LoveToKnow Cats:AllComments

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Hi Susie,

How wonderful that you've been able to save this cat and give her a good home. It sounds like she was a previous pet and likely was just scared and not certain if she could trust humans. You finally won her trust! You are right about taking your time on the introductions, but I'm sure the cats will all adjust with time.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

We live in a rural area where it is common to have feral cats, however, this one has been here for two years and suddenly decided she liked me 6 weeks ago - after 3 weeks of having her come to me, my husband & I decided to take her to the vet to get fixed and possibly add to our home. Fortunately, she was alreaday fixed, but 3 years old and only 5 pounds. We have had her in the house now for 2 weeks and she is the most loving cat (I currently have 4 others in the house) I have ever had - she has her own room and she just purrs and even when I give her her medicine, she growls, but takes it. I have no qualms of waiting a year if I have to before the introductions are done, just knowing she is going to be safe is satisfaction enough for us.

-- Contributed by: Susie

Hi Jann,

She will likely have a difficult adjustment period, but your best bet is to trap her and move her with you. If you leave her, you can't be certain the new owners will care for her and that may actually be more traumatic than the move. Also, once you trap her (use a humane trap for that purpose), I would go ahead and transition her inside. There is a specific process you'll want to use. You can learn more in this article and other LoveToKnow Cats articles, such as Feral Cats and Stray Cat Questions.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

I have a ferral cat who lives on my back deck. We've had her spayed and she will let us brush or pet her but will not allow us to pick her up. We feed her twice a day and she has a house to live in. She had a kitten several years ago who now lives inside with us and is very happy inside weighing in at 21 lbs. Our problem is we may be moving and don't know what to do with mama. We don't want to leave her but we think she will go crazy if we try to take her. Do you have any suggestions.

-- Contributed by: JANN DIETZ

Hi Jessica,

You are absolutely wonderful to take on this task. It will be a challenging one. My concern with this cat is that in addition to her fear, she is going to be very protective of those babies. You want to be able to tame the kittens, so they are not feral as well. I would go ahead and bring her into your home. You may need to purchase a large cage or find a room where she can be contained. I wouldn't try to approach her or bother her until after the kittens are weaned. Feed her, give her fresh water and litter. If she wants to be petted, by all means do so, but let her approach you.

She may wind up warming up on her own, but more than likely you'll need to wait until the kittens are gone to begin the taming process. Look at it as a long term investment, because it is going to be quite the challenge.

As the mother will allow, and once the kittens are a few weeks old, I would go ahead and handle them just a tiny bit. You want them to get used to human touch.

Once the kittens are weaned and have gone to a good home, begin to approach the mother slowly. If she will allow, pet her on the head first. Always move slow and take your time. I think you're right and that she'll eventually make a great pet.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

Hi, I have been the caregiver of a colony of ferals for about 7 months now. The property they are living on has been foreclosed, and my family and I are charged with removing the cats and kittens. It has been my plan all along to trap- spay/neuter- and release them. With that no longer an option, I have to somehow tame 6 adults and 2 litters of kittens. At the moment, we have been able to trap one, a pregnant queen, who is living in a large rabbit cage outside. While she was living wild, I had been able to pet her and hold her, a feat I haven't acheived with the others. She is a 5th generation feral, but she has a heart of gold and will make a great pet someday.

However, she was rather traumatized by the trappping experience, and is only just regaining a modi... of trust in me. She will have kittens any day now, (if she doesn't abort) and I have no idea what to do to tame and care for her , especially with a litter on the way!

Please help!

-- Contributed by: Jessica M.

Hi Laurie,

Lucky sounds like a wonderful cat. And she definitely deserves her name! You did the exact right thing in isolating her in a separate room for a week. Now, you should follow these steps to introduce her to the other cats. This will make the transition as easy as possible:

Place her inside a crate or container (a laundry basket turned upside down can work if it is roomy and you weight the top down.
Bring the crate into the main part of the house where you spend most of your time.
Leave her inside the crate for an hour. Let the other cats sniff around the cage, growl or whatever they need to do.
After one hour, open the door and allow her to come out when she feels ready. Monitor this step very carefully.
Any sign of aggression and she goes back inside the cage for another hour. Repeat up to three hours in the cage per day.
At the end of the third try, if the cats are not tolerating one another, return her to her isolated room and try again tomorrow.

Be patient. This process can sometimes take one try and sometimes take weeks. A lot depends upon the aggressive of your other cats and how firm their current heirarchy is established. Also, her temperament with other cats will impact how quickly they accept her presence. Good luck!

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

Hi C. Rogers,

Have you tried letting him eat his fill and then putting out a second round of food? If he has been hungry for a while, he may still eat it all. You may have to continue to put out food until he is so full that he has to wobble away. We once adopted a stray and the only way we could get her to stop fighting the other cats over food was to feed her until she could barely walk away. Once she'd had her fill to almost bursting she never did this again. Hopefully, he won't be quite that extreme and will simply let her eat when you put out the second round of food. If that doesn't work, you may need to separate them for a while. Good luck!

