What are ways to tame a half-feral cat?

Question

2 weeks ago I captured a pregnant cat that had been hanging around my sister's farm. I wanted to do something to help with the growing ferel cat colony. She gave birth 2 days after we captured her and is doing a wonderful job taking care of her six babies. She is about 8 months old and I would love keep her and find good homes for her babies. Does anyone have any experience with this? Techniques? Timelines? I want to tame her but feel like it would be cruel to keep her confined too long. At the very least we will spay her and get her shots if we must release after her babies are old enough to re-home.

We have already captured her and she and her babies are living in one of our spare bedrooms. I just don't know if it would be cruel to keep her after her babies are raised or if I should spay her and release her again at my sister's farm. After the babies are weaned, how do I know if I am kindly helping her or cruelly confining her?

Answer 1

Wow, sounds like exactly what happened with us! We found a feral cat and started feeding it. We slowly moved the food dish closer and closer to our back yard till the cat was brave enough to come eat it on the windowsill. She got quite used to us looking at her through the window while she ate, till it got so that she'd hang around on the wall for us to take the food out to her. This all took about two weeks. We noticed then that she was pregnant and so we watched over her for about a week. Finally she had the kittens in a barn of he farm across the road. Probably quite stupidly, we decided to pick all six kittens up with her watching and carry them across the road to our garage, where we put them in a box with some padding and left her to it. I don't know if she was especially good or anything, or if she was glad of the help, but she stayed in our garage with us feeding her. Noticing she was thin, and with six huge kittens to feed, we bought some special kitten milk and started feeding them it with a syringe. She must have known what we were doing because she used to go out of the garage and leave us to care for them!

It eventually got so the kittens were old enough to walk about on their own. We took them into the house periodically to play where it was safe and to make them more people friendly. Eventually we moved them in full time. Naturally, the mother wanted to know where her kittens were, so we started leaving the kitchen door open with some food on the floor and leave the room. She eventually started eating in the kitchen and we slowly started to stay with her while she ate. It took about 4 or 5 weeks of patience, but eventually we could pick her up with her being comfy with it. We;ve had her now as a house cat for 10 years and she loves it so much, its difficult to get her out of the house! As for the kittens, because they had so much contact, they're just like normal domestic cats and the softest bunch you could know!

So, long story short, make little baby steps. Don't trap them in a room, that just scares them, make sure there's always an exit for them. Move slowly and let the cat move to you. The way to a cat's heart it *always* through its stomach! Cat sweeties help to soften them up even faster.

Anyway, good luck. You're a saint to be doing what you're doing and trying to cut down the feral cat problem. :)

Answer 2

Did the breeder say she was feral, or have you decided this? Let's see, feral means, once tame, then returned to the wild. In other words, she was "abandoned" and left to fend for herself. So, if she was indeed feral, then being antisocial is not only expected but also normal. You will have to earn her trust, not her earn yours. Keeping her in a room so she can't hurt herself is a great idea. Give her the three things she needs right now; Food, a place to go, and some human contact. The first two are a must, and the third should be introduced a little at a time. Also, remember, she is in a new environment now (your home). Cats have great reasoning skills, so she will figure out if "this' is the right place for her or not pretty quick. Unless she has sever mental issues, then she can be re-tamed and will learn to trust you as she did her first owner before she was thrown out like a dirty dishrag. The reason the breeder will not take her back is purely monetary reasons. Give the cat more than a week, and keep trying to socialize with her, she will come around. Hope this helps and I hope I didn't make you mad.

Answer 3

Get her "fixed" when she is ready. Do the same for the kittens if you can afford it. Try to make friends with the kittens now. The mom cat will most likely run away, but the kittens haven't learned (maybe) to be fearful, apprehensive.

You can safely trap the mom. See if the humane society, or local vet has a trap to borrow. Don't feed her for awhile, then place the trap (toss a blanket over it) with food inside. You might have to do this a few times to actually get HER . . . I did this once to trap a feral male, and ended up with: a raccoon, a cat from the neighborhood, one of my own cats ...

