Feral Cat Suddenly Trust Me

slave2_ragdolls

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We have 3 feral cats that hang out at my work place. 2 have been coming around for over a year now. They come to eat and are still terrified of humans. We got a 3rd about 6 weeks ago. He/she has been much more trusting. The cat is a Tabby mix with a lot of dead fur on it. The ears are not clipped. Today I tried to touch it for the first time while it ate and to my surprise it let me on 4 different feedings. The cat is beautiful and trusted me very quickly. It never hissed, or tried to scratch or bite my hand. It is a smaller boned cat so I assume it might be a female I am owned by 3 Ragdoll cats and might consider adopting this cat if it continues to except me. Any advice would be appreciated ☺
 
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tabbytom

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The Tabby might not be s feral. It could be an abandoned kitty and already has human interaction.

Would be good if you could adopt her and take her off the streets and give her a good life.
 

Sarthur2

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The cat is a pre-owned stray rather than a feral if it is trusting you this much.

You should go ahead and take her home since she is friendly. It's a tough life for strays outside.

If she is not spayed she will likely get pregnant soon.

Is she fully grown?
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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I Guess that might be possible. The poor cat has a nasty coat on it. I live in Michigan so it probably went though a bad Michigan winter and is just shedding it's winter coat. It is cautious but allowed me to stroke it with little resistance
The Tabby might not be s feral. It could be an abandoned kitty and already has human interaction.

Would be good if you could adopt her and take her off the streets and give her a good life.
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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The cat is a pre-owned stray rather than a feral if it is trusting you this much.

You should go ahead and take her home since she is friendly. It's a tough life for strays outside.

If she is not spayed she will likely get pregnant soon.

Is she fully grown?
The cat appears to be full grown. Outside of it's nasty fur coat it appears to look healthy. I am not sure if it is a male/female? I just assume that it is a female because it is smaller boned. It is a long haired cat.
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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I Am not going to just bring it home and expose it to my 3 healthy Ragdoll cats. It would need to be vet checked. I have no idea if it would let me pick it up. I am just going to take some time with it
 

astrael

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Sounds like a stray. Either way, the kitty sounds quite adoptable. My current indoor kitty came in from my feral colony. He was 6-8 months outside in the colony before we decided to give in and let him stay inside. After 6 months, he's very pet like and well adjusted.

First piece of advise is be eternally patient. Cats move at their pace, not ours. It will most likely take many months to adjust fully. That said, enjoy each victory.

There's a lot of info in these forums about introducing new cats. I'd offer advice, but I have limited experience in that. Scutch followed Judy inside (she's the neighborhood sweetheart who spends a large chunk of winter in our house). They already got along.

First step, of course, would be getting her to a vet. She may have matted fur that needs to be shaved (it will grow back). And she might need to be fixed. Other tests are important too, you need to know if she has FIV or Feline Leukemia. I've successfully kept FIV+ strays with other cats without any others getting infected. But it may not be an issue.

When she's back from the vet, she'll need an isolated room just for her. A spare bedroom would likely be ideal. It'll need stuff just for her. You can slowly begin to leave items in there that smell like you and other kitties as she adjusts. Like old (not washed) shirts, old cat toys, etc. And eventually, you should bring something that smells like her to your cats.

For the litter box, if she's a stray she may be familiar with it and there won't be any trouble. Otherwise, you can cover the floor with puppy pads in her "isolation" room while she's adjusting to her new home. You could add dirt to a litter box, preferably from where she's gone before. That helps them understand what the box is for. (I had a feral hiding in the house once who used the covered litter box as a bed. Thankfully it hadn't been "used" yet. :crackup:) Move the box where she goes till she starts using it. You may have to try different litters.

Spend lots of quiet time in the room with her, especially at meal times. Nothing helps kitties bond like being close during meals. (Scutch will complain, LOUDLY, throughout the house if we don't sit on the couch nearby while he eats. :sweat:) I've found play to help with stress and bonding too. Cats that didn't respond to treats often "blossomed" when played with often.

I'm sure others can help with introducing her to the other cats. Things like feeding them on other sides of the door. (Food is bonding for kitties) Supervised short meetings. There's more to it, and I'm sure others have better advise about that process.

It's a wonderful thing you're doing, feeding the ferals and caring for this poor lost kitty. Thank you for reaching out! Hopefully this helps a little. Good luck!!!:rock:
 

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I Am not going to just bring it home and expose it to my 3 healthy Ragdoll cats. It would need to be vet checked. I have no idea if it would let me pick it up. I am just going to take some time with it
Does the cat allows you to pet her and do you hear her purring and does she meows at you when she sees you?

If yes, you can can try picking her up gently. Squat down, pet her, speak gently to her and let her rub up on you then lift her up slowly a few inches off the ground and put her down. Repeat a few times till she's use to the lifting and touch. After a few tries over a day or so and if there's no resistance or hissing or showing of claws, I think you are good to go.
 