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

I found a stray cat on feb.15 inthe middle of the road and nobody was stopping, so I pulled off on the side of the road ran out to the street and pick up the cat and I saved her life. I was on my way to to pet sit for a friend of mine who also has cats . So I didn't know what to do so I took the cat with me .As I continued to carefully look the cat over,I realized that this cat was not hurt one bit,I believe she was so scared she didn't even move from the street . She immediately started to cuddle up to me ,but was still very careful. Anyway ,I took her with me and contained her in a separate room from the rest of the cats.Next day I took her to my vets to have her checked because I to have 3 indoor cats at home. The vets told me that she was completely healthy,the only thing wrong she had traces of some ear mites ,he gave her some meds. all of her vaccinations ,wormed ,flees,she was ready to come home with me after I finished my pet sitting job,which was for a week.I kept her contained within the separate room but every chance I got I stayed with her .She is the most lovable sweetest girl,she weighs 12.5 lbs. I know she was a feral cat at one time because of her clipped left ear,but would never know it for how lovable she is. I ended up calling her Lucky in which she was that day whn I saved her life in the middle of the road. A week has gone by and now we are back at home ,and still I have her cantained in a bedroom away from my 3 cats .They all are very curious about her ,they see her the other side of the sliding glass doors from the back porch.I let her go out and get some fresh air ,I think she just might like it. She has been at my house for 3 days ,and I really think she will eventually like where she is . I really have taken to her ,My question is when should I start letting her out of her bedroom and start to roam the rest of the house and the other cats and exploring with supervision of course ?She has a good appetite and her bowels are good.She is getting anxious to leave the bedroom .Please help.

-- Contributed by: laurie dee

I have 2 feral cats in my spare room. The boy is larger than the girl and he devours all the food. Each day I move the food a bit closer to where I sit and watch them eat but when I try to touch them they run away. How can I get the boy to leave some food for his sister?

-- Contributed by: C.Rogers

Hi David,

Some cats are just very skittish. It's possible she may have been abused at some point in her life, which would explain her fear at sudden movements. I would continue to be as patient as possible. If she runs off in fright, speak to her in soothing tones and shake a can of her favorite kitty treats to try to coax her out of hiding and let her know you mean her no ill will.

She will likely outgrow some of this behavior with time as far as you are concerned, as she learns to trust you, but she'll likely always be nervous around new people.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

I have a cat that I adopted through PetCo over 2 years ago. While she's a fine looking cat, she acts like she's feral. She hides all day long and runs for her life if move towards her. I took care of a couple of feral cats for a couple of years right out front and they were tamer than she is! Any suggestions on getting this cat tamed? She will get up on the couch with me, if no one else is around and snuggle and purr, but if I make a sudden move, she will take off like the very hounds of hell are after her. I've never had a cat like this one, any insight would be great!

-- Contributed by: David

Hi Allee,

Since you have a cat that is nervous and likely to scratch, bite or bolt, I would probably go ahead and take him to the vet separately. That way, you can easily crate him and keep an eye on him during the visit to make sure he remains safe. It also won't take your attention away from the other two. While it is good to limit trips and combine things as much as possible, this is one case where I would go ahead and split things up.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

Hi Pamela,

For her own safety it would be best to try to trap her and turn her into an indoor cat. You can start by isolating her to a special area of the house. You need to approach her extremely slow and have the utmost patience, as taming a feral cat is extremely hard. She will likely never be a cuddly cat, but with patience and time she can be turned into a nice pet that will fit into your household nicely.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

I took 3 feral cats from the local animal welfare league to tame and foster. One is much younger than the others and very sweet. This one will occasionally hiss, but not scratch. I have been able to pet all of them and have had them purr. One in particular will freak out and then scratch, but it's random and almost like he's regressing. I take them to get their first shots in a few days. Should I exclude this one that's too uncomfortable or separate it from the other two?

-- Contributed by: Allee

I'm having a hard time deciding whether to trap a feral I have been feeding and try and tame her or leave her where she is and keep feeding. She is not in a safe area and she is almost a year.I have already trapped her once and got her spayed. She knows me and knows her name but still very scared. Any advise??

-- Contributed by: pamela

Hi Angelique,

Is she drinking water? I wouldn't worry too much as she may still be in a bit of pain. I don't eat much when I'm in pain, and I think most creatures are like that. However, if she seems weak, lethargic or continues to not eat over the next day or so, you should definitely contact your vet. Cats need special nutrients and cannot go long periods of time without eating.

You might try getting her some canned food to tempt her and put it right in front of her. Even if she isn't feeling well, she will likely eat a little of it.

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

Hello - This is more a question than a comment. I've had a feral cat with me for about 5 weeks now. The first 4 weeks she still had her kittens, but on Friday 24 October they all went to loving homes. On Monday 27 Oct she went to the vet to be "fixed". She's been back at my house since Tuesday. My worry is she has not eaten a single thing for the past two days since her return from the vet. Is this "normal" or should I be worried. I would appreciate some suggestions. Thank you

-- Contributed by: Angelique Bain

Your best bet is to send a letter to your local veterinarians listed in the yellow pages as well as any organizations for veterinarians and let them know of your need and request for help in this area. You may also want to contact the Humane Society and other animal rescue organizations near you and find out if they have additional advice, inexpensive clinics or will provide some type of help.

Good luck!

-- Contributed by: LoriSoard

Do you know where to find volunteer vets? We really need some. We have no money so we will need some volunteers. Thank You!!! Feral Rescuers Assoc.

-- Contributed by: Feral Rescuers Assoc.
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