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- Jan 27, 2013
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Hello all.
About 18 months ago we accidentally started feeding a stray cat - he followed my cats home and lived in our garden. When we realised, we got him neutered and vet treated - which included having the majority of his teeth removed because they had rotted to the bone.
We recently moved house and with the help of a humane trap took him with us. He is now living in our spare bedroom.
The thing is, I don't know what to do now… He is very, very, very fearful of humans: he has now started to trust me enough that he'll eat in front of me and will on occasion sniff my hand, but I can't stroke or touch him. He is terrified of my fiance and still hisses at him even if he is bringing him food.
Our plan was to keep him in the spare bedroom for a month, then start leaving the door open, letting him have access to the rest of the house. He wouldn't be able to go outside as we're not planning on letting our own cats have outside access until after Christmas.
Does this sound like a good idea? Or am I going to end up with a semi-feral cat living in a cupboard or under the floorboards or something?
We truly don't mind if he is never willing to let us stroke him - we have two cats that are ultra affectionate, but I don't want to end up with a feral cat living in the walls or something.
Eventually, we plan on opening up the cat flap and giving him a kennel outside too so that he can either live inside or outside and come and go as he pleases.
About 18 months ago we accidentally started feeding a stray cat - he followed my cats home and lived in our garden. When we realised, we got him neutered and vet treated - which included having the majority of his teeth removed because they had rotted to the bone.
We recently moved house and with the help of a humane trap took him with us. He is now living in our spare bedroom.
The thing is, I don't know what to do now… He is very, very, very fearful of humans: he has now started to trust me enough that he'll eat in front of me and will on occasion sniff my hand, but I can't stroke or touch him. He is terrified of my fiance and still hisses at him even if he is bringing him food.
Our plan was to keep him in the spare bedroom for a month, then start leaving the door open, letting him have access to the rest of the house. He wouldn't be able to go outside as we're not planning on letting our own cats have outside access until after Christmas.
Does this sound like a good idea? Or am I going to end up with a semi-feral cat living in a cupboard or under the floorboards or something?
We truly don't mind if he is never willing to let us stroke him - we have two cats that are ultra affectionate, but I don't want to end up with a feral cat living in the walls or something.
Eventually, we plan on opening up the cat flap and giving him a kennel outside too so that he can either live inside or outside and come and go as he pleases.