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- Oct 16, 2013
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Hi there,
I volunteer with a group that feeds a network of feral cat colonies, and for the last two years have also maintained a feeding station on my back deck. I live in a fairly nice neighborhood where most people take good care of their cats, but there always seem to be a few strays or actual ferals around.
The one cat who has been coming to the back deck food, winter and summer, for the whole two years is a brown tabby female, who is missing one ear and who I call Odette (can't remember were the name came from). At first I believed she was feral --- she was very shy and watchful, would always wait for five or ten minutes after I went back in the house to come and eat. Even then, she would eat for ten seconds, then snap her head up and scan the yard for danger, eat for a few seconds, then scan again. The one thing that made me suspect she might have once been tame was that in all that time, she never seemed to come into heat or be visibly pregnant, so I wondered if she might have been spayed.
Last spring, she disappeared for almost a month and I was sad, thinking something had happened to her. When she showed up again, she seemed different, braver than before. At first, she just came to eat faster after I put the food out, then she would come when I was still there as long as I made no move towards her. This got my attention because in the previous year and a half of her coming for food, her demeanor towards me had not changed at all.
Over the summer, this has very very gradually progressed to her letting me get closer, then touch her briefly, then scratch her chin with one finger, then stroke the whole length of her body. Now when I come home in the evening, she runs down the walk to meet me, and stands up on her hind legs, asking for a head rub. When I put the food down, she won't start eating until she gets some pets first.
That said, she will still back away quickly if I reach toward her with both hands at once and she will absolutely not tolerate being picked up. I've tried leaving the door of the house open but she shows no interest at all in going inside or even curiosity about it.
Here is my dilemma: it's already beginning to get cold here, and I live in Saskatchewan, where winter temperatures of 30 below and colder are not uncommon. I hate to think of her living outside in those temperatures, even with good food and shelter (and knowing she has survived at least two winters outside already), but I also don't want to imprison her inside against her will. Other well-meaning people in the feral cat group have attempted to take in semi-feral cats in the past, and it often does not turn out well --- one lady had a cat hiding in various places in her house for almost two years; the food disappeared and the litter was used, but she never saw the cat and was never able to develop any relationship with it. Finally she trapped it and took it back to the feral colony where it had been living (I still see it there sometimes on the feeding route).
I guess I should mention I also have five inside cats, who may or may not be welcoming to her. They have sniffed noses through the screen door, but it could be a whole different story if she ended up on their turf.
Any thoughts? Has anyone tried something like this and had it turn out well? My head hurts from thinking about this and I would really welcome some other perspectives! THANKS IN ADVANCE ---
Pat
I volunteer with a group that feeds a network of feral cat colonies, and for the last two years have also maintained a feeding station on my back deck. I live in a fairly nice neighborhood where most people take good care of their cats, but there always seem to be a few strays or actual ferals around.
The one cat who has been coming to the back deck food, winter and summer, for the whole two years is a brown tabby female, who is missing one ear and who I call Odette (can't remember were the name came from). At first I believed she was feral --- she was very shy and watchful, would always wait for five or ten minutes after I went back in the house to come and eat. Even then, she would eat for ten seconds, then snap her head up and scan the yard for danger, eat for a few seconds, then scan again. The one thing that made me suspect she might have once been tame was that in all that time, she never seemed to come into heat or be visibly pregnant, so I wondered if she might have been spayed.
Last spring, she disappeared for almost a month and I was sad, thinking something had happened to her. When she showed up again, she seemed different, braver than before. At first, she just came to eat faster after I put the food out, then she would come when I was still there as long as I made no move towards her. This got my attention because in the previous year and a half of her coming for food, her demeanor towards me had not changed at all.
Over the summer, this has very very gradually progressed to her letting me get closer, then touch her briefly, then scratch her chin with one finger, then stroke the whole length of her body. Now when I come home in the evening, she runs down the walk to meet me, and stands up on her hind legs, asking for a head rub. When I put the food down, she won't start eating until she gets some pets first.
That said, she will still back away quickly if I reach toward her with both hands at once and she will absolutely not tolerate being picked up. I've tried leaving the door of the house open but she shows no interest at all in going inside or even curiosity about it.
Here is my dilemma: it's already beginning to get cold here, and I live in Saskatchewan, where winter temperatures of 30 below and colder are not uncommon. I hate to think of her living outside in those temperatures, even with good food and shelter (and knowing she has survived at least two winters outside already), but I also don't want to imprison her inside against her will. Other well-meaning people in the feral cat group have attempted to take in semi-feral cats in the past, and it often does not turn out well --- one lady had a cat hiding in various places in her house for almost two years; the food disappeared and the litter was used, but she never saw the cat and was never able to develop any relationship with it. Finally she trapped it and took it back to the feral colony where it had been living (I still see it there sometimes on the feeding route).
I guess I should mention I also have five inside cats, who may or may not be welcoming to her. They have sniffed noses through the screen door, but it could be a whole different story if she ended up on their turf.
Any thoughts? Has anyone tried something like this and had it turn out well? My head hurts from thinking about this and I would really welcome some other perspectives! THANKS IN ADVANCE ---
Pat
