breaking.
So I'm trying to figure things out. Should I keep up what I'm doing - feeding her outside and make a shelter in winter and keep things as is? Or should I try to bring her inside? I don't know if she would WANT to be inside - she seems to get on very well outside. But I hate hearing the dogs bark at her, hate worrying the neighbors are irritated with having her around, and just worry about her all the time. If I bring her inside, I don't know how it would affect the 4th kitten in the long run - he was sooo painfully shy until we got him alone. I've already thought out what room I would use as her socialization room. I am ok with the time commitment (although I have 2 cockatiels in their own room, the kitten and a husband!) But I don't want to take this cat inside if I would only be doing that for my own well-being - not hers. I hope that makes sense...
My plan for now is to keep up doing what I'm doing - and every time I feed her, talk to her softly, and eventually linger around longer before I leave - and see if she ever comes out around me. I do also want to find out how long she's been around the neighborhood. I don't see any other stray cats - I would think if she'd been around for a while, there would be a lot more cats (previous litters). We have only seen her with another cat one time - very late at night, she was sitting with a cat. I think male cats roam more, so who knows where that cat came from, but we only see Patches now.
Wow, this is a really really long post... Thanks so much in advance for your thoughts on this situation. I just want to make the best decision for this cat, her baby that we kept, and us people - but mostly the cats!! (The rescue group that I had temporarily joined when fostering doesn't deal with shy strays like this. There's a great TNR group in my area that recommends leaving outside if the cat is not letting me touch her, so I'm just reaching out for more advice.)
Here's a photo of Patches - such a pretty girl!