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Of course she needs vet checking and separating from your cats, for medical and introductory reasons.

She also needs a bath and brushing, it sounds like.

Better nutrition will help her coat too.

Take your time with her. If you decide not to adopt her, perhaps you could get her to a no-kill rescue organization eventually. :)
 

bigbadbass

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I'm not a pro by any stretch...but I'm convinced that displaced, distressed former *housecats-now-strays* (opposed to true ferals) convey their need....in your case its allowance of close contact is its obvious method of saying "PLEASE HELP ME".

I'd respectfully urge you to do so...in some way..within your limitations and means, of course.
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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Does the cat allows you to pet her and do you hear her purring and does she meows at you when she sees you?

If yes, you can can try picking her up gently. Squat down, pet her, speak gently to her and let her rub up on you then lift her up slowly a few inches off the ground and put her down. Repeat a few times till she's use to the lifting and touch. After a few tries over a day or so and if there's no resistance or hissing or showing of claws, I think you are good to go.
The cat barely meows and I am not sure if it purrs or not. It gets along fine with the 2 other feral cats as they will all eat together. I only see the stray 2 times a week at work as I am only part time. A co-worker feeds the 3 cats 5 nights a week when I am away so the stray gets plenty of human interaction :thumbsup: I am just going to take it slow and see what happens. I have a Litter Robot for my Ragdolls. I just wonder if the stray would be trainable to use a litter box after getting used to going outside for awhile?
 

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Cats generally adapt to litter boxes very easily and quickly. :)
 

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Scutch understood the litter box immediately. In the 9 months he's been in, there was one accident. And that was cause the box we had in the beginning was too small for him. It was half in, half out. (It was an in case thing, intended for the much smaller Judy who refuses to use a litter box anyway. She lives for the outdoors. We're just an escape from bad weather with treats. lol)

We promptly got two much larger, side guarded litter boxes. Never had a problem since. And he was raised from kitten to about 9 months old outside in the colony before moving inside. Most cats adjust quickly and easily.
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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The cat barely meows and I am not sure if it purrs or not. It gets along fine with the 2 other feral cats as they will all eat together. I only see the stray 2 times a week at work as I am only part time. A co-worker feeds the 3 cats 5 nights a week when I am away so the stray gets plenty of human interaction :thumbsup: I am just going to take it slow and see what happens. I have a Litter Robot for my Ragdolls. I just wonder if the stray would be trainable to use a litter box after getting used to going outside for awhile?
I Am still working with this stray. She now trust me more each time that I see and feed her (2 times a week) She is a long haired Tabby mix. She even let me pet her yesterday with NO food in my hands I just need to be patient with her so hopefully I can pick her up and take her to the vet to be checked out and fixed. If she passes all test.... I would give her a forever home with my other 3 Ragdoll cats
 

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Hi there. I would encourage you to make an appointment for her with your vet sooner rather than later. Make it for a time when you know she'll be around and you can put her in a pet carrier and take her straight there. She'll need a dose of Frontline Plus for fleas, and a de-wormer pill, and a SNAP test (for FIV and leukemia). The vet will determine whether or not the kitty needs to be fixed -that would be the next step, either at that appointment or the next. Then take kitty home and put her in a spare room for at least a week. The reason I advise to not wait too long to take her to a vet and into your home is that if she's a female, she could be or get pregnant, which complicates the situation. A spay is a more difficult surgery with more bleeding if a cat is in heat or pregnant, and some people have ethical issues with spaying a pregnant cat. The other reason is that it's not safe for a stray to be outdoors. They run the risks of getting hit by a car, getting shot or poisoned by people who hate cats, or wandering off and getting lost. I say this because one of the cats I took into my home had been shot by someone and has a crooked leg as a result. You are already bonding with this kitty, why wait. I also want to encourage you that 99% of the time, all cats will instinctively know to use the litter box. No pee pads needed. Also, the kitty knows how to adapt and get along with other cats, so she will likely adjust to your other cats very quicky. Your other cats can smell her on you and are already getting to know her. I hope that at some point you and your co-workers can think about TNR for the feral cats you all care for. There are private vets and agencies (Humane Society, Animal Friends) who will give a discount for ferals and strays. Just a thought. I've taken in both strays and feral cats and I can tell you that they know you've saved them, and they love you with a deep bond forever. It's definitely worth the effort. I have five rescued cats in my house. They are all very different, but they co-exist peacefully and are a source of love and companionship. It's wonderful you're caring for this kitty. You could perhaps lure her into a cat carrier by placing tuna inside and closing the door when she's well inside. And no need to worry about her getting angry with you or not trusting you when you get her into a carrier and to the vet. Cats forgive very quickly, especially when they see they have a safe, loving home. Good luck!
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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I am on vacation this week. I have both a large carrier + a newer caged "live trap" I just cannot decide which way that I should go with this Stray. I want her/him to trust me so I can take him/her home for a very happy life after a vet visit. I love cats :thumbsup:
 
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