Help with stray cat?

Question

It is getting cold outside and my daughter and I are trying to lure a young stray cat to our home so we can give her a safe and loving home. She eats the food we put out for her and has come inside our home to sniff around, but when we shut the front door she freaked out and started jumping and running looking for a way out. we let her out - hoping she would trust us and come back again. We have a neutered 5 year old cat who would probably love a young companion, but we aren't sure how to proceed with the feral stray. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

feed her at the same time every day.
next time you trap her, take her to get spayed.
every time you feed her, sit quietly about 5 feet from her food bowl. don't move. don't talk.
each day, feed her and sit slightly closer.
gradually begin talking calmly to her.
after 2 weeks of doing this w/ the feral in our yard, i was able to stroke the back of my hand to the bottom of her hind leg. she jumped a mile, but after a week of that, she didn't run.
i managed to scruff her at the neck & took her to get spayed at a free clinic.
she was in a cage for a night/morning after the spay in the house. since then, she comes in the house for her food & now prances into the livingroom to watch tv. she rubs against our legs & sometimes asks to be petted.
the entire process from feral freak-out pee on the floor cat to current situation was thanksgiving to july.
though i didn't try sitting by her food until about june.
also, your local shelter will have humane traps you can rent for $5 a day. if you catch her, get her spayed. then take care of her while she's coming out of anesthesia. she'll know your not an enemy.
btw, if your indoor cat is around this feral outdoor, you should get your indoor cat the feline leukemia vaccine. talk to your vet

Answer 2

This is what keeps them alive outdoors, they panic if they feel too closed in and this keeps them from being stuck in someone's garage and dying of starvation.

Take it slow. We have one here that will try to jump through windows if he feels shut in. Two others adapted very nicely and didn't have that problem. So it depends on the cat. Keep inviting the cat indoors with food and maybe a brushing, do what they like and enjoy. The more they trust you the easier they are about strangeness. Is there a basement you can try shutting the cat in for a while? Like half an hour? Stay with them, just act as if everything is normal, then make a lot of praise to them when you open the door to let the cat out. That way they think they still have some sort of control and won't feel so trapped.

Answer 3

I doubt she's feral, you'd most likely be bloody by now. Make sure she's not a nursing mother before you do anything. She may be afraid of being locked in the house if she has kittens to feed. If you ascertain she's not a mom, let her have hissy fit until she adjusts. Eventually, she'll figure out a warm home and plenty of food is way better than being cold and hungry. On the offchance she is feral and not just a stray, which I think is doubtful since I don't think a feral cat would ever walk in the door in the first place, then you have a lot of hard work ahead of you. I've only mangaged to rehabilitate one feral cat, and it requires lots of cat treats and more patience than you can imagine.

Answer 4

Do you have a garage or a shed you can leave partially open? I adopted a cat the same way you are trying to help this cat and we started slow. You have to build that trust up. We had a garage door on an opener and were able to leave a small crack so humans couldn't break in. At first when we were feeding him we kept the food at the opening and sat with him and played with him in the front and slowly got him up to the back of the garage and he was getting comfortable enough to sleep in there. We finally shut the door one night and within a couple of days he was at the house door in the garage meowing to be with us. He came in every night but insisted on going out in the morning. If you respect the cats wishes he will come to trust you and keep coming back.

We moved 4 times with him and he never ran away from us. We kept him with us for a week in the house and slowly went out with him during the day and eventually he would go off without us and came home every night or when he was hungry. He would run up to the house when he saw us driving up the driveway. I miss him a lot. He died from a blood clot but we had him 6 1/2 years.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Not surprising she would freak out. I would prepare a safe place for her, like a bedroom or other smaller area. Then, get a humane trap and bait it with food. When she is trapped, she will probably go bonkers. But take her to the small area that has a litter box, food and water, and let her out. Perhaps a cardboard box that she could hide in may help her feel more secure in that room. She will probably try to escape, and be very upset, but you will have to ignore that. She will settle down once she feels no danger. (Where ever she is put, make sure there are no items that you would not want to see broken or damaged.)

You want to then work with her to see just how feral she is. And wash your hands thoroughly before touching your own cat. When she has settled down a bit, get her to a vet for a check up. A cat on their own often has ear mites, worms, and perhaps fleas. You want that treated, and you also want to check for feline leukemia and feline aids through a simple blood test. Only then will it be safe to introduce her to your resident cat.

This will take some patience, depending on how long she has been on her own. You will probably have to set the trap outside since she may be wary of entering your house again.

Once she has passed medical muster, you can start to introduce her to your own cat. That may bring up another set of issues, but one step at a time.

Answer 6

It may seem mean, but honestly, just put the cat inside. Try to find a room that doesn't have anything valuable in it and leave her in there with food. It takes time, and lots of it. Entice the cat with treats. Try using catnip and toys too! The cat is still young and will change it's ways with time. My kitten was the same way, and he is most definitely the most loving animal I have ever had the pleasure of housing. Good luck!

Answer 7

Stray cats and domicile cats are completely diverse. Stray cats have not got an proprietor so as that they don't be responsive to greater suitable. they might content fabric rabies from animals. you are not getting effected from a house cat's hair if it is going on your mouth. i've got performed that lots. not something befell. basically make confident the cat does not have rabies, or has a ailment.

Answer 8

If she's a stray cat, please just give her time in order for her to adapt and see that you and your daughter are a loving family. Its like with people, she just needs time in order to have trust in you and your daughter. When she finds it safe, she'll proceed to be part of the family and be a companion to your 5 year old neutered cat!

Answer 9

My boyfriend and I have a stray cat that we have been trying to keep safe from the cold but we cant seem to keep it in the house. What I think it is, is his/her mother is probably outside and they kitten wants to get back to her. Plus if the cat is a stray they want to be outside. Thats the only thing they know.

Answer 10

I think you need to build up a stronger trust bond before trying to shut the door with her inside - otherwise she will just freak out. Leave the door open when she comes in and let her walk out when she wants to. Gradually she'll start to feel safer and safer until one day you can shut the door. Stroke her and play with her, with the door open so she can leave when she wants to. Feed her treats, cat biscuits, from your hand to build a closer bond and put the food bowl just inside your door when she arrives, gradually moving it more and more inside. When she's ready to stay, she will, but I wouldn't rush her because it may scare her off. :)