Spaying the mom ASAP will decrease a lot of those hormones which will mellow her out a lot. And the kittens, they just don't need to be making more .... If you have a local Humane Society, sometimes they give coupons to local vets who will spay at a discount. Check that out. Thanks for doing this, and as Bob Barker would say: Spay and neuter your pets!

Work with food. They will instinctively know where the food is, and know where it's coming from. Keep the places and times of feeding consistent. They get used to this routine. You'll have a pet for life, a sweet one at that.

Answer 4

Time and patience can win over a feral cat, believe me, I've seen my mother do it so many times.
You just have to be quiet and patient. Food is the tool! Keeping her away from loud noises or pesky humans is a good way to gain her trust with you. Try to spend time in a room with her but don't approach her. Wait for her to approach you, no matter how long it takes. It does work but you have to be patient.
Cooing and talking to them sometimes works, and making sure food is there is the main key. Quiet surroundings, food and your patience will work out in the long run.

It would be best to find the kittens good homes and have her spayed and released. More than likely, she won't wander as much when she is spayed and you won't have the concern of more feral cats running around.

Answer 5

I wish I had a good answer for you. Time, patience and more patience will be key to any efforts. At her age you might stand a chance. I've got one I've been working on for 6 years now and the only time she behaved halfway tame is when she was having trouble delivering her litter and I had to take her in for a C-section. Even the vet doesn't use her name, just refers to her as "wild cat". By the way, she was spayed then and was able to nurse and wean her babies. Since then, she has reverted to her former behaviour. All I can do is wish you good luck.

Answer 6

First of all, I admire your kindness. I've rescued many stray cats, and they've all become very social, loving cats, although I'm sure it's not the case for every single stray cat. Yours is only 8 months old, so the chances of her becoming a good pet are increased. As you know, humans don't train cats, they train us. I feel that cats really appreciate steady feedings, scratches around the ears, and respect. If you show the cat that you are a source of good things, she will surely prefer staying with you instead of being homeless. One thing I must mention, the stray cats I adopted still go outside. Once they have a taste for the outdoors, it is hard to keep them inside. I realise it's much safer to keep a cat indoors, but if you decide to keep her and she wants out, let her go. What I would do first is keep her indoors for a month, that way she knows her home. Good luck to you and the mama cat!

Answer 7

I have been in nearly the same situation for awhile, and I have some helpful, simple pointers.

Never try to turn a feral or half-feral cat into a housecat. It drives them nuts.

As for the kittens, try to tame them, since they are young and learning they will learn to be nicer and calmer towards humans if they're given alot of interaction at a early age. We still haven't fully tamed the kittens of a half-feral cat that lives outside our house.

Getting her shots and spaying might be a bit tough, since she may have never been to a vet.

The mother will raise the kittens well outside, trust me. You can still find them homes if you want though.

Answer 8

cats if being fed right can be great farm animals.

if the cats is already feral i usualy advice to bring her back to where she was found(if it's a good place) give her and her youngs cat food.
most likely her kittens will be feral like her.

so my advice to you will be to give her back to your sister make sure she has a warm and safe place to be with her kittens while their growing up. and in two montes tp spay the mom and her youngs once the females will reach four montes and the males to six montes.

if you still wish to make her human friendly. try giving her some cats canned food and play with her. she will become friendly to you in her own time, just know that most feral cats don't become 100% human friendly.

Answer 9

when the babies are old enough to start playing and start eating some real cat food, study their playing habbits. if they play in a really rough manner, use a squirt bottle like you would on an adult cat(only use less water). if you try to hold it and pet it, but it doesnt want to sit still, try feeding it by hand to try getting it still then pet it and talk to it in a whisper. it might sound crazy but it works. as long as the mother doesnt completely flip out when you touch her kittens, you should be ok.

Answer 10

The more time you spend with the kittens, the more sociable they will be, exponentially. All of them. Lots of time. Everyday. For the first 6 months. They will pay back your attention.