Any chance I'll get this feral cat to accept being indoors?

Question

Last spring, we started feeding this small cat. Eventually, he'd come just inside the sliding glass doors and eat. But after six months, he still scooted if we got within six feet of him.

When the weather got cooler, he stopped coming around as often. In order to keep our house warmer and not drive him away, his food is outside the sliding glass doors on a piece of rug. He doesn't eat often, but makes about a cup of kibble disappear. I also give him tuna, which he'll eat first. I got him some mail-order flea pills. (both for right now and to interrupt the flea-egg life cycle)

He seems more skittish than last summer. His comfort zone is now 15 feet. And even if it's farther than that, he doesn't like to see us moving around.

Any chance he'll ever cozy up to us? I'd sure like to carry him to a vet and get him some shots. Till then, I guess I'll remain a supplemental food source and not more.

Who's gotten really skittish, really feral cats domesticated?

Answer 1

A lot will depend upon whether he's a true feral from birth, or an abandoned cat that's become feral. His personality and age (whether he's set in his ways or not) will have an impact too.

My own two cats were both feral kittens and I take care of some local adult ferals. It involves a lot of patience to win their trust, even in small amounts, but it's very rewarding when you get to hear them purr for the first time at being petted. I would imagine that as your cat has now increased his safety zone, that he's had a nasty experience recently with other humans, that have reinforced his fears.

The web article below has lots of information on taming feral kittens and cats that you may find helpful.

http://www.messybeast.com/feralkit.htm

Even if you never persuade him to become an indoor cat, you are providing him with a better quality of life than he would have had without your help. Keep up the good work.

Answer 2

You did nothing wrong by catching the kittens except maybe they are a wee bit young. Hopefully they will do okay on the bottle- I like to wait for feral kitties to be a bit older before I take them, but hear me well- I take them EVERY time. If I can also catch the mother then I take her to a sympathetic vet and spay her, but she's still not getting her kittens back so they can grow up as feral as she is- what's the point? Right now I have one feral female on my property that I caught in a Havahart once, and she somehow forced her way out of it before I could get her to the vet. I've never seen a raccoon get out of these traps so I don't know how she did it- malfunction? Anyway, now she will not go near another trap. Every year she deposits her kittens in my basement or my shed and every year I go out and collect them. This spring/summer she had 2 litters. If I don't catch all of them and I see her with the remainder, it's usually only for a little while. Then that leftover kitten disappears- dies. In 4 years I've seen one of her leftover kittens grow to adulthood. We have bears, coyotes, foxes, hawks, and a 4 lane highway. Kittens don't make it. Maybe the odds for wild survival were better where you live, but what you did is give the kitties the best chance of all. Now, find a vet who will spay a feral. Bring the whole cage to him. Wrap it in a towel. They will give her anesthetic thru the bars. Bring her back home after the spay and let her go. Congrats, she's now your outside cat. Other than a little food/water and maybe some wormer and a rabies shot now and then, you don't really need to do anything else for her. Maybe some day she will warm up to you. A lot of ferals, when not stressed by constant mating and fighting and raising kittens, will become more mellow around humans, if not ever truly tame. If you take her to a shelter they will destroy her, most likely. The kittens can be given to a no-kill shelter at around 6 weeks old. You can start them on wet cat food at 3-4 weeks and dry at 4 weeks. The shelter will handle shots and worming for you. If you need any help, email me- I've been doing this for 10 years and right now have 6 fosters in my house, and yes, 5 of them came from the tramp in my backyard. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Just keep doing what you're doing. Some cats take longer to come around. They are like people in some ways. Some people don't warm up to others immediately, they take time and love. If this cat is truly 100% feral then you will never be more than a food source to him, however don't feel bad about it. At least you are ensuring that the cat is kept fed and healthy. You could also try using a live trap(they can be obtained from the local animal control orginization free) to catch him. I wouldn't reccommend this because it could cause the cat to trust you even less than it does now. Good Luck with the cat!!

Answer 4

All the cats and kittens I have now were feral.
Spunk was 10 days old when I saved him. He is now 7 and is loving.
Spaz was 6 months old. He is 5 now. He only wants attention when he wants it.
Orange Kitty was my recuse feral. He was feral in my back yard for 3 years before we had to catch him. He was hit by a car. He lost all but six of his teeth, had 30 + stitches to fix his face. The vet thinks he was between 4-5 years old then. Now a year and half later, he is the most loving cat you could ask for.
BK was feral for a year when we caught her and her 4 kittens (they were a week old). 4 months later, the kittens (we are keeping them) and fine. BK. is still shy and doesn't like to be petted. But, the vet thinks that will change when we get her fixed.
Feral cats are a lot of work. They need to trust you and you need to give them time and space. Just keep doing what you are doing.

Answer 5

The first three months of a cat's life is really important in terms of socialisation. If it didn't get this from it's mum or from human foster parents, you're facing an uphill batte.

It sounds mean, but feeding a stray cat that hasn't been desexed is not a good idea. My housemate did it at the place I used to live in and basically we ended up with more feral cats living nearby who expected to be fed but were otherwise totally unsociable and terrified.

Try to catch him so you could perhaps get him desexed.

I adopted my puss when she was 14months old and she's still timid and a little skittish with others and she had a home.

Answer 6

First off Kudos for helping the feral cat and giving him a daily meal!!. I have had success with a feral cat becoming permanetly indoor and domesticated. She is friendly, sleeps on my bed and turning into one of the sweetest cats Ive owned. However, it didnt start that easy. I was in a similar situation where I would feed her but could never pet her or get really close. Anyways, I was afraid by continuing to feed her, I was essential creating a perfect breeding zone, so I had to at least get her spayed. Home Depot carries the live trap (HAV-A-HART) for around 40 dollars and I bought one myself instead of trying to rent one or go through any agenices. So I trapped her, took her to a discount animal clinic, had her tested, shots, and fixed and brought her back to my house where she would recover. I let her recover in the back bedroom and after a couple days, I realized she didnt want to go back outside, and I was ready to let her go. I think those days of recovery in a nice comfortable safe environment made her realize I was there to help, not hurt her and she began to trust me. Its been almost a year and she is doing great.
Dont give up on this cat, but I strongly suggest trapping the cat and taking it to get fixed. At least the cat will be healthier, not get into fights and be calmer. Who knows you may have the same success I had while the cat recovers from surgery and get comfortable being indoors. If he remains skittish, and you are forced to release back outside, you will rest assured that have increased the life span of this cat, made him healthier, and stopped him from breeding. Also please dont let the fear by trapping him, and getting him fixed, that he will never trust you again and run away. This theory is far from the truth. I have have TNR (trap, Nueter, released) 3 other ferals, and even thought they might disapear for a day or two, they all came back, and still do to this day for food, and your back in the same situtation you were before, but with fixed, non breeding, vaccinated healthier cat. Good luck and I hope this helps!! keep us updated on what you do

Answer 7

I'ved traped/spayed and released 50+ feral cats, and tamed about half.. alot of it depends on his age, the older he gets the harder it is to tame them. But I've seen feral cats you could put your hands out and touch without any handling before.. They were alot older though. If you REALLY wanted to get him shots you could use a 'be a friend' trap to catch him. The trap is a live one so it wont hurt him. That way you can get him spayed/shots.