Wild stray cat??? HELP?

Question

There has been a BEAUTIFUL wild cat that I have been feeeding for the last 6 months. At first she wouldnt come near me but now she comes when i call her- but WILL not let u pet her or hold her without clawing u to peices! The neighbors across the street have like 20 cats and for some reason they kinda shunned her and will not let her in their yard! She is very timid and will not fight with them- just wanters away! Its totally breaking my heart to see her unloved and so cold in the snow but how I can I get her to trust me? She is full grown not a kitten! Any help u might have please help! By the way every so often she DOES defend MY yard from a few of them but most of them scare her away so I have to hold her food bowl and only let her have it! Id love to offer her love, warmth and a home for the rest of her life but cannot seem to get quite close enough- is there help?

Answer 1

Ok. I have done this successfully a couple of times.
1st I would find someone to make you a wooden box you can put near the house for her to sleep in and get out of the cold.. Make sure it's up off the ground and has ventilation and hole in the front big enough for kitty to get in but small enough to keep wind/snow out. Put layers of newspaper on the bottom and then a plastic layer and then some old fleece for her bed, pref. something you've worn and not washed.
Feed her and water her, when she gets used to the routine offer her special goodies (like beef) from your hand.
Then try gradually to pet her while she's eating.
Move the box closer to the house and keep it up, if she's under a year old you'll have a better chance if she's feral.
I just rescued one 6 weeks ago that I spent about 6 months getting close to outside. Finally I just popped her into a cat carrier and brought her to the vet for shots/spaying/etc,,,
She's sound asleep on my bed with my other cat right now.
It's worth it, GOOD for you for caring!!
Happy New year, feel free to email me with questions,
;-)

Answer 2

You should just continue what you are doing and maybe she will come around. It may take a long, long time, or she may never come around. I would just call her often and give her little treats. The more she comes to you and you continue to feed her the easier it may become for her to trust you enough. Some people say that wild cats don't like to be touched by humans because they don't want human sent on them while they hunt. I don't know if that is true but if it is then providing her with enough food so she doesn't need to hunt might lead to her allowing you to touch her.
If she is not fixed then you need to capture her and bring her somewhere to be spayed. In my area (Florida) there is a free clinic for stray cats called 'Operation Catnip.' They loan you a cat trap and then return the cat back to you. They also snip off a small portion of the ear so that stray cats that have already been fixed can be identified easily.
Now if you want to keep kitty and don't want her marked as a stray you will probably have to pay for her to be spayed. Since kitty won't let you touch her yet you will probably still have to catch her in a trap.
It is really important to fix her if she is not already. There are obviously enough stray cats in your neighborhood.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Don't despair! It IS possible to tame a feral cat, regardless of age. Very few ferals are a lost cause, and it sounds like you have already made significant progress with this one.

It is best if you trap a feral cat and have her spayed, vaccinated, and checked for diseases, if possible. You should also discuss the cat with your vet, depending on her temperment it may be reasonable for you to keep the cat in a small room in your house (most people use a spare bathroom) while you work on taming her. This gives the cat a safe, warm place to live, while allowing you easier access to work with her. You can get her used to you by simply going into the room she is kept in and spending time with her, talking to her, or reading, knitting, etc. She will continue to grow comfortable with your presence, and will eventually allow you to pet her (although she may never like to be picked up). It sounds like this would be your best bet with this kitty, but I would still talk to your vet about it.

If you and your vet decide the cat should be released, or you can't trap her to bring her to the vet, you could try putting out a shelter as close to your house as you think she'll come. You can create a warm and cozy shelter out of a Rubbermaid storage container, you can find construction instructions on page 6 of http://indyferal.org/Literature/Colony%20Guidelines.pdf. This will at least get her out of the cold and the snow. You should put a towel or blanket inside that you have slept with, so that she can still smell your scent even with you not there. You can try following the same technique as above, spend time near her, especially when she's eating, until she gets used to you.

