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- Jan 13, 2023
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Hi everyone, as the title suggests I'm considering whether I should close off my feral boys' access to under the bed after it's been his safe haven for almost two months. He dashed under the bed as soon as I got him into "his room" (my bedroom, as I don't have a spare room) and I didn't know about blocking off the bed until after he was already under it. Some background! Bounce is a 9 month old neutered male. The shelter said that he was very timid and would need a bit more patience than usual, but that he did let them pick him up and handle him (which sounds crazy to me now). They had no history on him apart from having been dropped off by animal services about two weeks before. The shelter was far away, so I ended up meeting and picking him up the day he was neutered (a stressful day for the poor boy!) Also I have no other pets, and I have a Feliway plug-in in the bedroom.
I quickly suspected that he was actually feral due to: 1) his complete silence aside from hissing when startled, 2) his skittishness in general, he shows no interest in smelling/investigating people, watches me constantly, and retreats under the bed the second someone moves or makes eye contact, 3) he stays as low to ground as possible at all times, with no interest in high up spaces apart from recently, when he's started jumping up the cat tower while chasing the feather wand, 4) His noticeable fear of human hands naturally this means I haven't been able to touch him, nor have I tried to (since I want touch to be his idea)
From the beginning he has used his litterbox well, and now he comes all the way out to eat with me sitting right beside him for meals. He LOVES to play and has even started coming out to chase his feather wand near the living room late in the evenings! He stays under the bed all day every day apart from meal times and play time, but is happy to go party all night with his toys in the living room as soon as he hears me get into bed. But he's always back under the bed when I wake up.
I recognize now (after reading many helpful articles on here!) that six weeks is the blink of an eye in feral socializing time, and he's made incredible progress in that time. So very long story short: since he's getting braver and feeling more comfortable, should I block off the under bed area to force more interaction during the day? I know it's suggested for BEFORE bringing the cat home, but since it's already been his safe space for nearly two months I worry that he will be terrified and feel unsafe again. I'm more than willing to just be patient if that's the best move for him, but wanted to check what people with more experience think!
(Oh man I'm sorry this is so long, thanks for reading if you made it this far!)
I quickly suspected that he was actually feral due to: 1) his complete silence aside from hissing when startled, 2) his skittishness in general, he shows no interest in smelling/investigating people, watches me constantly, and retreats under the bed the second someone moves or makes eye contact, 3) he stays as low to ground as possible at all times, with no interest in high up spaces apart from recently, when he's started jumping up the cat tower while chasing the feather wand, 4) His noticeable fear of human hands naturally this means I haven't been able to touch him, nor have I tried to (since I want touch to be his idea)
From the beginning he has used his litterbox well, and now he comes all the way out to eat with me sitting right beside him for meals. He LOVES to play and has even started coming out to chase his feather wand near the living room late in the evenings! He stays under the bed all day every day apart from meal times and play time, but is happy to go party all night with his toys in the living room as soon as he hears me get into bed. But he's always back under the bed when I wake up.
I recognize now (after reading many helpful articles on here!) that six weeks is the blink of an eye in feral socializing time, and he's made incredible progress in that time. So very long story short: since he's getting braver and feeling more comfortable, should I block off the under bed area to force more interaction during the day? I know it's suggested for BEFORE bringing the cat home, but since it's already been his safe space for nearly two months I worry that he will be terrified and feel unsafe again. I'm more than willing to just be patient if that's the best move for him, but wanted to check what people with more experience think!
(Oh man I'm sorry this is so long, thanks for reading if you made it this far!)
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