You should regularly try to pet her by first slowly extending your hand, palm open and face-up, for her to sniff. Once she has finished sniffing, try to scratch her head or side of her face. If she pulls away, hisses, or swats, stop what you're doing and allow her to move away.

It can take a long time and a lot of patience, but feral cats can be tamed, and an indoor cat lives many times longer, healthier lives than a cat living outside.

Answer 4

She is a feral cat. A feral cat is "a cat which has been separated from domestication, whether through abandonment, loss, or running away, and becomes wild. The term also refers to descendants of such cats, but not to wild cats, whose ancestors were never domesticated.

Adult feral cats which are born feral usually cannot be socialized. Adult feral cats that were originally raised domestically can sometimes be reintegrated, but not always. Feral kittens can often be socialized to live with humans if they are taken from a feral colony before they are about twelve weeks old." -- Wikipedia

There are guides to trying to socialize a feral cat: http://straypetadvocacy.org/html/socializing_a_feral_cat.html

The best thing you could do right away is call a cat rescue society and get that cat to a volunteer vet, fixed and vacinated. Then try and arrange for some shelter that she could use unthreatened.

Answer 5

Bless your heart! My mom does the same thing, she has a cat that has been coming up for years, but still will not let you hold him, just pet him. It took the cat almost a year until he let her pet him. Maybe hold some food out for the cat, let her know that she can trust you, and after a week of that, maybe start rubbing her chin...nothing above her head. Also in the mean while, keep food and water out there constantly, and maybe even in a little box with a blanket to keep her shelterd from the elements.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Some ferel cats can be tamed. Since you have fed her for 6 months and she still won't let you touch her, I'm not sure. You might try catching her in a trap and keeping her in a kennel for a while. Continue to feed and talk to her regularly and see if you get any postive results. I have a friend that catches ferel cats and tries taming them this way. Sometimes it works and other times, she has to spay/neuter them and let them go again. I will add that a lot of the cats she catches are still kittens, and she does have better success at taming (for adopting out) with the kittens.

Answer 7

Do you have a rescue near by that does TNR (Trap, Neuter, release)? It would be the best thing for it. Usually , they will make you agree to keep feeding it but they will give you a trap and will trap it, vaccinate it, and fix it. They tip the ears so they know that it has already been fixed so they don't have to retrap it. It's a really good program, you should really look into it so the cat will not be producing litters of kittens and will also be vaccinated so it wont get sick or spread disease. Good luck, its a great thing you are trying to take care of this kitty. :)

Answer 8

There are usually animal control folks in most areas who if given a call will come over with a have-a-hart trap. This would be very useful and if I had other animals I would never bring a stray into my home without vaccinations FIRST and testing for FLV and so on. It's nice you have a big heart but you would also not want to expose any of your other animals to anything the stray may have or carry.

Answer 9

You need to get a humane trap and get her to a vet for a check up and to get her fixed.

There is a product called "Rescue Remedy" that you can find in natural food stores to help you tame her. Get some and follow the directions carefully. It is an all natural cat sedative that acts to calm down those scared kitty jitters.

When I've had feral cats this has done wonders for them. One is so friendly now you'd never know she was once wild.

Answer 10

You have actually come quite a long ways with this feral cat. Cats have to be "socialized" within the first six months of their life or they are not going to be "humanized" at all!!! The fact that she comes to you for food is an amazing accomplishment. Keep in mind, feral cats are NOT domesticated... and I don't know ANY cat that "needs" human love... lol... that's why we like em... cuz they don't "need" us so much... As for cold in the snow... trust me, this cat has found a warm spot to curl up.... she is not freezing. You are feeding her, she seems to be learning to trust you... you'll just have to give it time. I doubt she will ever be a "lap" cat and living inside your house. It is totally amazing that this wild cat is eating food out of a bowl that you are holding. You may be destined to just admire this kitty from afar... there will come a day when she might let you pet her when she is NOT eating (most cats don't like to be bothered while they are eating)... just sit still and allow her to explore you... don't talk to her, don't reach for her... just sit still and relax. She will sense any tension or eagerness and run away....but hang in there!!